Page 123 of Freefall

My eyes squeeze shut. “Please.”

The call ends.

His name disappears from my screen.

He’s gone.

I stare at the phone for another second before letting it fall onto my bed. My hand drifts to my stomach. There’s nothing there yet, but somehow I can feel her.

“I’ve got you,” I whisper. “Even if it’s just you and me.”

“You feeling okay?” asks a smooth voice behind me. “You didn’t eat the cafeteria hot dogs, did you?”

I turn around, only to realize that my hand is still resting over my stomach. I was so lost in the memory that I forgot I was standing outside the school waiting for Daisy to get out.

Today was career day, and I spent the afternoon talking to Daisy’s class about being a photographer. Somewhere between the students asking how I got started and whether I always wanted to take pictures, I found myself back in my parents’ bathroom on the day I thought I might have to give up on my dreams.

TJ looks down at my hand, and I quickly let it fall to my side. “I’m fine,” I say with a small laugh. “No hot dogs for me. I was just… reminiscing.”

It probably isn’t the answer he expected, but something about TJ draws the truth out of me. He doesn’t seem fazed.

“I get it.” He slips his hand into his pocket. “They’re growing up way too fast. Hard to believe Ella will be eleven soon. I still remember the day I found out I was going to be a dad. Best and worst day of my life.”

I offer a smile at his honesty. “If anyone gets that, it’s me.”

“But then…” He checks his pocket again before moving to the other, patting down the front of his jeans. “Shit, seriously?”

“What?”

“I can’t find my phone.” He laughs. “I was about to pull the ultimate embarrassing dad move and show you a thousand baby pictures while you politely nodded at each one.”

I grin. “Need help finding it?”

“Nah. I probably left it in the truck.” He shrugs because apparently nothing fazes him. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to text you. There’s a high-profile local family looking for photos for their holiday card. They want two people. One for the traditional photos and another to capture…” He makes air quotes with his fingers. “Behind-the-scenes moments. Any interest?”

“I thought you hated family photos?”

“Normally I do, but honestly? I could use the money. No one talks about how expensive kids are.”

“I'm pretty sure they do,” I say with a laugh. “But I could also use the money. I’m in.”

“Great.” He instinctively reaches for his pocket again. “Right.”

I laugh. “Want me to track it? Maybe it's in the school.”

“That would be great, actually.”

I go to pull up the tracking feature on my phone and tap “help a friend,” but before I can sign him in, something catches my eye. A small circle with Nate’s picture. The one I saved for his contact recently.

Next to it are the words “sharing location.”

My throat goes dry as I stare at the words. I’ve never shared my location with Nate.

TJ leans over my shoulder. “Do you need me to put in my password?”

“Oh…yeah.”

Keeping my expression neutral, I quickly stop sharing my location with Nate and hand TJ the phone.