Can't Help Falling In Love by Erika Kelly

Author:Erika Kelly [Kelly, Erika]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: EK Publishing, LLC

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Coco reached back to unbuckle Posie’s seatbelt. “Have a good day, my lovely. Remember that Grandma’s picking you up today.”

“Okay, Mommy.” Posie dropped down and climbed onto the console. Hanging onto the armrests, she leaned over and kissed Beckett’s cheek. “Thank you. I love my fairy bracelets.”

He looked dazzled. “You’re welcome.”

Even after she dashed out of the car and skipped up the walkway, Beckett remained unmoving, as though afraid the kiss would drift away. As she neared her group of friends, Posie turned back to them with a big grin and waved.

“You made her day.” Coco checked her mirrors before easing away from the curb.

“Pretty sure she made mine.” He lifted his hand to his cheek, in what seemed like an unconscious move. “What’s with the whole fairy thing?”

“Ethan, my ex, bought her a costume for Halloween. It came with a book about a little girl who believed she was a fairy. Everyone told her she was wrong. She couldn’t be one, because fairies aren’t real, but the girl never stopped believing. And then, one day, she sprouted wings. Posie’s been waiting to sprout wings ever since.”

“That’s a terrible book.”

“I know, right? But, for some reason, that’s the one that captured her imagination. She asked me to read it to her every night for months.”

“I’m all about working hard to turn your dreams into reality, but they have to be humanly possible. What kind of message is that?”

“I’m actually more concerned with the other message he sent. You know, when he left us and never looked back.”

“She doesn’t mention him.”

“You’re right. She doesn’t.” But that didn’t mean she’d come out unscathed. “I’m afraid of what she’s internalized, and I won’t know how she’s interpreted him leaving until one day, out of the blue, in some random conversation, she’ll say something. And, believe me, it’s scary, the stories kids invent to make sense of their worlds.”

“Did he live with you?”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. But since I spend so much time with Posie, he was around her a lot.” At the stop sign, she turned to him. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t fault him for leaving. He got a great job. He was only twenty-five, and he wasn’t ready for marriage and kids. And I wasn’t about to uproot our lives for some guy I was casually dating, so I’m not angry with him. I’m angry at myself for not protecting Posie better.”

“I’m not sure how much you can protect her from relationships, though. I had this coach once who said his job wasn’t to change the world so that I could fit into it better, but for him to give me the skills to live in it. That stuck with me.”

That was actually a really good way to look at parenting. “I like that.”

“Of course, I’m talking out my ass right now. What do I know about kids?”

“You’re doing a good job with yours.”

When she looked over at him, she found her words had landed on a bruise.

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