Impressively muscular and in shape, but not so much that he’d refuse a pack of cookies.Annie realized then and there that was her new type.Not whatever zero body fat thing Roy had gotten into.
She handed him a pack and opened one for herself.
“One night a month.”He unwrapped the cookies carefully, resting them in his big hands.“Is that all he wanted?”
“We never put together a formal custody agreement.”Annie paused.“After he insisted on moving to Seattle – ”
He cut her off.“He insisted on moving to Seattle?Why?”
She really shouldn’t tell him all of this.But how often did she come across a sympathetic ear?How often were people not uncomfortable when they heard about the divorce?Especially people on the island who had known Roy growing up.They’d make excuses, or make an awkward face and try to rush away.
“It was a big factor in our divorce, actually.We both grew up on the island.We were high school sweethearts, and we moved back to be closer to my mom.To have help.He said it was the most beautiful place on earth and he’d missed it.”
“At least he was right about that,” Miles said with a nod.
Annie went on.“After the twins were born, he got overwhelmed with it all.He told me he needed to keep an apartment in Seattle so he could have time away from the family to improve himself, and that he’d use our house as his home base.”
Shock registered on Miles’ face, his eyebrows shooting up and his mouth opening slightly.“Well, if that isn’t a load of – ” Miles stopped himself, clearing his throat.“Sorry.I have no sympathy for deadbeat dads.”
Annie couldn’t get the smile off her face.She dipped a cookie in her tea and took a bite.It melted in her mouth.
He stared at her.“I’m sorry, is that too far?”
She looked up, unable to stop the smile crossing her lips.“No, it’s just…I feel bad.Like I’m gossiping about him.”
“Is it gossip?Or are those the facts?”
The facts.That was it.As much as she turned it over in her head, as many times as she’d doubted herself, these were the things Roy had said, those were the actions Roy had taken.She’d presented it exactly as it had happened.
Annie set down her tea.“I get that having twins is intense.Believe me, I’ve been here for it all.But he gave up so quickly, and I didn’t – I never thought he’d crumble like that.I’d known him for most of my life, and nothing about him screamed ‘I’m going to run away at the first sign of trouble.’”
And worst of all, people still blamedher.Like she should’ve known he would act like that, like she should’ve chosen a better man.
She wasn’t going to mention any of that.
“It’s not you,” he said, as if reading her mind.“It’s a tale as old as time.Dad going out for milk and all.Don’t blame yourself.Some people can take the heat, and some people can’t.”
A mischievous smile lit his face.
“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”she asked.
“I know a thing or two about heat,” he said, lifting his shoulder with the slightest hint of a shrug.
Was he flirting?Or was she losing her mind?
The tea was overheating her.Or he was overheating her.
Annie took a gulp of tea, letting the burn bring her back to earth.“How long have you been a firefighter?And would you say it’s a calling?”
He smiled, the warmth reaching his eyes for a brief moment.“Six years.I got interested in it when I became a dad.I felt powerless to prevent bad things from happening to the people I loved.”He scrubbed his jaw with his hand, pausing, as though weighing his words.“Madeline died in a freak accident.An amniotic embolism minutes after Bella was born.There was really nothing that could have been done, but part of me felt like if I’d been more prepared, I could have saved her.”
“I’m so sorry.”Annie could feel tears pricking at the backs of her eyes.She remembered only too well how vulnerable pregnancy and childbirth was, how aware she was that at any moment, it could all go terribly wrong.
“From that day forward, I felt like I had to protect Bella from everything.And, for some reason, I kept having nightmares about fires.”He laughed.“So, I guess in a way, it’s a calling.I started as a volunteer, became an EMT, and eventually got hired on full time.”
“That’s incredible.Really.”
He shrugged, eyes averted to his remaining cookies.
