Page 56 of The Run Home
“I really am sorry, Kinsley. I should have said that the minute your mom dropped you off. I wasn’t a good father to you. It’ll be my life’s biggest regret.”
She lifted her head, eyes red and glossy. “It’s okay, Dad. I know you did your best. Not your fault your best sucked.”
I took the hit and swallowed down any type of retort to defend myself. There was no defense for my behavior. Only regret and apologies.
“But I’m actually really happy for you and Ms. Fletcher. I love her and I think she’s really good for you. You’ve been differentthe last few months. Not so angry and distant. You’ve laughed and talked and been goofy more. I think you’ll be a great dad the second time around. I’ll help you.”
I shoved my fist against my mouth and had to blink back the emotions. Kinsley was a good person, through and through. And I had her mother to thank for that, not me.
“I love you, Kinsley. And I’ll gratefully take all the help you’ll give me.”
The next morning, I got up early, even though I could have used a few more hours of sleep to be fully rested. Kinsley and I stayed up another hour talking about baby stuff and parenting and then Tatum. I may have thrown up in my mouth a little as she gushed about him, but it was nice to hear her talk so openly with me.
In the end, talking with my family hadn’t been as much help as remembering Dad’s voice when he clapped his big hand on my shoulder. “See a need, step in to help.” That was exactly what I planned to do with Shae.
When I got the notification of impending delivery, I lifted my hand and knocked on Shae’s door. She answered a minute later in a pair of plaid pajama pants, a shirt with a stain on the front, and a button-down grandma sweater thrown over. She wrapped the yarn tighter around her and glared at me. Her hair was sweptup on top of her head, but she had yet to put on her glasses. A pillow crease stretched across her cheek. She was adorable.
“Good morning, lovebug,” I said brightly.
I stepped inside, leaned down to kiss her cheek, and swept past her with my heavy box of goodies. She trailed behind me, sputtering.
“What…hey…wait.”
“You should try finishing one of those sentences,” I teased her, setting the box on her kitchen counter and beginning to unload it.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped.
I grinned at her tone. I’d missed her barbed retorts. I’d been too busy making her moan and scream the last few months when I should have been goading her into more of that attitude. It was such a turn-on. Always had been.
“I’ve got some food for you and the baby. The team nutritionist put a list together for me and I bought it all. Also, there should be a delivery shortly.” I tossed my head back toward the front door.
“A delivery?”
“Yeah. For you. For the baby.”
I shot her a wink and kept unpacking the protein smoothies, green juice, vitamins, and bland crackers the nutritionist told me every pregnant woman needs for a healthy baby.
Shae just gaped at me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Shae
What the bleeperswas going on here?
Never mind that my appetite was starting to come back and Boon looked like an early morning snack. Did the man have to look so good when I felt like the gum scraped off the bottom of my shoe that seemed to happen every school year no matter how many times we told the kids no gum in the halls?
He swooped right by me and headed for my kitchen, heavy box in hand making his biceps strain under the T-shirt he wore. I followed, pushing up my glasses, only to realize I didn’t have them on yet this morning. I’d just rolled out of bed when he pounded on the front door.
“I don’t understand.” I looked at the various cylinders, boxes, and bags he pulled out of the box, filling up my cabinets like he had a right to rearrange my kitchen. “What delivery?”
The hiss of brakes had me leaning back through the entryway to look out the door. A large, unmarked delivery truck had pulled into my driveway. A guy with a back brace hopped out from behind the wheel and immediately went to open up the back ofthe truck. Boon placed his warm hand on my lower back and steered me to the porch.
“Here. You sit on the rocking chair, and I’ll help him get it all settled.”
I sat, absolutely exasperated with the man. He’d ghosted me after my announcement, then asked me to marry him, then ghosted me again. And now he was acting like he lived here? “Getwhatsettled?”
He ignored me because of course he did. He shook the delivery guy’s hand, then the two of them tag-teamed lifting a large box of something that looked really heavy. They got it up the porch steps and into my house, me trailing after them.
