by S. M. Shade
Damn it. He’s going to make me cry in public. “You’re too damn good to be true, Mason Reed,” I choke. “I love you. I promise to be there when you need me. If you’re beside me, I’m beside you. Always.”
A gorgeous smile spreads across his face. “You’ll move in with me?”
“Yes.”
Leaping to his feet, he rounds the table and slides into the seat beside me. I’m smothered in nearly two hundred pounds of ecstatic—and apparently turned on—male. His lips are at my ear. “I’m going to eat you for hours tonight.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.”
“Now.” He turns the children’s placemat over to the blank side and grabs a blue crayon. “Let’s put it in writing.”
“What are you doing?” I giggle as he scribbles away. When he leans back I can see what he’s written.
Mason Reed and Everly Hall do hereby agree to the following.
1. To love one another for eternity
2. To have amazing, dirty, kinky, mind blowing sex as often as Evie’s vagina can handle.
I grab the crayon to add my own promises.
3. To touch only one another’s genitals and kiss only each other’s lips.
4. To be honest and keep no secrets
The crayon is plucked from my fingers and he adds to the list.
5. To talk about our problems instead of running or hiding.
6. To never ask Mason to buy feminine products
7. To protect and guard Everly with my life.
I’m still laughing over number six when he hands me the crayon. I draw a line through number seven and write.
7. To protect and guard each other with our lives.
8. To never use the same knife in the peanut butter and jelly jars.
Mason adds:
9. To remain right beside Everly
I add:
10. To remain right beside Mason
I sign and date the bottom, and Mason adds his signature. “We’re keeping this,” he warns.
“It’s ironclad,” I reply.
“Wait! I forgot to add in the part about anal. I’m entitled to claim your ass.” The waitress can’t suppress her giggle this time. He really has the worst timing.
Chapter Eight
Mason
A knock at the door interrupts our breakfast. “Are you expecting your brothers?” Evie asks.
“No, but that never stops them.” Evie follows me to the front door. When I open it, the last person I want to see is on the other side. Jamie Weldow. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand, before noticing the skinny little boy standing beside her.
She smirks. “Nice to see you too.” A hateful grin tilts her lips. “I thought it was time you met your son.”
Her words are worse than any choke hold and my chest tightens painfully. She’s lying. She has to be. I only fucked her a couple of times and never without a condom. Lying fucking bitch.
Before I can tell her where to go, Evie’s hand lands on my shoulder. “Maybe you should talk about this in private.” She regards Jamie stone faced, and I know she’s shocked, trying to hold it together and make things easier on the kid. Great. Another thing to send her running. “Is it okay if your son joins me in the kitchen while you two talk?”
Jamie’s eyes scan Everly, and she frowns. “Whatever. Take him. Cody, go with her.”
Disapproval is written on Evie’s face at her callous order. She kneels in front of the small boy, and he stares at the floor, shuffling his feet. “Hi, Cody. My name is Everly. I like your t-shirt.”
A small smile emerges as he peeks up at her. “He’s the Incredible Hulk. He smashes bad guys.”
“He’s awesome. Will you come and tell me more about him?” Nodding, he puts his hand in hers and allows her to lead him away.
Jamie huffs as I step out onto the porch instead of inviting her inside. I seriously need to get downwind. Judging by her greasy hair and stained clothes, she hasn’t had an acquaintance with a bar of soap for a while. “That’s how you’re going to treat the mother of your child?”
“You know damn well that kid isn’t mine. What kind of shit are you trying to pull?”
“He’s yours and I’m tired of taking care of him alone.”
“How old is he?” I ask, desperately trying to remember the last time I fucked her.
“Five.” Shit. That doesn’t rule it out.
“You realize I can get a DNA test?”
“So do it.” She sits on the step for a moment only to get right back to her feet. I recognize her fidgeting for what it is. Withdrawal. Six years hasn’t changed her.
“You’re jonesing. Is that what this is about? You want money so you can drag that poor kid around with you while you shoot up?”
The eyes of a predator stare hatefully at me. “Fuck you. I’m not using. You owe me for years of child support.” She glances around her. “It’s not like you can’t afford it.”
“There’s no fucking way I’m giving you money for drugs and letting you leave with that boy.” I suppose there’s a small chance he’s mine, but blood or not, he’s not being left in this situation.
“So keep him.”
Her blunt answer catches me off guard, and I stare at her in amazement. “What?”
Realizing she pissed me off, she starts backpedaling. “Not…you know…for good. Just a few hours while I find us a place to stay. I’ll come pick him up, but I need money for a room.”
Fuck fuck fuck. Fine. I want her as far away from me as she can get. One phone call to my lawyer and I should be able to get a quick DNA test, then I can decide how best to help this kid. A greedy expression crosses her face when I jerk my wallet out of my pocket. “Fine, Jamie. I’ll keep him for the night. Find a room.”
She snatches the five-hundred dollars from my hand. “I’ll be back first thing tomorrow,” she swears, already headed to her beat up car parked in my driveway. No goodbye to the kid or even a warning she’s leaving him with strangers. I have twenty-four hours to find out if the boy is really mine and figure out what the hell to do.
I can hear Evie’s voice and Cody’s giggle as I head toward the kitchen. Christ, things have finally calmed down between us, and now this. Evie’s typical response is to overreact and run away. If she leaves this time I won’t be following. She loves kids and if she assumes I abandoned him, I know she’ll go. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes, hoping for once I’m afforded the benefit of the doubt.
They’re sitting at the table and a pang pierces me when familiar blue eyes glance fearfully into mine before returning to his plate. They ought to be familiar. I see in them in the mirror every damn day. Eyes my color, dark hair. Shit. What if she’s telling the truth? What if I’ve missed years of my son’s life without even realizing it? I can’t even think about the life he’s had with a selfish junky mother. “Hi, buddy,” I say in a cheerful voice. “What are you eating?”
“Scrambled eggs,” he murmurs.
“Evie is a good cook, isn’t she?”
He grins at her. She’s won him over already, put him at ease. “Where’s my mom?”
“She had to do some stuff so you’re going to hang out with us today, okay?” I half expect a tantrum, but he only nods, apparently used to being left with strangers.
Evie glances at me and runs her hand down his back. “We’ll have fun.”
He drains his glass of chocolate milk and spoons the last bite of egg into his mouth. Poor kid was starving. “Would you like to watch cartoons for a little while?” Evie asks, and he nods. He follows me to the living room and curls up on the couch, glued to the T.V.
Evie’s arms wrap around me as soon as I step back into the kitchen, and her breath is warm on my neck as she asks, “Are you okay?”
For a second, I can’t answer. I don’t know how I am. An hour ago I was asleep beside my girl and everything was fine. Now I’m facing the possibility of being a father. She holds me tighter when I bury my face in her neck. “She never told y
ou,” she whispers.
“No.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Stepping back, I tuck her hair behind her ear. “We don’t know he’s mine yet.”
“I know…” Her teeth are clamped on her bottom lip as she hesitates. “He looks like you.”
“Yeah, I noticed. I’m going to make some calls, arrange for a DNA test. Jamie won’t be back until tomorrow.”
A worried expression creases her face. “What does she want? Money…or you?”
“Drugs. That’s all she cares about. We were never together, love. We just fucked a couple of times. It was years ago.”
“I understand. Mason, I think we should take Cody to a doctor. Who knows if he’s ever had a checkup? He’s so thin. And he needs clothes. She didn’t leave him anything. We need to go shopping. I can get someone to cover my hours at BTC today.”
“Everly, this isn’t your responsibility. You don’t have to be in the middle of this. I can handle it.”
Her face falls. “Would you rather I go?”
“Of course not.” My eyes close as I try to get a grip. “I just…shit…I don’t want to scare you away again. If Cody’s mine, I’ll be filing for emergency custody. You need to know that.”
Her smile is soft and kind as her hand squeezes mine. “I’d expect nothing less from you. He’s a sweet kid, and I want to help however I can. Do you really think I’d leave you because you have a kid?”
“Maybe if you thought I’d abandoned my son,” I confess.
“You’d never abandon a child. Mason, every time I’ve needed you, you’ve been there. Please let me do the same.”
She gasps as I pull her back into my embrace and hug her tight. “Thank you for not thinking the worst.”
“I trust you, baby, and I want to show you that you can trust me too. I love you.”
“You damn well better, because I’m not letting you go.”
“You need to let me go now if we’re going to get anything accomplished,” she says with a giggle. “I can’t be glued to your chest all day.”
“I have much better ways to restrain you, but it’ll have to wait,” I murmur in her ear, and she gives a little groan, stepping away.
“I’ll go hang out with Cody until you’re ready to go.”
One call to my lawyer, and everything is set. We have an appointment with a clinic to get Cody checked out and get a sample of his DNA. Landon also arranges for a lab to rush the order. I’m not handing Cody back to that bitch no matter the results, but the faster we know where I stand legally, the better.
Chapter Nine
Evie
Cody is quiet in the back seat of Mason’s car as we head toward the doctor’s office. Mason gives me an anxious look, obviously unsure what to say to him.
“After the doctor, we’ll go have some fun,” I say, turning to smile at him. “Do you like to go to the movies?”
His little shoulders rise and drop. “I’ve never been.”
“The mall has a movie theater,” I tell Mason. “Maybe you two can catch a movie while I find him some clothes.”
“Sounds good to me.” Mason glances at Cody in the mirror. “They also have a Chuckie Cheese. We can play video games.”
Cody’s eyes light up. “I like video games.”
He seems happier, running to join another little boy who’s playing with blocks as we take a seat in the clinic’s waiting room. Mason cocks an eyebrow at me. “He adapts fast. I’d have been terrified to be left with strangers at his age.”
“I imagine he’s used to it.”
“I’m going to strangle that bitch.”
“Get in line.”
Cody doesn’t complain as the cheerful female doctor examines him. “What’s that for?” he asks when she swabs his mouth for DNA.
“We just need to check your spit.” She throws us a tight smile before leaving the room.
“Why are they checking my spit? I’m not sick. I promise.”
I nod at Mason when he glances at me. He’s a smart kid and he’s going to hear it talked about. “They can do a test to see who your parents are, who you’re related to.”
“It tells them who my mom is?”
“Yeah, buddy, and your dad.”
Two sets of identical blue eyes regard each other for a long minute before Cody asks, “Are you my dad?”
Mason runs a hand through Cody’s hair. “I don’t know, but we’re going to find out, okay?”
“Okay.”
They’re interrupted when the doctor returns. “Is he my dad?” Cody instantly demands, and her face floods with sympathy.
“We won’t know until tomorrow, honey.”
Cody nods and asks, “Can I go play with the blocks?”
“That’s a good idea. We’re going to talk to the doctor for a minute, then we’ll go,” Mason says.
“Is he okay?” I ask as soon as he’s left the room.
“Generally, yes, he’s healthy, but there are a few issues. He’s underweight and considering his history, I’m concerned he may not have been vaccinated. You need to try to locate those records if they exist.”
“I’ll find out,” Mason assures her.
“Also, he has an advanced infestation of head lice. I can give you a shampoo, but it’ll take multiple applications, and you must remove the eggs. With boys, it’s sometimes easier to just shave their head. It’s your decision. I’ll give you a spray you need to use on any furniture, blankets, or pillows he’s come into contact with.”
Just the thought has me scratching my head, and the doctor laughs. “I doubt you’ve been infected unless you used the same comb or pillow. Head lice is common in school age children. He’ll be fine. I’d like to see him back in a few weeks for a weight check and vaccinations.” After signing the paperwork and paying the bill, Mason takes the paper sack containing the lice shampoo and spray.
“We shouldn’t tell Cody until we get home. Bugs in his hair might freak him out,” I warn.
“Freaks me out,” Mason murmurs, and I laugh, taking his hand. Cody grabs my other hand and we head to the car.
Walking between them reminds me of childhood dreams best left forgotten, and I’m suddenly struck with an overwhelming sadness. For years, I wanted a family so much the yearning was a constant gnawing ache in my gut. I’d see parents walking with children, smiling and holding hands, and it tore at me. Every single birthday that someone actually remembered a cake and candles, my wish was the same. A family. People who love me. At some point I stopped wishing and accepted some people couldn’t be loved.
Mason looks at me over the top of the car after making sure Cody is buckled in the back seat. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” I force a smile. “Let’s go to the mall.”
“Every man’s favorite place,” Mason replies with a grin, rolling his eyes.
“Relax, we can stop in the salon and get you a mani/pedi.”
“What’s that?” Cody asks.
“Where people get their fingernails and toenails painted,” I reply.
“That’s for girls!”
“You tell her, pal,” Mason reaches back to high five Cody, who grins back at him.
* * * *
Cody stares wide eyed at the large fountain just inside the mall entrance. “Can I play in the water?” he asks, and Mason chuckles.
“That’s probably against the rules, but we can throw pennies in and make a wish.”
“Cool!”
Mason turns and hands me his credit card. “Get him whatever you think he needs, love. We’ll catch a movie, then find you, okay?”
“Have fun.”
He leans to whisper in my ear. “You could start over there at the lingerie store.”
“I don’t think they sell anything for him.”
“Then get something for me. Something lacy.” His lips land softly on mine, and he grins when a small hum escapes my throat.
“Not sure they have your size, but I’ll do my best,” I tease, and he smacks m
y ass before joining Cody at the fountain.
Nearly three hours later, I’m loaded down with bags. I hope I’ve thought of everything. Mason and Cody approach me, Cody babbling excitedly about the movie and showing me his new toys. “We needed Legos,” Mason explains, looking like a kid himself.
“And race cars, and dinos, and boats,” Cody adds.
“Let’s put all this stuff in the car and head to Chuckie Cheese. I don’t know about you two, but I need pizza,” Mason announces.
“Yes!” Cody grabs Mason’s hand as we cross the parking lot and a strange look flits across Mason’s face. He’s already becoming attached to this sweet little boy. For the first time, I wonder if Mason’s hoping for a positive DNA match.
Chuckie Cheese is the hellhole I remember. Loud, bright and stuffed with kids, mostly unsupervised. I’m happy to wait on the pizza while they run off to play. When the food comes, I find them laughing and yelling as they sit astride a motorcycle.
Cody sits in front of Mason, and I can see his amazement when Mason tilts the bike to the right, and the biker onscreen does the same. “Let’s crash him!” Cody cries, and proceeds to hit everything in their path.
Mason laughs and lifts him off the bike when the game ends. Cody eats his pizza with the same enthusiasm he showed at breakfast. He doesn’t argue or complain when it’s time to go. The poor kid has to be exhausted. And we still have the head lice issue to address before bed.
I make up the bed in the guest room for Cody while Mason gives him a bath. Clippers buzz to life as I’m organizing Cody’s new clothes and toys. I guess he decided shaving his head was easier. My heart aches for the boy. Five years old with a mother who doesn’t give two shits about him. If he’s not Mason’s child, chances are he’ll end up in the system just like me.
After I have everything put away, I peek in the bathroom door to see how it’s going. Cody is in the bath, his hair buzzed down to a quarter inch, playing with his new plastic boats. Mason kneels beside the tub and his hand sweeps through the water, making waves to toss the boats.
