Page 22 of Second Chance for the Single Mom

“Maybe.” I sat in the chair across from her, took a deep breath, and then blurted it out. “Lucas is Bran’s father.”

My sister stared at me. “I’ve had stomach cramps all morning, Haley. I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

“I’m not joking,” I calmly insisted. “Bran is Lucas’s son.”

“That makeszerosense. You and Lucas broke up senior year. Spring of 2018.” She furrowed her brow. “Bran was born in late 2020.”

“It was my second year of college,” I explained. “I was home for winter break. Lucas hadn’t moved out to Detroit yet. His parents were gone, so I went over to his place, and…” I trailed off with a grimace.

“You lied to me,” Sara said, voice thick with emotion. “You said it was a random college hook-up.”

Even though I technically hadn’t lied, my guilt bubbled up inside me, white-hot. I leaned over and took her hand in mine. “I’m so sorry, Sara. I wanted to tell you, but I was ashamed. You have to understand.”

She shook her head. “MaybeI can put myself in your shoes and see why you didn’t tell me the truth, because I definitely would’ve judged you for it. But I’m going to be mad at you for a while.”

“I don’t blame you. I should have told you sooner.” Her reaction wasn’t as bad as I expected, and it felt like a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders. My sister was the first person I had ever told.

Sara let out a very long sigh, and rested her hands on her belly. “If I had known the truth, I would have given you very different advice last night. Does Lucas know?”

I shook my head. “Last night was the first time I’ve even told Lucas I have a son. But I lied and said that Bran is four.”

“I can’t believe it’s Lucas,” Sara said. “You’ve always been tight-lipped about how it happened. I pictured some nerdy college boy. Why didn’t you tell him?”

“Because Lucas hates children,” I explained. “Back in high school, he made that very clear. He used to talk about wanting to get a vasectomy as soon as possible.”

“I guessthatdidn’t happen,” Sara chuckled.

“But you can understand my position, right?” I pressed. I wanted validation from my sister now that she knew. “Lucas and I weren’t compatible. He had no ambition, no future prospects beyond working as a mechanic. He just wanted to smoke weed all day and watch cartoons while eating cereal.”

“You could have gotten financial help,” Sara said. “Child support.”

“In exchange for being permanently attached to Lucas Hollister,” I retorted. “Think about that. Being connected to your high school boyfriendforever. What would you do?”

Sara shivered. “Okay, you make a good point. I still wish you had told me sooner.” Her eyes cut up to mine. “Why are you telling me now? Are you thinking about revealing to Lucas that—”

“Of course not,” I interrupted. “There’s no point in telling him now. Last night wasdefinitelyjust a one-time thing. I don’t want to see Lucas again.”

“So, the threesome didn’t blow your mind?”

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Bran was still in the other room. “Well, that’s the thing. It wasn’t a threesome. While we were getting started… Jordan Mayfield walked in.”

Sara gasped and leaned as far forward as her belly would allow. “NO. WAY. Start over. Tell me everything. And don’t you dare skip any details.”

13

Haley

The weekend was a busy one—I had showings all day Saturday, followed by a bowling team-building event thrown by my agency that night. Then I had to babysit an open house for most of Sunday. I was lucky to have Sara around to help babysit; Bran was currently in a half-day Kindergarten program, but things would get easier next year when he went into the first grade.

Hopefully at the Worthington Academy, although that was seeming less and less likely with every passing day. They wereveryexclusive, catering to the wealthiest families in the Portland/Vancouver area. Children who graduated typically had their pick of Ivy League schools. A single mom who lived in the apartment above her sister’s garage was not the kind of clientele they admitted.

That didn’t stop me from refreshing my email every five minutes, waiting for a response.

One of the things I loved about being a real estate agent was the work flexibility. I scheduled most of my showings in the mornings while Bran was at Kindergarten, and on the weekends when Sara didn’t mind watching him. I fell into my routine—taking Bran to school, showing houses all morning, then picking him up after lunch and doing the rest of my work from home.

As time passed, I kept thinking about my sweaty night of fun. Memories of the three of them—Lucas, Shay, and Jordan—tormented me while I tried falling asleep Monday night, tempting me to text Lucas and see if they had any interest in reliving our evening of delicious sex. By Wednesday, as the day-to-day routine wore me down, it faded into a memory. It was an activity of the past, one which I could look back on fondly. I was a single mom, after all. Having a one-night stand with three men wasn’t the kind of thing I could make a habit of.

Besides, Lucas hadn’t texted me again, either. We were on the same page about this. Just a one-time thing.

---