Page 16 of Until August

Cagey bastard. Swallowing my pride, I probed for answers. “What did Sasha tell him about me?”

“He thinks…” His eyes darted to the water as the older boy caught a wave. “Damn. He’s only eleven, and he already surfs like a champion.” Travis shook his head, and I heard the pride in his voice as if he was solely responsible for this kid’s surfing skills.

The kid was good. Really fucking good. But I wasn’t here to watch another boy surfing.

“What does Sage think?” I prompted, my patience stretched so thin I felt like I might snap.

Travis sighed and ran his hand over his hair. “He thinks you took a job in another state and never came back.”

Fuck. Sage thought I’d abandoned him?

That was almost worse than thinking I was dead. At least with death, you didn’t get a choice.

“Well, now I’m back and intend to be a big part of his life.” Bold words considering I hadn’t even gotten my foot in the door. But now that I saw him, it would take an entire army to keep me away.

Travis eyed me, considering my words before responding. “It’s Sasha’s call. She needs to see that you’re not here to fuck up their lives. So why don’t you prove it to her?” I heard the challenge in his tone. “And thenmaybeyou’ll have a shot at getting that second chance.”

This had to be an all-time low, getting advice I didn’t ask for from the man who had married my ex and treated my son like his own.

“But a word of advice.” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t get anywhere near him or my house again until Sasha says it’s okay.”

So much for not being the enemy. He’d drawn lines in the sand and made it clear which side I stood on. The outside looking in.

I slammed my teeth together and bit back my retort–fuck you–as he jogged into the water and left me standing at the edge, watching my whole world go up in flames and burn to ash.

Not only did he think he knew my son better, but he also thought it was his place to protect Sage.From me.

But as much as I hated to admit it, he’d made a good point.

I had to prove myself worthy of being in Sage’s life.

So I walked away before being accused of stalking. Not because I gave a shit about Travis’ veiled threats but because I didn’t want to cause a scene that would upset my son.

I grabbed my Vans from where I’d left them in the sand, and when I reached the running path at the top of the beach, I turned for a final look just as Sage caught a wave.

The day he was born should have been the happiest day of my life. But I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, a mountain of debt, and a newborn with a congenital heart defect. When Sage was born, only half of his heart had developed, and the other half had complications. The two main arteries going into his heart were going in the wrong direction.

At only five days old, Sage had his first open heart surgery. Over the next two and half years, he had two more. It was more than anyone should have to go through in a lifetime. But to go through all that before the age of three had robbed him of a carefree childhood.

So, to see my boy on the water, riding that wave, made my fucking heart expand in my chest.

That’s my boy.

With one last look, I left the beach and sought a place where I might catch another glimpse of him when he left the beach.

I grabbed a coffee from a little shop along the promenade and snagged a table outside, my mind replaying the conversation with Travis and that all-too-brief moment when I was face-to-face with my son again.

I’d spent a lifetime blocking out bad memories and shitty reminders of the past, and as I’d learned, that kind of pain had to be contained. So I allowed myself a few minutes to relive the moment when he had no recognition of who I was, and then I slammed the door shut on it.

I would find a way to get Sage back into my life if I had to raise an entire army to do it.

In the meantime, I needed to find a job. But so far, every door that would have been open in the past had been slammed in my face.

I fished out the folded-up piece of paper I’d stuffed in my pocket and a pencil and stared at The Surf Lodge, a 1950s retro hotel across the street.

I envisioned the restaurant—upscale with a chilled-out vibe. Cool. Modern. Sexy. Deep, dark blue with copper accents. Velvet banquettes. Potted palms. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a terrace and the ocean.

Pushing up the sleeves of my hoodie, I smoothed my hand over the parchment and studied the menu I’d gotten from Ari last night.