Page 6 of Accidental Baby Daddy

“Grampa is old,” Trent said. “But so is Dad.”

“Ouch,” I replied, dramatically putting my hand over my heart. “Harsh, kiddo.”

Trent shrugged. “It’s true.”

My father laughed, long and loud, and it sounded like it came from his gut. It made my heart happy to hear him laughing with us. I knew that he’d been having a really hard time. Thirty years, gone, in the blink of an eye.

I couldn’t imagine. With what I went through with Lex, it would have broken me to have been with her for that long only to lose her.

Dad seemed to be in better spirits as we left the restaurant.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to go out?”

“I’m sure,” he grunted as he got out of the truck. Trent slept peacefully in the backseat, his head against the cushion of his car seat.

Dad opened the back door to kiss him goodbye, and Trent hugged him tightly before going right back to sleep. Dad smiled, fondness and love glowing in his brown eyes.

“See you soon, Dad,” I said, watching him as he unlocked the door of his apartment.

It was a small place, not much to it, but I supposed he was hoping that he wouldn’t be there for long. With the money my father had, you’d think he’d have a penthouse apartment or something bigger, nicer.

But he’d never wanted anything other than the three-bedroom home he'd bought with Mom.

I owned a six-bedroom house that was more of a mansion, but then again, I’d kind of gone buck wild when I made my first million. Sometimes I regretted it, having so much space for just me and Trent. But most of the time I loved it, especially my heated indoor pool and in-home theater.

If you had it, why not spend it and flaunt it? That was my philosophy.

I headed next to my childhood home. When I arrived, my mother was seated on the front porch in one of the rocking chairs. It hurt my heart to see her rocking with no one in the seat next to her, so once I got Trent inside and in his bed, I came out to sit next to her.

She smiled at me. “How did dinner go?”

That was probably her way of asking how Dad was.

“He’s... struggling, Mom.”

“We’re all struggling,” she mumbled, looking away, but not before I spotted hurt in her blue eyes.

“What’s going on with you and Dad?” I asked. “Why did you ask him to leave?”

She sighed. “It’s complicated, Ollie. Trent staying the night?”

Of course, she’d change the subject. It was her go-to when she didn’t want to talk about something. And if Mama didn’t want to talk, I knew better than to press her.

“If it’s all right with you. Thought I’d meet up with a friend for a beer or three.”

She smiled and nodded. “That’s good. You need to get out more. Stop working so much.”

I leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Thank you for looking out for Trent.”

She waved her hand at me. “He’s my only grandson. You know I’ll always look out for him.”

I smiled and stood up, walking slowly to the truck, and getting in.

Even though my dad declined my invitation, I was feeling restless. I needed to get out, needed to let loose. Mom was right—it had been too long.

Something felt different in the air tonight. Maybe if I went out, I’d end up having a really good time, good enough to get my mind off everything for a little while. It felt like something was coming, I could feel it in the hair on the nape of my neck.

Something good was happening in the air, and I wanted to be there for it. Whatever it was.

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