Page 48 of Jax & Knox

We make our way over to the swings. I lift him into one of the bucket swings and push him gently while Ainsley watches, her hand resting on the swing to stabilize it. He kicks his legs and makes delighted baby sounds.

Ainsley is standing a few feet away, watching us. There's something in her expression, something vulnerable and achingly beautiful.

"You're good with him," she says quietly.

"He's a good kid."

"He is." She pauses. "He really loves you, you know."

I look at her. "I love him too."

Her breath catches, and for a moment, I think she's going to cry. But then she smiles, and it's genuine.

"Thank you," she whispers.

"For what?"

"For this. For… everything."

I don't know what to say to that, so I just nod and keep pushing Owen on the swing.

After the playground, we spread out a blanket under a tree and sit down. Ainsley pulls out snacks from the bag I packed, crackers, fruit, juice boxes. Owen immediately grabs a handful of crackers and shoves them into his mouth.

"Slow down, baby," Ainsley says, laughing.

I hand her a bottle of water, and she takes it with a grateful smile.

We sit there for a while, watching Owen play with his toys on the blanket. The breeze is cool, and for the first time in days, I feel like I can breathe.

"This is nice," Ainsley says.

"Yeah. It is."

She looks over at me. "I didn't think I'd ever feel this way again."

"What way?"

"Safe." She pauses. "Happy."

I reach over and take her hand, threading my fingers through hers. "You are safe. And you deserve to be happy."

She squeezes my hand, and we sit there in silence, just holding on to each other.

Then Owen starts crawling.

Fast.

He's off the blanket before either of us can react, heading straight toward the playground equipment, a colorful jungle gym with tunnels and slides about twenty feet away.

"Owen!" Ainsley calls, scrambling to her feet.

But he's already disappearing behind the structure.

I'm up immediately, but Ainsley is faster, driven by pure panic. She runs toward the playground, her breathing already ragged.

"Owen!" she calls again, louder this time. "Owen, baby, where are you?"

I catch up to her as she reaches the jungle gym. She's spinning in circles, her eyes wild, searching frantically.