Page 5 of Other Side Of Never
Isaiah had no such problem.
“It’s super cool,” Isaiah trilled.“I got a big brother here.”
Kian smiled indulgently at his son and raised his coffee to his parted lips as Isaiah continued.
“He’s got a lady who’s growing a baby in her belly.Dad says she’s going to lay it like an egg in a few months and I’m going to be an uncle.”
Anita barked out a laugh as Kian slammed his coffee cup down on the table.
Coughing and sputtering, eyes wide and filling with water, he protested, “That’s not exactly what I said.”
Failing to quell my smile, the damn thing spread clear across my face.
“Dad!”Isaiah cocked his head to the side, eyes wide, clearly exasperated.“I asked how the baby came out and you said it came from an egg like a chicken and when it got big enough, she was going to push it out.”
Kian dropped his head.“I did say that.”
Isaiah grinned at me.“See?”
“I mean,” I spread my hands wide, losing the battle against my giggles, “it’s accurate enough.”
“Thank you,” Kian grinned crookedly, his cheeks flushed.“You’re very generous.”
Standing, he smiled as he held his hand out to his son.“Time to go, Isaiah.”
“Can we go to the park?”
“We can absolutely go to the park,” Kian agreed.
Isaiah immediately turned to me.“Do you want to come to the park with us?”
I drew back.“Me?”Glancing up at Kian, I noted the windows of his eyes had, once again, slammed shut.
“Yeah, you like swings?”Isaiah drew my attention back down to him.“I love the swings.”
“Me, too,” I murmured.“The swings are my favorite.”
He brightened.“So, you’ll come?”
“Sorry, buddy,” I answered softly.“I have to get to work soon.”
“Where do you work?”
Kian scrubbed his hand over his face.“That’s enough, Isaiah.”
“It’s okay,” I waved away Kian’s concern and turned my attention back to the precocious child that swung his dad’s hand back and forth while he interrogated me.“I work at Susie Q’s.”
“Dad!”he yelled, staring up at his father with delight.“We love Susie Q’s!”
“We do,” Kian answered, beginning to look distinctly uncomfortable.
“Listen,” I hesitated, wondering if I was walking into a minefield.
True to form, I surged ahead.“I’m also new, but I’ve met some really great people since I’ve been here.Want to give me your number and I’ll let you know next time we’re all going out?Might be a good opportunity for you to get to know some of the guys.”
He flushed further.With his fair skin and open expressions, his face broadcasted his emotions.“I’d like to, truly, but I’m not sure if you know who I am.You may regret asking.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of who you are,” I teased.“You’re Wren’s baby-daddy, you’re here to reconnect with your son who you’ve been desperate to find for years, and when you finally did catch up to him, you found out you’re going to be a grandfather.Does that about sum it up?”
