Jodi stood at the railing of the café and closed her eyes, breathing in the night air full of moisture and salt.

She heard him when he approached, or maybe it wasn’t so much heard him as sensed him. She’d become so attuned to him over the last few weeks it felt as though she could feel him even when he didn’t touch her. She wondered if, living in the same town as him, that would always be the case. Ten years from now, when he’d found someone and married her, giving Katie a stepmother, would Jodi still be able to sense him when he was near? Be able to imagine the feel of his palms as they stroked down her back, cupping her ass, pulling her against him for a searing kiss.

“Thanks for meeting me,” he said quietly as he took the spot next to her along the railing.

“Of course,” she answered, a shiver working its way across her skin at the tenor of his voice.

“I’m not sure what I want to say, actually,” he admitted. “But I know we can’t stay in this limbo forever.”

She nodded, eyes still on the sea.

“I’m still—I don’t know—angry’s too strong a word. Maybe disappointed, maybe frustrated.”

“I get that. You have every right to be.”

He turned to her, and she finally looked at him. His anguish was visceral, and she gasped in response to the onslaught of emotions.

“I don’t want to feel those things. I want it to be like it was before,” he rasped, his hands clenched into fists. “But I can’t get past the part where you forgot our daughter. Our five-year-old daughter.”

“I know. I’m having trouble getting past it too.” The water rushed in over the sand and back out again, washing away some shells and seaweed but leaving others in its wake. And that was when it crystallized for her. She could never wipe away all her mistakes, because she’d only make new ones—like forgetting to pick up Katie at school. Not because she was an unfit mother, but because she was human, and humans weren’t static. They were mercurial and fallible, and evolving. That beach, the ocean, the seaweed and shells, they were all like the human life—mistakes out, mistakes in. Sweeping through, over and over. Just like the good parts, the joy, and the successes swept in and out on the same waves.

“I’m having trouble getting past it, but I will,” she said, her voice sounding stronger to her own ears. “Because here’s the thing, Ty. Even at my lowest, I always put Katie first. When I knew I couldn’t be a mother, I gave her to you because you had everything I didn’t—a stable income, a loving family, a solid self-image. That was better for her than having a depressed mess of a mom who might have bailed on her after she got attached to me.

“And when I got my head on straight and I could be there for her, I came back, because I knew having a loving mother in some form would be better than none at all. Yes, I wanted her, but I didn’t do it selfishly. I did it putting her first at every step. I’ve cooperated with you at each turn, from the day we found out I was pregnant until tonight. I’ve never fought you because you and I were in agreement about what was best for her.”

She looked at him, seeing how conflicted he was, how tense his body was strung.

“And I made a mistake this week. It’s hard to get past, but I will, because it’s best for Katie that I not focus on the one thing I’ve done wrong. It’s best for her if I keep being present in her life, loving her, supporting her. And by forgiving myself, I can teach her to forgive herself when she makes mistakes, and I can show her that even when I mess up, it doesn’t change how much I love her.”

Ty watched her for a moment, emotions flitting across his face in increments. Sorrow, regret, frustration, resignation. When he didn’t answer her, she finally broke the lock of their gazes.

“Think about what you want from here,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for Katie no matter what.”

Then she turned to walk to her car on the opposite side of the building.

“And what about us?” he asked in an echo of her question the night he’d tracked her down at her house.

She watched him in the moonlight, the ocean breeze ruffling his hair, and her heart stubbornly refused to let go. So her mouth stubbornly refused to as well.

“I’ve never doubted what I feel. You need to decide what you do.”

Then she walked away, no tears, no regrets. The waves would wash in and wash out. All she could do was keep on living and keep on loving. She was only human, after all.

* * *

“Mommy!” Katie yelled as she flung herself into Jodi’s waiting arms. A week without seeing her had seemed like an absolute eternity to Jodi, even with daily phone calls.

“She’s been so excited to see you, I had a hard time getting her to focus this afternoon,” the teacher said, smiling.

“Uh-oh. Do we need to have the talk about listening to your teacher?” Jodi said, ruffling Katie’s hair as she stood, grabbing Katie’s backpack in one hand and Katie with the other.

“No, she was good as always, just a little more wiggly, right?”

Katie gave a bashful smile. “Mrs. Riley let me to stand up finally ’cause I had the wiggles too bad.” She threw her arms around Jodi’s legs. “I missed you, Mommy.”

Jodi looked down at the sweet blonde head and stroked Katie’s soft hair. “I missed you too, love.” She smiled warmly at the teacher. “Thank you for taking such good care of her last week. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

Mrs. Riley waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Oh please. I once had a father who dropped his kid off for school, drove off in a rush to get to work, and didn’t realize that there was no school that day.”

Jodi’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh my God. What happened?”

“Luckily, the older woman who lives across the street from the school saw him sitting out here on the lawn all alone and brought him a cell phone so he could call his mom. The mother was so mad at her husband, the kid said Daddy had to sleep on the sofa for a week.”

Both women laughed, and Jodi’s heart felt a million pounds lighter.

“Thank you,” she said again. “That really helped.”

“Well, you two have a nice afternoon. Enjoy hanging out with your mom, Katie.”

As they walked to the SUV, Jodi gave a wave to Lynn, whose car she’d spotted when she pulled up. She hadn’t been surprised to see Ty had sent her to not so covertly observe.

“Is that Aunt Lynn?” Katie asked, peering down the row of parked cars.

“Yes, I think it is.”

“What’s she doing here?”

“I’m not sure,” Jodi fibbed. “Maybe she had to deliver coffee to one of the teachers.”

Katie shrugged, seeming unconcerned as she climbed in Jodi’s car and buckled into her booster seat.

“You ready for dance class?” Jodi asked as she started the engine.

“Yes, but will you stay and watch?”

“Of course. Every minute, and then we get to go out to dinner afterward.”

“Yay!” Katie kicked her feet up and down. “Mommy?”

“Yes, Miss Katie?”

“I love you and Daddy.”

“I love you too,” Jodi answered. And your daddy, her heart added.