Page 99 of Deserter

There was something about him baby-talking my daughter and acting like he had the slightest goddamn clue about how to parent that just set my teeth on edge.

“Look who I brought with me.”

Mikey came skipping up the sidewalk and Kate latched onto the side of his leg with a squeal. Her hands shot up and she began grunting through the pacifier again, clearly expecting to be held.

He looked up at me with a grin. “Mr. Grey, can I hold her? I’m nine now.”

I ruffled his hair and nodded. “Why don’t you come inside on the carpet though.”

“Did you hear that, Katy? Your daddy says I can hold you.” He began making whistling sounds as he led her into the house. “Here, girl.”

Comedian watched the entire procession before snapping, “Junior, she ain’t a damn puppy.”

Kate shifted her pacifier to the side of her mouth and sternly barked once at him before going inside.

“You hear that, Comedian? Turns out, she is a puppy.” I clapped him hard on the shoulder. “Where’s Betsy?”

I was gonna have to give Celia a warning. The past year had not brought them any closer, even with frequent visits to see Mikey.

He looked out toward the street. “Migraine. She said she was sorry to miss it.”

I didn’t think for a second that Betsy was really sick; she just wasn’t down for any event where she knew she wasn’t going to get me alone.

I glanced inside to see Mikey down on all fours, chasing after Kate. She fell onto the carpet, belly laughing at his antics and my chest clenched.

“You know,” I turned back to Comedian. “When’s the last time you and Betsy had a weekend to yourselves?”

He cocked his head to the side. “I can’t even remember. We ain’t got a lot of help with Junior.”

Kate squealed again and we both turned back toward the open doorway. “What if we kept him for the weekend? I can drop him off at school on Monday, but it might be good for the two of you to get away for a few days.”

I watched as he thought it over, nodding to himself. “Yeah, that’d be nice. We could go down to my land and stay at the cabin. You sure you’re up for it? Kid’s kinda a handful.”

Mikey fell back on the carpet, pretending to be asleep, while Kate climbed his chest.

My kids.

“We got this. It’ll be nice to have someone to play with Kate—”

“I know of another way you could get a play mate for Kate… hell of a lot more fun too.”

“Yeah, I’m familiar with it. So, you sticking around or you gonna get on the road while there’s still some daylight?”

He stepped inside the living room. “Junior.”

Mikey snapped to attention. “Yes, sir?”

I didn’t miss the look of fear in his eyes or the way he moved Kate behind him as he faced the monster head on. My nostrils flared and I tightened my hands into fists.

“Your mom and I are going out of town for a few days. You’re gonna stay here with Grey and be on your best behavior, am I clear?”

He nodded quickly, fighting to hide the smile that was creeping onto his face. “Yes, sir. I won’t let you down.”

“Good.” Comedian began looking around. “Is Celia around? Thought I’d tell her hello before I take off.”

I shook my head. “She’s getting ready for the party. I’ll tell her you were here.”

I didn’t want him around my kids and I sure as fuck didn’t want him anywhere near my wife. She seemed to be the only person on the entire fucking planet who still thought there was some good in him.

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