Page 47 of Chosen Road

“Don’t sugar-coat it. It’s no secret that I don’t know my son, just give it to me.”

I took a sip of my coffee. “He is quiet, but he’s also generally laid back. He’s rarely tense, which is a miracle considering how Ruby is.” I smiled and Vander chuckled. “Right now, he’s nervous. That kid has wanted a dad for so damn long, I could see it on his face when I took him and Alex out with me. I filled in as best I could, but I’m his uncle not his father. I’m glad he has you now.” I paused. “He does have you now, right?”

Vander met my eyes steadily. “He’s got me.”

“And Ruby?”

“She’s mine, too.”

His face was taking on that hard look men get when challenged.

“I’m not judging, man. I’m the last person who is in any kind of place to judge you. I’m just watching out for Ruby and Jace.”

“Understood.” He sighed. “I’m glad they had you.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“Alex is a great kid.”

“He is. He’s struggling, too. He’s used to having Jace to himself. Jace having a brother is going to stick in his craw a bit until he gets used to the idea. He’s also struggling with Amber’s and my separation. Hopefully that’ll come to an end soon.”

“How’s it going to end?”

I took another sip of my coffee as I considered how to answer. “With me loving her as I always have,” I answered, focusing on the part I could control. “Can we stop swapping love notes and get back to comparing dick sizes like real men?”

Vander grinned and shook his head. “Yeah, man. I think Ruby’s emotional diarrhea is rubbing off on me.”

“Now, there’s a visual.”

It was painfully nostalgic when I realized that Yiayia expected us to come in for dinner. She flitted around us happily, declaring how happy she was to have all her boys to herself.

By the time we went our separate ways, Alex was ready to drop. Jace gave me a man hug and, unsurprisingly, Alex hugged Vander as well. He was an affectionate kid and didn’t struggle to express himself like his mom.

We went home, watched a movie, and Alex crashed. I’d never known anything to expend his energy and calm him down like rock-climbing. Tomorrow I’d talk to him about getting a membership and tell him I would take the course to belay.

It was coming up to nine o’clock and I wondered how Amber was faring with her girls’ night. Vander told me about the Bookstagram account Ruby, Minty, and Amber shared when the boys were fifty feet in the air, advising me, with a wide grin, to look it up. I didn’t know this about Amber. It made sense. She’d always been a bookworm.

After Alex went to bed, I sat back on the couch with my feet up on the coffee table. Opening Instagram on my cell phone, I pulled up their account and perused the books my wife had been reading.

Holy shit.

My feet hit the floor as I leaned forward, reading their comments.

What the fuck was a book boyfriend? And why did this guy rate five stars?

Huh. Might have to work on my abs. Tattoos seemed to rank pretty high in their assessments. Which one of them liked tattoos?

I wondered if Amber would like mine.

As I was reading, a new post came up.

I sat back to read.

Amber

“I’d bend over and let him spank me,” Minty smirked.

We were discussingThe Naughty Pine, still not having written the review because we’d been waiting for Ruby to catch up. I had to admit Book Night boasted a far different atmosphere when the boys were not here.

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