At thirty-eight years of age, he was finally willing to admit that sometimes, life sucked. Big time.
Chapter 11
By Sunday afternoon, Emma was a little less confused about what Mark wanted. They’d talked last night, caught up on all the things they couldn’t say in front of their children.
This morning, Emma’s lawyer replied to her email. While Dylan and Molly were playing outside, Mark and Emma had discussed some custody options and set boundaries for any future contact Mark would have with them. They’d tried to make the transition from not having their dad in their lives to Mark suddenly being there easier for Molly and Dylan.
At this stage, moving to Sapphire Bay wasn’t an option he wanted to consider. And for that, Emma was extremely grateful.
If she could have imagined the best outcome for this weekend, this would be it. Mark had slotted into their lives as if he’d always been there. They’d enjoyed each other’s company, even shared a few jokes. But she couldn’t help feeling that something wasn’t quite right. That, if she took one step out of place, the whole weekend would end in disaster.
In ninety minutes, her ex-husband would be sitting on a plane, flying back to Colorado. But, before he left, they had one last place to visit.
Molly had convinced them they needed to take Mark to the animal shelter. She said she wanted to show her dad her favorite place to go, but Emma knew she had an ulterior motive.
Emma had promised Molly that one day they would adopt a kitten. In her daughter’s mind, the more kittens they saw, the sooner one would arrive.
As soon as they were in the shelter, Molly wrapped her arms around a pure white kitten. “She’s so cute,” she whispered. “Can we take her home?”
Emma rubbed its paw. “She’s lovely, but we’ve only come to look at the animals.”
“But she needs a home. If we come back another day, she might be gone.”
Dylan stroked the little kitten between her ears. “I thought you wanted a black cat.”
“I changed my mind. I want this kitten because she’s soft and cuddly.”
As if sensing that her fate depended on what happened in the next few seconds, the kitten rubbed her face against Molly’s. She purred so loudly that Emma would have been able to hear her from the other side of the room.
“Aww, look.” Molly sighed. “She loves me.”
Dylan wandered across the room. Getting down on his hands and knees, he peered inside a round tube. “Look at this kitten. He’s just like the quilt Grandma has on her bed.”
Molly held the white kitten close to her chest and walked across to her brother. “He won’t be as cute as my kitten.”
With infinite patience, Dylan coaxed the shy kitten close to the edge of his hideaway. His black, white, and ginger coat was gorgeous. “Look. He wants to come home with us.”
Emma glanced at Mark and sighed. This was the worst part of coming to the shelter. If Emma could, she would give a home to all the stray animals. But looking after a houseful of animals wouldn’t stop the constant arrival of more stray cats and dogs.
The only thing that gave her comfort was knowing the shelter did their best to find loving forever homes for each of the animals.
Mark knelt beside Dylan. “They’re both great kittens. How about we look at the dogs? We might see one that looks like Buster.”
The photos of Mark’s dog had been a huge hit. And when Molly and Dylan heard how Mark had found Buster, they’d wanted to give him lots of cuddles.
Molly kissed the top of the white kitten’s head. “I’ll be back soon.” Carefully, she placed her back in her bed and waited for Dylan. “We should ask the lady at the desk to make sure no one takes our kittens.”
“We aren’t taking them home,” Emma said gently. “The shelter will find wonderful families for them.”
“What if they don’t?”
“They will. Come on,” Emma held out her hand. “What do we do before we go into the kennels?”
“Wash our hands,” Dylan said from the doorway.
“That’s right.” Emma closed the door behind them. “And when we’ve finished in the kennels?”
“Wash our hands and take dad to the airport?” Molly asked.
Emma kissed the top of her head. “That’s right. Let’s go and see the dogs.”
With a reluctant sigh, Molly held her dad’s hand as they walked outside.
Emma hoped with all her heart that someone did adopt the kittens. Because Molly and Dylan were right. They were adorable.
Kylie opened the lid of a large box and smiled. “It feels like Christmas.”
Emma glanced up from the packing slip she was studying. “It looks like Christmas. I’ve never seen such a big delivery of decorations. I hope Noah’s company didn’t send more than we ordered.”
“I don’t think they would have. What surprised me the most is how quickly they arrived.”
Noah had promised the decorations would be here well before they needed them, and he’d been right. Pastor John and the store owners would be thrilled. Not only were they here in plenty of time, the quality of the decorations was amazing. Each wreath, tree, and string of fairy lights looked better than they had in the catalog.
“Main Street will look incredible.”
“I agree. If this doesn’t bring more tourists into town, nothing will.” Kylie pulled out her phone. A few seconds later, the sound of Christmas carols filled the church’s storage area. “Now it really feels like Christmas.”
Emma hummed to the music as she ticked another two trees off the packing slip. “Bailey called me last night. She’s found somewhere to stay and will catch up with us next week.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting her.” Kylie placed three gorgeous Christmas wreaths on an empty shelf. “Do you think we’ll have enough space for all the decorations?”
“I hope so. John said if we run out of room, we can take the rest of the decorations to the old steamboat museum. There are a couple of rooms that aren’t being used.”
“Wherever they go, they won’t be there for long. The store owners will want the decorations in the next three weeks.”
Emma couldn’t believe how quickly the weeks were flying by. It only seemed like yesterday that they were planning what they would do. “I thought I’d set up a small Christmas scene with the decorations and photograph them for the website. That way, anyone booking tickets for our events will get a taste of what Sapphire Bay will look like.”
“That’s a great idea.”
The door to the storage room burst open and Molly and Dylan rushed inside.
“Hi, Kylie!” Molly yelled from behind a dinosaur mask. “We’re big, mean, dinosaurs. Grrr.”
“And there’s a bigger one behind you,” Mr. Jessop said as he lumbered through the door. “And this dinosaur likes eating little dinosaurs for dinner.”
Molly and Dylan shrieked before sprinting around Mr. Jessop and heading into the foyer of the church.
“Don’t worry,” Mr. Jessop said. “By the time dinner is ready, all the children would have calmed down.”
“How many arrived for story and craft time?” Emma asked.
“Sixteen. Word is spreading about the storytelling dinosaur in Sapphire Bay.” With a proud grin, Gordon Jessop straightened his dinosaur costume and stomped out of the room.
Kylie laughed. “You won’t need to worry about Molly and Dylan waking up during the night. They’ll be so tired they’ll sleep through anything.”
Emma placed the packing slip with the ones she’d already checked. “That would be bliss. By the time Jack arrives, they could be sound asleep.”
“I didn’t know he was back from Manhattan.”
“He flew into Polson this afternoon. Some days, I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. After Mark left, I’ve focused on making sure Dylan and Molly are happy. I don’t know if I can be part of Jack’s life, too.”
“Do you want to be part of his life?”
&nb
sp; “I do, but it isn’t that easy.”
“When have our lives ever been easy? If you don’t follow your heart, you might regret it.”
“You should have been a counselor instead of a florist.”
Kylie grimaced. “It’s easy to give people advice, but not so easy to see what’s happening in your own life. If I ever meet the man of my dreams, you might have to give me a reality check.”
“Whoever you decide to love will be the luckiest man in the world.”
“What if he’s allergic to flowers?”
Emma smiled. “As long as he isn’t allergic to love, you’ll be fine.”
Jack stood outside Emma’s home. He could hear Molly and Dylan playing in the backyard, laughing at something they were doing. He had only been gone four days, but he’d missed seeing them, listening to their funny stories, and being part of their lives.
He looked down at the flowers he’d bought from Kylie’s flower shop. The pale pink roses were fragile and delicate. A lot like the way he felt. He hoped Emma had thought about where she saw their relationship heading because, right now, he didn’t have a clue.
“Jack!” Dylan raced toward him with a big grin on his face. “Come and see what we’ve made.” His small hand wrapped around Jack’s, pulling him around the corner of the house. “Mr. Jessop pretended he was a dinosaur at The Welcome Center. Molly’s helping me make a dinosaur house. We haven’t put it by the vegetable garden because dinosaurs like their greens. Do you want to help?”
Jack didn’t know how he could possibly say no. Not only was Dylan looking up at him with big blue eyes, but Molly had joined her brother.
“The flowers are pretty,” she said wistfully. “Mom grows roses but they don’t look as nice as those ones.”
Very carefully, Jack pulled one of the stems out of the bouquet and handed it to Molly. “This is for you. It matches the color of your T-shirt.”
When she grinned, his mouth dropped open. “You’ve lost your front tooth.”
“It fell out yesterday. The tooth fairy took it home with her last night.”
“She got two dollars and the other tooth is wiggly,” Dylan said with barely contained excitement. “If Molly gets two dollars for the other tooth, that will be four dollars.”
“I’ll be rich,” Molly said proudly. “Thank you for the flower.”
“You’re welcome. What can I do to help you build your dinosaur house?”
Dylan picked up an old broom and pulled it across the backyard. “We need to put this against the wheelbarrow. Then we can use a blanket to make a roof.”
“’cos dinosaurs need a roof on their houses in case it rains,” Molly said matter-of-factly.
Jack hoped Emma knew what the twins were doing.
So far, their dinosaur house consisted of four deck chairs and a wheelbarrow placed in a circle. It reminded Jack of the indoor forts he used to make with Noah. His mom’s furniture would be turned around, the back of the sofa or chairs used as walls in their imaginary playground.
Dylan tugged a blanket across the grass. “Here it is,” he huffed. “We tried lifting it over the chairs, but it was too heavy.
“Does your mom know you’ve got one of her blankets?”
“She doesn’t mind.” Molly grabbed a corner of the blanket and pulled. “But we have to take it into the garage before we go to sleep.”
With some dubious teamwork and a lot of luck, the blanket landed on the roof of the dinosaur house.
Molly dropped to her hands and knees and crawled through the makeshift door. “This is awesome. Come and have a look, Dylan.”
Dylan and Jack looked through the legs of the chairs at the same time. Even if he said so himself, Jack thought they’d done a good job of creating an imaginary house.
A pair of jean-clad legs appeared beside him. “Are you looking for the dinosaurs?”
Jack and Dylan poked their heads out of the tent.
Emma stood beside them holding a green plastic container.
“You found them,” Dylan said as he reached for the box.
“You left them in the living room. Hi, Jack.”
He could have gazed at Emma all night. With her hair caught in a ponytail and a cap shading her eyes, she looked as though she was going to a baseball game. “Do you want to look inside the dinosaur house?”
Emma crouched beside him. “I’ve been hearing a lot about it.” She crawled into the center of the tent. “This is wonderful.”
Molly took a pink dinosaur out of the container. “This is the mommy. She’s the same color as your flowers, Jack.”
Emma looked around the dinosaur house.
Jack had left the roses beneath the barbecue table. He cleared his throat and started backing out of the tent. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He was nearly clear of the chairs when his foot caught the edge of the broom. With the weight of the blanket pressing against its brushes, it didn’t take much to send the broom crashing to the ground.
One side of the blanket collapsed, taking the next chair with it. Like a pack of cards, the whole tent started to wobble.
“The dinosaurs will get squashed!” Molly shrieked.
Emma jumped to her feet, holding up the center of the blanket with her head and arms. “They’ll be okay. Pick up the chairs, Dylan, and set them back on their legs.”
Jack stood and grabbed the edge of the blanket.
Dylan picked up the chairs before looking inside his dinosaur container. “They’re okay.”
“Mommy saved us from a disaster.” Molly rushed into the tent and wrapped her arms around Emma’s legs.
Emma’s voice was heavy with laughter. “It’s all in a day’s work for supermom. Can I let go of the blanket now?”
Jack made sure the edges were over the back of the chairs. “It should be fine.” While Emma was backing out of the tent, he collected the roses he’d bought for her.
Her eyes widened when she saw the large bouquet.
“These are for you,” he said nervously. “I thought you might like them.”
“Jack gave me a flower, too,” Molly said. “It’s pretty and pink, just like my T-shirt.”
The blush on Emma’s face was as soft as the rose petals. She took the flowers and lifted them to her nose. “They smell amazing. Like cotton candy and gummy bears.”
“Can I smell them?” Molly asked. As she inhaled the sweet scent, she smiled. “They’re yummy.”
Dylan picked up his container. “Come on, Molly. Let’s play with our dinosaurs inside.”
Jack smiled as they tore across the yard. “I guess that leaves us to put everything away.”
“Not quite.” Emma held onto his shirt and pulled him close. “I’m glad you’re here.”
And with the kind of kiss he’d been dreaming of, she welcomed him back to the only place that felt like home.
Chapter 12
By the time Dylan and Molly were in bed, Jack was less nervous about talking to Emma. But that didn’t mean he was completely relaxed.
Her family was going through some big changes and he didn’t know what would happen.
“Thank you for listening to the twins’ stories.” Emma placed a cup of coffee on the table beside him.
“I enjoyed hearing them, especially when Molly roared like a dinosaur.”
Emma smiled. “It was louder at The Welcome Center. There were sixteen children, plus Mr. Jessop, trying to see who could be the biggest, loudest dinosaur.”
Jack cradled the cup of coffee in his hands. “How was Mark’s visit?”
“It was better than I expected. It took Dylan a little while to get used to him but, in the end, it all worked out. Molly and Dylan emailed him last night and they got a reply straight away. I guess that’s a step in the right direction.”
“Does he want shared custody of the twins?”
“Not at the moment. My lawyer is sending through a parenting agreement that we’ll look at next week. Mark has invited us to Evergreen Lodge. It will have to wait un
til the next school break, but it will be nice for Molly and Dylan to see where their dad lives.”
Jack was glad the twins had enjoyed Mark’s visit. It couldn’t have been easy meeting a father who was a stranger to them.
He studied Emma’s face. Jack wasn’t sure her experience of the weekend was as positive as her children’s. “Are you okay?”
“It was a little surreal seeing Mark again. I thought he might have changed, and he has, but it just confused me even more. He has a lot of regrets, and the twins and I are at the top of his list.” Emma looked down at her coffee. “It took him a long time to come to terms with his childhood and work out what’s important to him. When he saw you at the cabin, he panicked.”
Last night, Jack had reread the profile his company had made of Mark. Apart from some sealed juvenile records, his life read like a textbook case of a child who had lived with a highly abusive parent in a toxic environment. “What happened when Mark was seventeen?”
For a few seconds, Emma was silent. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything to anyone else. It’s a part of Mark’s life that still haunts him.”
“I promise.”
Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When she looked at Jack, the pain of what her ex-husband had lived through was etched on her face. “You know from Mark’s file that his dad was a violent alcoholic. When he wasn’t in prison, he used his family as punching bags. When Mark turned fifteen, things got really bad.”
Emma bit her bottom lip. “Mark had been in and out of the juvenile courts for a long time. On his seventeenth birthday, his dad took a cocktail of drugs and alcohol. He attacked Mark’s mom and starting punching Briana, Mark’s sister. When Mark came home and saw what was happening, he tried to stop his father. They were outside his parents’ apartment when his dad’s head hit the concrete curb. He died an hour later. If it weren’t for a good defense lawyer, Mark would be in prison.”
Jack held Emma’s hand. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “What happened after Mark’s father died?”
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