Page 55 of Bossy Romance

Finally, fabric rustles on her end of the line. “Look, let’s forget about everything else. Our son is all that matters.”

Ourson.

That’s still so mind-boggling to me.

“Whether you knew or not, the truth is that you weren’t involved in Rowan’s life for over a decade,” Alexa says. “But now that you have him, you can’t keep ignoring him. That’s not how parenting works. You need to pay more attention to him if you want to keep him safe.”

“I’m doing my best here, Alexa.”

“Then obviously your best isn’t good enough!”

Her words scrape against my skin. I know I’m fumbling around on this ‘dad thing’ and it’s embarrassing. I don’t need anyone else rubbing salt in the wound.

“You can’t just drop him on me and expect my life to magically shift around. People don’t wake up and suddenly become the perfect dad.”

“Did I ask you to be a perfect dad, Adam?” Her voice rises. “I just asked you not to have our kid in the freaking hospital.”

I massage the bridge of my nose, my frustration bubbling up. “He’s fine.”

“Eighty percent fine.”

“That’s a passing mark.”

“Not in my books.”

I groan. “See, this is the reason we couldn’t make a real relationship work. We can’t communicate. You don’t get what I’m saying and, obviously, I don’t get what you’re saying either.”

“You’re right. We never could understand each other. But as crazy as we were, we did one good thing. We made a kid together.” She lets out a breath that whooshes over the phone. “I don’t care about our history or what you think of me, Adam. I don’t care about your excuses either. All I care about is Rowan being safe.”

If that’s true, then why did she shove her son on a bus by himself and let him show up on the doorstep of a total stranger? Why didn’t she come with Rowan and explain everything?

Something isn’t adding up.

“I need you to figure out this dad thing. Fast. Okay? You don’t have room to make any mistakes.”

“Why did you send Rowan to me after all these years, Alexa?” I ask urgently. “What’s really going on?”

“I have to go. Tell Rowan to call me tomorrow.”

“Alexa—”

The line goes dead.

I lean my head against the wall and grip my cell phone tight. Making a fist, I pound the wall once. Twice.

I feel like I’m standing on a rooftop that’s cracking into pieces. Any minute now and I’m going to fall right through and get buried under rubble.

Damn. I hate feeling helpless more than anything. And right about now, I’m walking in the dark with my hands tied behind my back.

Alexa’s hiding something, but I can’t even begin to imagine what that something is. What’s her real plan? What isn’t she telling me?

I take a big breath.

Another.

Another.

Obsessing over it won’t bring me closer to the answer.

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