Page 15 (1/1)

"My parents love you, Wheeler You’re part of the family and alill be" She tentatively lowered a hand to her stoly steady look "We are in this together, but you have no idea how hard it is realizing your life is never going to be the sa to terht react …" She sighed and shrugged helplessly

I nodded at her "We are in this together, but you have so Roni around, then you need to be honest with everyone, including yourself, about the role she’s playing and will play in our baby’s life" I wasn’t going to reassure her that her parents were going to be reasonable and understanding again I’d said the words a million tiood She was going to have to have that conversation with them and find out for herself that they would love her no aze and her teeth bit even harder into her lip Knoell and good those were signs that she was done with the conversation, I changed the subject "What did you want to talk to ed reed "I have to get going soon" I didn’t really since I made my own hours and I was the boss, but I could only handle sowith her but not (with) her

She shifted nervously in her seat and let go of her tea She started tapping her fingertips on the table in front of her and I wanted to reach out and put my hand over hers to keep them still I didn’t want to make her anxious but until we found our way to sooing to be I felt cut open and raw, she was fidgety and unsettled I’d never realized how deeply we’d relied on each other to keep our worst traits at bay froether and kept all erous, I kept her calm and quieted all the restlessness in her that made her so volatile and needy

"I have a doctor’s appointment next week I wanted to see if you would co into the second tri to see and ould be to the point where ould knoere having a boy or a girl I’d gone with her to one doctor’s visit but her mother had been there as well and it was a terrible afternoon for all of us She’d askedit would be easier for all involved Seeing the nervousness on her pretty face right now, I understood that wasn’t the case

"Did you ask your o this time?" My tone was flat because she could make this all better if she just stepped up to the plate for once in her life If she took care of so everyone to take care of her

"No" The word squeaked out and she jolted "Uh … I talked to Dixie and she sort of oing to raise it, not Moure out how to coparent without theo alone because it’s scary, but Dixie is right It should be you and me"

Dixie was a fixer It’s what she did She also had the annoying habit of seeing straight to the heart of a situation and knowing the best way to get everyone involved on the right path Even more, she was the only person in the world that could roaned a little as I nodded in sullen agreeo with you Just text rin "Thanks"

I finished my coffee and pushed back froers touched the back of le to shoot alongThere was no jolt like the one that had alhtly grasped mine yesterday

"Uht to pry, but Dixie ht expression pinched her face and her eyes narrowed "I … ugh … I just want to tell you to be careful You’re a really nice guy, Wheeler There are a lot of woe of that" She should know She was one of the" She recoiled, which ht, it’s none of your business"

"Rebounds never work out" There was soh

I rolled o" I turned ht up short when she calledto heel at her co wait I looked at her over my shoulder, i one, but the right one is still out there" Maybe she really did want me to be happy, or maybe she simply wanted me to find so to raise our kid on my own Either way her words weren’t ones I wanted to hear

"When you figure out where you want to live, you can have all the furniture in the house I’ll put it in a storage unit and cover the cost If you plan on staying with your parents for the long haul, or get to the point where you’re playing house with Roni, you can sell it all and use it for whatever we need for the baby I’ll see you at the appointasp as I pushed out the door into the bright Denver sunshine That one as well as could be expected and I was surprised that spending time with her wasn’t as awful as it had been the first few months after we’d split up She still wasn’tthe sa and bleeding to death fros between us had been rocky before the split, so I think the reason everything felt so exposed and sensitive after the breakup was ht I had, rather than the loss of what I’d actually had She took my stability with her when she walked away and lefttotally shakey and unsure She ripped the foundation I’d steadfastly built out from under me, and that left me in the wind … exactly how my mother had Exactly how the child welfare people had left me each and every time they had to place me in a new home with a temporary family