Page 15 of Coming Home for Love

A knot formed in my stomach, and I stumbled back a little. Not that I was caught off guard at this point, but it was unreal hearing her confirm it.

I ran a hand down my face because what the fuck was I going to do with a kid? I didn’t even live here. Too many thoughts ran through my mind, and one of them was wrapping my hand around Wynter’s fucking neck. I wasn’t violent, especially toward women, but this was some other shit. I missed out on years of my son’s life.

“What’s his name, Wynter?” I asked through clenched teeth.

I didn’t want to talk to him just yet because I needed to get my anger under control. I would have hated to take my shit out on him. He was innocent and didn’t need to know his mother was on bullshit.

“Osiris.” Her voice was so damn low, I almost didn’t hear her.

I stepped closer and cupped my ear. “Say that shit again.”

“He’s named after you. Sometimes we call him Little O.”

I rubbed the top of my head. I glanced at my son.

“Daddy.” He said that shit again, so I moved closer. He tried to get out of his seat, so I helped him and picked him up.

I didn’t know he existed a minute ago, but I loved him the minute I held him in my arms. Tears filled my eyes when he wrapped his little arms around my neck and squeezed.

“Why you cry, Daddy?”

“Because daddy is happy to see you.” I kissed his cheek.

I glared at Wynter but couldn’t say anything because the sheriff had pulled up.

“Osiris, I didn’t know you were in town,” Sheriff Mills said as he walked up.

I took a deep breath, wiped my face, and held my boy close to my chest. He smelled like baby lotion. “Yeah, I’ve been here for a few days.”

Sheriff Mills and his brother, the mayor, were friends of my family.

“I was told there was an attempted robbery.”

“Yeah, this fool right here,” I said and tilted my head to the dude on the ground.

The dude groaned and rolled over, clutching his stomach. I didn’t remember hitting him in his stomach, but I was just throwing punches and not caring where they landed.

“Ah, shit.” He groaned again. “I want to press charges, Officer.”

The sheriff chuckled. “Yeah, okay. You can file a report after I take you down to the station.”

He bent down and cuffed the dude before reading him his rights. Once he got him on his feet, he addressed us.

“There was a report of the same thing happening the other day, and I tried to get someone over here, but one of the guys was out, and I was handling another call. I’ll come back through here after I get this fool down to the station. It’s normally a pretty peaceful area, but every once in a while, a knucklehead likes to come start some shit, but I’m not having it.”

“Hopefully, he didn’t have any accomplices,” I said.

“Let’s hope. If you see anything suspicious, let me know. I’m going to get this chump downtown. Y’all be safe.”

He walked away with the guy and put him in the back of the squad car.

My son was still hugging me, and I didn’t want to let him go. I couldn’t believe I had a son.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“We don’t have to talk about that right now. What were y’all getting ready to do?”

I chuckled when my son shouted, “Get ice cream!”

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