Page 58 of Step Daddy

Gareth arched his eyebrows. “Aren’t we feisty today.” Gareth cupped the back of Kit’s head then planted a firm kiss on his temple. “You’re right. I’m being a jerk.” Gareth blew out a sigh. “I hit the top of a hill at a weird angle, so instead of catching air then landing clean, I veered off to the side before slamming down into some prickly scrub bushes.” He gingerly touched the bandage, hissing. “The little bastards, along with the gravel, raked the skin off my damn neck.

Gareth shook his head. “My dumb move. This is one instance where I should’ve dropped the bike, but I was sure I could right it.” He rubbed his forehead. “I’m gonna have to spend the week getting that thing fixed and having it checked out really good. I hope I can get everything handled before we leave for New Mexico.”

Kit pressed his lips together to keep from blurting out that he hoped Gareth would have to cancel. It wasn’t fair of him to tell Gareth what to do with his life, to discourage him from pursuing his career. It just scared the shit out of him.

Gareth was staring at him in that way Kit recognized, the look that said he knew what was going through Kit’s mind. At times, it was spooky how well Gareth could read him.

“Hmm.”

Gareth rubbed his chin as he fixed his gaze at a point across the room. Now Kit was staring at Gareth, trying to work out what was going through his Daddy’s mind. At last, Gareth regarded him again.

“There’s something I want to talk to you about. I was saving it for after this series of competitions is over, since that’s when my sponsorships are up for renewal, because that leaves me with options.”

“Options?”

Kit sat on his hands so he wouldn’t fiddle with them. He could tell Gareth had something big to say.

“Yeah. See, once I’ve fulfilled my obligation to those sponsors, I can walk away.” He carded his fingers through Kit’s hair, giving him a soft smile. “Quit. Would you like that?”

Oh no. Gareth was going to give up racing and it would be his fault. He couldn’t do that to his Daddy.

“You can’t quit. It’s your dream career.” He grabbed Gareth’s hands. “If you’re doing it because of me, I’ll never forgive myself for ruining your life.”

Gareth barked out a laugh and Kit frowned. Gareth tugged Kit to his side then pulled him onto his lap.

“Are you kidding me? First off, racing is not my dream career. Dev talked me into going out with him to the track one time, and I discovered that it helped me blow off steam. Not only that, it’s something I happen to be good at. Good enough to make some serious cash and quit bartending at the Pink Diamond.” Gareth jostled him. “I half expected the Marines to call me up for service again before my contract was finished, and figured, hell, might as well have some money put away before then.”

“Seriously?” Kit couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So, you’ve only been doing it for the money?”

Gareth screwed up his nose. “It’s not that cut and dry. I might not have gone pro if the money wasn’t so good, I might’ve just left it as something to do on the weekends. What I’ve really been wanting for a while is someone to share my life with, to have my own boy.” He waggled his eyebrows. “As you well know.” He gave Kit another kiss on his temple, this time with more vigor. “I always figured that once I did, I’d segue into the next phase of my life. So, like I said, once my sponsor obligations are complete, I can walk away.”

Kit didn’t add that the ‘walking away’ part was the most significant part of that statement.

“But what’ll you do then?”

“This is the part I want to talk to you about. How would you feel about leaving this condo and getting a piece of land in Pahrump, maybe put up a mobile or manufactured home? Get out of the Vegas madness? I can get a hefty price for this condo. I put a lot down on it when I got my first sponsor payment.” Gareth suddenly seemed hesitant, as if he were afraid of Kit’s reaction. “It won’t be as luxurious or with the fancy gym downstairs or the little bistro next door where we get our bagels and coffee.”

Kit drew his eyebrows together. “I don’t care about any of that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice here, but I’ll go wherever you want to go.”

Gareth tapped Kit’s nose with one finger. “But Daddy wants to make his boy happy.”

“You do make me happy. Like, insanely happy.” Kit laced their fingers together. “And going somewhere more rural like Pahrump, having some land, that would be awesome.” He tilted his head. “But why Pahrump specifically?”

Gareth smiled. Kit could tell his words had reassured him.

“Couple reasons. We could still drive into town if we want to hit up Pink Diamond—although that’s not that big of a deal for me. However, the main reason is that Manny wants to retire and is interested in selling the track.” Gareth’s smile grew to a grin. “Dev is interested in going in on it with me now that he’s retiring from racing. What do you think?”

“Wow.” Kit hadn’t been expecting that. “Can I help? Or do you just want to do it with Dev? I’ll understand if you guys want to keep it to yourselves.”

Gareth snorted. “No way. I wasn’t going to ask because I’m sure you’d rather go to school, but I’d love to have you there with me.”

Kit scraped his teeth along his lower lip. “Uh…actually…” Sure, some of the classes seemed appealing and he still wanted to take more English grammar and creative writing ones, but that was about it. “I’m not really all that interested in being a teacher. I only ever decided to do that as a fall back, and because I needed a skill so I could get away from Ted and that job. I was going to get your opinion on other things I could do, but maybe now I have my answer?”

Gareth’s features softened and Kit could swear he caught a glimmer in his eyes. “You can always give it a try and see how it goes. If you decide it’s not for you, then you can explore other avenues.”

Kit couldn’t imagine what else would be better than being by his Daddy’s side. “Sure. But I can help you guys with keeping records and stuff. I learned a lot working at the property management place. And this would be cool because it would be my Daddy’s business, and not someone who isn’t family.”

Gareth was back to staring at him strangely, and Kit wondered if he’d said something he shouldn’t have. Gareth still considered them family, didn’t he?

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