I sat alone in the kitchen with my racing thoughts and my delicious apple.

Dad, Aiden, Apple, Ezra, Dad, Aiden, Apple, Ezra. Dad. Ezra.

Ezra.

Ezra.

He looked really good today. Strong, handsome, clean, in love... Damnit.

I took another bite of my apple and pulled out my phone to look up the menu for the pizza place. I wanted pineapple. I had discovered that I loved it on my pizza while I was pregnant. Aiden would eat anything I would order anyway; he always did. It's amazing he hasn't gained a pound over the years. Men were lucky. I had to watch what I ate every day or they would have to roll me out of the house.

About an hour later, Aiden knocked on the door. Jessa had just gotten up from her nap and her messy hair was sticking out in all directions. It looked like she got in a fight with a blow dryer in her sleep.

"She looks like you when you wake up." Aiden laughed, taking the sight of her in.

"So funny." I said, rolling my eyes. I pulled out a slice of cheese pizza and cut it up on a paper plate into tiny squares. Aiden attempted to grab one of the squares and I smacked him on the hand. "Do you know how long it takes to cut everything up and cool it? I am not doing it a second time."

Jessa's screams of laughter filled the hallway. She must have run into the living room with my Mom when I was scolding Aiden.

He opened the pizza box and took out a few pieces, laying them on his plate on the island. He grabbed a loose piece of cheese from the box and stuck it in his mouth.

"You said earlier you needed to talk?" He said with his mouth full. He eagerly scooped up a piece of loose pineapple and swallowed it without chewing. When he looked back up, he saw my face fill with worry and his smile fell away. He sat up straight and got serious. "Is there something wrong? Has your Dad gotten worse?"

I swallowed before opening my mouth to speak. I didn't want to say this out loud.

"So...umm...we ran into Ezra on the street today." I whispered so my Mom would not hear in the living room.

"What!?" He screamed, choking on the food in his mouth. I raised my hand to quiet him down.

"Please be quiet. I haven't told anyone else yet."

"What did he say? What did you say? Did he see her?" He nodded his head in the direction of the little girl in the other room.

"We didn't speak. He looked down at her. I grabbed her up and ran to the theater."

"Do you think he knows?"

"I'm not sure. It happened so fast. I am really scared. What if he figures it out?"

I placed my head down on my arms and Aiden got up and put his hand on my back. He gently rubbed it, trying to comfort me and then leaned in to hug me.

"Maybe he didn't put it together. You did say it happened quickly. Maybe he was so messed up that he won't even remember he saw you."

"He was clean, Aiden." I said, remembering the clearness in his eyes as he looked down at me. I raised my head up and looked at Aiden's hazel eyes staring down at me with sympathy. "I don't know what to do."

"Ry, I'm not sure if I have the answer for you. You knew this would be a possibility if you kept her from him."

"I know, but it doesn't mean I'm ready for him to know about her."

Jessa ran into the kitchen and my Mom followed slowly behind her, instantly killing any more conversations about Ezra's reappearance.

My Mom stared at Aiden standing behind me with his hands on me and then she examined my face. Her face fell when she saw my expression; she knew something was up. She decided not to meddle and pretended like she hadn't walked in on anything.

"Momma, pizza." Jessa said, reaching up for her food. I nodded and picked up her plate to take it to the dining room table. She sat down and her greedy little hands dug in. She looked beautiful with pizza sauce smeared all over her. My heart fluttered, remembering the day the dark-haired boy with light eyes told me the same thing.

I sent Anna a text after dinner while Aiden was in the living room having a tea party with Jessa. I let her know how Dad had a rough night, but he was still in good spirits. JD and Anna moved to Wisconsin after their wedding. It was before we found out my Dad was sick. JD had gotten a really good job and couldn't pass up the opportunity.

JD and Anna recently had their first little bundle of joy. They named him Kurt after Dad. He was a chubby little blonde thing that was all rolls of fat. I wish they lived closer to help me with Dad and Mom, but I was excited at how well they were doing. I couldn't help but be slightly jealous of how perfect their little family was. I wanted that for Jessa.

Anna text back saying all was good in Wisconsin. She sent me a picture of baby Kurt and I had to hold back the tears. He looked a lot like JD when he was little. I missed my impossible older brother and his insane wife.

"Bath time." I yelled to Jessa when I went into the living room. Her grubby face and little hands were pouring pretend tea into Aiden's pink cup. Aiden brought the cup to his lips and pretended to drink while he told her she made an excellent cup of tea.

I was hoping Jessa would go to bed early tonight. I had a lot to think through and didn't want to end up having another night of us sitting up until four o'clock in the morning. Nights like those were when I missed having someone to share this with the most. During the day, I had enough to keep me occupied; I barely had time to think. At night when everything was quiet, I was just really lonely.

"I guess that's my cue to leave." Aiden said walking over to me and wrapping his arms around my shoulders to bring me into a hug. I wrapped mine around his chest and squeezed back.

"Say hi to Delilah for me." I said when he moved to go. He laughed at me. He knew I called her the wrong name on purpose. I may have Mom brain, but I wasn't that bad.

"Oh, that's over. She was kind of a bitch." He said, smiling.

"Unca Den, what's a bitch?" Jessa asked sweetly from the table. She looked at him and batted her long eyelashes.

We both looked over at her serious expression and died laughing. "Nothing sweet pea." He said, regaining his composure. "Call you tomorrow?"

"I work tomorrow night, but you can give me a ring." I said.

"I already tried, but you said no." He stuck out his tongue. I rolled my eyes at him.

It was kind of the truth.

Aiden did offer to marry me and tell everyone Jessa was his little girl. He offered on multiple occasions. He even told me I didn't have to sleep with him if we were married. He followed that up with a comment about not stopping me if I wanted to. He said he would never tell a soul if I got bored one night and wanted to have some fun. Aiden was still male, after all.

He hugged Jessa and kissed her on the forehead before leaving and she cried because he would not take her with him. I felt like a horrible mom, she wanted a Daddy so bad and I wasn't in any kind of place to give her one.

I scooped her up in my arms and soothed her crying before taking her upstairs for her bath. I was in for a long night with her; she was an intense three-year-old.

All drama with a large dose of sass.

I stuck her in the warm bath and filled it with way too many bubbles. She laughed as they tickled her skin and popped. She would try to make all the bubbles disappear before she would even consider letting me get her out. I was drained from my day and was trying to keep my patience. Being a mom was harder than anyone had ever told me, but it was the most rewarding feeling watching her grow into a little human.