Chapter 5: The Shore

Chloe's living room had never felt smaller. The space that usually radiated warmth and bohemian charm—with its mismatched throw pillows, Mae's artwork covering the refrigerator, and the comfortable chaos of a life fully lived—now felt like a pressure cooker ready to explode.

Lexi sat on the familiar couch, watching Mae play with her blocks on the carpet, trying to pretend that everything was normal. That the man sitting stiffly in the armchair across from them wasn't the biological father of the child who'd just built a tower shaped like a boat.

Zeke hadn't said much since they'd arrived at Chloe's house three hours ago. He'd accepted Chloe's tearful invitation to stay for dinner with the careful politeness of a man walking through a minefield, and now he sat like a statue, his gaze following Mae's every movement with an intensity that made Lexi's skin crawl.

"More juice, baby?" Chloe asked Mae, her voice artificially bright as she bustled around the kitchen. She'd been in constant motion since they'd arrived, cooking, cleaning, rearranging things that didn't need rearranging—anything to avoid the conversation they all knew was coming.

Mae looked up from her blocks, her face serious with five-year-old concentration. "Can Zeke help me make a castle? He's good at building things."

The innocent request landed in the room like a grenade. Chloe's hands stilled on the juice pitcher, and Zeke's breath caught audibly. Lexi felt her protective instincts flare—Mae was getting attached, and that was dangerous. What happened when Zeke decided he'd had enough of playing house and disappeared back to his old life?

"I..." Zeke's voice cracked slightly. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'd love to help you build a castle, Mae."

He slid from the chair to the floor with careful movements, as if he were afraid any sudden motion might shatter the moment. Mae beamed at him, immediately launching into an elaborate explanation of her architectural vision while Zeke listened with the focused attention most adults reserved for board meetings.

Watching them together, Lexi felt something twist painfully in her chest. Mae was already showing off for him, the way she did when she wanted to impress someone special. And Zeke... God, the expression on his face as he handed Mae blocks and praised her design choices was devastating in its tenderness.

This was exactly what she'd been afraid of.

"She looks like your mother," Chloe said quietly, settling beside Lexi on the couch. "Around the eyes especially."

Zeke's hands stilled for just a moment, his gaze flicking to Chloe with surprise and something that might have been gratitude. "You remember that?"

"I remember more than you might think." Chloe's voice was soft, but there was steel underneath. "I remember you talking about her. How much you missed her."

The admission hung in the room like smoke, thick with implications. Lexi stared at her best friend, seeing her as if for the first time. Chloe had always described that night as a forgettable encounter, a moment of spontaneity that had resulted in the best thing in her life. But the way she was looking at Zeke now suggested the memory had been anything but forgettable.

Mae held up a perfectly constructed tower, her face glowing with pride. "Look! It's like the boat, but stronger!"

"It's beautiful," Zeke said, and his voice was rough with emotion. "You're very talented, Mae."

"Mama says I get it from my daddy," Mae announced matter-of-factly, returning to her building. "She says he was probably good at making things too."

The words hit Zeke like a physical blow. Lexi watched his face crumple, saw him struggle to maintain his composure in front of the child who didn't know she'd just delivered a devastating truth. His hands were shaking as he reached for another block.

"Mae, honey," Chloe said gently, "why don't you go wash your hands for dinner?"

Mae skipped off toward the bathroom, humming to herself, and the moment she was out of earshot, Zeke's careful control finally shattered. He buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs that made Lexi's throat tighten despite herself.

"I had a daughter," he whispered, his voice muffled. "All this time, I had a daughter, and I didn't know. I wasn't there. I missed everything."

Chloe moved to the floor beside him, her hand hovering uncertainly over his shoulder before finally making contact. "You couldn't have known. I didn't even know how to find you."

"You shouldn't have had to." He looked up, his eyes red-rimmed and fierce. "I should have—I don't know what I should have done, but not that. Not walking away like it meant nothing."

"It didn't mean nothing," Chloe said quietly, and Lexi felt something cold settle in her stomach at the tenderness in her best friend's voice.

Zeke stared at Chloe with desperate intensity. "Then why didn't you try to find me? Why didn't you—"

"Because you were grieving," Chloe interrupted, her own eyes filling with tears. "Your wife had just died, Zeke. You were so broken, so lost. I couldn't add to that burden."

The revelation hit Lexi like a slap. Sarah had just died when Zeke and Chloe met. Which meant that night hadn't been a casual encounter for either of them—it had been two wounded people finding comfort in each other's arms.

"You knew about Sarah?" Zeke's voice was barely a whisper.

"You talked about her. About how much you loved her, how empty everything felt without her." Chloe's hand moved to cover his, and Lexi watched their fingers intertwine with growing alarm. "I didn't want to be another complication in your life."

"So you raised our daughter alone instead."

"I raised our daughter with love," Chloe corrected firmly. "With Lexi's help, with a whole community of people who adore her. Mae has never lacked for anything."

"Except a father."

The words hung in the air between them, heavy with years of guilt and regret. Mae's laughter drifted from the bathroom, a bright sound that seemed to emphasize the weight of everything she didn't know.

Lexi felt like she was watching her world dissolve from the outside. The family she'd helped build, the life she'd been so fiercely protective of, was transforming before her eyes into something she didn't recognize. Chloe and Zeke were looking at each other like they were the only people in the room, their shared connection to Mae creating an intimacy that made Lexi feel like an intruder in her own found family.

"I want to know her," Zeke said, his voice steady now with quiet determination. "I want to be part of her life. I know I have no right to ask, but—"

"You have every right," Chloe interrupted. "You're her father."

Mae came bouncing back into the room, her hands still damp from washing, and immediately threw herself back into her building project. She chattered happily about her day, about the nice Coast Guard officers, about how Zeke had taught her to identify different types of clouds.

As Zeke listened to her with rapt attention, asking thoughtful questions and praising her observations, Lexi felt the last of her denial crumble. This wasn't going away. He wasn't going to disappear back to his old life and leave them alone.

He was Mae's father, and watching them together, seeing the way Mae bloomed under his attention and the way his face lit up at her laughter, Lexi had to admit what she'd been fighting against since the moment of recognition on the boat.

Mae needed him. Maybe she'd been fine without him, maybe they'd built something beautiful in his absence, but seeing them together now, Lexi couldn't deny the rightness of it. The way Mae's face had taken on an extra glow of happiness, the way she seemed more settled, more complete.

"I should go," Lexi said abruptly, standing up from the couch. She couldn't watch anymore, couldn't sit there and pretend her heart wasn't breaking as her carefully constructed world rearranged itself around her.

"Lexi, no," Chloe protested, but Lexi was already reaching for her purse.

"You three need time to figure this out," she said, proud of how steady her voice sounded. "Mae, be good for Mama, okay?"

Mae looked up from her blocks with concern. "Are you sad, Aunt Lexi?"

The simple question nearly undid her. "Just tired, sweetheart. I'll see you tomorrow."

She made it to her car before the tears started, sitting in Chloe's driveway with her hands gripping the steering wheel as five years of certainty crumbled around her. Through the living room window, she could see the three of them—Chloe, Zeke, and Mae—forming a picture of family that was achingly complete without her.

For the first time since Mae was born, Lexi wondered where exactly she fit into this new reality. And for the first time in years, she felt truly, devastatingly alone.