CHAPTER 19: Mason

I walked into the guest room and dropped to the bed slowly, missing Isabelle’s warmth. I liked sleeping with her in my arms even if it was on a couch.

I knew that we were going home in a few hours and wondered how to make that happen there. I could stay at her house and they could come to mine. I had a guest room that could work for Kendra, but what if she didn’t want to sleep over there?

I was getting ahead of myself. I didn’t even know if Isabelle wanted that from me though she seemed happy with me. I kicked off my shorts and dropped them to the floor, sliding under the light quilt to try to get comfortable.

I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes again, the sun was shining through the window. I looked around, grabbing my phone to see that it was past nine. I listened for noise in the house and laughter carried up the stairs as I stretched.

I stood and pulled on my shorts before hitting the bathroom to freshen up. When I walked downstairs, Melanie and Isabelle were drinking coffee and Kendra was drinking orange juice. “Morning,” I greeted them as Isabelle gave me a beautiful smile.

“Good morning, Mason. Want some coffee?” Melanie asked as I nodded and looked around for Frank. “He went for a walk. Always does in the morning. I think we’ll have time for a nice breakfast before you go.” I saw the way she looked at Kendra before pouring me some coffee and asking if I took cream or sugar.

“Black is great,” I assured her, lifting the cup to smell cinnamon. That’s where it started. I smiled as I thought about the way we met and the look on Isabelle’s face. I sipped the coffee and let it slide down my throat, knowing that cinnamon coffee would always remind me of this time in my life.

Frank came home, and we got ready to leave. Kendra drove with Frank and Melanie and I took Isabelle in the mustang. It was good for them to have time with her and Isabelle told me that we could take their seat for the ride to the airport unless they wanted to come along to say goodbye. We’d arranged a place to meet for breakfast and the two of us went to the hotel to pack and check me out as she looked around the room. Isabelle smiled as she looked at me, blushing as I packed some pants into the luggage. “I wish I could have spent some more time here,” she told me as I nodded.

“We’ll travel. We’ll have times like this again.” I assured her as Isabelle looked at me.

“Kendra.” I shook my head.

“She isn’t an inconvenience, Isabelle. She’s a great kid that I look forward to spending time with. We can travel together and find some time for us when she’s asleep. Parents have been doing that for years, haven’t they?” I smiled, and she stared at me with wide eyes.

“I love that you care for her like this. If you hadn’t been at that beach, she might have been swept out to sea. I might not have been able to save her.” Tears filled Isabelle’s eyes, and I pulled her close.

“You’re her mom. You would have done anything you needed to in another situation. I just happened to be the one yesterday.” I pulled her close as she sucked in her breath and hugged me back. “You are a great mom.”

Isabelle composed herself, walking into the bathroom to make sure that I had everything I needed. I suspected that she was taking a moment and allowed it as I checked around the room. We left, and I turned in the key, signing the last of the papers as Isabelle joined me in walking to the car.

We kissed as I opened her door, lingering for a moment before she pulled away and slid inside. I drove to the small cafe on the water, seeing everyone else sitting at a large table outside. I grinned as we joined them, looking around at Isabelle’s family that welcomed me so easily. We ordered coffee and something for Kendra to drink, looking over the menu to decide what we wanted to eat.

The breakfast was leisurely as we talked about my family and the upcoming holidays. Melanie asked if I was going to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family and I nodded. Melanie said that the girls normally came to visit as much as they could and I smiled. “Maybe you can find some time, if it works with your plans.”

“I’ll work something out. It’s just a short flight.”

We went to a nearby beach just to get our ocean fix and Kendra wandered along the sand, allowing a few feet between her and the water. Granted, we weren’t here to swim, but she seemed a little scared as she stared at the waves. Isabelle watched her, and I saw her eyes filling with tears again. I reached out for her hand and squeezed it before walking over to Kendra.

“Hey, there. How are you doing?” I asked her as she looked at me with big blue eyes. “Scared?”

“What if another wave takes me out there?” She asked as she looked back at the water.

“Have you taken swimming lessons?” I asked her as she shook her head.

“I’ve been in a pool but I usually stay in the shallow end,” she admitted as I glanced over at Isabelle.

“How about some lessons when we get back? There are some great indoor pools and the teachers will make it fun to learn.” Kendra looked at me and narrowed her eyes.

“Will there be other kids there that don’t know how to swim?” I smiled and nodded.

“I’ll bet you make some friends there and you’ll be comfortable in the water. It helps in places like this, but I’ll keep you safe.” I met her eyes and smiled.

“I’d like that.” We walked a bit closer to the water and the other three joined us as Kendra asked Isabelle about swimming lessons. She agreed and promised Kendra that she’d look into is as soon as we were back and gave me a long look.

Once the goodbyes were said, and we were on the plane, Isabelle watched as Kendra relaxed in the same seat with her books and games. I could see that she was tired and Isabelle smiled as she followed my gaze. “I didn’t even think of lessons. She has been in a pool several times but it didn’t occur to me that she didn’t truly swim. I guess I thought it was because she was little. I don’t know. Maybe I should have been that mom that did it when she was a baby.”

“Slow down. That isn’t necessary. We’ll figure this out and she’ll be confident in no time. It won’t always help her but a little confidence goes a long way.” I looked into her face as she relaxed and looked at Kendra again, who was falling asleep. Isabelle looked back at me and then Kendra before she kissed me softly. I wanted to ask how it was going to be when we got back to Seattle but I lost myself in her lips instead.

We landed just after the sun set and all three of us watched it from the plane. Kendra packed her bag as we descended and Isabelle looked around to make sure that she had everything.

We left, and I grinned when I saw the car waiting for us. I’d called for it, asking for a seat for Kendra and Isabelle looked at me. “What did you do?”

“I thought that we could go home together.” We walked to the town car and got Kendra buckled up before heading to their apartment. I knew that we worked the following day and prepared myself to go home alone. I sat beside Isabelle and watched her as she looked at the scenery with a thoughtful smile.

When the car pulled up to the complex, Isabelle looked at me. “Want to come in?”

“Yeah?” I asked as I looked at Kendra. She nodded and reached her hand out to take mine.

“I’ll drive us to work tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

“Perfect.” We left the car and got our bags, taking them into the apartment. I managed to find something in the suitcase that would work for tomorrow and Isabelle took care of it for me as Kendra ate a quick dinner of grilled cheese. After that, she took a quick bath and Isabelle tucked her into bed. It had been a long weekend, and we were all tired. We checked on her one more time before Isabelle led me to her room where we undressed for sleep and crawled into bed.