“You believe in that stuff?”
“How could you know them and not believe it?”
“Because they were both lonely. And they both needed family.”
“So? Lots of people are lonely, but that isn’t what makes a long-lasting bond.”
“That’s fair. So, what makes that kind of bond?”
“I think it’s a soul-deep connection. I think it happens on a subconscious level. It’s a bond that can’t be broken.”
“Plenty of people break it.”
“Then, they’re not soul mates.”
He cracked a grin. “I like this romantic side of you.”
“What does that mean?”
“You only ever showed me your badass bitch side.”
“Excuse me?”What did he just say?“Did you just call me a bitch?”
“No. I said you gave me attitude. Badass bitch attitude.” He turned off the faucet. “You didn’t take shit from anyone, and I admired that. Everyone else went along with things because they wanted to be liked and accepted, but you stood your ground. You knew who you were and didn’t compromise it.” He reached for a dish towel. “You going to get changed?”
“I didn’t bring a swimsuit. It’s December in Calamity, and I didn’t plan on staying longer than a few weeks. Besides, in a million years, I would have never expected to be staying someplace with an indoor pool.”
“You underestimated me.”
She smiled. “I didn’t know it was you.”
In her frilly bikini, Evvie marched back into the kitchen, her plastic sandals slapping on the floor. She wore goggles and a blue plastic backpack. “I weady.”
Paisley followed, wearing a red one-piece and flip-flops. “We’re ready. Can we go now?”
“Sure. Let me get changed.” Cole tossed the dishrag onto the counter. “And I’ve got to grab some towels.”
“Come on.” Everly lifted her arms as if the big hockey player had always been in her life. “Go wif you.”
And look at that. He hitched her on his hip like it was the most natural thing in the world. “You’re going to have to help me pick out the towels. Any color you want. We have blue, green, red—”
“Wed.” The little girl punched the air, and the two left the kitchen, chatting quietly like two old friends out for coffee.
Which left Hailey alone in the kitchen with Paisley.Well, shoot. She wasn’t sure what to say. Did she bring up her loss? It felt important to ask how she felt, to see if she needed to talk about her parents, but everything she’d read said to let the girls bring it up on their own, and that when they did, she should answer the questions directly but specifically—not to go off on any tangents or deliver information they weren’t ready to hear.
Apparently, those conversations came most often in quiet moments while they were doing other things. So, while they waited for the other two, Hailey got her sketchbook out of her tote along with a case of markers. Taking a seat at the table, she pulled off the cap and started filling in a design she’d started on the plane.
The girl sat beside her, watching. “That’s pretty.” And then, “Are you a mommy?”
“No, sweetie. I’m not.”
“Why not?”
“I guess I haven’t met the man I want to have babies with.” She’d always gotten that funny feeling in the pit of her stomach from books and movies when the hot boyfriend entered the scene. When the powerful man fell madly in love with a regular woman like her. The images on social media of couples holding hands, giving piggyback rides, laughing hysterically over a shared joke, and snuggling under covers, made her yearn for it.
She met plenty of people at school, in bars, and at work, and she’d done her fair share of dating, but she’d never connected with anybody that way. And she’d rather be alone than spend time with someone who didn’t excite her.
“Do you want to be a mommy?”