Page 22 of Promises & Pumpkins (Haunted in Hazy Cove #1)

Harper

“So let me get this straight,” Kelly said, bending down to fix the leg warmer that had bunched around her ankle.

She looked up at me from the squatted position.

“You had a man who was handsome, treated you like a queen, and fucked you well, and you left him because you didn’t want to be a mom…

to his little girl… that you’re obviously completely enamored with?

” She stood up straight and rolled her eyes.

“You’re stupider than I thought you were. ”

I scoffed, crossing my arms. “Okay, rude!”

“But not wrong.” Kelly shrugged. “Give me one good reason you don’t want to give it a shot.”

I scrunched my nose, trying to remember every reason that had ever convinced me I didn’t want kids.

But each reason was mixed with an image of Maddie laughing with a mouth full of cereal or trying to pick up a pumpkin that was twice the size as her.

I blinked away the image. “Because I like sleeping in on the weekends.”

“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes. “Try again.”

“I like doing whatever I want.” At this point, I was determined to come up with any reason. “What if I want to go out on a weeknight? I can’t do that with a kid.”

Kelly pursed her lips like she was holding back a laugh.

“I try to get you to go out all the time, and you won’t!

Do you have any real reason?” She waited while I hesitated and then scoffed when she decided I was taking too long.

“You can’t, can you? You can’t give me one reason it would be so terrible because maybe you realize being a bonus mom wouldn’t be completely terrible if you were doing it with someone like them. ”

“Okay fine! Are you happy? You’re right. But she deserves to have someone there.” My mouth was too dry to swallow. “And what happens if it doesn’t work out? When he realizes I really am just the clumsy-ish girl next door and then everyone’s heart is broken?” Is that all I was? The girl next door?

“That’s not a reason to hold yourself back.

That’s a risk in every relationship.” She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.

“I think you’re making a stupid mistake, Harper.

I think you like this guy, and you’re going to do anything you can to sabotage it before you realize just how much you do. ”

I glared at her. “What if you’re wrong?”

“Then I guess I would be wrong. There they are now.” She nodded at the door when it opened.

My stomach flipped, and the butterflies that were resting rushed to my throat.

“But judging by the way your entire body just started blushing when I told you he was here, I’m not.

You like him. Don’t do something stupid to ruin it. ”

Kelly waved at what I could only assume was a group of young dancers in their costumes and parents that included Maddie and Miles.

I didn’t turn around. “You better talk to him,” Kelly said before she skipped off.

“Are we ready for our final dress rehearsal? You all look great! Come on over this way and start with your warm-ups.”

She started to lead a group of pumpkins and bats in basic stretches, and I watched until I felt Miles’ eyes on me.

I finally turned around, finding him staring at me as expected.

He looked hurt—like he felt as disappointed as I felt guilty.

Next to him, Maddie was dressed as a pumpkin with a bright pink bandage wrapped around her ankle.

She kept looking down at it, at the rest of the dancers, and back to her leg before scrunching her nose and pouting.

I took a deep breath, walking over to them. I was still her coach, no matter how confident I was that I was the reason for Miles’ frown. “Hey, Maddie! How’s your ankle?” I asked, kneeling down next to her. The lower I got, the heavier his stare felt.

“It hurts.” She shrugged. “But it’s okay. Can I still be a pumpkin?”

“Well, I don’t know,” I said, standing back up to face Miles. “Can she? What did the doctor say?” I gave him a look that I hoped apologized for not having heard what the doctor said because I snuck out before he had a chance to realize I was leaving.

He nodded softly. “She can dance,” he said. Then he lowered his voice. “Mostly only because a certain ballerina was going to throw a fit. The doctor said she’ll be okay if she takes it easy, so just do me a favor and keep an eye on her.”

“Of course. I will.” I nodded, putting my hand on top of Maddie’s head while she grinned. She beamed with her victory. “Why don’t you go join the others,” I said to her when Kelly started lining the girls up in their places.

“Thank you. I’ll be back in a couple hours.” Miles watched Maddie walk away, and the leftover concern that didn’t hang on his voice was evident on his features. When he turned away, my stomach lurched.

“Miles, wait,” I said, reaching out and gently grabbing his arm. When he looked back, staring at my grasp, I let go. “Wait,” I repeated. He stopped, turning back toward me. It was the first victory. “I was wrong.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“I was wrong. I think I like you more than I thought I did, and I really like Maddie. I was so wrong to let me hold us back.” I squeezed his hand but when he didn’t squeeze back, the small bit of hope I clung to slipped through my fingers. “Maybe we can see what happens.”

When he shook his head, my chest felt heavy, and butterflies started dropping one by one.

“I don’t think so.” He brushed his hand over the side of my face before tucking a loose hair behind my ear.

“I have to protect Maddie. No matter how much I might like you, I can’t be with someone that isn’t completely sure they want to commit to both of us. It would devastate her.”

Miles took my hand and kissed the back of it while I blinked back the tears. “I don’t want to hurt either of you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you either. This is just best.” He let go of my hand, and I let it hover in the air between us. “I’ll be back in a bit to pick her up. Bye, Harper.”

“Okay, we are going to do it one more time from the top to make sure everyone is ready to go for tonight.” Kelly clapped her hands to draw the attention back from the little side conversations that were happening more easily the later we got into class. “Does anyone have questions?”

The girls all shook their heads, so Kelly nodded hers, letting me know I could start the music again.

I hit play, watching little faces twist in concentration before breaking into big grins when they reminded themselves they were supposed to smile.

Girls bounced around to the choreography we had spent the last few weeks learning.

When I saw Maddie fall down, I jumped to my feet.

When she looked around like she was searching for me, I rushed to her side.

As soon as I got there, she relaxed, grabbing her arm.

“Are you okay?” I asked her, taking her left arm in my hand and watching her face for the reaction.

She winced harder than I had expected her to.

Maddie shook her head. “My arm hurts.” She pointed to her left arm again, scrunching her face as tightly as she could. I hadn’t seen her fall, but it didn’t look like she had landed on her arm.

“Let’s stand up here so I can get a better look at it.

” I stood up, helping her to her feet and leading her away from the group.

As soon as we were off to the side, she cradled her right arm with the left.

I reached out, and she offered me her right arm.

I tilted my head. “Does this hurt?” I asked, giving her right elbow a small squeeze.

Maddie’s face twisted in a delayed wince, and she nodded. “Yeah. Really badly. Should we call Daddy?”

“And you’re sure this hurts?” I squeezed again in a different spot, getting another delayed look of forced pain.

“Yeah. I’m sure.” She nodded again to emphasize the point.

I took her left hand and straightened her arm, and she didn’t cringe at all. “Well earlier, it was your left arm that hurt,” I said, and her eyes widened in horror.

“Oh yeah,” she said, bringing her left arm to her body and cradling it again. I swallowed a dry laugh at her dedication to the performance. Then I took both of her hands.

“I don’t think that your arms are hurt. I think you fell down on purpose. Is that right?” I assumed by the guilty look on her face that it was. “Why would you do that?” I have a pretty good idea.

Maddie sighed, and her shoulders dropped. “Okay, I didn’t really fall. I just wanted you to see Daddy.” She looked away guiltily.

I followed her gaze. “Why is that?”

“So you can make him happy again. I think he likes you.” She nodded like that justified hurling herself onto the ground when she was already injured. What if she had actually hurt her arm?

“He does?” The dress rehearsal went on in the background like we weren’t even in the same room. When Maddie went to talk again, she lifted her chin higher like it made her voice louder. She nodded.

“Yeah,” Maddie said. “He’s been really sad all morning too. Are you guys not friends anymore?”

My throat ached around the lump that formed in it, and I blinked away the stinging in my eyes. “Oh we’re still friends,” I said, patting her back. “We’re just… a different kind of friends.”

She groaned like she wasn’t getting her way, and she threw her head back so her curls bounced in front of her face when she looked at me again.

“Can you go back to being the kind of friends that kiss again?” I felt my cheeks warming, and I was glad she wouldn’t understand why I was blushing.

I thought about Miles’ lips on mine and how they felt softer against my neck than they did when he bit my shoulder. I sighed.

“I don’t think so. I hurt your Daddy’s feelings,” I explained, unsure how to tell her that the reason Miles and I weren’t friends that kiss anymore is because I didn’t want to commit to the idea of being her mom and also knowing that it wasn’t my place to try to explain it to her.

“That’s okay!” Maddie shrugged, looking less stressed when she learned that his feelings were hurt. “I hurt his feelings sometimes too, but he always forgives me. He’ll forgive you too and then you guys can kiss again.”

I laughed when she nodded, proud of herself for resolving the issue in her own mind. “I don’t think he will forgive me as easily as he forgives you,” I said, brushing her hair back.

“Maybe he will!” As far as Maddie was clearly concerned, it was already a done deal. By the now-satisfied look on her face, she was already plotting her celebration for getting us together. She was proud of it too. I laughed.

“Yeah, maybe.” I wasn’t going to get my hopes up, but I wasn’t going to crush hers either. Kelly’s words repeated in my mind. Maybe you realize being a bonus mom wouldn’t be completely terrible.

Maddie wiggled like her made-up injury was completely gone. She clapped her hands together excitedly. “You can try it later.” Later?

“What do you mean?”

She looked at me and then from one side to the other before leaning closer to me and lowering her voice. When she tapped her fingers together like a TV villain, I had to bite back an entertained smile. “I have a plan. Just go with it.”