Folly and Forever (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 3)

by Kimberly Loth

  “Am I in trouble?” he asked in a very soft voice.

  Ms. Wendy shook her head. “Garrett this is Mr. Green. He’s going to take you out to play for a while before you go home. Is that okay?”

  Garrett didn’t respond. Jamie frowned. If Garrett wouldn’t talk, how would he ever manage to have a relationship with him?

  “He’s a little shy. He’ll probably be a nervous with you for a bit. Why don’t I bring him out to your car for you?”

  Jamie agreed. He didn’t want Garrett to be scared, and he was terrified he’d mess this up. If Garrett hated him or begged to go home to his mother, he’d be crushed.

  Ms. Wendy buckled him into the booster seat Jamie had purchased the day before and shut the door. “You’ll be fine. I don’t envy your call with Zoe, but Garrett’s a good little boy. He’ll warm up to you.”

  Garrett was quiet in the car, and Jamie wasn’t sure how to engage him. He looked into the rearview mirror a couple of times. Garrett was looking out the window.

  “Do you like ice cream?” Jamie asked.

  “Yeah.” Garrett responded, but he didn’t look forward.

  Jamie let out a breath. At least he spoke. Jamie pulled into the ice cream stand a few blocks from the house.

  “Have you been here before?” It was close to Garrett’s home.

  Garrett shook his head, and Jamie wondered what Zoe did with him. He opened the door, and Garrett unbuckled his seat belt on his own and jumped out of the car. Jamie held out his hand, and Garrett took it. Jamie’s heart swelled. He was at an ice cream stand holding his son’s hand. His son. The words still didn’t feel real.

  “What do you like?” Jamie asked.

  “Chocolate.”

  Jamie ordered two chocolate cones and found a table. He waited for Garrett to climb up on his seat before handing it to him.

  Garrett took one big lick and had chocolate all over his face. Jamie grinned at him.

  “Tell me what you like to do.”

  Garrett shrugged. This was more difficult than business negotiations and way more difficult than wooing women.

  “Hm. I heard you liked cars. What’s your favorite kind?”

  “Green ones.”

  Jamie nodded. He tried a few more times with different questions, but he couldn’t get Garrett to give more than one or two word answers. He took a deep breath and plowed forward. He needed to make sure Garrett understood why they were hanging out.

  “Do you know who I am?”

  Garrett shook his head and continued to smear chocolate all over his face.

  “I’m your dad.”

  Garrett froze mid-lick. He moved the ice cream away from his face. “Mommy says I don’t have a daddy.”

  “Well, your mommy was confused. I’m your daddy.”

  Garrett licked away at more of the ice cream.

  “Am I going to live with you?”

  “No, you will still live with your mommy, but you can come stay with me sometimes.”

  “Can I see your house?”

  “Sure. As soon as you finish your ice cream.”

  They finished their cones in silence. Garrett wouldn’t talk to him. He wiped Garrett’s face after they were done, but couldn’t get all the ice cream off. Garrett was compliant and obedient, but too quiet. Maybe Bethany would have some ideas.

  Bethany sat on the front porch and waited for Jamie to arrive. Hexa jumped up on the swing and laid her head on Bethany’s lap. She huffed, and Bethany scratched behind her ears. She worried about this visit. She didn’t want to mess it up for Jamie. She didn’t know if Garrett would like her. She’d never been around a whole lot of little kids. She supposed that didn’t matter, but she wanted him to like Jamie. The car pulled in, and Jamie opened the door.

  An adorable Jamie look-alike jumped out of the car. Jamie offered him his hand, but Garrett shook his head, his sandy blonde hair flopping around. Jamie pointed at the stairs, and Garrett began the ascent. Jamie followed with a look of concern.

  Garrett reached the top of the stairs, and his eyes fell on Hexa. He rushed forward and latched his little arms around Hexa’s neck. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t respond otherwise. Jamie knelt down next to him.

  “This is Hexa. Would you like to give her a treat?”

  Garrett nodded.

  “I’ll go get the treats,” said Bethany. “I’ll meet you in the living room.”

  She grabbed a dog cookie out of the box in the kitchen and found Garrett and Hexa sitting next to each other on the couch. She handed Garrett the cookie, and he shoved it in Hexa’s mouth. She took it gently, but Bethany could tell she was on edge. Garrett hadn’t spoken a word. But he seemed happy with Hexa. She and Jamie shared looks, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  “Do you have any toys?” Garrett asked abruptly.

  Bethany smiled. At least this, they had in the bag, she was certain.

  Jamie crouched down so he was looking at him. “I do. Would you like to see your room?”

  “Why do I have a room if I won’t live here?” His little eyebrows creased together. Bethany had seen Jamie make the exact same expression.

  “Because you will get to stay the night sometimes on the weekends.”

  Garrett frowned.

  “What if I don’t want to stay the night? What if I want to sleep in my own bed?”

  Jamie stood. “Why don’t you wait until you see your bed here before you decide that?”

  Garrett scrambled off the couch, and Jamie led him up the stairs and into his bedroom.

  “Do you like Thomas?” Jamie asked.

  Garrett scrunched up his nose. “Thomas is for babies.”

  Jamie’s face fell, and Bethany tried to rescue him. “What about cars? Do you like playing with them?” She pointed to the Matchbox tracks they bought.

  Garrett didn’t respond. He approached one of the boxes and studied it.

  Jamie’s phone rang, and he looked down.

  “It’s Zoe. Can you watch him for a few minutes?”

  “Sure.”

  Jamie escaped out of the bedroom. Bethany was a little unsure of what to do. She sat next to the wall near where he was looking at the boxes with the car toys.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  Bethany let out a laugh. She hadn’t realized they hadn’t introduced her. “I’m Bethany. Jamie’s wife.”

  “So you’re my stepmom. My friend Owen has a stepmom.” Stepmom. There was a word she never thought she’d hear.

  He was struggling to get one of the boxes opened. She leaned over to help. “Does Owen like his stepmom?”

  “Yeah. I don’t like my stepdad though. He’s mean.”

  Bethany’s blood went cold. “What do you mean?”

  “He yells a lot. And he won’t let me sit on my mom’s lap.”

  Bethany nodded sympathetically. “That doesn’t sound very nice.”

  “Can I sit on your lap?”

  Bethany lost her words then and nodded. He climbed in her lap and pulled the big box with him. Together they pried away at the tape that held the box together. Once they got all the pieces out, she helped him put the track together.

  “Do you like cars?” She held out a few for him.

  He nodded. “But I don’t have real Matchbox cars. Just the fake ones. Can I take these home?”

  “Maybe a couple.”

  “Did….did…my dad mean it when he said I could sleep here?”

  “He did.”

  Garrett smiled and ran one of the cars down the track. When he got to the end, he stopped abruptly. “Wait. Can I live here?”

  If Jamie had heard that, he would’ve been over the moon. She’d have to tell him later.

  “Your mommy would miss you.”

  “No she won’t. She has Ray.”

  Bethany’s heart constricted, but she didn’t know what to say.

  Jamie came back then. He sat next to Bethany and put his arm around her and together they watched Garrett zoom the cars up and do
wn the tracks.

  “How’d it go?” she asked.

  “Fine. We need to bring him home by eight.”

  Garrett narrowed his eyes at Jamie and grabbed Bethany’s hand, pulling her away from Jamie.

  “I’m hungry,” he said.

  She stood up.

  “What do you like to eat?” Jamie asked.

  “Hot dogs and mac and cheese.”

  “Hot dogs and mac and cheese it is,” said Jamie with a smile.

  Garrett tugged at Bethany’s hand. “Come on.”

  “Why don’t you and Jamie stay here and play with your cars while I cook.”

  Garrett shook his head. “I wanna go with you.”

  They let Garrett run down the stairs, and Jamie held her back a second. “He seems a lot more comfortable with you.”

  “Probably because I’m a woman. He told me he doesn’t like Ray. Give him some time. He’ll warm up.”

  Garrett sat on the ground and played with Hexa while Bethany made dinner. Jamie watched him. She knew it was bugging him that Garrett wouldn’t talk to him unless asked a direct question, but she saw Garrett open up in his bedroom. As soon as he trusted Jamie, he would be fine.

  Garrett devoured his dinner and then plastered his face against the window.

  “Can we play outside?” He looked at Bethany, not Jamie, but Jamie responded.

  “Do you want to go swimming?”

  Garrett looked outside. “Mommy said I’m not allowed to go in the water.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she said I’ll die if I go in the water. But I like playing in the sand.”

  Jamie rolled his eyes. “We’ll talk to your mommy about that tonight.”

  Garrett was quiet when he climbed in the car at seven forty-five. It was difficult to get him to let go of both Bethany and Hexa. Jamie was glad he’d taken to both of them, but Garrett still didn’t seem to like him much. He’d have to plan some one-on-one time with him when he came to stay for the weekend.

  They pulled up to Zoe’s apartment, and Jamie opened the door for Garrett. He hopped out with a Matchbox car in each hand and also had one shoved in each of his pockets.

  Jamie followed him as he walked up the short set of stairs. Jamie knocked. Zoe opened the door, and Garrett bounced into the apartment. Jamie followed behind him and shut the door. The smell of cigarette smoke hit him hard.

  “You know, it’s not good to expose Garrett to secondhand smoke.”

  Zoe rolled her eyes. “Spare the holier than thou attitude. He’s been around it his whole life, and he’s fine.”

  Jamie wanted to argue that it wasn’t fine, but figured it was one more thing Annabelle could use. He wouldn’t win the argument with Zoe anyway.

  “Mom, Mom, Mom,” Garrett bounced up and down next to her.

  “What?” she asked, but didn’t take her eyes off Jamie.

  “Dad’s house is sooooo cool. He’s got a dog and an airplane bed. And Bethany made me hot dogs. And Dad’s going to take me swimming in the ocean.”

  Jamie was floored to hear him speak so much. He had barely said anything to him.

  Zoe crossed her arms. “I’m glad you had fun. Now it’s time for bed.”

  “Aw. Mom. I bet if I was at Dad’s house I wouldn’t have to go to bed.”

  He stomped his foot. Ray came into the room and glared at Garrett. “What are you doing making all this racket? Shouldn’t you be in bed by now?”

  Garrett cowered away from Ray and escaped down the hall. Jamie desperately wanted to follow.

  “Just letting you know that I’ll be picking him up from school on Friday.”

  “Like hell you will.”

  Ray lit up a cigarette. “Let him go, baby. Personally, I like having the house quiet.”

  Zoe looked like she was about to cry. For a second Jamie felt bad for her, but only for a second. Garrett came running into the room. He’d changed his clothes, but he still had those cars clutched in his hands.

  He beamed up at Jamie. “Good night, Dad.” He held out his arms, and Jamie reached down and hugged him. He’d been hugged by hundreds of women, his best friends, and his parents, but that hug with those little arms clasped around his neck was the best hug he’d ever received. He held him for a second longer, inhaling chocolate and mac and cheese and then let him go.

  “Good night, buddy. Be good to your mom.”

  Garrett turned around and was almost out of the entryway when Ray stopped him.

  “Whatcha got in your hands there?”

  Garrett wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Cars. From my dad.”

  “Those aren’t allowed in my house.” Ray reached down and snatched the cars out of Garrett’s little hands, and Garret began to cry. Jamie saw red. Without thinking he shoved Ray up against the wall.

  “Don’t you ever touch my son again. Do you hear me?”

  Ray laughed, and his smoke-filled breath nearly made Jamie gag.

  “Not your house, not your rules. I can do what I like.” He looked around Jamie to Garrett, who was still sniffling. “Go to bed now.”

  Jamie let him go.

  “I’ll get him from school Friday, and you can come get him Sunday night.”

  He slammed the door on his way out, furious with both himself and Ray. Jamie’d lost his temper, and he couldn’t afford to do that. Zoe could use that against him.

  When Jamie took Garrett home, Bethany jumped in the shower and then threw on her robe. She grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses and brought them upstairs. Jamie would need something after dealing with Zoe. She set them on the table on the balcony and went into the bathroom to dry her hair.

  She’d just turned the dryer off when the front door slammed. Damn. She didn’t have time to put her pajamas on. She tried to escape into her closet, but Jamie had run up the stairs. She smiled at him when he entered the room with Hexa on his heels.

  He gathered her up in a hug and lifted her off her feet.

  “Thank you. That was amazing.”

  “You’re welcome, but I don’t understand what you’re thanking me for.”

  He set her down, and she saw his eyes flick to her robe, which had come slightly undone. She pulled it tight across her body and secured the knot on the belt.

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “My dear Bethany, are you naked under there?”

  She blushed. “I didn’t have time to get dressed. There’s wine on the balcony. You can help yourself. I’m going to put some clothes on.”

  “Nonsense. This calls for a celebration, and I won’t put it off any longer. Your robe will have to do.”

  “What are we celebrating?” She liked seeing him giddy.

  “Parenthood. That couldn’t have gone better.”

  He pulled her out onto the balcony, and the sea air blew the bottom of her robe around. Thankfully, Jamie was busy with the wine and didn’t notice. She sat down and held the robe close to her body.

  “What about Zoe?”

  He handed her a glass. “Eh, that could’ve gone better. Ray’s a prick. But Zoe’s accepted Garrett has to see me. We’re getting him this weekend. He had fun while he was here, and you were a pro.”

  “Thanks. He’s a good little boy.”

  “Too quiet for my taste, but we can change that. He liked Hexa too.”

  “He was only quiet for you. He talked my ear off. I bet by Sunday night you’ll be hoping for quiet.”

  He took a sip of his wine. “No way. I’ll never get tired of hearing him talk. Who knew kids could be so amazing.”

  Jamie leaned against the balcony railing. Bethany debated for a minute before going to stand next to him. Her palms were sweaty. She needed to ask him something, and she wasn’t sure how to approach him. But he was in a good mood, and this would be the best time to ask him.

  They’d been a lot closer since the washing machine incident, but Jamie hadn’t made any move to repeat the moment, though he’d kissed her a couple of times. Bethany figured that was because he was preoccupied with the co
urt case. But now, that was solved, and he was happy.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about that night. Every time she even thought about him, her heart began to race. She was falling bad, and she had to know if he felt the same.

  She leaned into him, and he draped his arm around her back.

  “It sure is beautiful out here,” he said.

  “Yeah. Thank you for making sure I’ll never lose it.” The expression on his face fell. “What?” she asked, confused.

  He shook his head and moved a few feet away from her.

  “I’ve made you angry. Why?”

  “It’s stupid. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She closed the space between them.

  “Come on, we’ve got to be honest with each other.”

  He took another sip of his wine. “I just get comfortable with you, and I forget that for you this is all an act.”

  She put her hand on his arm. “Are you saying that for you, it’s not?”

  “You expect me to answer that?”

  She understood. He didn’t want to put himself out there and face her possible rejection. It sounded like he wanted her.

  She moved to the table and sat in one of the chairs. She braced herself. She was about to make a big declaration, and if he felt differently, she’d humiliate herself. But she had to know. “You know, sometimes, I imagine the future. Where I’ll be in five years.”

  “Me too,” he said, his deep green eyes boring into hers.

  “What do you see?” she asked him.

  “You go first.” He dropped into the chair next to her.

  She hesitated and wondered for a second how he would take what she said.

  “Obviously, I’ll still be living here.” She paused again, scared of his reaction.

  “That’s not very exciting,” he said, while she debated in her head.

  “I wasn’t done. I’m afraid you’ll think I’m being silly.”

  “Come on, you’ll be three million dollars richer. Humor me. What are you going to spend my money on after you’ve secured your house?” He spat the words out.

  She set her glass down. He still had that ugly frown on his face.

  “You have to promise you won’t laugh.”

  He scowled. “I don’t expect I’ll find any of it funny. Continue.”