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As I predicted, Jack doesn’t come home during the night. His bed is empty when I rise at six thirty and get dressed. Orca’s door is still shut, so I head to the kitchen to pour myself a coffee before stepping outside to check the sky.
Mom is seated in one of the deck chairs with her coffee mug. “Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day.”
I nod, releasing a slow sigh. “Yeah. Couldn’t ask for better visibility.”
“You need to fly somewhere?”
“I’m taking Orca back to her island,” I say, and the words feel like setting a broken bone. I know it’s for the best, but it still hurts like hell. “She asked me to take her back last night.”
“Last night when you were in her room?”
I freeze, my gaze darting to her. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I woke up sometime after midnight. I saw you two together.”
“I was, uh… reading to her. I thought it would help her fall asleep.”
Mom tilts her head, giving me a look. “You weren’t reading when I walked by the door.”
Of course, she probably walked by at the worst possible moment—when Orca was on top of me, tangled up in my arms, kissing me more passionately than she ever had before. But there’s no point in denying it. By the look in Mom’s eyes, I can tell what she saw last night didn’t come as a surprise. She’s known for a long time.
I finally let myself say it. “I never stopped loving her, Mom. Not for a second. I tried to convince myself I’d get over her eventually, back when I thought I’d never see her again. I was determined to leave her alone, but when Jack brought her here, I just… couldn’t. At first, we argued because I wanted her to go back and make things right with her father, but she was still pretty hurt by the way they parted. Now she knows the truth about what happened with her mom, and… well, I guess it’s helped her to see things in a different light.”
“And she wants to go back home?” Mom asks.
I nod slowly, looking down into my coffee cup.
“So what are you going to do?”
I shrug one shoulder. “I’m going to fly her out there as soon as she wakes up.”
“I mean, what are you going to do about the fact that you’re in love with her? And she’s in love with you?”
I feel my face heat up as I consider my answer. “I don’t know, Mom. There are so many obstacles in our way… I almost wonder if it’s the universe keeping us apart. Maybe this just isn’t meant to be. Maybe she’s meant for someone better.”
Mom rises to her feet and crosses the deck to stand beside me. “Adam,” she says, tipping my chin up to meet her eyes, “there is no one better for her. I don’t think you realize what a wonderful man you are. Any woman would be lucky to have you.”
“But I’m so much older than her.”
“What does that matter? I’ve seen you with her—she’s like the other half of you; she… lights you up. That kind of love doesn’t come along often, Adam. It would be a mistake for you to let her go.”
“But what about her father? I can’t make her choose between him or me. It wouldn’t be right.”
Mom tilts her head to the side. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be a choice.”
“You’re saying I can get her father’s consent? Befriend him, even?” I mutter a lifeless laugh. “I guess stranger things have happened.”
“I can’t speak for her father,” Mom admits quietly. “But if you truly love her, you have to hold on. You have to trust that everything will work out somehow—maybe not right away, but one day.”
Those words are like a lifeline in a stormy black ocean. I want to grab hold of them and never let go.
“You haven’t told Jack about any of this,” Mom says cautiously. “Have you?”
I shake my head, blowing out a sigh. “No. And he’s going to hit the roof when I do.”
“Probably. But he’ll understand. He’s not as much of a powder keg as you think.”
I grunt. “Have you met my brother?”
