Page 10 of Who's Your Daddy
“Cal.” The kid gives me a placating nod. “I’ll call you Cal.”
Right.
He doesn’t take my hand so I pull it back, slipping both into my pockets, and rock back and forth on the balls of my feet. “Well, you arrived at the perfect time. We’ll be moving in with your Uncle Sully, your cousin T. J., and Brian.”
“Do I get my own room?”
I don’t actually know what the living situation is in the New Jersey office but I nod because he seems keen to move in with us if that’s the case. “Of course.”
“Great. Well, I can go hang out on the couch while everyone works out what happens next.” The shrill sound of Lola’s voice from the other room has both of us looking in that direction. “Seems like they might need some help.”
I shrug. “Probably not from me.”
He nods again. “Probably.” Then he turns to leave, but I can’t have us leaving it like this.
“Murphy?”
He looks up at me and I think maybe I took him by surprise because the mask he’s been wearing the entire time slips and I see the smallest amount of vulnerability in his gaze. And maybe hope.
“I’m really happy to meet you.”
He’s quiet for a moment and I take the opportunity to take another step closer. “And I’m really excited to get to know you better. I know this is awkward, and I’m sure you're expecting that I’ve got no idea what I’m doing, but I’d really like us to be friends.”
Murphy adjusts the backpack he’s holding to one shoulder and nods. “Yeah, we could try that.”
I can’t stop the smile from moving across my face. Nor can I stop myself from kneeling down and reaching for him. This time, though, he doesn’t step back, and though he doesn’t hug me, he allows me to pull him into my chest and squeeze him tight. This feeling settles in my chest, making it hard to catch my breath.
“Oh, um, sorry for interrupting,” I hear Lola say as I try like hell to get myself to release Murphy. With my head still on his shoulder, I catch the expression of surprise on her face. She’s clutching a stack of papers but her head is tilted like she’s trying to figure out what’s happening.
I let Murphy go finally and smile at him, not wanting her interruption to mess up the little ground I’ve made with him. “Murphy and I were just acquainting ourselves.”
I lean an arm against the conference table and stand up, then brush off my trousers. “What happens now?”
Lola seems to look back and forth between Murphy and me. “Well, um, Murphy, you’ll be coming with me.”
“What?”
The panic in my tone must be evident because Lola offers a tentative smile. “It’s typical. I’m an emergency guardian,” she explains to Murphy. He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “So, until the court signs off on Cal’s um—” She glances back and forth again like she’s uncomfortable. “Paternity,” She finally settles on the word.
“I’m Murphy’s father,” I grind out. “If they?—”
She shakes her head. “We know you’re Murphy’s father. Murphy had the birth certificate with your name on it.”
“We can do a test if you need,”Murphy offers.
I glare at the question. “There will be no tests.”
Lola sighs heavily. “I wasn’t suggesting that.”
“Good.”
She straightens. “As I was saying, Murphy will come with me. Just give me a few hours to get it sorted with the court. Do you mind hanging here for a bit? There’s a television in the other room. I could set you up in there?” she offers.
I hate how Murphy nods like he’s completely comfortable with the idea and how Lola is the one taking charge. I should be doing something but the truth is I have no idea what to do.
“I could watch TV with you,” I say right as Murphy is about to disappear.
“We need your help filling out some of these forms,” Lola says, waving the papers in her hand like she wants us to see proof of the reason she’s asking me to stay behind to spend time with her.Obviously, she doesn’t want to spend time with me, but this is her job, is what her gesture clearly says.
