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Maya perked up. “I have your invitation to my birthday party in the truck. Can I go get it, Livvy?”

“Sure,” I said. I got my keys from my purse and turned to aim the fob at the window. “It’s unlocked.”

As Maya ran out, Regina said, “Phoebe, why don’t you go use the bathroom?”

Phoebe set down her spoon and slid out of the chair, doing as she was asked, then it was just Regina and me.

Regina rushed out, “I’m sure Fletcher’s told you a lot about me, but—”

I shook my head, not wanting to dive into the drama between her and Fletcher. “Maya loves you. She misses you like crazy. And seeing you with this little girl was a slap in her face. If you care about your daughter at all, you’ll start showing up for her, no matter how much it hurts, because she deserves that from her mom, do you understand? That means calling her to tell her goodnight. It means sending her notes in the mail. And it means when she comes here with that invitation, you tell her it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen and that you wouldn’t miss her party for the world, or Ipromise, I’ll make you regret it.”

Regina’s eyes were wide, but she didn’t have time to answer before Maya came running back to the booth with her carefully decorated card made of construction paper and covered in her favorite bubble stickers. She’d worked so much harder on that invitation than the others.

Maya slid it across the table to her mom, watching with eager but nervous eyes.

Regina’s jaw shook as she looked at it, ran her manicured fingers over a sticker. She swallowed. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She looked up at Maya, their eyes a perfect match. “I wouldn’t miss your party for the world.”

Maya jumped up happily and wrapped her arms around her mom’s shoulders.

Regina closed her eyes as she held on to her daughter.

And I hoped, with all my heart, she would start being Maya’s mom. The one Maya deserved.

42

Rhett

Liv’s white truck bounced over the dirt road toward the shop where I was welding a fence panel while I waited for her to bring the medicine. I set down my electrode holder and tossed my helmet and gloves into the bucket where we kept them. As I walked to the garage door opening of the shop, I wiped the sweat from my forehead, thankful for the breeze, even if it was just hot August air.

They pulled up, and Maya got out first, running to me with a Styrofoam cooler while Liv walked behind, her flip-flops slapping the cement.

“Here you go, Uncle Rhett!” Maya said, handing it to me.

“Thanks, sweet pea,” I said, taking it from her. “You’re a lifesaver!”

“Livvy says you better pay up for the ice cream,” Maya told me, a cheeky smile on her face.

I laughed. “Did she say that?”

Liv stopped beside us and folded her arms across her chest. “Gas isn’t cheap either. Even if we were already in Dallas anyway.”

I dropped my jaw. “You really let me go on begging so long when you were already going to the city?”

Liv smirked. “It was a little fun.”

I shook my head at her and got out my wallet, pulling out a couple bills and handing them to Liv. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. Both the other guys have the weekend off, and with it just being me here, I really couldn’t leave.”

“No worries,” she said, but she seemed distracted.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Totally!” Maya answered. “It’s been the best day ever! First, I found out Daddy and Livvy are going on a date! Then I got new clothes for school tomorrow. And then I saw Mommy at the ice cream shop and she said she’d be at my birthday party!”

My mind got stuck on the first sentence. “Daddy and Livvy are what?”

“They’re going to fall inlove!” Maya spun in a circle, casting a spinning shadow on the sun-soaked cement. “Liv and I are going to pick out a dress for her to wear this week! AND!” She reached into her back pocket, taking out a folded-up piece of blue construction paper. “This is your invitation to my birthday party. I like makeup, cowgirl boots, and Squishmallows for gifts.”

With my mind still spinning, I said, “Is that so?”