Page 26 of Who's Your Daddy
Chapter 9
Cal
“Are you nervous?” I peer down at Murphy.
Is his backpack too big? It looks a little big for his body. Brian and Sully insisted it was the right size, so I went with it. Now I’m second-guessing myself.
Then again, since he’s enrolled in a small private school he won’t have to carry it from class to class.
Regardless, I can’t help but worry it’ll be too heavy or get in his way.
Sloane and T.J. aren’t here yet, and I don’t want to go in without them. It feels like my own first day of school all over again. Murphy tips his head back and squints up at me. “Should I be worried?”
“No, of course not,” I say quickly.
“You sure about that?” His lips flatten out, his questioning tone causing me to shrink back. “Because you look worried.”
“Uncle Cal!”
I perk up. My nephew’s arrival couldn’t come at a better time. With a smile plastered on my face, I turn and stretch out my arms. Like I knew he would, he immediately launches himself at me.
“Hey Teej.” I squeeze him tight and nod to Sloane who follows behind him. Her long, dark hair is curled at the ends and she’swearing a pretty gray pale suit that complements her fair complexion, and a pair of white stilettos. Her expression is one of pure amusement, her blue eyes ping-ponging between Murphy and me.
“It’s like copy and paste.” She stoops over and sticks out her hand. “Hi Murphy, my name is Sloane, I’m your cousin’s mom.”
He gives her that same arched brow and skeptical look. “Wouldn’t that make you my aunt?”
She straightens and shrugs. “Well, yes, though I’m?—”
Glowering at her, I clear my throat. We’re not going to start the morning out talking about her divorce. It’s the first day of school. A special occasion. And honestly, I’m an adult and I’m struggling with the dismantling of our family. I can’t imagine T.J. is handling it well. “You can call her Aunt Sloane.”
“Or Sloaney, that’s what Uncle Cal calls her,” T.J. says as I set him on his feet next to his cousin.
“And this is your cousin T.J. Teej, this is Murphy.”
“Hi.” Murphy’s tone is even, confident. Like he’s just a bit too cool.
He is, obviously, because he’s my son.
T.J. on the other hand is a precocious six-year-old with too much energy.
“I heard we’re going to be living together,” T.J. chirps.
Sloane glares at me again like I had anything to do with getting the lot of us into this predicament. “That’s to be determined.”
“Come on, Mom!” he whines with a stomp of his foot. “It’s going to be so fun.Uncle Cal will be there.” He points at me.
I offer my most debonair smile, but my sister-in-law is less than amused.
“We’ll talk about it later.” Her lips tug down at the corners, the skin around her eyes pinched tight. “Right now, you boys have to go inside. They’re lining up.” She ruffles T.J.’s hair, then kisses him on the cheek.
Naturally, he promptly wipes the remnants away, causing me to chuckle.
Her expression is genuine when she smiles at Murphy. “Have a good first day of school. And welcome to the family.”
T.J. hikes his backpack higher on his shoulders and says, “c’mon” to Murphy. My guy mimics his movements, and without another glance in my direction, he turns away.
He’s taken about two steps when I lunge forward and grasp the handle at the top of his backpack, tugging him back.
