Chapter Thirty-Six

“Am I a bad mom?” Lena asked when she’d caught her breath enough to speak.

While she didn’t regret being with Dane, the guilt of her brief happiness was starting to tarnish her memories of their passion.

“No. You’re not a bad mom.” He kissed her cheek and brushed a stray piece of hair from her face. “There’s nothing we can do for either of them right now. There’s no shame in wanting to feel good if you have a chance.”

Surely, this wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be allowed to have even this brief respite from the pain.

He stood and stretched “I’ll grab us breakfast while you get ready. Can we leave in a half hour?”

Nodding, she watched his glorious body unwind. She noticed the scars on his leg and fought the urge to wince.

“I know, it’s ugly,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say that. It looks painful.”

“It wasn’t fun.”

He hadn’t told her what had happened, but she could guess, based on his occupation.

“You were shot?”

He smiled. “Yep. And bit by a dog, and I fell off a roof and got caught on a fence.”

She choked out a laugh of sympathy. “Are you making that up to get pity?”

He pulled his shirt down over his lean chest. He wasn’t ripped, but he had definition. Including those lines she could still see at the waist of his low jeans.

“I don’t need your pity. But I’ll take a kiss.” He leaned down and stole one. “You can pity me tonight when we’re in bed again. For now, I need to find food, and we need to get on the road.”

“Okay.” She bit her bottom lip, feeling shy about their plans. She’d assumed this was a one-time thing. A release of tension.

He winked at her before grabbing up his phone and heading for the door. “Be back soon.”

She carried her phone into the bathroom and turned on the water to wash her face. The woman in the mirror was smiling at her. A mischievous, happy expression she hadn’t seen in years. Not since she was still in love with Brandon, and Kenzie started sleeping through the night.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she smiled, rejuvenated and ready to take on the world.

She dressed and tossed her things in the bag, so she’d be ready when he returned. According to the GPS, they would arrive at their destination by five o’clock this evening. He hadn’t told her who would be waiting there. Maybe he would share the details today.

She was humming a happy tune when her phone rang its own happy tune.

She swallowed and pulled the device from her back pocket. She saw her daughter’s smiling face on the screen. Every ounce of joy fell away as she swiped to answer.

“Hey, baby. How are you?”

“Hi, Mama. Are you coming to get me today?”

The familiar pain seared through her heart as reality crashed in and stole her tiny moment of joy.