ZEKE’S BABY

by Evelyn Glass

  “Thank you,” she said as she picked up the toast and bit into it.

  He slid a plate with the bulk of the eggs in front of Stella and then poured up a bowl of cereal for himself before adding a splash of milk.

  “Not bad,” Stella said with an approving nod before offering him a forkful of her eggs to taste. “You like them?” she asked Katrina.

  “Good!” Katrina chirped before stuffing a spoonful into her mouth.

  “Katrina approved,” Stella teased. “You’re an expert now.”

  He thought he would hate cooking, and probably would if he were cooking just for himself. It was so easy to just run out and buy something he didn’t see the need to stand in front of a stove, but having Katrina say he eggs were good made him grin and want to cook something else for her. “Eggs and toast. I think I can handle that now.”

  “That’s good,” Stella purred in a way that made his cock twitch.

  ***

  They finished breakfast, Katrina eating all her toast but leaving a bite or two of eggs behind. As the women got ready to travel, he cleaned up, scrubbing the dishes with a handled brush before putting them in the dishwasher. She would probably have to rearrange the stuff later, but he got them all in there.

  “Let me know if Connie is going to join us, okay?” he said as he gave her a quick kiss at the door. “I’m going to make reservations for four, at 8:30. Does that give you enough time?”

  “Make it 8:45, so I have time to come home and change.”

  He nodded and kissed her again. “8:45 it is. I have to go, but I’ll be waiting for you right here.”

  This time she kissed him. “I’ll see you.”

  ***

  “You’re in a good mood,” Scratch said as he and Royal wrestled the power auger. They were making holes for the fence that was going up. Hammer and Doc were coming along behind them, setting posts and making them true, while Moose, Goon, Jaunt, Blade, Hot Rod and Scratch were mixing and pouring concrete. It was an all hands on deck project and they were kicking ass. By the time they had dug the last hole, the concrete would be set enough on the first holes to start installing the aluminum fencing.

  “I am.”

  “Got laid last night, huh?”

  Royal chuckled, digging in as the auger tried to twist out of his hands. “Actually no, but I had breakfast with my daughter this morning.”

  Scratch stared at him over the top of the roaring machine. “Are you shitting me? You have a daughter? Since when?”

  “Since three years ago. I didn’t even know until day before yesterday.”

  “That’s some shit! Are you okay?”

  Royal released the throttle on the auger and the bit stopped. The tape they had wrapped around the shaft was even with the ground. They worked the auger a bit, lifting the dirt out of the hole, then carried it to the next flag and started it digging.

  “Yeah. Pretty excited, actually,” he said with a big grin. “Katrina Violet, and she just beautiful. She’s mine and Stella’s.”

  “That’s the chick at the diner, the one you still have the hots for, right?”

  “It’s more than that, man. I still love her. I’d forgotten how much I do love her.”

  “So are you fucking her again?”

  Royal bit down on his annoyance, knowing Scratch didn’t mean anything by his comment. “We’re trying to work it out, yes.”

  He grinned. “I hope it works out for you, brother. I really do.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. They may be a little rough around the edges sometimes, but his brothers were all good men, and he liked them. “So do I, brother. So do I.”

  ***

  “I think we’re done, brothers,” Royal said as he poked at the still slightly soft concrete with his finger. The concrete hadn’t dried as fast as he’d hoped and he was afraid they would twist the posts out of true if they started attaching the fencing. After they’d dug the last hole, he and Scratch had spent their time moving fence sections into place so they would be ready to start in the morning, then helping set the last poles.

  Doc twisted back and forth to ease the tension in his back. “I say we take tomorrow off. Even if we get the fencing up, the gate won’t be installed until sometime next week. We’ve been kicking ass for a week now. I need a break. I’ve been too tired to fuck the old lady and she’s starting to get pissed. I’m not like you young bulls. I can’t work all day and then fuck all night. I can only do one or the other.”

  “Works for me,” Royal agreed. If he didn’t have to work tomorrow, then maybe he could do something with Stella and Katrina.

  Doc nodded in Royal’s direction. “Yeah. Go do something with your daughter. Once we get this place whipped into shape, bring her around so we can see her.”

  Royal couldn’t stop smiling. He’d taken a load of shit all afternoon about suddenly having a daughter, the brothers wondering aloud after all the fucking he’d done how many other kids he had he didn’t know about. After the teasing was done, though, they’d been uniformly supportive.

  “Yeah, well, she’s not sure about me yet. I have a lot of work to do.”

  “Just turn on that Royal charm. You get her mother on your side, she’ll come around,” Hammer teased.

  “Working on it,” Royal replied, not telling them he was taking them all out for dinner.

  Doc clapped his hands together. “Let’s get the fuck out of her before I get any stiffer.”

  “That should make your old lady happy,” Hot Rod needled.

  “Yours, too,” Doc replied with a nasty grin as the rest of the brothers laughed.

  ***

  “My, don’t you clean up nice,” Stella said as she stepped out of her car. Gabriel was standing there wearing a sport coat, casual pants with pleats, and a pair of loafers, looking like he’d just stepped out of men’s catalog.

  “I didn’t think they would appreciate the leather and the colors.”

  She grinned and gave him a quick kiss before trotting up the steps to her apartment. “Do we have reservations?”

  “We do.”

  “I need to hurry,” she said as she opened the door and hurried into her bedroom. “No peeking!” she teased as she shut the door.

  He sat on the couch, thumbing through his phone, until he heard the door open. Stella stepped out wearing a rich purple dress with a deep scoop neck that showed off her breasts perfectly without being tacky. The dressed stopped just above her knee and clung to her in all the right ways.

  “Holy shit!” he breathed just loud enough for her to hear.

  She cocked her leg into a cheesecake pose. “What do you think?”

  “I think I’m underdressed!”

  She smiled and moved over to kiss him gently on the lips. “You’re sweet. We need to go or we’re going to be late.”

  It was a tight squeeze, getting all four of them into Stella’s Civic, but they managed, and arrived at Mosconi’s with less than five minutes to spare. They were ushered almost immediately to the table, and Gabriel smiled to himself as all the men watched Stella sway through the restaurant.

  The meal started out a little uncomfortable, but as it continued the tension between Gabriel and Connie began to abate.

  “Mommy,” Katrina said pulling at Stella’s arm. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

  “I’ll take her,” Connie offered.

  “I’ve got her,” Stella said, pushing back from the table. “I have to go anyway.”

  Connie snorted out a laugh. “That’s why I offered.”

  “I’ll stay here,” Gabriel offered helpfully as all three women rose.

  “He’s certainly changed,” Connie said softly as they waited on Katrina. “He was always polite, but he always seemed like he felt like he had something to prove. Now he doesn’t act that way.”

  “So you noticed it, too?”

  “Yes.”

  Stella shook her head. “I don’t know what to do.”

  Connie shrugged and patted Stella on the hand
. “Do what feels right.”

  Stella nodded then smiled, but didn’t mention he’d spent the last two nights in her bed. That’s what felt right. “That’s what I’m trying to do. He’s not making it easy, though. He’s being so thoughtful and sweet. I didn’t tell you, but he left me a $500 tip last night. I mean, I know it wasn’t actually a tip, but he really seems to want to help and be part of Katrina’s life.”

  “Then let him. I told you before you were making a mistake by not telling him. Katrina’s his child, too. He deserves to be part of her life.”

  Stella nodded as Katrina flushed.

  By the time dinner was over, she was feeling very warm and relaxed from the wine and food. They dropped Connie off at her house before they drove to Stella’s apartment. It was almost ten when Gabriel switched the car off, and Katrina was fading fast.

  “Can I carry you up the steps?” he asked as he opened her door.

  “Mommy.”

  He swallowed his disappointment and stepped aside so Stella could pick her up. “Are you coming up?” she asked as she started for the apartment.

  “Sure, for a minute.”

  He hung around in the family room, hands in pockets, unsure of what to do, while Stella got Katrina ready for bed.

  “Goodnight,” Katrina said, stepping out of her room.

  “Goodnight, Katrina,” he said with a smile as she disappeared into her room again.

  A moment later, Stella appeared. “I have to get up early tomorrow.”

  He smiled and refused to show his disappointment. “Okay. I should go.” He leaned in for a quick kiss then turned to leave.

  “I’d like you to stay,” she said suddenly.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  He smiled and could feel his cock beginning to firm up. “I’d like that.”

  He followed her into her bedroom and peeled off his blazer, hanging it on the doorknob. They undressed in silence, and as she hung her dress, he began to brush his teeth with a toothpaste-covered finger. She joined him in the bathroom to clean her face and brush her teeth.

  He kissed her gently on the neck and shoulder, then left her to finish, sliding into her bed. She appeared a moment later, a goddess with the bathroom light behind her making her glow. She flipped the light off and slid into the bed beside him.

  He took her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. “Stop,” she breathed. “I have to be at work at six in the morning.”

  “Okay,” he said softly, rolling onto his back.

  She snuggled in close. “Are you upset?”

  “Not upset. Disappointed.”

  “Me too. I want to, but I need to sleep.” She sighed. “I get off at two tomorrow, and I don’t have to go back until Tuesday at eleven. Tomorrow night,” she whispered as she caressed his chest. “Tomorrow night I want you to make love to me all night, okay?”

  “What about Katrina?”

  She smiled and slid her hand down to give his cock as slow caress. “Just don’t make me scream.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “What are you three doing here?” Stella asked as Connie, Gabriel and Katrina walk into the diner, a tray loaded with food balanced on her hand.

  “Lunch,” Gabriel said. The diner was packed with the after church crowd, but that was fine. They weren’t leaving until two anyway. “Three, Stella’s section,” he said to the hostess as Stella nodded then moved off to deliver the food.

  They had to wait almost twenty minutes for a table, allowing two parties to go ahead of them, but they were finally seated. “Do you know what you want?” she asked as she stepped up.

  “Chicken nuggets and fries for the stunning young lady there, with milk to drink,” Gabriel said, making Stella smile.

  “I’ll have the grilled chicken with corn and carrots, and water is fine,” Connie said as she closed her menu.

  “I’ll have the pork tenderloin with fried potatoes and black-eyed peas. Sweet tea to drink.”

  She finished writing it down, gathered the menus, then scurried away, too busy to chitchat.

  Connie and Gabriel spent fifteen minutes entertaining Katrina by helping her color on the kid’s menu until their food arrived. They took their time eating as the crowd began to thin. A bit over ninety minutes after they walked in, and twenty minutes until Stella’s shift was over, Connie thanked Gabriel and excused herself.

  “Where’s Grammy?” Stella asked a few minutes later as she cycled through her tables, topping off drinks.

  “She left.”

  “She left?” Stella asked in surprise. “Without you?”

  “That’s right. The three of us are going to Falls Park and the zoo as soon as you’re done here.”

  “I want to see elephants,” Katrina piped up, still colorings on her menu.

  “I don’t think they have elephants anymore,” Gabriel reminded her. “But maybe we can see the giraffe and its baby, and some lions.”

  “We are?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Katrina wants to see the animals.”

  Stella giggled. “Well, we’ll have to do something about that, I guess.”

  ***

  Stella, Gabriel and Katrina spent the next four hours at the zoo and Liberty Falls Park. Katrina was enthralled with the high pedestrian bridge and ran back and forth along the unsuspended side, looking at the falls below. When they were walking back to Stella’s car, Katrina was riding on Gabriel’s shoulders, chattering away about whatever caught her attention.

  “I’ve had a wonderful time,” Stella said, leaning in close. She would hold his hand except he had them around Katrina’s feet to keep her perch secure.

  “So have I,” Gabriel said. “How about you, squirt? Did you have a good time?” he asked, shrugging his shoulders to give her a bounce.

  “Yeah! I liked the giraffe and eating the cookies.”

  Gabriel grinned at Stella. The animal crackers had been a big hit. “How’d you like the bridge?”

  “Good. It was up high.”

  “It sure was,” he agreed. “You want to come back sometime?”

  “Tomorrow!”

  The two adults laughed. “I don’t know about that,” Stella said. “Mommy needs to rest tomorrow.”

  “Can you bring me back tomorrow?” she asked Gabriel, leaning over to look into his face upside down, then laughing in delight at her own antics.

  “You’re so silly,” he teased. “I would, but I have to work tomorrow. Maybe next weekend, okay?”

  “Okay,” she agreed, then immediately starting to talk about the clouds.

  When they arrived at the car, he hoisted her off his shoulders and placed her in her car seat before taking his place behind the wheel.

  When they got home, Stella whipped together a tasty meal of hamburger and mac and cheese, dinner hitting the table in less than a half hour. Gabriel was amazed that Stella could go from nothing to a hot, home-cooked meal in less than thirty minutes and he could barely scramble eggs.

  The three of them ate and talked about their day at the park, Katrina carrying most of the conversation by talking nonstop about the animals she saw. As Gabriel helped tidy the kitchen, Katrina walked about the house, riding Ted on her shoulders, as she lectured him about animals.

  “She had a good time today. I’ve been saying I was going to take her to the zoo, but I never seemed able to get around to it. Thank you.”

  He leaned over and accepted her kiss. “It was my pleasure. Really. I enjoyed it.” He looked to make sure little ears weren’t listening. “I especially enjoyed the time with her mother and watching her lick an ice cream cone.”

  She giggled. “Naughty boy.”

  He grinned. “I wasn’t the one putting on an X-rated display with an ice cream.”

  She twittered again. “If you think that was racy, just wait until Katrina is asleep.”

  Even though he knew she was teasing him, he could feel his cock tingle. “Don’t make you scream. I remember.”

  She grinned up a
t him. “Well, maybe a little.”

  ***

  Gabriel couldn’t have been happier. He was sitting on the couch with Stella snuggled in close and Katrina sitting in his lap as the three of them watched Toy Story. He was more of a Die Hard, Terminator, or The Expendables, kind of man, but he’d forced himself to not roll his eyes when Katrina brought him the disc and pretended like he had been wanting to see the movie for years. As he watched it, he was surprised he found himself actually enjoying it has he chuckled at the antics of Buzz, Woody and the rest of the characters inhabiting Andy’s bedroom.