He sighs, reeling in his line and changing the subject. “You got a handle on the Robinson order?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry.” I shoot my eyes left again, seeing Mirai exit his tent, see us, and quickly dive into her own, as if we’re all stupid.

It’s amusing, though.

“She’s wearing your shirt,” I tell him. “Better go get it.”

He shoots me a smile. “I will.”

Tiernan walks out of our tent as he heads off, and I look over my shoulder at her, smiling.

She’s dressed in my favorite brown bikini and waving a swim diaper at me.

I head over, letting her take the kid and change him as I dive into the tent to get into my trunks and grab his life jacket.

We get him suited up and carry him into the pond.

“Ohhhhhh.” She smiles excitedly at Griffin as he splashes his arms in legs in the water. “It’s cold, isn’t it?”

We wade out, holding him and playing, the waterfall grabbing his attention as he coos.

“Can you say ‘waterfall’?” she asks him.

His eyes light up, looking at her and talking in baby talk.

We slip behind the falls, water drenching our heads and laughing as he sucks in air, a little shocked.

Tiernan looks around, both of us taking in the new artwork on the walls. “You scared me so much the last time we were here,” she says.

I hold Griffin by the jacket, letting his arms and legs wade freely.

“You scare easily,” I joke.

“I don’t. You were intense.”

“Were?” I ask, feigning insult.

She knows I’m intense where it counts now.

We drift in deeper, spinning the baby around in the water.

“I should’ve brought you here then,” I tell her. “Or stayed with you in here that day.”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t have run?”

“Because I made your thighs quiver.”

She snorts. “You didn’t.”

“That wasn’t you moaning on top of the car that first night we met?”

“I told you to stop!”

“I’m sorry,” I say sweetly. “I couldn’t hear you over the sound of all your panting.”

“Shut up.”

I hold the kid with one hand and pull her in with the other. “Wanna try your luck again?”

Her eyebrows shoot up at my challenge.

“I can leave Griffin with Noah for a while again tonight.” I stare down into her eyes, her body pressing into mine, riling me up again. “And maybe meet you in here at ten? You can show me how good you are at hating everything I do.”

She bites her bottom lip, looking at my mouth, and I still see her that day—backing away from me and nervous, but God, I just wanted to stay here with her.

But she giggles and twists out of my hold, grabbing our son and moving back toward the falls to exit the tunnel.

“It’ll be really dark in here at ten,” she warns.

Really dark.

I move toward her, looking at her just like I did that day so long ago. “I’ll find you.”

“If you can…” she taunts.

And then she disappears with Griff through the falls, and I smile at all the nights ahead of us.

The End

Thank you for reading Credence, and thank you for your reviews! It’s appreciated so much.

A mystery still remains, though!

What happened to Tiernan’s underwear?

Did she get them back? Who took them and why?

Think about it, and I’ll let you know if your guess is correct with a special bonus scene, available on my website February 14, 2020.

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If you like forbidden, age gap love stories and haven’t read one of my other stand-alones, Birthday Girl, please turn the page to read a sample.

Jordan

He’s not answering. This is the second time I’ve called in fifteen minutes, and I’ve been texting without any luck, too. Was he planning on still remembering to be here at two?

I end the call and glance up at the clock above the bar, seeing it’s nearly midnight now. Still two hours before my boyfriend thinks I’m off work and need to be picked up.

And here I thought we got a lucky surprise tonight, me getting off early.

Shit.

I need to get my car running. I can’t keep relying on him for rides.

The music fills the air around me, customers laughing to my right and one of the other bartenders filling the cooler with ice to my left.

Unease pricks at the back of my neck. If he’s not answering, then he’s either asleep or out. Both could mean he’ll remember me after it’s too late. He’s not always unreliable, but this wouldn’t be the first time, either.

That’s the problem with making your friend your boyfriend, I guess. He still thinks he can get away with murder.

I grab my shirt and school bag out of the cabinet underneath the taps and slide my phone into my pocket. I pull on a flannel over my tank top, button it up, and tuck the front of the hem into my jeans, covering myself. I’ll dress a little sexy for tips, but I’m not about to walk out of here like this.

“Where are you going?” Shel asks, peering at me as she draws a beer.

I glance over at my boss, her black hair with blonde chunks piled on top of her head and a string of tiny hearts tattooed around her upper arm.

“There’s a midnight showing of Evil Dead at The Grand Theater,” I tell her as I close the cabinet and slide the strap of my leather satchel over my head. “I’ll go kill time and wait for Cole there.”

She finishes pouring her beer and looks at me like there are a million things she wants to say but doesn’t even know where to start.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I wish she’d stop looking at me like that. There’s a good possibility Cole won’t be here at two a.m. considering he’s not answering the phone right now. I know that. He could be three sheets to the wind at some friend’s house.

Or he could be at home sleeping with the alarm set to come get me at two and his phone left in another room. It’s not likely, but it’s possible. He’s got two hours. I’ll give him two hours.

Besides, my sister is at work, and no one here can leave to drive me home. Work is slow tonight, and I got cut early because I’m the only one without a child to support.

Even though I desperately need the money just the same.

I grip the strap of the bag over my chest, feeling like I should be older than eighteen.

Well, nineteen now, almost forgetting what today is.

I take a deep breath, pushing the worry away for tonight. A lot of people my age struggle for money, can’t pay bills, and have to bum rides. I know it’s too much to expect that I’d have everything figured out by now, but it’s still embarrassing. I hate looking helpless.

And I can’t blame Cole, either. It was my decision to use what was left of my student loan money to help him fix his car. He’s been there for me, too. At one time, we were all the other one had.