are still married, but live in Horseshoe Bay in the Hill Country.
“You’ll come for Christmas if you don’t go home to Oklahoma,” she states. “My mom does a big Christmas thing and I’m always stuck in the kitchen and bored as hell because their friends are lame.”
“So you want me to be bored too?” I ask.
“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
We pay the bill, then leave when we have ten minutes left. Walking back to the office building, I wonder if this is what I was always meant for. This building, this life, this city. I’ve already met a new friend, my boss is fantastic, and the company that I work for just seems way too good to be true.
Making my way back into the office, I look toward the childcare center. “Go and spy on him, just one little glance in person won’t hurt, you have time,” Bethie urges.
“I shouldn’t. I don’t want to make it a habit, I may not be able to go and actually look at him every day.”
“He doesn’t have to see you, just a little peek.”
Licking my bottom lip, I sink my teeth into the center, then nod. I don’t know why but looking at him in person is so much different than spying in on him using the app. Looking over to her, I mouth a thanks and hurry toward the childcare center. The woman behind the front desk greets me with a smile and a soft laugh.
“Is there a way I can just peek in on him?” I ask, my voice nothing short of pleading.
She nods her head once, then shows me where the kids are. “He should be eating lunch. They’re usually far too distracted by their food and chatting to notice anyone else around.”
Opening the door just enough to fit my head in, I look around and I find Holden’s little blond head almost immediately.
He’s sitting next to a little girl and holding up a fruit snack as his mouth moves and I assume he’s talking to her. He has one eye closed as he focuses on his snack. The girl’s little brown ponytail moves up and down a few times as she nods, then Holden holds out the snack for her. She takes it and a huge victorious smile appears on his lips.
My heart flips and then an instant later I feel guilty. He’s growing up too quickly. Sharing his snacks with girls, talking with them at lunch. It’s happening right before my eyes and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Nothing at all.
Wiping a tear from my eye, I stand and turn around. Without a word, I hurry past the woman at the front counter and then toward the elevators. More tears fall from my eyes and I hate that I’m crying at work. I hate that I’m crying at all. I shouldn’t be.
Holden is growing up, he’s inching closer and closer toward three every day. I don’t know if I can handle it. If I can handle him growing up. What happens when he doesn’t need me anymore? My entire body fills with panic at the thought of him going away and never coming back.
It’s all irrational, just fears that flow through me. Like I’m in a trance, I step off of the elevator and make my way toward my makeshift desk around the corner. Sinking down into the small chair, I place my purse on the table and stare off into space.
LANDRY
Coming back from lunch, I’m surprised to see Tennessee just sitting at her desk staring off into space. She’s only been here for a few days, but she’s a diligent worker. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her just sit at her desk. She is always asking for a task, working on something ahead of time, or filing.
I think about leaving her be, but ultimately, I decide against it. I can feel that something isn’t right and for a reason I’m not willing to allow myself to think, I just do. Walking over to her, I stop next to her. Crouching down, I reach out and touch the side of her arm.
“Tennessee?”
Her entire body jerks and she turns her head, looking down at me in a daze before she shakes her head once.
“Landry?” she breathes.
Fuck.
The way she says my name like that, my cock instantly hardens beneath my slacks. Clearing my throat, I slide my hand down her arm, wrapping my fingers around her forearm and squeezing.
“Tennessee?”
“Holden is growing up,” she whispers,