Chapter 25

twenty-five

Cam walked through the park where Brady loved to play, spotting Ally sitting on the bench under the oak tree where they had agreed to meet.

She stood, grinning as she sent him a wave, looking out of place in strappy two-inch heels, cutoff short shorts, and a white top that tied halfway up her slim waist. And she'd added wavy curls to her long hair.

He certainly hadn't dressed up for the occasion. He still wore his jeans and plenty of sawdust on his T-shirt and work boots after a morning of getting dirty on the job.

Ally held out a half-empty iced tea from the local coffee shop as he walked closer. "You must be hot."

He shook his head, adjusting his aviators on his nose. "I'm good, but thanks. I've been outside since this morning, so I'm pretty acclimated to the heat."

"That's good, I guess."

He nodded. "Definitely."

They both sat down.

"I'm glad we could meet today," Ally said as she crossed her long legs. "The salon officially offered me the job yesterday afternoon, and I think I found a small apartment not far from work."

"Congratulations," he said, wishing he meant it.

"Thanks." She sipped her drink. "Have you had a chance to talk to the psychologist?"

He nodded. "Lesly Peters. We were able to talk briefly yesterday. Unfortunately, she can't get us in for an initial appointment for two and a half more weeks, but she's booked solid because she's one of the best in the region."

"Okay."

"For our first conversation, she wants to talk to us together."

Ally sighed as she stared at the sidewalk. "She's going to think I'm a terrible person—certainly a terrible parent."

"You're here now. We're working together to make this a positive situation for Brady."

Ally nodded as she looked at him. "Thank you for saying that."

He was trying to be kind when he could, but a huge part of him wanted Ally to go away. "Lesly thinks it'll be less disruptive if we wait until after Brady starts school before I introduce you to him as his mother. She wants him to have a solid routine at home and in his classroom before you spend any time with him."

Ally frowned. "That sounds like it could be several weeks."

Cam nodded. "Most likely, it will be. But we're playing things Lesly's way. She's the expert. I fully intend for Brady to make it through this transition healthy and whole."

Although he couldn't deny that he was worried about his son right now. Brady had been on the quieter side since Fiona left three days ago. He clung to Bob, his baby T-Rex, and he still had no desire to build the Lego set Fi had gifted him. Dinner conversations centered around Seattle, and in the mornings, Brady asked to rewatch the message Fiona had made for him.

He hoped their weekend getaway at the water park would distract his little boy and help them both recalibrate. Because they needed to find a new normal that didn't include Fiona.

"I want what's best for him, too, Cam."

He nodded, slowly becoming more convinced that Ally meant it. "I should tell you that I talked to Darius on Monday."

Ally's frown was back. "Ezra's brother?"

"Yeah. He practices family law."

"I know that. Why did you talk to him?"

"Because Brady's getting older, and things don't feel as simple as they were when he was a baby. You and I have always had an informal arrangement?—"

"Which has worked just fine."

He nodded, recognizing Ally's miffed tone. "So far, it has. But I want you to sign something—to make it binding that I have sole custody of Brady. I'm not going to keep him from you or try to fuck you over. I'm not going to ask you to pay child support. We both know I have plenty of money. But it's important to me that we have something in writing. If you want to hire an attorney and have him or her look things over, I'm entirely on board with that."

Ally bobbed her leg up and down as she sighed. "This is starting to sound complicated."

He shrugged. "Whatever it takes for Brady."

She huffed out another breath. "I don't need an attorney. I trust you. I'll sign it."

"Thank you." He looked toward the playground—toward Brady's favorite twisty slide. "So, what do you want your relationship with Brady to look like? I feel like I need to ask you what you want your role to be so we're both on the same page." Because he never planned to drop the ball again when it came to what was best for his son.

"I don't know," Ally said as she shrugged. "I want to be a normal mom. I want to be there for his birthday parties and bring him presents at Christmas. Maybe he can stay with me on the weekends every once in a while."

Cam nodded, even though he hated the idea. Being a single parent had never been easy, but for a long time, he'd loved that it had been just the two of them until Fi reappeared in his life and changed everything. But Brady had a right to know and love his mother. "I don't see why we can't work up to that."

Ally took another sip of her tea as they watched some of the neighborhood children rolling down the grassy hill. "So, I heard Fiona left town."

He felt his shoulders stiffen, but he nodded again. "It was never her intention to stay."

Ally raised her brow as she met his gaze. "So, you guys are really just friends? Because that's hard to believe."

He clenched his jaw, struggling to remain patient. "I'm not talking about Fi with you."

"Fine," she said with a toss of her hair. "I have to head back to Florida tonight. I need to pack my stuff and get settled in Boston."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Probably a week or two." Then she covered his hand on his thigh, giving his fingers a squeeze. "This is going to be a good thing, Cam. Brady deserves to have both of his parents in his life."

He immediately stood, breaking their connection. "I'm sure it will be."

But ultimately, they would see what they would see. Because although Ally was Brady's biological mother, it was Fiona who had felt like his co-parent for the last several weeks. "I need to pick Brady up at day camp. I'll have Darius overnight those legal documents to your Florida address. You'll need to get them notarized."

She nodded as she gained her feet. "Sure."

"Keep me in the loop, and let me know when you're back in Boston."

"I will."

"I'll see you around."

Ally tossed him a wave. "See you."

He turned, walking back toward his truck, rubbing at the tension in his jaw.

"Fuck," he muttered, craving his son's company and a long-ass boat ride because nothing felt right anymore. Nothing was how it was supposed to be now that Ally was back and Fi was gone.

Everything felt a little less bright and a lot less fun without Fi's big heart and effortless sparkle. Life would never be quite the same for him or Brady again. As the days passed and Fi didn't call him back, it was slowly sinking in that he would have to live with that.

Three days later, Cam sat on a lounge chair in the massive domed space at Aqua Adventure while Brady played in one of the shallow pools on the pirate-themed slides with four other boys and girls.

"Watch me, Dad," Brady shouted, pushing off down one of the smaller slides, landing with a splash at the bottom.

Cam grinned, giving Brady a thumbs-up. "Looking good, buddy."

Brady hurried over to join his new friends while they waited for the big bucket to dump a huge cascade of water on them.

Cam grabbed his phone and selected his camera app, pressing record, waiting for the bucket to topple. He chuckled when it did—when Brady and his new buddies screamed and laughed their delight in the deluge. "You're soaked!"

Brady beamed as his hair lay plastered against his head. "Yup."

He chuckled again, loving that Brady was having so much fun. Ultimately, they were both having a great time. During their first two days at the park, they'd tried the enormous outdoor ropes course, bowled in the evening, rewatched The Super Mario Bros. Movie in the small theater, and spent plenty of time on the numerous indoor slides. All in all, their getaway was exactly what they'd both needed. But as Cam glanced at the empty lounge chair next to his, it was impossible to deny that something major was missing. Fiona should have been there with them.

Exhaling a breath, he rubbed at the back of his neck where the tension so often settled. It had been six long days since she left, and he missed the hell out of her.

After Brady had fallen asleep last night, he hadn't been able to stop himself from trying her number again. He hadn't bothered to leave a message when she didn't pick up because it was safe to say that Fiona was one hundred percent ignoring him. She'd boarded a plane back to Seattle and moved on with her life.

He glanced up, putting eyes on Brady before he looked back at his phone, tapping on his string of texts with Fi, grinning as he read her witty replies to several of his responses. But his smile faded as he also read about grocery store stop-offs or dinner plans and questions or concerns about Brady's daily care—normal conversations any two parents or partners would have.

Sighing again as he set down his phone, he made himself smile, waving when Brady waved at him.

Tomorrow morning, they would head back to Maple Ridge. Tomorrow night, he would lie in his empty bed that smelled like Fiona, no matter how many times he washed the sheets. In twenty-four hours, he would have to deal with reality again, which was something he could do without.