Vanessa’s hair is pulled back off her face, and she’s wearing my shirt with a pair of jean shorts.
Her long legs are tan and her feet are bare.
For a few precious moments, I just observe.
Scenes like this never happened at our home. Whitney didn’t like to eat breakfast and was rarely up in time. The medication that she took made her sleep hard through the night.
But since we moved in with my parents, making breakfast together has become a happy new ritual for me and the girls.
I want to rush to Vanessa and hug her for starting without me.
She has no idea how much this means to me.
I suppose, eventually, I’m going to have to get naked too. Tell Vanessa the whole truth about what happened with Whitney. But I’m afraid if I do . . .
“Daddy!” Harlow yells.
She runs and jumps into my arms, so I pick her up and carry her back to the island.
“We're making pancakes,” Ava says, looking up from the batter she’s stirring.
“The girls and I have made a decision,” Vanessa says.
“What's that?”
“We decided that this house is too stuffy. There are too many things that are breakable and I'm getting rid of it. Selling it. Starting over.”
I set Harlow on the counter, kiss the top of Ava’s head, and then pull Vanessa into my arms.
“It's a gorgeous house. The architecture, the location, the grounds. Maybe what it needs is a new look. A little remodeling to turn it into something that's more you.”
“More me?”
“Yeah, like the you today. Who even knew Vanessa Flanning owned a pair of cutoffs.”
She looks down at herself and smiles. Then she looks around the room and at my daughters.
“You’re doing a great job, Ava,” Vanessa says. “Go ahead and pour them onto the griddle.”
“No! Daddy has to do that part,” Harlow objects. “The griddle is hot!”
“I think Ava is old enough to be careful. What do you think, Ave? Can you handle it?”
She beams. “Oh course I can! I’ve been telling you for years that I’m old enough.”
“What can I do?” Harlow pouts.
“Why don’t you help me heat up the syrup?” Vanessa says to her.
While they work on the syrup, Ava says, “Will you teach me how to flip them, Dad? I know I need to watch for the bubbles, but I’m afraid that I’ll ruin them.”
“You can’t ruin pancakes, sweetie. But why don’t I hold your hand while you do the first one?”
She nods and I hold her hand on top of the turner. We gently slide it under the pancake then carefully flip it.
“We did it!” she says, excitedly.
“Now, you do the rest.”
“Oh, shoot. I messed that one up a little, but look!”
“You are officially the new pancake maker. Now I can sleep in late.”
“No way. Pancake making is fun because we’re all together.”
After we’ve demolished the pancakes, the girls head up to the playroom.
“Thank you,” Vanessa says to me, as she’s clearing dishes.
“For what?”
“For this morning. Sharing your girls with me. This is what I always dreamed of, a house full of kids.”
“Have you ever thought of adopting?”
“I’ve thought of a lot of things. I just kept thinking—never mind, it’s silly.”
I pull her into my arms. “Tell me.”
“I was hoping there’d be a father in the picture. Would you want more kids?”
“Yes. But not yet.”
“Oh.”
“Not until—”
“Until what?”
“Until I get married again.”
“Oh,” she says, a grin creeping across her face.
“Come here,” I say, guiding her lips toward mine.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center - Los Angeles
KEATYN
We make it to the hospital just in time. Dallas runs to get scrubbed in and Riley and I collapse in the private waiting room.
I reach out and grab his hand. “You’re a good friend and pretty freaking brilliant. What made you think of the helicopter?”
“It was my pilot’s idea. I just agreed to pay for it.”
“Well, it was smart. If we would’ve had to go through traffic, we wouldn’t have made it.”
“How was Homecoming?” Aiden asks, joining us and greeting me with a kiss.
“It was good,” Riley says. “Thanks for letting her come with me.”
He laughs and squeezes my hand. “Somehow I don’t think I had a say in it.”
“She is pretty stubborn,” Riley teases. “But it was good. Ariela was there. We talked. Partied together. And decided to think about things this week. We’re deciding at the wedding if we want to try again or not.”
“At my wedding!? Oh, no, you’re not!” I say.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s supposed to be a happy occasion! Don’t make her leave the wedding, Riley.”
“I’m not going to make her leave. We just don’t know if we should try again. We aren’t the same people we were back in high school.”
“I think that’s a good thing,” Aiden states.
“Why do you think that?” Riley asks him.