“How do you know she’s not gonna flip out on you again?”
“We’ve talked a lot,” Ryan said. “About all sorts of things. She doesn’t sound as fragile now. My leaving on tour was hard enough, but when she couldn’t contact me and losing the baby at the same time—it knocked her. Alex’s appearance in our lives was bound to bring back memories.”
“But she didn’t tell you,” Caleb said.
“She was scared. Don’t give her a hard time. I love her, Caleb.”
His friend gave a clipped nod. “What about Alex? Is she okay with him? If she fucks with his head—”
Ryan understood Caleb’s reservations, understood the loyalty that drove his friend to take this stance. “I doubt she’ll do that. She should be here later today. Judge for yourself this weekend.”
“I intend to,” his friend said. “Are we hitting the beach or what?”
“Alex, are you ready to go to the beach?” Ryan called.
The little boy jumped off his grandmother’s lap and bounced up and down. “Swim!”
“Let’s go,” Caleb said.
“Thanks, man,” Ryan said, their quick exchange of glances saying way more.
The beach at the Mount was crowded, but they found an empty patch and set up camp. An umbrella so Alex could play in the shade with the assortment of toys to shift the sand around—a bucket and spade, toy tractors and his favorite grader.
“What a cute little boy,” one of the women next to them said. She glanced from Alex to Caleb then to him. “Oh.”
“He’s my son,” Ryan said, manfully biting back his smirk on seeing Caleb’s scowl. They’d come across the gay parent thing a few times during the past week.
“Ready for a swim, Alex?” Caleb asked.
“Daddy, swim?” Alex asked, looking at him instead of answering Caleb.
“Sure thing,” Ryan said, holding out a hand to his son. The gesture of innocent acceptance when Alex curled tiny fingers around his hand never failed to twist his guts. And now Julia was on her way. Life didn’t get much better.
They wandered down the beach, Caleb holding onto Alex’s other hand. The Mount was a surf beach, and they entered the water between the flags, paddling in the shallow area patrolled by the life guards.
Alex splashed and cackled with glee.
“Here comes the wave,” Ryan warned. “Hold tight.”
The day seemed to crawl with Ryan checking his watch often. He hoped Caleb hadn’t noticed.
“Are you going to stay at your parents’ place tonight?”
Oh, yeah. He’d noticed. “I’ll ask Mum if she’ll babysit for us tonight to give us a few hours of privacy. We’ll go out for a drive and walk along the beach.”
“Are you gonna get a room?”
Ryan met Caleb’s grin with one of his own. “Possibly.”
When Alex faded, they headed for home, making one stop at the ice cream shop. A car pulled up in front of his parents’ house around ten minutes after four.
Caleb nudged Ryan. “She’s here.”
Ryan’s mother straightened from wiping Alex’s face. “About time. You’re acting if you have ants in your pants.”
“The fictional wife is really here?” his father asked in a gruff voice.
Ryan ignored his friend and his parents to stride outside. His heart raced, and he found himself running, skidding to a stop by the car. Julia opened the driver’s door, her mouth wreathed in a wide smile.
