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I want so badly to poke around in his relationship history that I’m about to burst. But I don’t say a thing about it. Instead, I say, “I’m sorry that you feel like you didn’t fit in.”
“Ah.” Cole waves his hand dismissively. “It was a really long time ago.”
“No amount of time seems long enough to mourn. Granted, I haven’t hit the one-year mark yet. But I lost my mom last year. Some days, I’m sure that I’m going to drown in a sea of sorrow.”
Cole presses his lips together and nods. “I’m so sorry you lost your mom.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Everyone has losses. That’s life.”
“Still.” Cole squints. “My mom died of breast cancer.”
“Cancer absolutely sucks.” I scrunch my face up. “My mom died from a glioblastoma, specifically. It’s a really aggressive form of brain cancer.”
“Holy shit. Isn’t that what John McCain died of?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that cancer can suck rocks.”
Cole takes my hand and gives it a squeeze.
“I’m sorry.”
Forcing a smile to my lips, I shake my head.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. I–.”
Charlie pops his head in and gives us a sad frown. “Daddy, can I come sit in your lap?”
Cole gives me the briefest of smiles, and then claps both of his hands against his thighs. “Come on. There’s plenty of room.”
Charlie scrambles up, and Cole settles his arms around his son. Cole hands Charlie a sippy cup full of juice and Charlie takes a noisy swig. Charlie’s bare feet end up between my thigh and Cole’s knee. I cover the tops of his feet with my hands playfully.
“Aren’t your feet cold?” I ask.
Charlie nods, as grave as the day is long. I pull a throw off the floor to put over them. He reaches down and pulls it up over his body with a shiver.
Cole kisses the top of Charlie’s head. Charlie snuggles into his chest. Cole looks at me helplessly.
“I don’t see myself getting too much work done right now.”
I smile as I look at the father and son scene. It’s pretty darn sweet.
“I think maybe you need to take life a little more slowly while you’re here in Cape Simon. No one else is working at a breakneck pace. Why should you be the only one?”
Cole narrows his eyes.
“It’s what I’m used to.”
“Well, my suggestion would be to unwind just a teensy bit. It’ll do you good. Charlie doesn’t have to grow up watching his workaholic father put in eighty hours a week his whole life. Imagine that.”
I wink. Cole’s cheeks turn an interesting shade of red.
“It’s not my fault things down here are as slow as molasses in January.”
I raise my hands in surrender. “Just go with the flow. That’s all I’m saying.”
His dramatic sigh is almost comical. “We’ll see.”
