Chapter 5
1320 Words
By Friday evening, Christian had asked Emma at least six times what time his dad was supposed to arrive.
“Six-thirty,” she reminded him again.
Christian glanced at the clock on the microwave.
“It’s six-twenty-two.”
“I’m aware.”
“So he’ll be here in eight minutes.”
“That is generally how time works, yes.”
Christian ignored the sarcasm and hurried back toward the front window.
His baseball bag was already sitting beside the door, packed and ready for the tournament the next morning. His overnight bag sat beside it, stuffed with enough clothes for two nights and probably three things Emma had reminded him he didn’t actually need.
Luke’s bag was packed too, although he had been much quieter about the entire thing.
Emma had spent most of the afternoon making sure he understood exactly what the weekend would look like.
Dad would pick them up Friday evening.
They would stay with him at the bed-and-breakfast.
They would go to Christian’s tournament Saturday morning.
They would spend Saturday night with Dad again.
And Jackson would bring them home Sunday afternoon.
Luke had asked her to repeat the plan twice.
Now it was written neatly on a piece of paper tucked inside his backpack.
Emma told herself she was prepared too.
She wasn’t.
Bandit suddenly jumped from his spot on the rug and rushed toward the front window, barking.
Christian nearly knocked over his baseball bag trying to get to the door.
“He’s here!”
Emma’s stomach tightened.
She hadn’t seen Jackson in almost two months.
Phone calls were one thing.
FaceTime was another.
Seeing him standing in her driveway was going to be different.
Christian threw the door open before Emma could tell him to wait.
Jackson had barely stepped out of his truck before Christian raced toward him.
“Dad!”
Jackson laughed as Christian crashed into him.
“There’s my ballplayer.”
“I’m batting third tomorrow!”
“Third?” Jackson pulled back and looked at him proudly. “Look at you moving up in the world.”
Christian immediately launched into an explanation of the batting order while Jackson reached into the back seat for his bag.
Emma stood in the doorway watching them.
Then Luke appeared beside her.
Jackson spotted him and smiled.
“Hey, buddy.”
Luke walked outside, and Jackson wrapped an arm around him.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
Something caught painfully in Emma’s chest.
She wanted this.
She wanted the boys to be excited to see their father. She wanted Jackson to remain just as involved in their lives as he had always been.
That didn’t mean watching them leave with him was going to be easy.
Jackson finally looked toward her.
For a second, they simply stared at each other.
“Hey, Em.”
“Hey.”
He looked almost exactly the same.
Work boots. Jeans. A faded T-shirt and the baseball cap Christian had given him the previous Father’s Day.
Emma hated that she noticed all of it.
Jackson walked toward the porch while the boys continued talking behind him.
“You look good,” he said quietly.
Emma wasn’t expecting that.
“Thanks.”
There was a pause.
“You do too.”
And he did.
She didn’t need to lie about that.
Bandit pushed his way through the open doorway and trotted directly toward Jackson.
Jackson looked down.
“So this must be the famous Bandit.”
Christian immediately jumped into the conversation.
“He found us! He jumped over the fence while I was practicing.”
“You just attract random dogs now?”
“Apparently,” Emma said.
Jackson crouched and let Bandit sniff his hand.
Bandit decided almost immediately that Jackson was acceptable and started wagging his tail.
“Well, at least I passed inspection.”
“Barely,” Emma teased.
The words came out so naturally that both of them seemed to notice.
For just a second, there they were again.
Emma and Jackson.
Not two people trying to navigate a separation.
Just them.
Emma looked away first.
“Do you want to come in for a minute? I’ve got a few things I need to go over with you before you guys leave.”
“Sure.”
Jackson stepped inside.
Emma immediately became aware of everything around her.
Her books filling the built-in shelves.
Luke’s drawings hanging on the refrigerator.
Christian’s baseball equipment beside the back door.
Bandit’s toys scattered across the floor.
A coffee mug Kinsley had left sitting near the sink.
Pieces of a life Jackson had never been part of.
He slowly looked around.
“You guys got settled in.”
Emma nodded.
“Yeah. We did.”
Jackson smiled faintly.
“It looks good, Em.”
“Thanks.”
Christian appeared between them.
“Dad, come see our room!”
Before Jackson had a chance to answer, Christian grabbed his hand and started pulling him toward the hallway.
Luke followed behind them.
Emma stayed where she was.
She listened as Christian excitedly showed Jackson everything—the baseball trophies they had unpacked, Luke’s drawing table, the new setup of their room.
Their voices traveled through the house.
Emma leaned against the kitchen counter and took a slow breath.
She had spent weeks trying to turn this house into a home for her boys.
Now Jackson was seeing it.
And strangely enough, she didn’t feel like she needed his approval.
That realization surprised her.
A few minutes later, the three of them came back into the living room.
“I think we’re ready,” Jackson said.
Emma nodded.
“Luke’s schedule is in his backpack. He knows what the plan is, but just remind him before you guys switch activities. It helps if he knows what’s coming.”
“I will.”
“And Christian needs to be at the fields by eight tomorrow morning.”
Jackson gave her a look.
“Emma.”
“What?”
“I know how tournaments work.”
She smiled sheepishly.
“Right.”
“And I know our kids.”
“I know.”
His expression softened.
“I’ve got them.”
Those three words were harder to hear than Emma expected.
Not because she didn’t trust him.
Because for years, she and Jackson had handled everything together.
Now she was handing over their children and walking back into an empty house.
Christian hugged her first.
“Bye, Mom!”
“Have fun. And please listen to your dad.”
“I always do.”
Jackson laughed.
Emma raised an eyebrow. “That is absolutely not true.”
Luke hugged her next, holding on a little longer.
“You’ll be here Sunday?”
“I’ll be right here.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Luke nodded and headed toward the truck.
Jackson picked up the last bag before turning back toward Emma.
“We’ll see you at the tournament tomorrow?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
He hesitated.
“Okay. See you tomorrow, Em.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Emma stood on the porch as Jackson pulled out of the driveway with the boys.
Christian waved through the window until the truck disappeared down the road.
And then there was silence.
Emma walked back inside.
Bandit followed closely behind her.
The house suddenly felt enormous.
She looked toward the boys’ bedroom.
No video games.
No baseball bouncing against the backyard fence.
No Luke asking her where his charger was even though it was probably sitting directly beside him.
Nothing.
Emma lowered herself onto the couch.
For the first time since she had become a mother, there was nowhere she needed to be.
No one needed dinner.
No one needed help finding something.
No one needed her to solve a problem.
She should have enjoyed it.
Instead, she had absolutely no idea what to do with herself.
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