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“Until he wasn’t,” Tobi said.
“Yes. I should have seen it coming, and I didn’t.”
“You’re beating yourself up because you weren’t prescient?” Tobi asked. “Because you didn’t know the bastard was going to leave you destitute with two small children?”
“No, because I didn’t see what was in front of my face.” Stan’s erratic behavior. His overspending. The lies. And the reason for it all; his drug addiction. “I didn’t see what was coming until it was too late. I didn’t protect myself and the kids. I almost didn’t make it. I’m still paying off his debts. You both know that.”
“I get that,” Tobi said. “I just don’t see what it has to do with Zack.”
“What if he’s not what he seems?”
“How does he seem?” Savannah asked.
“Almost…perfect.”
“Which is a problem because why?”
“I can’t afford to make another mistake. I have the kids, all four of them, to think about. It wouldn’t be fair to them for me to marry him if I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do.”
“There are no guarantees,” Savannah said.
“I know. But I have to be sure and I’m not there yet.”
*
Zack was helpingCody and Katrina with their reading while Laurel finished up her work for the airport. It was a habit they’d fallen into, and a little to his surprise, Zack really enjoyed it. Cody was the only one who could actually read, and he did surprisingly well considering he was only six. But as Zack had discovered very early on, Katrina wanted to do everything her brother did. So he helped Katrina read too and while she hadn’t caught up to Cody, she was doing great. He had no experience with kids to compare them, but he thought Cody and Katrina were very smart.
Katrina climbed into his lap and put her arms around his neck. Solemnly, she said, “Uncle Zack? I wish you were my daddy.”
I do too.He kissed her on the nose and said, “Anyone would be lucky to have you as his daughter, Katrina.”
“What about me?” Cody asked coming over to his other side. “I want you to be my daddy too.”
Familiar with the kids by now, he knew this could escalate into a major fight and one that their mother would definitely have to referee. He hugged Cody, assuring him that anyone would be lucky to have Cody be his son.
Happy now, the kids ran off to play. Zack looked up to see Laurel in the doorway, with a wistful smile on her face. “Did you finish your work?”
“I did.” She sat beside him. “What you said to the kids was really sweet.”
“It was true. They’re great kids. You know that.”
“As their mother, I’m understandably biased. It’s nice to hear someone who isn’t related to them say that.”
“I’m not exactly a disinterested bystander since I happen to be in love with their mother.”
Laurel shut down immediately. Even though he kept hoping, she didn’t believe him. Laurel was stubbornly convinced that the only reason Zack insisted he loved her was because of the babies she carried.
Because he hadn’t told her he loved her until she got pregnant. Travis had tried to tell her about his conversation with Zack, the one that took place well before she got pregnant. But she blew that off, with some justification. Her brother would do anything to make Laurel’s life easier and marrying Zack would definitely do that.
Laurel didn’t want to marry him simply to make her life easier. He got that. He even appreciated that. But damn it, what was he going to have to do to convince her he really did love her?
