6. Mila

SIX

You've got someone standing beside you

that's stronger than the one standing against you.

~ Steven Furtick

"Now I just put in the chocolate chips!" Noah exclaims.

He grabs the open five pound bag and begins to dump far more than the required cup into the dough.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Not so many."

"Mom. You can never have too many chocolate chips. Trust me."

"Noah." I laugh. "Where did you come up with that?"

"Auntie P."

"Of course. Well, you can't believe everything Phyllis says to you."

"Cookies?" Kai's voice interrupts the moment between Noah and me. He's leaning against the doorjamb between the kitchen and the main room, smiling.

"Hi, Unko. We're making cookies. Wanna help?"

When Noah met Kai, he was only three years old. One day, I can't even remember how long it was after they had met, Kai told Noah to call him Uncle Kai. But Noah couldn't say his Ls very clearly, so it came out, Unko. Somehow, that stuck. Noah doesn't remember a time when Kai wasn't in his life. They share a bond that's as close as family, often making me feel like I'm intruding on a private joke they've shared.

"Help you make cookies? You don't have to ask twice." Kai pushes off the wall and walks to the sink to wash his hands.

He turns on the sprayer, tests the lever, and opens the cabinet to check the pipes under the sink, obviously looking for any sign of residual issues after last night's flooding.

"Looks good," he assures me.

Then he glances around at the floor. "Call Jason and have him assess the water damage as soon as you can, okay? Just to be sure."

"I already called him this morning."

Kai steps up to the island at a spot between me and Noah where we've got all the flour, butter, salt and other ingredients spread out for our baking project. He looks down at me and smiles warmly.

"Sorry. I should have known you'd be on top of that. It's your business."

Noah looks between me and Kai, and a rush of embarrassment floods through me. I don't know why.

Kai came and fixed the sprayer last night. That's all.

"I appreciate you following up." My voice is softer than usual until I clear my throat.

I'm not sure why thanking Kai nearly chokes me up. He's the only man who checks up on me. Sure. I have other contractors and workers who help out, but Kai's different. He's always insisting we're like family to him. He rarely accepts pay from me. And then he does things like this—coming by in the middle of the afternoon to make sure we're okay, and advising me to have Jason assess potential damage.

I'd say Kai's like an older brother, but it's different with us. I never had a guy friend. Brad and I dated from high school on, and he didn't like the idea of me being friendly with other boys, so I stuck to my girlfriends. Kai's the first man I have had a genuine friendship with.

"Can we make cookies, or what?" Noah asks, obviously eager to get the first batch in the oven.

"Definitely," Kai says. "Tell me what to do, boss man."

Noah giggles, but his chest puffs in a way it never does with me. I could be jealous, but I'm not—not at all.

"Are you sure you have time?"

It seems like a man in his early thirties would want to spend an afternoon doing anything besides baking cookies with a single mom and her son.

"I've got nothing going on. I cut out of work early."

"To check on us?"

"To bake cookies with my favorite seven-year-old." Kai winks at me.

"Tell Mom more chocolate chips makes them better, Unko."

"True story." Kai nods at Noah. "I think more chocolate chips makes most things better."

We form balls of cookie dough out of the batch Noah and I just finished preparing and plop those on sheets which we place in the preheated oven. Then Kai and Noah make another batch together while I prep supper for my guests.

"What are you doing for dinner?" I ask Kai.

"Leftovers with that dog."

"Shaka?" Noah asks.

"Yeah. That's the one."

"I loooove Shaka." Noah's eyes go all dreamy. "I wish I could have a dog."

"Well, I wish I could give you that one, but I think my sister would miss him. You could come play with him, though."

"Can I, Mom?"

"We'll see. You need to clean your room first. And then we can talk about privileges."

"Awww."

Kai gives Noah a look and shakes his head lightly. Noah straightens up and says, "Okay, Mom. But can I ask Kai my important question first?"

I nod.

"What's up, buddy?" Kai leans his elbows on the island and lowers himself so his head is level with Noah's.

Noah drops his voice to an almost conspiratorial level. "I want to learn how to surf."

"You do, huh? Did your mom say yes to this?"

Kai looks over at me. I nod again. "Yes. If he takes lessons with someone I trust."

"In other words, not Ben or Bodhi?" Kai laughs.

"They're fine. I know they are both great surfers … and good teachers …"

"Well, I wouldn't let anyone teach you but me," Kai says, beaming at Noah. "I wouldn't want to miss the first time you pop up on a wave."

Noah's smile fills his face. "Can we start today?"

Kai looks over at me. As usual, he reads my expression without me having to say anything.

Then he tells Noah, "I'm honored to teach you to surf, boss man. I think a school day might be pushing it. How about we go out next weekend?"

"Yes!" Noah's hand shoots up into the air in a fist pump and I wonder when my baby started looking like he's only a few years shy of adolescence.

"I better clean my room now," Noah announces. "Just so Mom doesn't change her mind."

Kai chuckles as Noah hops off his stool and dashes into the main room and down the hall toward his bedroom.

I put the salad I prepped back into the fridge and then I wipe my hands on my apron.

"So, I have to ask …" I say, settling on one of the stools across from Kai.

"Hmm?"

"Were you really at home when I called last night?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Chloe said she thought you were out dancing at Club Descanso. I would hate to think I interrupted a date to have you come crawl around under my sink in the middle of the night."

"Chloe? How would she know if I went out dancing?"

"Marbella. You know how people talk."

"Hmm. Right. Well, I was out with Ben and Summer earlier last night. Not on a date. But I ended it early. By the time you called I had been home for a while."

"Good. … I mean, good I didn't interrupt a date."

"Not a chance, since I'm not dating anyone right now."

A silence settles between us for a few seconds. Then I hear the front door of the inn open, so I step out into the main room in case it's my guests or a delivery. Kai doesn't follow behind me immediately, probably taking a moment to double check the plumbing.

When I look across the room toward the front doors, I nearly faint. My knees go weak and my mouth goes dry.

"Brad?"

"Mila."

"Whaa … what are you doing here?"

I hate that my voice quavered. After all these years, I never thought I'd see Brad again. On a rare occasion, I'd imagine running into him when I was on the mainland. Those fantasies always involved me coming off pulled-together and very confident. Stammering wasn't in the picture. As it is, I'm lucky my knees are holding me upright. I'm possibly three seconds away from collapsing into a puddle of embarrassment.

"I came to see you because I'm pretty sure you wouldn't take a call. From me, that is. And that's understandable. I'm just … I want to … talk."

"To talk?" My voice squeaks out.

I wonder if Ebenezer Scrooge felt like this when the ghosts actually came as predicted. Or, better yet, when Marley, his old partner, showed up in the form of a ghost. I am looking at a ghost of my former partner and I can barely breathe.

The kitchen door opens and shuts. I barely register the soft swoosh and creak. My eyes are locked on Brad, but I feel him—Kai—come up behind me. And before I know it, he's standing so close, the warmth of his body seeping into mine. We've been near one another before, of course, passing in the kitchen, or at times when I insisted on helping him with a repair. This feels different—like finding shelter in a squall.

Then, before I know what is happening, Kai has slipped his arm behind me and around my waist in a move that could only be called possessive. Music streams from down the hall in Noah's bedroom—his favorite Kidz Bop songs motivating him to do the chore he resists most—and I nearly gasp at the thought that his father is in the house and he could stumble out here and find us all here … Kai with his arm around me, Brad staring at us with a look of confusion.

"Let's take this out onto the porch," Kai suggests in a voice I barely recognize—commanding, unwavering, pure strength.

Brad doesn't say a word. His eyes keep bouncing between me and Kai, and then he says, "Yeah. Okay." and backs out through the front doors.

Kai looks down at me, only shifting his arm the slightest to place his palm on my back. It's been almost seven years since Noah's birth. I was three months pregnant when Brad left. In all that time, no man has touched me, let alone placed his hand on the small of my back in a show of comfort and support. If I thought my knees were weak from the sight of my ex in my inn, the way Kai is touching me right now might be my undoing.

"I'm here, Mila."

That's all Kai says before he softly nudges me and leads me out to face Brad.

I don't know why I lean into Kai. His hand remains on my back as we join Brad on the porch, his strong presence like a pillar. Maybe I should step away, handle this interaction in private, send Kai off to do whatever single men do when their lives are free of complications like ex-husbands showing up in the middle of an afternoon. But I don't. I cling to Kai, silently, willing him to keep his hand or arm attached to me, as if removing it would sever something vital.

If I had known what Kai would say next, I might have backed away, or done something—anything but stay in his arms, allowing him to act as a buffer between me and Brad. But it's too late. Once the words are out of Kai's mouth, we both have no choice but to barrel forward.