“What do you mean?”
“Like… how you never know which ones are gonna matter until they already do.”
I think about the heat in the air, the sand sticking to my ankles, the sound of his voice blending with the ocean. I think about how this moment feels both ordinary and huge at the same time.
“Yeah,” I say softly. “I think about that a lot.”
He turns to look at me, and for a second, everything goes still. Just me, him, the hum of the waves, and that pull in my chest that I don’t have words for yet.
His hand shifts in the sand, closer—close enough that his pinky brushes mine. It’s the smallest touch, barely there, but it sends a rush through me that I’ll remember forever.
Neither of us moves. Neither of us speaks. It’s like the whole world is holding its breath.
And in that quiet, I know.
I know this isn’t just a normal summer day.
I know that somehow, everything has just changed—even if I can’t explain why yet.
I glance at him, heart thrumming, and say, almost to myself,
“I know it may sound crazy… but something inside me tells me this day’s one to remember.”
Cole smiles, soft and a little crooked. “Then I guess we’d better not forget it,” he says.
And just like that, the world exhales again.
Chapter One
TREMORS OF THE PAST
KENNA-PRESENT
I’ve only ever truly beenin love once. Not puppy love. Not infatuation. Actual love—the kind that roots into you so deeply that even when it’s gone, it still controls the way you breathe.
Cole Andrew Parker.
The first boy who ever really saw me. Not for my last name. Not for how I looked. But for me. Messy, bratty, stubborn me.
And then he left. Not by choice, I know that now. He was eighteen and scared and handcuffed, and everything inside me broke when I watched them take him away. He didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t get to ask him if he wanted me to wait. And when the dust settled…I was pregnant.
Cohen.
My son. Our son. The one Cole doesn’t know about. The one he didn’t get to see grow up like I did.
And now Cole’s back. Out of prison. Back in town. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that. With this.
Because when I look at Cohen, I see him. A sharp jawline. Gray-blue eyes that shift with every emotion. The way he grins like the world is one big inside joke, and he’s the only one who gets it. He’s eight now. Not only is he brilliant and endlesslyfunny, but his curiosity is infectious. This tiny, extraordinary human I get to call mine embodies everything good within me and everything I ever loved about Cole.
He’s got my sarcasm, sure, but that look in his eyes when he’s focused on something he cares about? That’s Cole. The softness behind his storm. The quiet kind of strength.
I’ve spent every day since the moment I held him in my arms, wondering if I made the right decision not to tell Cole.
Part of me wants to believe I did. But Cole didn’t belong in that place. He didn’t deserve what happened. He was a kid caught in a bad situation. But still…I can’t forget the emptiness I felt when he left. The ache that settled deep in my chest refusing to leave. I carried that weight like a bruise that never healed.
Even now, with the years stretched out behind me like a worn-out film reel, I can still remember the way his voice cracked when he said my name. The way his fingers lingered at the curve of my waist, like he was memorizing. Like he knew that moment was going to have to last us both a lifetime.
I love Cole. A part of me will always love him. But love doesn’t erase the pain. It doesn’t undo the abandonment. I don’t know if I can forget how he left.
