Page 17 of The Single Dad

Thomas stops a few paces behind her. “Who’s that?”

His voice is light, innocent. But the weight in the air is anything but. That simple question sucks the oxygen from the space between us.

The woman—I refuse to say her name or call her anything else—smiles wickedly and turns to face Thomas. Adrian takes that as a cue to rush to his side and hold his small hand.

“Hi, baby.” Her cloyingly sweet voice grates on my nerves, but I force myself to stay where I am. Adrian’s with Thomas. He won’t let her touch him. “I’m your mom.”

I can’t help the gasp bursting out of me. I’m rooted to the spot, a hand on my chest, a heavy weight in my belly, waiting for Thomas’s reaction. The boy hasn’t done anything, and yet, she’s using him to get to his father and manipulate him. All for money.

The air is thick with tension as his little fingers twitch at his sides. Uncertainty flashes in his gaze as he shifts his focus from her to me.

She crouches and motions with her hand. “Come on, baby. Give your mother a hug.”

My heart clenches, a tear sliding down my cheek. This can’t be happening. One minute, she’s demanding money and threatening to go to court. The next, she’s pretending to care for him.

Thomas hesitates. Just for a second. Then, his free hand balls into a fist, and he shakes his head hard. “No, you’re not.”

And then he runs. Straight to me.

My breath catches as his little arms wrap around my legs, holding on with everything he has. His cheek presses against me. My heart stops, stumbles, and soars.

“Sheis,” he says.

I blink rapidly, my throat burning. I don’t move. I don’t breathe. Despite the tears welling in my eyes, I will myself not to cry because this moment isn’t about me. It’s about Thomas trusting me enough to call me his mom.

I look up, meeting the woman’s stunned, angry gaze, but I can’t focus on her. Because right now, this little boy is choosing me.

Adrian’s eyes glisten, and his neck flexes as he swallows hard. His voice cracks when he finally addresses her. “You need to leave or I’m calling the cops.”

She mumbles a response, but I don’t hear it. I don’t give a damn because Adrian closes the gap between us with a few long strides. Then, he pulls us both to him in a tight hug.

It’s only been a few days, and yet, I have found my home.

My family. My boys. The loves of my life.

EPILOGUE

ADRIAN

The soft click of my son’s bedroom door closing makes me glance up from where I’m leaning against the hallway wall. Noelle steps out carefully.

She turns, sees me watching, and smiles. “He’s out like a light,” she whispers.

“Not surprised. You have a magic voice.”

“Okay, but it was after the fourth story.”

“Fourth?”

“He negotiated for six, and we settled for four. Your son’s good at this. I wonder who he got it from.”

I chuckle and extend my hand to her. Bedtime storytelling is now her thing after Thomas complained how I read the lines robotically and without a hint of emotion. He’s not wrong.

Noelle rolls her eyes but takes my hand, letting me lead her through the house toward the porch. We’ve fallen into a natural rhythm for the past few days, and it’s like she’s been living herewith us for years. She’s the part I didn’t know was missing until she came here. With her beside me, all the noise settles.

Everything suddenly made sense.

“Ow!”

---