Page 15 of Snowbound with My Dad's Best Friend

5

REBECCA

“Mommy, look!” Damian shouts from the monkey bars. “Look what Tommy just taught me.”

I watch as Damian swings from bar to bar with little hangups.

Before, he was too afraid to even hang from the first one.

Tommy is one of the neighborhood boys that Damian immediately took a liking to when we first moved back home.

He’s only a few houses down from us, and they usually play at the playground at least once a week.

He lives with his grandmother, and while it’s a sad story, I’m just glad that Damian could make a nice friend.

Tommy’s been in his grandmother’s custody since he was just a few months old.

His parents died in a tragic highway pileup that happened just months after I moved away.

I’m happy that Tommy and Damian have each other.

Clapping, a smile plasters on my face. “Great job, baby! Just be careful.”

The cold air blows, cutting right through my winter coat, and I shiver on a nearby bench, close to where Damian and Tommy play and run around.

My gloved hands cling to a book I brought along to keep myself entertained, but my mind is far too preoccupied to focus.

It’s a romance novel about a woman who takes over her father’s ranch after he passes, only to fall in love with the hired help.

A story of love, even when it’s frowned upon.

It reminds me of my predicament with Steven.

While I still have love for him, being with him is out of the question for me if I want to keep the relationship I have with my family.

His soft, warm lips pressed against mine in the elevator, replaying in my head, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.

It’s not fair …

I just want to be happy, and Steven makes me incredibly happy.

Why did I have to go and screw things up?

Why didn’t I go to him five years ago with the truth about Damian and the truth about his awful family?

Maybe I should’ve just pulled away from him…I couldn’t bring myself to do that.

I remember now why I was so quick to start a secret relationship with him all those years ago.

Nothing has changed between us except time.

And Damian, the biggest secret I kept in my life.

I know I’m a good mother, but it feels wrong keeping such a wonderful thing hidden away from Steven.

I’m not ashamed of my son; he was made out of love.

I am ashamed that I let something so stupid, like his parents threatening me, deter me from being happy.