Isaac had He found the house without much trouble, and jogged up to the front door and rang the bell. A wide smile crossed Lindsey’s face when she opened the door. “Well, Isaac Hanson. As I live and breathe,” she said. Isaac grinned. “Hey, Lindsey. Long time no see.” Lindsey, as cute and blonde as ever, stood on her tiptoes and hugged Isaac. “Get in here,” she said. Isaac walked into the house, which smelled very new. “You guys just buy this place?” he asked. Lindsey nodded. “Had it custom built,” she said. Isaac let out a low whistle. “It’s nice,” he said. “Thanks.” Isaac followed Lindsey into the living room, which was painted gray. The furnishings were all mauve and brass. Isaac looked at the pictures on the wall, and felt a lump form in his throat when he spotted one of himself and Taryn on Cam and Lindsey’s wedding day. That was the last time they had really been together. Isaac spied Clara playing in her playpen, and strode directly over to her. “Hey, baby brown eyes,” he said in a sing-songy voice. He picked Clara up, and she smiled brightly. Lindsey smiled. “Got time for a cup of coffee, Dad?” she asked. Isaac held Clara in the air and made funny noises at her, sending her into a giggling fit. “I don’t drink coffee,” he said. “But if you have a Coke or something, that would be cool.” Lindsey nodded and motioned for Isaac to follow her to the kitchen. “How’s Cam?” Isaac asked, sitting down at the table and balancing Clara on his lap. “Good,” Lindsey replied, shuffling through her cupboards for a coffee mug and a tumbler. “He works too much, just like always. But he loves it. This new publication he’s working on really took off.” “Is it the same one Taryn writes for?” Isaac asked.
Lindsey found what she was looking for and closed the cupboards. “No,” she said. “Taryn’s is a woman’s magazine. Cam’s is a sporting publication.” Isaac nodded. “Is she happy here, Lindsey?” he asked. Lindsey set Isaac’s soda in front of him and sat down across the table from him. “She misses New York,” she said. “She misses her mom. And she misses you.” Isaac looked into Lindsey’s blue eyes, searching for answers that Taryn should have given him. “I miss her too,” he said. “But I don’t trust her. I’m afraid to get too attached again.” Lindsey put her hand over Isaac’s. “Honey, she loves you so much,” she said. “It killed her to do what she did. We all told her she should just stay in New York and work this out with you. Even Gregor tried to convince her that she was wrong. But she’s bullheaded that way. You know that once she gets an idea in her head, there’s no talking her out of it.” Isaac held Clara to him tightly and kissed the top of her blonde head. “I would have stuck with her,” he said. “I love her. Why wasn’t that enough to keep her around?” Lindsey cocked her head. “Isaac, she never doubted that you loved her,” she said. “And she knew that you’d do the honorable thing. She just wanted you to be able to be young and not be tied down. Taryn wants someone to love her for real. She’s afraid of people taking pity on her or being with her out of a sense of responsibility.” “I do love her for real. At least I did. Now I’m not sure what a feel,” Isaac said. Lindsey clucked her tongue. “Isaac Hanson, are you going to sit in my house, at my kitchen table, drinking my soda out of my glass, holding my goddaughter and lie right to my face?” she asked. “That’s not very polite. I thought you had better manners than that.” Isaac raised his eyebrows. “What?” “You are sure of how you feel,” Lindsey said, taking a sip of hot coffee. “And that scares you to death. You’re so busy trying to stay mad at Taryn that you’re not letting yourself get back into her life.” “I just want to make sure that she can’t take Clara from me again,” Isaac said stubbornly. “And you have no idea how it feels to have missed a really important part of your own child’s life.” Lindsey shook her head. “You’re right, I don’t,” she said. “But I do know what it’s like to love someone with all my heart and then have that person walk out on me. I know what it’s like to have them come back suddenly and to be scared to reach out to them. But I’ll tell you, Isaac, you cut yourself off from some of the best stuff in life by being afraid and by holding grudges.” Isaac looked at Clara, who was mesmerized by the shiny zipper on his jacket. “It just seems like it was really easy for her to take off on me,” he said, sounding like a hurt little boy. “Easy?” Lindsey said. “Oh no, Isaac. It wasn’t easy. And after Clara was born, it got even harder. When she looks at this beautiful baby everyday, who do you think she reminds her of? You’re there for her every single day, Isaac. You have been since the day that she met you. It’s never been about anyone else but you.” Isaac shook his head. “I just can’t seem to bring myself to forgive her all the way,” he said. “We started going at it a little last night … you know, just kissing and stuff … and I had to push her away or I knew where it was going to end up. I’m just drawn to her … I can’t explain it. But I don’t just want to jump back in so that she thinks what she did was okay. It wasn’t okay.” “She knows that,” Lindsey said gently. “How long are you going to punish her for this?” Clara reached up and touched Isaac’s face with her tiny hand. Isaac put his hand over hers. “I’m just keeping my distance until I feel safe again,” he said. “If that ever happens.”
offered to pick Clara up from Cam and Lindsey’s house the next morning. Taryn had given him the address, and Isaac found himself in an upscale subdivision on the outskirts of Albuquerque.
