Page 32 of Call it Fate

An older woman, who could only be Emalee’s mother, stood behind him. They had the same face and hair, but where Emalee’s eyes were golden brown, this woman’s were darker, like supple leather—currently minus the warmth. And while her hands were gently placed over Iain’s chest, holding his back to her, her eyes were lit like she was ready to do battle.

Emalee’s back snapped straight, and I saw her dash her hands across her face before she stepped around me and offered Iain a smile. Hopefully, he was too young to realize how wobbly it was.

“Hey, sweetie. You’re back early. Did you have fun at the farm?”

His eyes glanced uncertainly at me before he answered with a simple, “Yes.”

I wanted to diffuse the situation, but I felt frozen. All I could do for the moment was stare. It wasn’t just his eyes that were mine. His hair was the same shade of brown with a bit of wave, same cheekbones and jawline. There was no way Emalee could look at him and not remember me.

Pulling myself from my trance, I kneeled in front of him. “Hey, you must be Iain. I’m Zach. I’m…a friend of your mom’s.” I held out a shaky hand to touch my child for the first time.

Instead of accepting it, he tilted his head and stared back at me. Even at his age, could he see the resemblance? Could he tell I was his dad? “I remember you. You were talking to my mom this morning.” He looked at his mom. “Is he a bad man, Mama? Is that why you’re crying?”

Even though his voice wobbled, I heard his concern, even a little anger, as he returned his gaze to me, scowling, but crossing his arms like a brave little man.

Fuck.Already I’d failed at fatherhood. I swallowed hard and tried to think what to say, but Emalee moved forward, gently pulling him from his grandmother’s protective hold, sliding her hands down his arms to grasp his hands.

“No, honey. Zach is my friend from a long time ago, before you were born.” She glanced back at me, her smile a little stronger. “We were just remembering a sad time.”

He nodded slowly. “When I have a bad day, my mom sets a timer, and I have that long to get it out of my system. Once the timer goes off, I have to tell her something good that happened. Then she tries to make me laugh with some kind of joke.” He pulled away from his mom to lean closer to me and fake-whispered, “But they’re usually kind of lame.”

I couldn’t contain my snort, especially when I saw his eyes, the ones identical to mine, sparkle with mischief. “That sounds like good advice. Your mom is really special,” I glanced sideways at her, “even if she’s always been a bad joke teller.”

He grinned at me. “Do you want me to go get the timer so you can try?”

“Iain.” Emalee’s voice held a slight edge that all children recognized as a warning to stop something.

But I laughed, completely enthralled with him. I held out my hand again. “Next time.”

This time, he accepted my gesture. Willing my mind to permanently engrave this moment, I captured his hand. It was small compared to mine, soft, the way a child’s should be. An extraordinary sense of protectiveness rose in me as I saw the difference in size. I vowed to always make him feel special, to always feel good enough.

“I’m very happy to meet you,” I said, fighting against the sudden shakiness in my limbs.

After several seconds, Emalee’s gentle voice kept the moment from getting too awkward, even though I could hear her voice quake slightly. “Zach, this is my mother, Raelyn Dawson.”

Reluctantly, I stood and faced down the mama bear, who was still staring at me with very shrewd and assessing eyes, suspicion etched into her furrowed brows.

I wanted to scream. I wasn’t the bad guy here.Iwas the one who missed out on our son’s life. But I was also the one on shaky ground. I couldn’t afford to make her mom an enemy. She had Em’s ear and could influence her to fight me in getting to know my son. I wouldn’t back down from that fight, but for Iain’s sake, I hoped we could all be civil about it.

“Nice to meet you.” For the third time in as many minutes, I held out my hand, and again, it wasn’t accepted immediately. From the corner of my eye, I saw Emalee give her mom a hard stare as I stubbornly kept my arm extended.

After a pause, Raelyn slid her hand into mine. I expected a quick, weak gesture. Instead, I got a firm grasp that wouldn’t let go. Puzzled, I looked at Raelyn, a little startled to see her eyes close as she tightened her grip. Not one to back down, I held still until her eyes popped open and latched on to mine.

After a few seconds, her posture relaxed, and she let go. It might have only been a few seconds, but I got the sense Raelyn had somehow taken a full measure of me.

“I’ll go clean up.” Raelyn nodded at Emalee, then limped toward the kitchen. Seconds later, water was running, and dishes were clattering.

Emalee ran her fingers through Iain’s hair. “Why don’t you go get a shower? I’m sure you stink from playing with the goats.”

Iain ducked his head. “If the goats stink, why don’t they have to take a shower? It’s not fair,” he grumbled. “I wanna be a goat.”

I laughed, delighted with his logic.

“If that’s the case, maybe I should smack you in the butt like their mama does.” Emalee pretended to swat at Iain’s backside. Iain scampered away, laughing.

I sank to the couch, finally giving in to my legs that felt as wobbly as a newborn deer. “He’s…he’s so…” I couldn’t find the words as I stared up at Emalee, who was watching me closely. “He’s amazing. And so funny! Oh, my god, he’s incredible, Em. I know I’m suddenly biased, but…wow.” I was so elated, I didn’t care that I could barely form a sentence.

Emalee’s lips turned up in that soft smile when she approved of something. “He is.”

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