Page 69 of Parentmoon

My body begins to tremble, and I can’t seem to stop the shaking. I’m not reacting how I expected I would to such good news. Michael and Keli are back together. They’re having a baby.

This is wonderful.

But I need a minute. I refuse to fall apart before all of them and I scramble toward the sliding glass door, hands visibly shaking as I open it.

Stepping into the bright sunlight, the warmth of the later morning hits me. I inhale. I’d love to walk to the edge of the water and step into the ocean, but the damn infectious sea grass prevents such a thing. Instead, I stand on the sand, midway between the house and the shore, like I’ve lost my way or turned to stone.

“Darlin’.”

I close my eyes only a second before spinning to face Dallas. “You knew they were coming.”

He has the grace to lower his head, his body language confirming the truth. “When Keli called me the other day, she said she wanted to see me.”

“Michael, too?” I question, glaring at him, but I already know the answer. That was two days ago. How could he keep this from me? “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Dallas sighs and rubs a hand over his barely-there hair. He glances down the beach and back at me. “I didn’t want to lose time with you. I knew if I told you, you’d start freaking out, asking questions that I didn’t have answers to. I just wanted more time for us.”

Us? There is no us. There is only them. We were a collision, like the moon coming closer to the earth, throwing everything off balance. A gravitational pull so strong it causes high tides and reckless tsunamis, and ripping open my heart to trust him, allowing me to hope for more.

“You weren’t open with me.” I stare at Dallas, crossing my arms. “Did you know Keli was pregnant?”

Dallas shakes his head adamantly. “Absolutely not.”

“But you knew about the house. You knew they fought over it, didn’t you?”

He doesn’t answer at first, slowly lifting his head, eyes laser focused on mine. “I had a plan.”

“A plan?” I choke. “A fucking plan. To do what? Take my son from me. Rip my heart in two and then two again after my son leaves with his new wife and a baby.”

“I never set out to hurt you.” His rough voice drops low, but his head remains high.

I swipe at tears that won’t cease. “I am hurt,” I snap. “And it’s all too much at once. The wedding. The reunion. The house. They’re moving. The baby. A fucking baby.” I don’t mean it how it sounds. I’m ecstatic inside, but outwardly, I am shattering.

I don’t want the baby to be the reason they pulled back together. I don’t want Michael and Keli to be Craig and me. And though the thought is completely unreasonable, the fear can’t be helped.

“I’m scared for them,” I finally admit, my voice cracking as I do. “This is a lot to process.”

My thoughts are all over the place, flipping back over all the confessions and admissions and good news of the past hour.

“And a house, Dallas.” I circle back to the first issue. “Really?” I glare at him. I’d saved money to buy the newlyweds a new couch as a wedding gift, but this was more than a lame piece of furniture. A house . . . in Texas.

And he knew. From the moment he landed here, he fucking knew the reason behind their breakup. They’d canceled the wedding because of his gift.

“You didn’t tell me the truth.” I stand taller. He knows I have trust issues. I’ve told him about me, about Craig. Dallas knows my biggest fear includes lies.

“Darlin’.” Dallas steps forward and pulls me into his chest but I don’t hug him back. I don’t even want his embrace. Too many conflicting emotions are swirling inside me—anger, frustration, confusion, and hurt.

Not only am I hurt that Dallas lied to me, but there’s an unnecessary sting that Dallas could afford such a gift for my son, which will cause Michael to move, and I’ll be alone like Michael said earlier.

The tears are coming faster now. My grandchild will be raised near Dallas, and I’ll be excluded from the next chapter in all their lives.

This is all his fault.

I shrug out of Dallas’s arms, not able to process his role in the spiral of events. Unwilling to admit how easily I slept with him when he held back answers to my questions. Why was I such a fool?

Scrubbing at my cheeks, I square my shoulders. Michael and Keli are the priority, right now. Not me. Not Dallas. “Guess we have a wedding to plan.”

Compartmentalizing will help me process this life-altering moment. First things first—a wedding.