The Driftwood Promise

by Suzie O'Connell

“Liam wanted to take her down to Hidden Beach. You know, I’m glad we decided to surprise him. He was thrilled to see her.” Gideon stepped aside to let his father into the cottage. They strolled into the kitchen. Matthew’s bags could wait a few minutes until they’d had time to catch up. “It was nice to see them together like that. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from her.”

  “I’m glad, but don’t let that dissuade you from seeking full custody. That boy needs to be with you.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t. Can I get you something to drink? I have some Bud Light Lime in the fridge, some iced tea, water.”

  “I’d take a glass of iced tea.”

  Gideon pulled the pitcher out of the fridge and set it on the counter, then tossed some ice into two glasses and cut one of the lemons Erin had given him from her greenhouse and poked a couple slices into each before pouring the iced tea into them. He garnished both glasses with another slice of lemon and carried them both to the table.

  Matthew accepted his and regarded it with brows raised and lips pursed. “Since when did you get so fancy with the iced tea?”

  “It’s a by-product of spending time with Erin. She makes everything a work of art.”

  “I can’t wait to meet her.”

  “Not much longer. She said she’d be up at four to start dinner.”

  “We could’ve just called for delivery. She doesn’t have to go through all this work to make pizza for your son tonight.”

  “Mmm. You won’t be saying that after you’ve tried her pizza. Trust me. You won’t ever want delivery again.” Gideon took a long drink of his iced tea. “We won’t have time tonight, but make sure you get over to see her greenhouse before you leave town. You’ll love it.”

  “So you’ve said. Speaking of your lady—here.” Matthew slipped a ring box from the pocket of his windbreaker and set it in front of Gideon before lowering himself into his chair. “Figured you might want to put that someplace safe before she gets here.”

  Gideon reached for the tiny box almost reverently. He opened it, and the breath sucked through his teeth as he sank into the chair across from his father. He hadn’t seen his mother’s engagement ring in years, but it was exactly as he remembered. It wasn’t elaborate or expensive, just a round solitaire diamond set in a slender white gold band. What made it special were the prongs that held the diamond in place. They were shaped to resemble the petals of a flower—a nod to what had brought Matthew and Maria together.

  The French doors onto the back deck opened, but Gideon’s attention was solidly focused on the ring. He slipped it from its protective cushioning and turned it around and around, mesmerized by the flash and sparkle as it caught the sunlight streaming through the big south-facing windows of the dining room and by the thought of it gracing Erin’s long, delicate finger.

  “Might want to put that away, son,” Matthew murmured.

  “Put what away?”

  He flinched at the sound of Hannah’s voice. In a rush, he shoved the ring back into the box, snapped it closed, and tucked it in his pocket. His ex seeing it would not make for a good start to Liam’s birthday celebrations, given the hints of jealousy in her voice whenever Erin came up in their conversations.

  He was saved from having to respond when Liam burst into the cottage after his mother and threw his arms around Matthew’s neck. “Grandpa!”

  “Hiya, kiddo.”

  “Matthew,” Hannah greeted curtly.

  “Hannah,” Matthew replied with equal coolness in his voice. He returned his attention to his grandson, and when he spoke, his love for the little boy radiated from him in sharp contrast. “My God, you’ve grown since the last time I saw you. You must be half a foot taller, I swear.”

  “Nah. Just an inch.”

  “How’s my favorite grandkid been lately?”

  “Good, but Grandpa, I’m your only grandkid.”

  “So you are. For now, anyhow.”

  “Yeah, for now.” Liam leaned in close and whispered, “But I’m kinda hoping Dad and Erin will get married and have a baby. I’d love to have a little brother or sister.”

  “Mmm. That would be nice wouldn’t it.”

  They’d spoken so quietly that Gideon almost missed the exchange, but Hannah was closer, and by the frown on her face, she’d heard every word clearly. Great.

  Then he caressed the ring box resting in his pocket, and he was reminded of his promise to Erin. He would be nice to Hannah while she was in town. He wouldn’t set her up to fail by assuming she would react poorly to him proposing to Erin. She likely would, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he owed it to himself, to his son, and to Erin to be cordial regardless of his ex’s reaction. Because, in the end, what she thought mattered little.

  If he could keep that in mind and hold to his promise for the duration of her stay in town, he might actually be able to make it a habit.

  Reluctantly, he rose from his chair. He slipped into the den and hid the ring in the drawer of the desk. When he returned to the dining room, Hannah had poured herself a glass of iced tea. Liam sat in the chair beside his grandfather, and Gideon glanced pointedly between him and his mother. Finally, he asked his son what he’d like to drink, eying Hannah as he brought him a glass of chocolate milk. At least she had the decency to look sheepish and apologize.

  “Anyhow,” Hannah remarked. “Liam says we’re making pizza from scratch for dinner. Do you think Erin would mind if I helped? I’d love to learn how she does it.”

  Gideon was certain his expression matched his father’s undisguised shock, and when Hannah glanced between them, she confirmed it.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Homemade pizza is a bit more work than you like to do,” Matthew replied.

  “I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, too—just like Gideon—and since Liam’s brought up Erin’s pizza at least half a dozen times since last weekend, I figured that would be a good thing for me to learn so he and I can make it together.”

  “Now I’m doubly shocked.”

  “You know what, Matthew? You can go straight to—”

  “That’s enough,” Gideon snapped. He sought his father’s gaze and held it. “From both of you. If I can find it in me to be nice, you can, too, Dad.”

  He glanced at his son, who had clamped his hands over his ears, and his heart ached. This was why he needed to stop being so hard on Hannah and fighting with her. Look what it was doing to Liam.

  “You’re right,” Matthew said. “I’m sorry, Hannah. You wanting to make pizza with your son is a good thing, and I applaud you for it.”

  “Thank you.”

  Her voice was still too sharp for Gideon’s liking, but he wasn’t about to call her out on it. Instead, he drained the rest of his iced tea and set the glass in the sink. “Are we going to light the candles tonight? Liam and I never did.”

  “Can we, Grandpa?” the little boy asked, his worries suddenly forgotten.

  “Of course. Do we have enough in the cottage or should I run down to the store and pick some more up?”

  “We might need a few more. Hope replaced the ones she burned earlier this summer, but I’ve used a few.”

  “Why don’t I do that while we’re waiting for Erin to get here?”

  Gideon almost begged his father to stay until Erin arrived so he’d have a buffer between him and Hannah, but on second thought, Matthew was more likely to start trouble than stop it. He dipped his head in acknowledgement, took his father’s glass, and went to the sink to wash it and his own.

  “How was your walk on the beach?” he asked after his father had left.

  “Good,” Liam replied. “Mom found some really pretty sea glass, and I found some shells.”

  “Mmm. Owen will be jealous about the sea glass. I’m glad you two had a good walk.”

  They lapsed into an awkward silence. Gideon stood with his back to the sink and his hands braced on the counter, and Hannah sat primly at the table. Liam sat in the chair across from her, glancing nervo
usly between his parents as if he expected them to erupt into argument again. It was a sharp contrast to the easy interactions with Erin, and Gideon hoped she’d get here soon and rescue him.

  Hannah turned to Liam. “Why don’t you bring in our shells and sea glass so your dad can see?”

  As the little boy slipped outside to collect their treasures from the table on the deck, Hannah rose from her chair and joined Gideon in the kitchen, leaning against the counter across the space that was suddenly too narrow. He regarded her warily, habit making him wonder what trick she was about to pull.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” she muttered. “I’m not going to jump your bones. I just want to thank you.”

  “Oh? And you couldn’t do that with Liam in the room?”

  “It’s hard enough without an audience, all right?”

  She fidgeted with her necklace, sliding the delicate silver cross to and fro on its slender chain. He’d bought her that necklace after Liam’s birth… and she’d worn it once in all that time. Suspicion simmered. What was her reason for wearing it today?

  “I know this is as awkward for you as it is for me, but it means a lot to me that you didn’t let that stop you. I’m glad we’re all here for Liam’s birthday. Even your dad.”

  “It’s definitely awkward,” he agreed. “But I’m glad you’re here. Liam needs this. He needs to see us not fighting.”

  “For the first time since you kicked me out, I feel like we might actually be able to do this.”

  “Do what?”

  “Come together for Liam when he needs us without fighting.”

  “You can thank Erin for that when she gets here. She’s the one who pointed out that me being hard on you wasn’t helping anyone.”

  Hannah sniffed. “Why am I not surprised? To hear Liam tell it, she’s perfect. So why can’t I hate her even though I want to?”

  “Don’t hate her. She’s had her own hardships, just like you and me. More, probably.”

  “Ugh.” She laughed softly. “Now I really want to hate her. But if she’s really the reason you’re being nice to me again, I won’t ever be able to. Are you…. Do you want to marry her?”

  He eyed her, wary again. “Why do you ask?”

  “I saw the ring before you put it away—you weren’t as sneaky as you thought. Is it your mom’s?”

  He nodded.

  She turned her gaze out the window behind him, staring at the cove and coastline beyond with that distant expression of someone who wasn’t seeing with her eyes, too consumed by her thoughts. “You haven’t known her a month.”

  “My dad proposed to my mother after two weeks, and their love still burns even though she’s been gone for almost thirty years.”

  Gideon flinched when Hannah reached for his hand, but grudgingly, he let her take it. When she gave it a squeeze and met his gaze with blatant in her eyes, his chest tightened.

  “I hope she’s smarter than I was.”

  Abruptly, she dropped his hand and strode outside. He stared after her with his mouth hanging open. Where had that come from? In eight years, he’d never seen that kind of compassion and regret in her eyes. Not once. If he had, things might’ve turned out much different.

  Or maybe it wouldn’t have mattered. Maybe it would’ve only dragged out the inevitable and made courteous interactions with her impossible. After months of fighting with her, he’d begun to fear that was how it would always be, that there was no hope of being able to talk to her without falling victim to his pent-up anger. But since he’d started dating Erin and she’d pointed out how focusing on Hannah’s failures was having disastrous consequences, he had been able to take a step back.

  A poisonous voice in the back of his mind wondered if this sudden gratitude and humility was just another trick, designed to lull him into a state of pity. They still had the custody meeting—on Monday, in fact, just six days away.

  No.

  He would not think like that. If it was a trick, he’d deal with it when it was revealed. In the meantime, he was going to follow Erin’s advice and not immediately expect the worst from his ex. She’d shown him something he’d never seen from her before, something his heart said was real. And he was going to trust his heart. It had a far better track record than his head. It had told him photography was the career path for him, that Hannah wasn’t ever going to be a grow-old-together prospect, and more recently, it had told him that Erin was everything he wanted.

  He was still standing in the kitchen exactly as Hannah had left him when his father walked in the front door, laughing. It took a moment for his brain to come back online and figure out why Matthew might be chuckling—he wasn’t alone. Then he heard Erin’s voice.

  “I swear, I’m not kidding. He really did drop to one knee in my brother’s kitchen.”

  “That must be some incredible spaghetti sauce. All that time with Hannah and he never once even joked about proposing.”

  “It’s a good recipe. I’ve been asked for it more times than I can recall. But the secret is the garden-fresh ingredients. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to buy fresh from the store, but it makes a huge difference.”

  “I’ll admit, I’m excited to see this greenhouse of yours. Gideon and Liam have both described it at length. Oh no, don’t you worry about this. I’ve got it if you wouldn’t mind closing the door. Smells delicious.”

  They rounded the wall that divided the kitchen from the living room with their arms laden with a number of bowls and pots and canvas grocery sacks.

  “Well, I guess I don’t need to make introductions,” Gideon quipped.

  At once when Erin met his gaze, his thoughts of Hannah and what tricks she might or might not be playing with him melted away. The innocent delight in his lover’s sea-green eyes wrapped him in a blanket of soothing peace, and the vibrant grin on his father’s face answered a question that had been burning in his mind for the last week and a half—would Matthew approve of her?

  Obviously he did, and Gideon let out a breath in relief.

  “Sorry, son,” Matthew remarked. “She’s quite a charming lady, your Erin.”

  My Erin…. He’d never get tired of hearing that or of the warm glow those words stirred. “She is indeed. What’s all this?”

  “I’ll have to duck out early tonight. Mom’s still fighting that cold, so I have to head in dark and early to do the ordering tomorrow.” She settled her armload of bowls on the counter. “I did all the prep work at home today so we’d have more time to lavish the birthday boy with attention and games and whatever else he wants to do.”

  “Technically, tomorrow is his birthday and his party,” Gideon remarked.

  “So?”

  He lifted his hands. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Speaking of the birthday boy, where is he?”

  “Out on the deck with Hannah. She, uh, asked to help make the pizza.”

  Erin regarded him with brows lifted. “I thought you said she doesn’t like to cook.”

  “She doesn’t. But she wanted to learn how to make your pizza with Liam because he loves it so much.”

  “Wow.” She nudged him with her elbow. “See?”

  “Yeah, yeah. You’re right. Don’t let it go to your head or anything. Um, you wouldn’t mind giving her the recipe, would you?”

  “Not at all. Now I’m sorry I made everything at home. Would you grab me a piece of paper and something to write with?”

  “Sure.”

  Before he went to the den to grab a notepad, he ducked his head out the French doors. “Erin’s here, so it’s time to make the pizza.”

  As he walked across the house to the den, he heard his father say to Erin, “I’m going to set out the candles for tonight. Will you be all right by yourself with Hannah?”

  “We’ll be just fine, but thank you.”

  The thought that he’d found a genuine angel carried Gideon to the den and back. He set the notepad and pen on the counter and asked what he could do while Erin gave his ex an impromptu cook
ing lesson. She thrust a block of mozzarella at him, so he dug the grater out of the cupboard beside the oven and jerked his head toward the dining room table.

  “Come on, bud. You can help me with this.”

  There had been a time—and not so long ago—when Liam would’ve moaned and whined about anything that resembled work, but he was all too happy to grate the cheese. Gideon sliced a few chunks off to make it easier for his son to handle, then sat back and watched. Had it been only a couple months ago that Liam had griped about helping clean up the dishes and kitchen the night Hope had made that incredible stew?

  With his son occupied and nothing to do himself, his attention sidetracked to the conversation in the kitchen. His fears that tonight—the whole of Hannah’s stay in Sea Glass Cove, really—would be awkward now seemed silly. He should’ve known. Erin had a natural graciousness that made her irresistable. Hadn’t Hannah admitted that it was impossible to hate her even for someone with every reason to?

  “No wonder Liam enjoys this,” Hannah remarked. “It does sound like fun. And all the ingredients are local? Even the cheese and pepperoni?”

  “Yep. All the vegetables come from my own garden, we have a local meat block that makes all their own sausage and custom meats on site, and a cheese artisan who makes the most incredible cheeses. For such a small town, Sea Glass Cove has some pretty talented residents.”

  “I didn’t realize there was so much here.”

  “You wouldn’t know it to drive through.”

  “I can see why Gideon wants to move here. And why he thinks it would be such a good place for Liam to grow up,” Hannah remarked, lowering her voice so much that Gideon had to lean in to catch her words.

  “It’s a great place to grow up, that’s for sure. It’s a quiet community but active, the schools are great, and outdoor opportunities abound.”

  “You think like a mom. I guess that explains how you’re so good with Liam.”

  “He’s a sweet kid, and he makes it easy. You and Gideon have done a great job with him.”

  “I’m sure you don’t think I had much to do with it….”

  Gideon’s head snapped around to the kitchen, ready to chastise Hannah.