Sixty-One Letters

.Three.

It took days for Grayson to look at the address that Caroline had written down; however, once he had picked it up, it was near impossible for him to place it down.

She moved on. Of course she did –he couldn't have expected her to wait around forever, could he? But that didn't mean the thought of her with another man didn't make his stomach clench and his insides burn.

Within hours of looking at the address, he had showered, shaved and dressed in a button down shirt and dark jeans. While he had been going through these similar motions every day before work, this was the first time he had been truly awake and aware of what was going on. He was no longer just going through the motions.

Grayson had tried to force breakfast down, but with the way his stomach was twisting and turning, he figured it would be a bad idea...as he looked around at the small garden in Scarlett's front lawn, he nodded to himself. Yeah, throwing up on her pretty little flowers would not have been a good way to start off this reunion.

He observed her small house as he waited for someone to answer the door. It was cute...nothing like the monster of a house he and Kimberly lived in. Then again, Scarlett would have never wanted to live somewhere as dark and imposing as his house was.

A little girl opened the door, completely catching Grayson off guard.

Caroline had mentioned that Scarlett had a daughter, but honestly Grayson hadn't remembered. He studied the little girl with her wild red curls and big green eyes, her head tilted to the side as she looked Grayson up and down.

"Can I help you?" She asked politely, a small smile on her face that showed off her missing front teeth. Grayson felt himself relax and smile at the girl –she was adorable and couldn't have been more than four or five years old.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Scarlett..."

The girl grinned.

"Mommy is in the back. She's making chocolate chip cookies because I lost my first teeth today! Daddy says the tooth fairy will come and give me money for the teeth, but I don't want money, I want a puppy! Do you think she'll give me a puppy instead?" She looked imploringly at Grayson and he felt himself let out a laugh. It was strange to hear himself do that...he felt like he hadn't laughed in months. Not since Kimberly's passing.

"Kaylee! Kaylee, who are you talking to?" Grayson's throat went dry and he eyes snapped to the inside of the house. He heard footsteps. His throat got drier. His heartbeat got louder.

And then she was there.

Long copper hair falling in waves past her shoulders and big brown eyes staring in shock at the man at her door.

"Mommy, this man was looking for you," Kaylee informed her mother before she clapped her hands together. "Are the cookies ready?"

Scarlett nodded absentmindedly, her eyes still on the light-eyed man.

"Umm...yes, there's a batch on the...on the counter. Don't touch them right away because they're cooling down." Her words were a jumbled mess but Kaylee understood and sprinted off, cheering as she went.

Scarlett looked at Grayson, her face going paler and paler with every lasting second. Grayson wanted nothing more than to stare back at her for ages. He had missed her. The moment he saw her, he felt it. The attraction. The memories. He felt everything that had ever pulled him to her pulling once again. It was the reason he could never love Kimberly that way she had deserved...he and Scarlett were like magnets, and just because they were separated didn't mean that a part of him wasn't always naturally inclined to move towards and be with her.