Page 100 of Rent Free

He chuckled at that. “He told me that, too, remember? And then I had a wet truck.”

That was true but…

“I don’t know what to do about that. If he doesn’t want to wear it, who am I to say that he has to wear it?” I waffled.

“For this, I think it’s okay to agree that he doesn’t have to wear it if he doesn’t want to. But eventually you’re gonna have to be tough with him,” he said softly.

I knew that.

He knew that.

Hell, Forest probably knew that.

He was probably going to use my lack of ability to be stern every way possible, but for now…

“I’ll let you be the disciplinary parent,” I said. “I’ll be the fun parent.”

He growled low in his throat. “Parent. I like that.” I realized what I’d said, and started to correct my words, but he kept speaking. “I guess that could work out.”

I felt a delicious shiver run down my spine.

Again, we weren’t addressing the elephant in the room.

We hadn’t talked about how, when his son had come into the picture, we were just co-parenting like we’d done it every day. How I’d moved into his house to help. How we just worked together like a well-oiled machine. Like we’d been married for years and years and years. How he hadn’t paid me a single cent to babysit or whatever it was called that I was doing.

One day we’d have to address it, but not this day.

“I’ll call you when I’m there, let you know I arrived safely?” I offered.

“That sounds perfect,” he said. “I’m going to head to the jail after this and go see the newest occupant in Sunnyvale Police Department B&B.”

I laughed at that. “She’s arrested?”

“She’s arrested,” Atlas confirmed.

I headed out to find the Chick-Fil-A back to normal.

When I walked toward the window, it was to find a couple of cruisers out front, and Sage, not surprisingly, nowhere to be seen.

I headed outside as I said, “You’re right. Bye, Atlas.”

“Bye, baby,” he murmured quietly.

Auden caught my attention and waved me on to my car.

I watched Maven wave from her own car, and I got Forest situated in my back seat.

Then the two of us headed to Kilgore.

“Umm,” Tarrant said upon our arrival. “You have a baby.”

“Atlas’s son, Forest,” I explained. “He’s my ride or die.”

Tarrant waved at Forest, who like usual, clung to me like he was afraid I’d be taken away from him.

“Forest,” I said to the little boy. “This is my brother, Tarrant.”

“Ant?” he asked.

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