by Violet Paige
I shook my head as I drove to Amber’s apartment. It was on the other side of the island. She leased a high-rise condo. I didn’t think it was the best spot for Grayson, but what did I have for him other than a run-down motel I inherited?
I was going to change that. I wanted him to have a yard and a place to play. I wanted him to grow up with a dog and chasing seagulls on the beach.
I pulled into the parking lot under the complex and took the elevator upstairs. I knocked on the door.
“Daddy!” The door flew open.
“Hey.” I pulled him into my arms. “Do you have your bag packed?”
He pointed to the couch. “Yes. Two. I’m two.”
I laughed. “Yep. You’re two.” I counted five bags. Looked like Amber had collected more toys than clothes.
She walked down the hallway. “Hey. You ready?”
I nodded. “Yes. Looks like we’ll be putting the train set together.”
“He loves the trains.”
She rubbed the top of his sandy blond hair.
“I appreciate this, Cole.”
I slung a bag over my shoulder. “He’s my son, Amber. You don’t have to thank me.”
I saw her wipe the corner of her eyes with her index finger. “I know. I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant for everything. Supporting me so I can write.”
I held back my laugh. She wasn’t a writer.
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
She smiled. “I remember when you were still in the Corps and I told you I’d wait for you during deployments. It’s like that I guess.”
I stopped loading the train set. “It’s not like that.” I eyed her. “I’m not waiting for you to come home.”
Grayson had plopped himself in front of the TV. That was one thing I had to work on. She gave him way too much screen time. I wanted him to be outside. Even if it was a hundred degrees.
“Ok. But you and Grayson will be here when I get back.”
“Right. But I just don’t want you to think it’s something else, Amber. I’m doing this for my son.”
She crossed her arms. “Ok. Ok. I get it. It’s not for me. You don’t have to hurt my feelings on purpose.”
I sighed. “I’m not trying to do that. Why don’t I take this to the truck and I’ll be back to get Grayson?” I walked to the door and rode the elevator.
The sooner I had the new custody papers drawn up the safer I was. Amber could change her mind tomorrow and decide she’d rather be a chef in Hawaii or a cruise ship performer even though she couldn’t sing.
I placed Grayson’s bags in the backseat, careful not to let the tracks spill on the floor. I made a second trip up the elevator.
I walked inside the apartment.
“Ok. I’m set.”
Amber knelt next to our son. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Ok?”
He hugged her. “You too, Mommy.”
It was like shoving a dagger between my ribs. It didn’t matter that I didn’t love her, or that I never had. Watching a boy separated from his mother was painful. I took him by the hand.
Amber waved from the kitchen and blew us each a kiss.
I pretended to catch one for Grayson and pressed it into his chubby cheek.
“Bye Mommy.”
The door closed behind us and we drove toward his new home.
Twenty-One
Kaitlyn
I had babysat a thousand times. I even nannied one summer in college. I was great with children. I could have been a teacher. But as I twisted my hands together, I’d never been more scared of a child in my life than meeting Cole’s son Grayson.
What if he was shy? What if he didn’t let me near him? Cole needed my help to get the Dunes ready for the summer season. I had already decided part of that meant watching his child. But what if this was a colossal mess?
I bit the inside of my lip.
The truck pulled into the parking lot. I flattened my palms against my shorts and walked outside.
Cole parked at the end of the parking lot in front of the unit he stayed in. I took a deep breath. I walked toward them, watching him unlock the straps on the car seat.
My heart was already melting. He lifted the tiny person into his arms and turned to face me.
I smiled. “Hi, Grayson.”
“Grayson, this is my special friend, Kaitlyn.”
We hadn’t gone over what he should call me. Special friend sounded strange, but I just had to go with it.
“Can you say hi?” Cole prodded.
“Hi.” His voice was quiet. Adorable.
“I’m so happy to meet you.” I looked at Cole for approval.
“Bird!” Grayson’s finger pointed upward.
Cole laughed. “He’s obsessed with chasing birds on the beach. Birds and trains.”
I saw the bags in the backseat. “Can I help you with his stuff?”
Cole placed Grayson on the ground. “I have an idea. Why don’t you two see if you can find seagulls on the beach while I take everything inside?”
“Really?” I looked down at Grayson. He was already wobbling toward the boardwalk.
“He’s faster than he looks,” Cole joked.
“Ok.” I followed him, taking his hand and helping him up the stairs.
“Do it myself,” he stated.
I laughed. “Got it. Independent like your daddy.” I kept a close distance, not sure how fast he actually could run.
My nerves started to disappear. Running with Grayson on the beach reminded me to have fun. I needed to stop worrying and live in the moment. Live in this moment. With a child I knew I already loved.
Twenty-Two
Kaitlyn
We had two full days to get the Dune Scape into some recognizable form of motel residency. I was ready to take this Wednesday by storm.
“You’re really going to be cutting it close with all that you’ve spent on the renovations and with the utilities you have due at the end of the month.” I had gone over the numbers several times and I was confident I hadn’t missed anything. “If the Dune Scape had just a few more rooms, you’d be able to offset your costs more easily.”
Cole was staring out of the office window toward the ocean.
I had set Grayson up at the desk with a new box of crayons. He had decided he only wanted to color with blue.
“Have you thought about raising the rates?” I asked Cole. “Ten dollars here and there could really help.”
“No, my grandfather was set on not increasing prices for the college students. He said that too many people tried to take advantage of them and he could give them a place to stay at a fair price.”
Cole had been in the office with me all morning, going over the numbers I had put together for him.
I cleared my throat. “Well, your grandfather sounds like a sweet man, but he’s not here to face the reality of the bills. These are the same rates the motel had in the nineties. People wouldn’t even flinch.”
“No, Kaitlyn. I’m not raising the rates. Would you really want to pay more to stay here? Look around.” He pointed to the rows of rooms outside the window.
“It’s not that bad.” Ever since my nights were filled with Cole, I had come to love staying at the Dune Scape, but I remembered my first impression of the motel. “Well, we could at least free up two more rooms for you.”
He turned from the window. “What do you mean?”
I pulled up the listing on my phone. “I don’t know if you saw this, but it’s next door.”
Cole turned from the window, taking my phone. “This is right behind the Dunes.”
“Yes. I set an alert last night after you told me about Grayson. It showed up this morning. It has two bedrooms and a small office.”
Cole’s forehead was crinkled, and he walked toward me, taking his time with each step. This wasn’t going to go well. I had overstepped my boundaries. Shit.
He leaned down and kissed me.
Ok, that was not at all what I was expecting, but my stoma
ch filled with butterflies.
“So, do you want to see it?” I stepped back to gauge his mood. His smile was wide and his blue eyes toyed with me.
“I think it’s a great idea.”
“Ok, since you like that one so much, I have another one for you.” I was worried my second pitch might not be so easy.
Cole was focused on the edge of my tank top. The more he stared, the heavier my breathing became. “Hey, I’m trying to help you here. Can you stop undressing me every second with your eyes?” I looked over to see if Grayson was listening or watching us, but he was gripping a yellow crayon now.
“Would you rather I use my hands?” He tugged on the edge of my shirt, and I felt the heat tingle under my skin.
“Cole, for real. This is serious.” I pushed his hand down. “And we aren’t alone. I have an idea that might get you over this financial crisis, temporarily at least.”
He backed away. “Ok, if you have something, I’m all ears … and eyes.”
“One of the best views in this whole place is from the pool deck. From there you can see the ocean. You’ve got the pool, and it’s right in the center of the Dunes.” I nodded to the pool at the end of the motel’s property.
“Ok, go on.” He leaned against the wall.
“So, I think there is a way to capitalize on what you have. What if you have a luau and charge a small cover? We can get Sasha and her friends and Cal and Lance to help us organize it and spread the word.” I smiled and waited for his reaction.
Cole crossed his arms. “You want me to host a keg party?”
“It’s not just a keg party. I know you’re not into the party scene and neither am I, but I’ve been to a few and they can make a ton of money. We can advertise online, and I bet Sasha could sneak a few flyers through the resort. Come on. It could work. We’re talking an easy few thousand dollars. It will be enough to give you some breathing room until the end of the summer. And with Grayson here, I think it’s worth a shot.”
“I’m going to guess you already ran this by Sasha.” Both of his eyebrows were raised, making his blue eyes bigger.
“I might have mentioned it to her.” I bit down on my lip and walked from behind the desk.
“A few thousand dollars definitely wouldn’t hurt.” He rubbed his jaw.
“I’ll organize the whole thing. You just keep working on the rooms and I’ll take care of the luau, and Grayson. I can do social media posts while he naps.” I stopped in front of Cole. “Really, all you have to do is promise to be my date.”
He hooked my waist with his right hand and drew me against his chest. “Deal. But you have to promise it will stay under control.”
“Nothing crazy. Promise.”
“And you’ll wear one of those coconut bras.” His finger traced the strap along my shoulder.
I laughed. “If I can find one.”
“A party planning business woman,” he teased as his head dipped toward the exposed skin on my chest. I leaned back to let him kiss me.
“Yes, and if I’m going to pull this off, I need to get started, and you need to get to work on showerheads or doorknobs.” I inhaled as his lips grazed the top of my breast.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Party planning was definitely less appealing than Cole taking me on the office desk again, but this was business. We’d have all night to play. After we put the little one to bed.
“Go. Go fix something.” I shoved him out the door and turned to face my new work buddy.
I pulled out my phone. I needed to call Sasha before I purchased the first tiki torch.
“Hey, you have a second? I could use your help. Cole says the luau’s a go.”
Twenty-Three
Kaitlyn
Sasha was a godsend. Her parents had a storage shed of party supplies. Her mother was a retired wedding planner on the island and had never emptied out her decorations.
“This is incredible. I’ve never seen so many swan cutouts in one place.” I pulled a pair of swans from the wall and dusted them off.
Grayson giggled at them when I pretended to make them fly. So far our fist day together had been easy. I offered to take him with me so Cole could work on the rooms.
“Ugh! My mom had some of the tackiest brides this side of the Guadalupe.” She had discovered a box crammed full of nothing but pink tulle.
“Well, it’s perfect for the luau. We can take these arches and cover them in leaves and grass. And bingo! There are at least fifty tiki torches here.” I pushed my way to the back of the storage building and started handing Sasha the torches.
“My mom will be glad someone is using this stuff. It’s been in here forever.” She started a pile next to her truck. “I guess things with Cole are getting pretty serious.” She nodded at Grayson.
We had moved the car seat into her truck. My nanny days were coming back to me. It was funny how some things with kids didn’t change.
I was knee-deep in paper bells.
“Yes.”
Sasha eyed me from across the scattered swans and plastic ferns. “And your brother? Have you talked to him?”
“Not yet. It’s not like I can call him in Afghanistan. And I don’t think he’d believe me if I emailed him.”
“I don’t see why he’d be upset. You two are great together. Cole is less broody with you around. I like him like this.”
“Less broody? I thought he was mysterious.”
She laughed. “Call it what you want. He’s different. I’m saying it’s a good thing.”
I passed over the last torch. “He is—I don’t even know how to describe it, but it’s like I’ve never been with anyone else. Being around him makes everything feel like the first time. That sounds cheesy, doesn’t it?”
“No, I think it sounds romantic. Just enjoy it.”
“I think you need to reexamine what type of girl you are, because if you have something with Cole, keep your options open. It can work out, Kaitlyn. I’m telling you.”
“You sound like a total romantic optimist. I wish I was more like that.”
I wanted to turn my practical-thinking self into someone who believed and hoped as Sasha did, but no, I had to end up with Dad’s affinity for numbers instead of my mother’s yoga, freethinking approach to life.
“It’s probably because I grew up around weddings. Seeing couple after couple live happily every after has that effect on a girl.” She looked wistfully at the crepe paper doves before closing the door. “Who knows? You might have already met your Prince Charming.”
I coughed loudly.
“Don’t panic on me. I’m just kidding with you. Let’s get these to the Dune.” Sasha slammed the tailgate against the bed of the truck. “I bet there’s a boy there who’s counting the seconds until you get back.”
Had she seen me checking my phone the whole time? I didn’t want to be away from Cole one minute longer than I had to be.
“What else is on your list?” Sasha asked as she climbed into the truck.
“Hank said we could pick up the kegs Saturday morning. Peabody’s is taking care of all of the food, and they even are letting us borrow their sound system. I can’t believe how awesome everyone has been.” I felt lucky to be able to pull the luau together so quickly, and it wouldn’t have been possible without all the help.
“I think everyone wants to see Cole make this work. If he sells the Dune, it should be because he wants to, not because he has to.”
Sasha’s words resonated with me. All this time I couldn’t understand why Cole was so determined to hold on to the money pit his grandfather had given him. Maybe what it came down to was choices. He wanted to have them, not be forced into them.
“You ready?”
I smiled at my new friend. “Yep. Let’s get the torches to the Dunes.”
Twenty-Four
Kaitlyn
Sasha dropped me off at the Dune Scape office. She still had to finish her shift at the front desk before tonight’s bonfire. The local group gathered on t
he beach as many nights a week as they could before the summer was too busy to do anything.
Cole’s truck was gone. He had left to make another supply run. The Dune Scape apparently didn’t accept the memo that he didn’t want to spend any more money on parts. This morning he found a crack in room eighteen’s sliding door. It looked like a seagull had flown smack into the glass. The patio was covered with feathers.
The sun was setting on the sound side of the island, the perfect time to hit the beach for a run. I changed into my running shorts and tank top.
Grayson was on the floor surrounded by trains.
“Want to head to the beach?” I asked. “We can look for seagulls.”
He jumped up. “Birds. Beach.”
I laughed. He was cute. Adorable. Even if he wasn’t Cole’s son I would have loved this child. He was sweet and seldom got upset. I knew children were resilient, but this one seemed to take all the uncertainty in his life without complaint.
I understood why Cole worked so hard to give him stability.
“Ok, let’s get your shoes and we’ll find some birds.”
I stooped to lace up his tiny shoes. We walked outside and jogged across the boardwalk.
The beach was littered with late afternoon sunbathers. I watched as two toddlers took turns dumping water out of their buckets and squealing every time the waves lapped their toes. Their parents caught every second of the action with their phones and cameras.
I wondered if Grayson saw scenes like that and wondered why his parents weren’t together.
“Let’s go this way.” I pointed.
I hadn’t explored the beach toward the south, so we took a right and settled into an even pace. My feet pushed off the sandy surface and I dodged rushing waves, making a game for myself. Grayson was on my heels and I would circle back around to chase him. As soon as we crossed the barrier for the first resort, we made a U-turn for the Dune Scape.
It wasn’t my standard run, but it was more fun with Grayson. He giggled every time I got closer to him.