Covering the Carolinas by Casey Peeler Page A

Summer giggles drunkly. “I bet she’s home
changing a diaper or something.” And she laughs harder. Pulling her
arms away from me, I realize I’m seeing the real Summer
    “ Summer, that’s uncalled for.”
    “ Whatever, but it’s the truth. You know as
well as I do you don’t want a kid, and it looks like you made the
right choice picking me.”
    “ What are you talking about? I haven’t picked
you.”
    “ I wonder what she tells him about his daddy
or if she just leaves you out? There’s no way you could walk into
his life now.” For a brief moment I believe Summer, then it hits
me. Summer was just being nice this week to get me to pick her. I
have been honest with her but she doesn’t really care about my
feelings. This is the real Summer and she disgusts me. “She’s no
longer that perfect girl you had in your mind, and now she’s got
this little boy tagging along.” As she tries to wrap her arms
around me again, I step away from her.
    “ You will not talk about my son or Marleigh
like that ever again. The only choice I’ve made is that I never
want to see you again. Do you understand?” She stands there in
disbelief. I look over and see that Tinleigh and Carleigh have
heard every word.
    Walking past them, I smile but don’t speak.
Everyone’s eyes are on me as I leave Brett’s and get the hell out
of there. I’ve got to get away and think about how I’m going to
truly forgive Marleigh for missing three years of my son’s life
because denying that I’m in love with her isn’t an option.
    Leaving Brett’s, I make a beeline toward her house.
With each step, my focus is on Marleigh and my son. I have to have
them in my life, and she has to know that I’ve never stopped loving
her. As I reach the house and begin to knock, I hear her parents
around back. I walk around the side of the house and they stop
midsentence when they see me.
    “ Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, I’m sorry it’s late
but is Marleigh home?
    “ She went for a walk on the beach, GC,” Mrs.
Anderson says.
    “ Thank you.” I turn and jog toward the ocean
as memories of us fill my mind. As my feet hit the sand, I don’t
see anyone anywhere. I look to my left and right, and then I take a
deep breath and close my eyes while my heart tells me exactly where
to find her.
    Hitting the sand, I hurry to the old house and
pray that it’s still there. I slow as I see her curled up, with her
hair blowing in the wind, in that old chair. Every doubt I had
about forgiveness melts away as I move closer and closer to
her. Is she crying ? My heart
begins to pound as I walk toward her and the place where our lives
changed. Maybe, just maybe, we can make this right. She lifts her
head from the arm as I reach her, and she wipes away tears as she
stands.
    “ What are you doing here?” She says just above
a whisper.
    I take another step toward her. “Mar, I’m sorry I
acted that way. I just… just didn’t expect that when I met you that
day. I mean…” She takes a step toward me and I do the same.
    As she starts to speak, we continue toward each
other until we are a within each other’s reach. “GC, I’m the one
that’s sorry. I went about this completely wrong. I never should
have kept Gunner from you, but I was scared and wanted what I
thought was best for you.”
    “ I know that now. I’m sorry I wasn’t with you
through all of this. I mean, it about killed me the way you just
ended things.” I place my hand on her cheek and wipe the single
tear that falls from her beautiful eye. “What do we do
now?”
    “ That’s up to you,” she whispers as she looks
in my eyes, and I know there’s no way I’m walking away from her
ever again.
    Placing my forehead against hers, my hand slides to
the base of her neck and I feel a necklace. I pause and then pull
it from her chest. Tears flood my eyes when I see the necklace I
mailed her the day she broke my heart.
    “ You kept it.” She nods and then turns it over
and when I see that