Page 81 of Born Daddy

An instant reminder of Tate’s youth and his chaotic upbringing was like a slap to Rogan’s face. He imagined there might be other disconnects along the way. However, being with Tate was worth much more than a shared knowledge of old sayings.

Rogan chuckled. “It’s an expression. It means things take time, so don’t stress about making everything happen at once.”

“Oh!” Tate nodded. “Yeah, I think I’ve heard that before. And good. I didn’t want to make you feel bad.”

“Such a sweet boy.”

Rogan stroked Tate’s close-cropped hair, his stomach dipping from the thrill of how caring a man Tate was. How the investigators could believe for one second that Tate could ever knowingly do someone harm, never mind the grisly acts Cam had committed, was insane. If everyone knew Tate even half as well as Rogan did, they’d know it was impossible. For the first time since Rogan had steeled himself to introduce Tate to his family, he believed he’d made the perfect decision. Soon, they’d see for themselves what a remarkable young man Tate was.

The sound of the old wooden screen door that Rogan had painted more than once over the years when he came by to help, slammed of its own accord after his mom hurried through it. She strode over the stone steps in the grass, a smile decorating her lips as she drew closer. Tate squeezed Rogan’s hand in what seemed like a burst of tension.

“See how happy she is we’re here?” Rogan jostled their joined hands. “Come on. Let me introduce you, then we can grab the box of éclairs.”

The bakery they’d always gone to when he was growing up when it was time to order a kid’s birthday cake, carried the most amazing desserts. Of all the pastry selections, his mom’s favorite were the éclairs.

After dropping from the truck, Rogan hurried around the front so he could be there for Tate. His mom reached him at the same time as Rogan. Before he had the chance to introduce Tate, in his mom’s typical fashion, she was already taking the reins.

“You must be Tate.” She grabbed the startled Tate into her arms and gave him a quick squeeze before letting go. “It’s so wonderful to meet you.”

She held onto his hands, still smiling wide, as Tate stared back at her with rounded eyes. Rogan snaked an arm around Tate’s waist, hoping the touch would anchor him.

“H-hello,” Tate stammered. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Steele.”

“Now you call me Marion, hon. All right?”

Tate nodded jerkily then seemed to find his voice. “Okay.” He worried his lip. “We brought éclairs.”

Rogan needed to rescue Tate. He’d begun to notice some of his tells, especially the one where his mind went blank under stress. It was one of the things Tate had mentioned he needed help with when they’d first discussed their Daddy/boy dynamic.

She regarded Rogan. “Oh, that’s wonderful! My favorite.”

“Actually, Tate asked what he could bring, and I suggested them.”

“Well, thank you both.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “It’s great to see you, sweetie. Seb is running late, but everyone else is here. Come on, Tate.” She took his hand. “Let’s go meet everyone else.”

Tate glanced at Rogan with concern in his eyes, as if silently asking him what to do.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll just grab the pastries, but I’ll be right behind you.” He ignored his mother’s arched eyebrows at the endearment. Rogan whispered against Tate’s ear. “You can do this. I know my mom, and she’s not acting. She’s genuinely glad to meet you.”

Tate let out a long exhale, his shoulders relaxing. “Thanks.”

Even though Tate was being strong in the face of uncomfortable circumstances, Rogan hurried to get back to his side. He made it through the kitchen door right as Tate was being introduced to his Dad, Gerry and Kathy. After quickly setting down the pink bakery box, he sidled up to Tate and laid a hand on his shoulder. The curious glances from his siblings didn’t go unnoticed.

“…Kathy and this is Gerry.” They gave Tate a polite ‘hello’ and Tate responded with the same. The awkwardness was real, but his mom jumped in to save the moment. “Seb is Rogan’s other younger brother, the one closest to him in age. However, he had to run in for an emergency meeting this morning at the law firm where he’s an attorney.”

Tate gasped and Rogan wanted to kick himself for not providing more details about his family before they arrived.

“Yes,” Rogan piped up. “Seb is partner in a legal firm that handles copyright law. Sounds boring to me, but he loves all that research and detail.” Rogan rubbed the top of Tate’s back. “He always had his head buried in books when we were kids. While I was the one out building forts in the woods or taking a canoe to one of the lake islands to pick berries—he’d be reading Tom Sawyer or Treasure Island.”

That bit of info seemed to do the trick and distract Tate from anything related to law and lawyers.

“There’re islands out there?” He stared up at Rogan with excitement dancing in his eyes.

“Oh yeah, a few. On the main one, when me and my friends would row out there, we’d eat peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches on this large boulder. Then after, we’d explore the island, pretending we were marooned and having to survive by eating the berries.”

His mother laughed. “Thanks to them, it was a struggle to ever get enough to make a pie.”

Tate tensed up again. “Friends?”

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