Page 32 of Taming His Honeydoll
Sawyer’s eyebrow went up as he shot her an amused glance. “Nice save. Why use pence though? Isn’t that British?”
She nodded with a chuckle. “It’s baby-speak rhyming...sort of. It’s just the first thing that came to mind that seemed to go together. Henry was British.”
Sawyer tensed and tried to ignore the jealous flare burning his stomach at that last comment. “Most of his words are pretty darned clear though. He even speaks in full sentences most of the time,” Sawyer replied proudly. “Is that normal for his age?”
“Actually, he’s ahead of his age for language recognition and sentencing,” Emma replied. “He’ll be four in a few weeks and he already knows most of what he’ll need to ace the kindergarten testing. Colors, counting to ten, complete short sentences, and other stuff. Plus, he’s very social and not afraid of people.”
“What date is his birthday?”
“It’s the 16th of November.”
Sawyer nodded. Since they’d broken up in April, that would make sense. He cleared his throat. “Well, you’ve certainly done a good job with him,” he said, catching her gaze briefly before turning back to the highway. “He’s a great little guy.”
He had so many questions for Emma but he knew that driving down the freeway headed for a safe zone wasn’t the time to do it. It would have to wait until they had some time alone to really hash things out. Anger that she hadn’t told him about his son still simmered below the surface of his emotions. A man deserved to know if he’d fathered a child. She should have told him.
There was no excuse good enough in his book.
She’d had almost five years to let him know about Levi, even if he was overseas. She could have looked him up. He’d even taken her horseback riding at his home once so she knew where he lived, even though his parents weren’t home. Three weeks is hardly enough time to introduce your girlfriend to your mother. No, he couldn’t think of a single excuse she could give him that would get her out of an old-fashioned butt-whooping over his lap.
Especially when she’d known how he felt about children. It was the one thing they had talked about that they both wanted in life. A big family with as many kids as the good Lord could send them. He’d said ten and she’d said twenty—then they had laughed at the incongruity of that. Shoving the memory down, he tried to concentrate on the here and now. They needed to be alert because no one was going to take his child away from him. Nor his girl—even if she didn’t know she was still his girl yet.
She would though, when his hand was branding her backside.
Emma was his, and he didn’t intend to let her go this time.
Apparently, she hadn’t been in love with this Henry fellow she’d married—since they’d divorced. As he had suspected, she’d married him to cover her pregnancy. If she’d just told him, he would have made sure she and the baby were taken care of without her having to marry someone else. The thought of another man touching her caused his gut to clench in protest. And it was partly his fault.
Forcing Emma into a situation she hadn’t wanted made Sawyer feel like the biggest asshole ever. He’d made a careless mistake making love to her that night. It was the best night of his life, but he still shouldn’t have done it. He was older—he should have been more responsible. But then, so should she. If she hadn’t married Henry, then the threat of Marlene wouldn’t be hanging over her and his boy. Her pride hadn’t allowed her to go to her family for help.
“Are you still living out in the country?”
The question brought him out of his reverie and Sawyer blinked at her as the question sunk in. “Oh, yeah. Same place we went horseback riding,” he replied gruffly.
“You’re living with your parents then?”
He shook his head. “Just my mom. My dad passed away several months ago. It’s why I didn’t stay in the military, Mom needed me.”
The silence was awkward until Emma’s cell phone rang.
