Page 41 of Sometimes You Fall

I take a step closer to the counter and lower my voice. “Chase really is a good kid, Grady. I’m sorry that your first encounter with him was what it was.” Our eyes lock. “But now that you and I…” I gesture to my stomach. “It’s important to me that you two get along.”

His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows roughly. “I’m in uncharted territory, Scottie, on all fronts.” I watch his eyes dip down to my stomach. “But I promise, I will do everything in my power to make sure I’m in my kid’s life.”

I’ve heard those words before…But talk is cheap.

Do you honestly think Grady isn’t a man of his word though, Scottie?

“Are you hungry?” He pushes a container toward me as the smell of charbroiled meat and salty french fries hits my nose, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yes, which is weird since I’ve been extremely nauseous all week.”

We grab our food and head to the dining room table, choosing two chairs right next to each other. Grady’s body is almost too big for the chair, his knee hitting mine once he scoots in closer. We dive into our food, taking a few bites before he finally breaks the silence. “Practices should be done by five, so I was thinking he could come work at the garage one night a week for an hour or so, and then Saturdays. There’s plenty of grunt jobs that he can do that my technicians would be glad to have taken off their plates.”

“He doesn’t usually have a ton of homework, so that should be good,” I reply as I pop a fry in my mouth. “Oh my God, the batter on these is heavenly.”

Grady juts his chin toward the bags on the counter that he didn’t open. “I also brought a few apple fritters for you.”

My head spins toward the kitchen and then back to him. “How did you…”

“Astrid told me,” he says, his eyes locked on mine. “When she told me you asked for my number and shared yours with me, she also shared your latest craving.” Shaking his head, there’s a hint of a smile on his lips. “My sister is a little excited about the baby, just an FYI.”

“Oh, I’m aware. I got a dose of it today when I stopped in the bakery.”

Grady pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine.”

“It’s okay.” I pick up another fry. “Babies are supposed to be celebrated. A new life is coming into the world.” As I stare down at my food, I can feel Grady’s eyes on me. “I just…”

Grady’s hand envelops mine, drawing my eyes to his. “I want this, Scottie,” he says, the deep rasp of his voice coating me in warmth. “Please don’t think otherwise, I just…it’s a lot to wrap my head around and I have so many questions.”

Taking in a deep breath, I put the fry down and turn to him. “Okay. Well, let’s talk about it.”

“You sure you’re not going to run away again?” The corner of his lips lift, but I don’t blame him for asking. My track record isn’t the best.

“You’re in my house, so there’s not really anywhere for me to go.”

His eyes bounce back and forth between mine. “Then tell me how this is supposed to work. What do you want from me?”

As I stare into his eyes, I ask myself that same question. I know what I canhandlefrom him, but what Iwant? That’s a question I’m not willing to answer—because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that what I want isn’t a factor in what I get.

“I want you to be as involved as you want. This is your childtoo, so…”

“I’m going to be a father, Scottie,” he says with conviction. “The last thing I want is for my kid to grow up not knowing who I am or not being able to count on me.”

Tears threaten to fall, but I manage to say, “Okay.”

“But that means that we’re going to be spending a lot of time together and I need you to talk to me and stop running away. I want to be involved in everything.” He points a finger at the table, emphasizing his point. “I’m going to be at doctor’s appointments, and I want us to make decisions together. I want us to be a team.”

Oh my god. My hormones can’t handle this.

Before I burst into tears, he stands from the table and goes over to the bags. “I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m not above admitting that, all right?” He reaches in one bag and pulls out three books, one of which I recognize instantly because I own the same one—only mine is probably a few versions outdated.

“You boughtWhat to Expect When You’re Expecting?”

He holds up the book. “Yeah, but this one is for dads.” I squint and see the subtitle on the cover. “And then there’s another two that looked informative, so I’ll read those once I get done with this one.”

“Grady…”

“I also brought you some of these.” He holds up a small plastic bag of ginger candies. “The lady at the store swore these helped with nausea, and I remember you saying that you weren’t feeling great, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to try them.”

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