My heart was in my throat the whole hour before I was supposed to meet her.

So, no mate. Okay, that was better.

Maybe.

It didn’t answer the question of whether she’d had a mate or not when we were together. It didn’t answer the question of whose baby it was, or where he was now.

If we were both single… Hope fluttered in my chest at the thought. Could things be like they’d been before? Then I remembered the baby and knew it would be impossible. Whatever the case was, there was another man involved now—and according to Becca, Alexis still had feelings for him. Even if they weren’t together, she was still hung up on him. And the headaches that came with that? I didn’t know if I could deal with it.

I thought back through my teenage years. They hadn’t been easy. I had to watch my parents divorce and then my dad remarried. His new wife had a young daughter and I remember how strange it was. There was that kid there all the time with my dad. She was sort of my and Kylie’s sister, but not really. He tried very hard to get along with her, but there had been so many issues: problems with the ex-husband, problems with the child support, problems with the schedule. We could never do anything because of her dad. And Kylie and I never really got along with her or developed any sort of closeness. My dad ended up divorcing that woman, too, and married again—that time, sans kids.

I didn’t want that life; I didn’t want to be beholden to someone else’s plans. We would never be able to move away. Maybe that’s why she moved back. Could the guy be from Alaska? She couldn’t have left Florida with the baby if he was there, so he must be here. How in the world had that happened? Maybe she had come back after the cruise. Maybe even to find me? No, that was too much to hope for.

My brain hurt from trying to think it all through. When I pictured just Alexis, there was some hope; some excitement, even. But when I pictured Alexis with a baby, all hope sank. I didn’t know if I had it in me to love another man’s baby. To have to deal with the hassle of that other presence all the time. I wasn’t usually a jealous person, but everyone had their limit. If I had to look at the baby and see someone else’s eyes, would I really be able to love it like my own?

I didn’t take much stock in what Becca had said about Alexis flirting. I doubted it was true, and even if it was, it was likely just Alexis being her friendly, outgoing self. She’d always been good at talking to people, and some might think she was flirting when she wasn’t. What I didn’t want, though, was to watch members of my clan date her. And if they wouldn’t date her because of me, was that fair to her?

I parked at the lodge and shook my head. This is just to talk, I reminded myself. Maybe it’s about the clan. Maybe she wants nothing to do with me, and the idea of us being together is the furthest thing from her mind.

I steadied myself and headed into the lodge. Not surprisingly, she was already there, seated at a table, holding the baby. I walked over and took a seat. “Hi.”

She nodded and gave me a small smile. “Thanks for coming.”

“Sure.” I tried to avoid looking at the baby. It was hard enough to look at Alexis. After a moment, I just stared at the table.

“So, can we go back for a minute, to the cruise?” she asked. “What happened?”

I trained my gaze on a tiny hole in the fabric tablecloth. “My sister, Kylie—you met her—got into a bad car wreck. I left in the middle of the night to be there with her.”

“We were told you left because of an emergency, and I get that. But why didn’t you ever call me?”

“I did try. I called the ship the next day to get your number, but the number was no good. Why didn’t you call me?”

“I didn’t have your number or a way to get a hold of you. I left my number with the instructor who filled in; Becca something, I think it was. She knew you and said she’d give you my number, but that I shouldn’t count on you calling. Then, you didn’t. I even called the park weeks later and left my number again with the same Becca.”

I looked up and met her gaze. “What?”

She looked confused. “What do you mean, what?”

“You left your number with Becca? Twice?”

“She was filling in for you and was the only link I had to you at all. The cruise company wouldn’t give me your number; believe me, I tried many times. When I called the park, she said you weren’t available.”

I drew my eyebrows together. “Didn’t the cruise staff give you my message?”

“What message?”

“Before you even left the boat, they were supposed to deliver a message to you with my number.”

She thought for a minute. “I got off the boat early…”

As we looked at each other, the details slowly filling in, our expressions softened.

“Oh my god,” she said. “You tried to call me! You left your number and I didn’t get it because I got off the boat early? Are you kidding me?”

“I thought…you didn’t want to call me.”

“I thought you didn’t want to call me! And after what Becca said…”

I had forgotten about that part. “What exactly did she say?”

“That you were a player. That I was just a fling and that’s what you did. And that you never called after you slept with someone. When I spoke with her for the second time, she said you’d already been with several women since the cruise.”

I gritted my jaw, sending pain through my teeth. “Do you remember the ex I told you about?”

“The one you had no passion with?”

I nodded. “That’s Becca. What I didn’t really get into was how she reacted when I ended things. It wasn’t exactly the most pleasant break up.”

“Wait. Is that the same Becca…?”

“That you met last night?” I offered. “She dyed her hair. Used to be lighter blonde.”

She gasped. “I thought she looked familiar! I guess she didn’t remember me.”

“Oh no, I’m sure she did. She also mentioned that she’d talked to you last night after the meeting.”

“I talked to a lot of people last night. Except you. You took off.”

“Yeah.” I breathed out a huff. “I was pissed. And then when Becca called me later and told me how you’d been flirting with the other clan men, I was even more pissed. And then she told me all about your baby’s daddy and how much you still seemed to be in love with him.”

Her eyes widened and she paled. She stared at me, hard. “She told you all that?”

I nodded.

“The thing is…” she looked down, then wiped a tear from her eyes. “I am still very much in love with Kodi’s father. I didn’t realize it fully until I came here.”

“So, where is the father? Who is he?”

“It’s kind of a long story…”

“Now’s your chance to tell it.”