34
Elijah
I had really stepped in it but it had seemed like the right thing to do. I wasn’t going to lie to the kid. He needed to know, and she had said she would tell him. So he found out sooner rather than later. She needed to get over it.
Carrying in a load of split wood, I set it in the small wood holder. I turned to see Michelle staring at me. Staring wasn’t the right word, it was more of a glare. I had gone from her hero to her nemesis in the blink of an eye. I grinned as she glared at me. I loved that fire in her.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
She looked at Rayne, who nodded her head before standing up from the couch and walking toward me.
“Grab your shoes. It’s chilly,” I told her, pulling one of Trevor’s heavy plaids from a hook on the wall and wrapping it around her shoulders.
I opened the door to step outside, happy to finally get the chance to talk to her, when I heard Joey call out for her.
“I need to check on him,” she muttered, shrugging off the plaid and heading upstairs.
I sighed, hanging the jacket on the wall.
“She’ll come around,” Rayne said from the couch. “She’s really protective of him.”
“I see that. I guess I should be thankful she is.”
“Yes, you should be. She’s been through a lot, and somehow she’s always managed to keep it together for him.”
I walked over to sit in one of the chairs facing the couch. “I will never hurt her, or him,” I told Rayne.
She smiled. “I know you won’t, and I think she knows that too. Give her some time. Everything is so messy right now. She needs to get a solid foothold somewhere and then you two can start moving forward. In the meantime,” she said, leaning forward, “get to know Joey. That’s the way to her heart.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I plan to. I’ve got a lot of father/son time to make up for.”
It wasn’t long before Joey came downstairs by himself.
“Where’s your mom?” I asked.
He shrugged. “She says she’ll be down in a bit to make dinner.”
“How about me and you go for a walk?” I asked him.
Joey looked at Rayne, as if to ask her if it was okay.
Rayne smiled at him. “That sounds like fun! You go play and I’ll help your mom clean up and we’ll make dinner.”
Joey grinned and ran for the door.
“Hold up,” I said, stopping him in his tracks. “Grab your hoodie.”
Joey ran to the chair where he had tossed it earlier, slid it on, and was at the door waiting for me. Together, we went outside and headed for the familiar path we had all been using.
“Are you my mom’s husband?” Joey asked me.
I nearly choked. “No.”
“But you’re my dad?”
I was treading in dangerous waters. “Yes. I knew your mom a long time ago.”
“Where did you go? Were you in prison like grandpa?”
I shook my head. “No. I lived in another city. See, the thing is, I didn’t know you were born. If I had known you were here in this world, I would have come back to see you a long time ago. I’m sorry I wasn’t there, but I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere ever again.”
“Did you know my Uncle Liam wasn’t nice to my mom?”
I clenched my teeth together. “I know that now.”
“And Nick is real mean too.”
“I know. They’re not going to be mean to your mom anymore. I’m going to make sure of that.”
“Good. Nick told me he was going to be my dad and I had to do whatever he told me or I was going to get in big trouble,” Joey said in a soft voice.
I detected a hint of fear, which sent my blood boiling again. It took a real piece of shit to bully a woman and a seven-year-old child. If I could kick his ass again, I wouldn’t hesitate. Nick was a scumbag. He had the pretty boy looks, but he was a violent, evil man underneath. It made me sick to know he was free to victimize another woman.
“He’s not your dad. He’ll never be your dad. I’m your dad and always will be,” I assured him.
“Do you like my Uncle Liam?” Joey asked.
Now I knew I was on a slippery slope. I had no idea how much the kid knew or what all he had seen. I didn’t want to start our new relationship on a stack of lies they would only crumble and end up with Joey not trusting me.
“When I was a kid, I used to be best friends with your uncle. It’s how I met your mom. I used to spend the night at your old house all the time,” I told him.
He stopped walking and looked up at me in total shock. “You did?”
I smiled and nodded. “I did. We used to have a lot of fun together. Your uncle is the one who taught me how to ride a motorcycle. We used to work on our motorcycles together, fixing them up, and then we would go for long rides all over the place,” I said. Remembering the fond memories took me back to a place in my life where I had found a little happiness.
“But now you and Uncle Liam don’t like each other?” he asked.
I grimaced. “We had a bit of a fight one night. I left and never went back,” I said, not lying but not getting into the details.
“I miss him,” Joey said.
“I’m sorry, buddy. It’s okay to miss him.”
“Mom says we might not go back home.”
I nodded my head. “I know. That won’t be so bad. It will be a new adventure for you.”
“But I’ll miss my friends and all my toys,” he said.
That reminded me of the blanket I had grabbed when I’d gone to the house. I couldn’t wait to show it to him and hoped it was the right one.
“You know, I know you probably don’t believe this, but you are going to make new friends. When I left LA, Liam was my friend. I moved to another city and I didn’t know anyone. Then I met Trevor and now he is my friend. You will make new friends, and you’re going to find out that new friends are sometimes better than old friends.”
Joey didn’t look convinced, but he seemed satisfied for now. We headed deeper into the trees. I could practically hear him thinking and-d I knew he had more questions for me.
“Are we going to live with you now?”
I cringed. I’d never had a lot of experience with kids and was completely unprepared for the amount of hard questions they could ask.
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Me and your mom still have some stuff to talk about.”
“Was she your girlfriend before?”
I smiled.. “Yes, I suppose she was.”
I was almost afraid of what the next question was going to be. I hadn’t been around a lot of kids, but it felt like Joey was a lot more observant than most.
“Are you going to teach me to ride a bike?”
“A motorcycle or a bicycle?” I asked, needing clarification, because it could be a loaded question.
I knew mamas did not like their babies on motorcycles. I wasn’t about to piss Michelle off and promise Joey something like that. That was a battle Joey would have to fight when he was old enough. I would not interfere.
“A real bike. Larson knows how to ride a two-wheel bike, but I don’t have one. I want to learn. Uncle Liam said I was too little, but I’m seven. Larson was five when he got a bike.”
“I will definitely show you how to ride a bike, and I’ll buy you a new cool one,” I said, excited to be able to give him something that would make him happy.
He smiled. “Good.”
“We should probably turn back before your mom worries about you. I have something I want to show you too. I left it in your mom’s car.”
“Is it a surprise?” he asked, his blue eyes lighting up.
I winked. “It is.”
We walked back to the cabin, Joey peppering me with more questions about what I liked and didn’t like. I asked him questions as well. It was strange to try to get to know my son. It felt like the things I was asking him were things I should have known already. I made a promise to myself that I w
ould learn everything there was to know about him and never forget it.
I opened the back seat of Michelle’s Honda and pulled out the plastic bag with the blanket stuffed inside.
“That’s my surprise?” he said, wrinkling his nose. “That’s a grocery bag!”
I laughed. “I didn’t have time to wrap it. Besides, it isn’t a present. It’s something I found and thought you might want.”
Joey opened the bag and squealed, jumping up and down. “Mom! Mom!” he shouted.
Michelle came flying out of the house, her hair billowing behind her, a large spoon in her hand. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the mama bear coming to save her cub with a mixing spoon. I quickly stopped laughing when she glared at me.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked, rushing to Joey.
Joey was smiling as he pulled the worn blanket from the bag. “Look what my dad brought for me!”
My heart felt as if it were being squeezed when I heard the word ‘dad’.
Michelle gasped. “Your blanket!”
Joey nodded his head. “Yep, my blanket.” He paused and turned to look at me. “Did you give me this blanket when I was a baby?”
Oh shit.
I looked at Michelle for an answer. It was her turn to answer the tricky questions.
“No, he didn’t give that to you. I’m sorry, Joey. I bought that blanket for you.”
Joey looked at his mom. “But you said—”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wanted you to think you had something from your dad. Remember I told you before there was a lot of adult stuff? This is one of those things. I will try to explain it all later. For now, be happy you have your blanket back. I bet you’re going to sleep good tonight.”
I felt my heart being ripped out of my chest as Joey came to terms with the lie.
“If I’d been there, I would have given you a blanket just like that,” I told him. “This blanket is special.”
Joey looked at the blanket in his hands and shrugged a shoulder. “I guess.”
My hope of giving him something special had blown up in my face. Joey walked away from us, heading inside, still carrying the blanket but a lot less enthusiastic about it.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I saw it sitting on his bed and thought he’d want it. I forgot about the story and all that.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ll explain it later. At least he has it now.”
“Michelle, we need to talk,” I said when she turned to follow Joey. “I don’t want you to be mad at me forever.”
“I know, but not now,” she said and headed in the house, leaving me outside all alone.
I hated that she was mad at me but took comfort in knowing she would have to talk to me eventually. This was something she would have to come to terms with. Joey knew the truth now. It was time to move forward. I didn’t want to have one of those relationships where she and I didn’t talk and only did cordial drop-offs and pick-ups. I wanted a family. My family.
35
Michelle
When I came down the stairs, it was to find Rayne still lying on the couch, covered with a blanket.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Outside. Doing whatever it is men do.”
I laughed. “Good.”
“Is this little cold war going to last long? You guys are killing the vibe of this peaceful retreat,” she said, sitting up.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m still mad.”
“Get over it.”
“Hey! You’re supposed to be my friend.”
“I am, and I’m telling you Elijah did nothing wrong. He told Joey the truth. It wasn’t like he did it to be mean. Joey asked, and he answered, right?”
I took a deep breath. We had already had this conversation. “Yes, but I wanted to wait until things were a little more settled. I didn’t want to add any more stuff for Joey to deal with.”
“Did you ever think this might be exactly what Joey needs? He’s pretty excited to have a dad—a ‘real dad’ as he calls him,” she reminded me.
“I know, and I am glad he knows.”
“You wanted to tell him,” she said softly. “You knew this was something that would make Joey happy and you wanted to be the one to tell him. You wanted to see his eyes light up and have him throw his arms around you because he was so happy.”
I sighed. “Maybe.”
“Well maybe that’s what Elijah wanted too. Besides, I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way to tell a kid who his dad is. He knows now. It’s time you two started working stuff out. You’ve already lost so much time together, don’t let this drive you apart.”
“I’m making coffee,” I muttered, not wanting to hear the lecture. She was right. I knew I was being ridiculous.
“Run away, but you still need to talk to him. Trevor and I will stay with Joey today. The two of you can go to town and get all this hashed out. I’m tired of the tension.”
“Gee, I hate to make my problems your problems,” I quipped.
She laughed. “Good. We can agree on that.”
It wasn’t long before Trevor and Elijah came inside.
“Elijah,” Rayne hollered from her place on the couch.
“Yes?”
“You’re taking Michelle to town for lunch while Trevor and I hang out with Joey.”
Elijah turned to look at me, questioning me with his eyes.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine,” I muttered.
Elijah smiled, clearly happy to have Rayne on his side. “Sounds good.”
Despite my weak protest, I got ready to go. I was happy to be getting out of the cabin. Our walk to the tiny store had done little to break the cabin fever. I was looking forward to seeing other people and reminding myself there was a world beyond the cabin walls.
Elijah was itching to ride his bike and asked if I would be okay with it. Trevor happened to have an extra helmet at the cabin from when he and his wife used to stay there. Secretly, I was looking forward to a ride as well.
“I’ll be back soon,” I promised Joey, feeling a little nervous about leaving him.
“He’ll be fine,” Rayne assured me.
“Thank you,” I told her, waving as I walked out the door.
Elijah was on his bike when I walked outside. Seeing him on the bike brought back so many memories. He was so damn hot, it took my breath away. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt and a pair of jeans. It was so damn sexy, I wanted to jump him right there.
I slowly walked toward him, staring into those dangerous blue eyes, my mind forgetting all about the fact that I was mad at him. I wanted him. I crawled behind him, scooting my body close to his, far closer than was necessary. He turned back to look at me, and I could see the heat in his eyes. I wiggled a little, pressing my breasts against his back.
“Put your helmet on,” he ordered.
I smiled, imagining he was sporting a hard-on right then and was very uncomfortable. He started the bike and pointed it down the driveway. I wrapped my arms around him, my hands splayed over his pecs before sliding them down his chest and wrapping my arms around his waist. With every touch, my annoyance was fading.
Thirty minutes later, I found myself sitting across from Elijah at a small table in a tiny restaurant in town. We were both nervous as hell. It felt like a first date. Both of us were awkward and neither of us knew what to say. The ride had stirred up our passion and I could feel that familiar sexual tension humming between us.
The waitress came over to take our orders. The last thing on my mind was eating, but I quickly ordered anyway.
“Thank you for giving me a chance,” he said once the waitress was gone. “I should have waited. I shouldn’t have told Joey the truth. I’m sorry. He asked, and before I knew what I was saying, I answered. I don’t like lies.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I know. I guess I’m a little possessive of him. It’s always been me and him. I’m not used to having another parent in the mix. He is your
son and you do have the right to talk to him. I know you weren’t doing it to hurt me or him. I just want to protect him from everything.”
“I know. I get that. He’s a smart, tough kid, Michelle. You’ve done a great job with him. I think he’s going to be okay with this. We got to talk a bit yesterday and I answered his questions honestly.”
I nodded my head. “I know. He told me.”
“Was that wrong? Did you not want me answering the questions?”
“No, it wasn’t wrong. I don’t mean to dictate what you can and can’t say.”
“Good, because I suck at following the rules,” he said with a wink.
“However,” I said, holding up a finger, “we need to have discussions about what we tell him and when we tell him when it comes to sensitive matters. We both need to be on board. We’ve got to come to a compromise if we disagree on something. I think there are going to be plenty more of these little scenarios over the years, and I want us to agree on what we will say. I don’t want to play tug-of-war with him.”
He nodded his head. “I can do that. This is new territory for me. I’m probably going to say and do the wrong thing plenty often. I’ll need you to help me, teach me how to be a good parent.”
“I make mistakes all the time. Parenting is one of those learn-as-you-go things. It wasn’t like either of us had the best role models to teach us how to be good parents, either. You’re going to be a great dad. Just love him and the rest will come to you.”
“You’re an excellent mother, Michelle. I can see that. I’m lucky that you are my son’s mom.”
I laughed, feeling myself blush a little. “Thank you. I’m lucky you’re his dad.”
“Michelle, have you thought about what we do after this?” he asked, his voice low.
I looked up, met his gorgeous blue eyes, and shook my head. “Not really. I know I want to be with you.”
“Good. I want to be with you too. What does that look like in your mind?”
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 42
