Page 36 of Zac

“I’m pacing myself,” I decide to continue before he could add his two cents. “She’ll come around, I just have to make her see that not every guy is like her ex, or her father. She hasn’t really had a good track record with the guys in her life.”

“From what Aurora has said she’s never really had a guy treat her right. Her father was a prick, and then she got wrapped up with Grant. No wonder she is so sure everything will go wrong. She’s never had it go right.”

I grab two beers out of the refrigerator and pass one to him.

“Can you answer one question, and I promise it’s the one and only time I will ever ask it?”

“Okay,” I say, taking a sip of my beer, preparing myself for whatever it is he may ask.

“Is this really what you want? Presley and Grayson here with you, is that real? Or is it because she’s pregnant and you being the guy that you are, is it more about feeling like it’s the right thing to do?”

I hold his stare, feeling my pulse quicken.

“If you’d asked me several weeks ago I’d probably say it was solely because of the baby. I may not have planned for it but I don’t want my kid being raised without me around. I want to be involved and not just a few days a week. I want to be the kind of father mine was before I lost him.” It practically kills me to know that neither of my parents will be here to know my kid.

“But lately I’ve been spending a lot of time with Presley and Grayson. We hang out, watch movies, and make breakfast together. It’s all the shit I used to do with my parents, and I realize I’ve fought against the idea of ever having what I did when I was young. I gave up the idea of ever having a family outside of you guys and your girls. I’d be the cool uncle, and the best friend.” I clear my throat, feeling my emotions get the best of me. “But something shifted, the night Grayson stayed over and we sat up watching TV. I crawled into his tent the next morning and we laid there for hours watching old cartoons and laughing. It was the strangest feeling, like I was reliving my years with my father only this time I was the dad. I know Grayson isn't my son, but you got to admit the kid is pretty kick ass. That is Presley, she raised him to be the little man he is now. The same woman that raised him is going to be the mother of my child and that fact, it’s altered what I want in life. All those ideas of being fine with being alone, it’s made me realize that will never be good enough. I want it all, I want the life I had before those bastards stole my childhood. I want to be the man my father was, the husband he was. Damn it Jace I want a house full of laughter and wild chaos. I want barbecues and morning cartoons. So to answer your question, yes I want the three of them, right here, under this roof with me.”

“You know she’s going to fight you on this?”

“I’ve already prepared myself to fight right back. Nothing worth fighting for is ever easy. But this fight isn’t one I’m willing to lose.”

ChapterTwenty-Six

Presley

My phone had been going off so often last night I ended up just silencing it. I woke up to hateful messages, they got angrier and angrier, then to the point of desperation was exactly what I expected.

I’d been down this road before with Grant. Far too many times. He’d eventually give up, he’d have no choice. Because I wasn’t bailing him out of this. His own father even came to the realization that his son would never learn.

“Momma.” I look up to Grayson walking into my bedroom, rubbing his eyes with one hand and dragging his blanket with the other. “The knocking woke me up,” he adds and it takes me a minute to register his words.

“Knocking?”

“Someone’s at the door.” He yawns before climbing up onto the end of my bed and curling onto his side. In no time at all he is asleep once again. My room is the furthest from the front of the apartment. His being right off the living room does make it harder for him to sleep through the noise of the apartment. One of the many things I hate about our setup is the layout.

Covering him up, I partially close the door and make my way to the living room, just as another knock sounds on the door. My heart feels like it takes a nervous leap in my chest and I pause.

Had Grant followed me home?

The last thing I needed was for him to know where we lived. Quietly I inch forward, looking through the peephole and then, relief washes over me.

On the opposite side, Zac stands holding what appears to be coffee and treats from Maggie’s Bakery right down the road. My stomach instantly growls with anticipation of what he may have hidden inside the bag.

Flipping the lock, I unhook the chain and pull open the door. Met with a smile that gives butterflies, I try not to react. But the truth is, Zac has an incredible smile.

“Decaf and cinnamon apple Danish,” he says, holding up one bag. “A hot cocoa and glazed donut for the boy.”

The fact that he remembers what Grayson’s favorite is warms my heart. Me, well, mine changes daily almost due to the cravings. But he seems to have hit it right on the head today. Cinnamon apple sounds amazing.

“Brought three different kinds of creamer, because I wasn’t sure what today would bring.” He smiles again and I too grin. The flavored coffee is another, who knows how I’ll wake up kind of thing.

I let him in, and he walks over to the counter and sets everything down. Turning around to face me, his eyes scan over me, down and then back up. “You work today?”

“I have the lunch shift.” And the night shift, but I leave that part out. “Aurora and Jace are keeping Grayson for the night.”

“Oh.” He nods stiffly. “You do know that uh, I could keep him too.”

I worry my lip.

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