Page 60 of Secrets That Bind Us
I stir the Nesquik in the milk, eyeing her. “Can I try one?”
“They… they might be weird.” She hikes a brow and hesitantly hands me the bag. I reach in and grab one, popping it into my mouth as she stares.
I let the salty flavor settle over my tongue, and chew then swallow. “That’s… pretty good.” I grin.
“I know.” She puts her headphones back on and leaves me alone in the remodeled kitchen, Bear following after her. I can’t help but smile at the back of her head. Quiet spitfire like her mama, untrusting like her dad. Or maybe she’s untrusting because of the father she knew. Maybe he left a lot.Maybe-
“Dean!” Noah comes bounding back to me, practically bouncing on his toes. I hand him his cup of chocolate milk, grab my own mug, and we go sit outside. The sun’s already up. He sits by me on his small rocker, and when I put my boot on my knee, he does the same in his Batman shoes. I’m gonna have to get him his own pair of boots. It’s a quiet morning, only a few birds still chirping, the heat not yet overbearing. “Do you like my mommy?”
“I more than justlikeyour mommy, Noah.”
He keeps his gaze on his mug of chocolate milk and his voice low. “Are you gonna be nice to my mommy?”
“I can’t promise I’ll always be nice to her, kiddo. Sometimes grown-ups disagree, and it’s healthy to argue. But I will be a good man to her. And you. And your sister.”
Noah turns his head and peruses me, brown eyes taking me in from boots to hairline, before turning his muddy gaze back to the sparkling pool. “I think, it would be okay… if you replace my dad.” My heart stops beating, the heel of his foot still gently pushing on the wooden flats of the floor, rocking himself, avoiding my gaze, holding the wisdom of an old man that sometimes kids tend to have. A kid that’s seen too much but kept quiet. And when he speaks again, he proves me right. “He wasn’t very nice or good. And he wasn’t home a lot. And Mommy cried sometimes at first, but she said she wasn’t sad, she was ‘strated, and it leaks out her eyes sometimes."
“Frustrated.” I correct.
“Mmhmm. ‘Strated.” He repeats, and I love it, but I hide my grin by sipping on my coffee. “So, if you’re good to Mommy and me and Sister… thenit’s okay if you’re my dad.” He sips from his mug like he’s my age, and leans back against the rocker, peering out at the land, gently rocking back and forth.
Who is this kid?
“Can you take me for a ride in your police cruiser?”
I huff out a laugh and tell him yeah, I can do that if his mama agree to it. We watch as a breeze blows the grass beyond the pool. “I should mow the lawn.”
“Mmhmm.” Noah nods. “We should mow the lawn.” But instead of getting up, we both sit back, finish what’s in our mugs, staring out at the open field. I steal a glance at the boy-version of Verity, and my heart warms.
Yeah, that’s my son, no matter what anyone says.
An hour later, with my shirt off and tucked into the waistband of my jeans, I’m an acre out on the push mower when I see a sexy brunette in a dark blue sundress that comes to her mid-thigh. My dick roars to life. She’s looking a lot less pale and a lot more mine as she makes her way to me.
“I made breakfast.” She says, handing me a cold water bottle and a glass of sweet tea. I polish off the sweet tea first, handing the glass back to her, then open the water bottle and take a good sip, while watching her. She swallows, eyes raking over my torso, and clears her throat. “I also saw Noah ‘helping’ you earlier.”
What she means by ‘helping me’ is he got between me and the push-mower, grabbed the sides, walked with me till he got too hot, and I sent him inside.
I nod.
She squirms.
I like it.
I take my Texas Rangers baseball cap off, run my fingers through my sweaty hair, and put it back on, watching her watch me. And by watch me, I mean her eyes go from my face to my chest to my arms to my abs and back up. I wonder if she realizes what my tattoos are?
“Breakfast, huh?”
She clears her throat, and I don’t miss the way her thighs press together. That’s it baby, take it all in. “More likebrunch. My call with Eli ran a little longer than I thought it was going to and…”
“And so you made brunch on Sunday morning.”
She nods. “You must be starving. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“
“I was just trying to get this last bit done before I went in to make some myself. I know you were working. That don’t bother me none. Won’t hurt my feelings if I don’t have breakfast on the table as soon as I wake up. Sav snacked on her seaweed chips. Noah and I ate a banana before he helped me. The kids are good, Ver.”
“The kids are good.” She repeats incredulously.
I incline my head. “I’ll be in shortly. Let me just finish this last bit and then I’ll see you inside.”
