I scratch at the scruff on my chin. “No, not exactly.”
His graying brows draw together. “No?”
“She brought a kid with her…My kid.”
“I don’t understand.” He rubs at his forehead.
“Rosie was pregnant when she left Golden Harbor seven years ago.”
“Woah, and you didn’t know?” he asks, tilting his chin.
I shake my head, choosing not to go into the details with him now.
“So are you trying to tell me she had a baby? Your baby?” He points at me.
“Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you.” A smile grows on my face. “She’s six. Her name is Charlotte. Well, Charlie for short, she actually hates Charlotte.” I chuckle thinking about how the first time I met her and how she corrected me. “I’m trying to tell you…you have a granddaughter, Dad.”
Emotion stirs in my gut as his eyes glisten. “Wow. Well, this is something.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
“How are you handling all this?”
I adjust my hat on my head. “Better now. It was a shock at first.”
“Well, yeah of course.”
“But I’ve been spending a lot of time with her. She’s a good kid. Real cute too. She looks like me. She’s a Stone for sure.” I tug my phone free from my front pocket. “Let me show you a picture.”
He takes it and swipes through my album. “Yep, definitely a Stone. What a sweetie. Looks a lot like your mom.”
A rock drops in my stomach. This was a response I wasn’t expecting.
“Really?”
“Are you kidding? That smile? That’s your mom’s.”
I take my phone back from him and stare at a smiling Charlie. “I thought her smile was Rosie’s.”
Dad shakes his head. “I don’t know what that kid got of Rosie’s side, but it sure can’t be much. Her red hair, that’s about it.”
I continue staring at the photo, my heart aching and expanding at once.
“Let me guess. Now you’re stuck having to make a decision. Stay in Golden Harbor and be a part time father or go to Seattle to be with them?”
I push my thumb and finger into my eyes. “I wish it was that easy. She’s engaged.”
“Ahh. That does make things more complicated.”
“Ha.” I bark out a sarcastic laugh. Complicated doesn’t even explain half of it. He doesn’t know that Rosie and I are still married. Which adds another layer ofcomplicatedto this mess.
Dad and I sit out on his little boat for half the day. We catch nothing more than kelp. We drink his Gatorade and eat the protein bars I packed. But the sun is too high and fishing this late in the day while it’s this warm is pointless.
“We better call it,” I announce.
He’s got his pole cast and is watching and waiting expectantly. “C’mon, you gotta have patience.”
“Fine,” I groan. “A little longer. But the last ferry leaves at five and I need to be on it. I was hoping to see Charlie tonight.”
