Page 55 of Nailed (Dad Bod Contracting 3)
“Sure thing…baby.” I grin at him as I close my door and back out.
I drive to work basically floating on a cloud of joy.
Have I ever been so happy?
No, I don’t think I have.
Chapter 11
A week later, on Monday afternoon, I pull into Nate’s school’s parking lot; I normally pull through the pick-up line to get Nate after school, but today I park in the visitor lot in front of the entrance and go in to walk him out. He’s a little perplexed when he sees me waiting in the hallway outside his classroom.
“Hi, Mom.” He frowns. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s great.”
“Then…why are you inside? You normally just get me in the pick-up line.”
“I know, but today things are happening a little differently.”
He’s immediately wary. “Different how?”
I take his hand and walk outside with him. “You’ll see.”
“I don’t have to go anywhere with Dad, do I? I just saw him last weekend.”
I feel sad that he looks at it as something he “has” to do. That’s not how it’s supposed to be. “No, buddy.”
“Then what?”
I scan the visitor lot and see Ryder pulling into a spot next to my car, driving his big antique Chevy truck. I glance down at Nate, grinning. “Look who’s here to see you.”
Nate’s eyes light up. “Ryder’s here? Awesome!”
Hooooo boy. I know exactly how you feel. We haven’t seen each other since last week; he had to get caught up on work, and I was swamped myself with a new rescue center opening in Vernon Hills. We’ve texted a lot, and FaceTimed a few times, and once we actually talked on the phone until we were falling asleep, as if we were infatuated teenagers all over again. I’ve talked to him, I’ve seen his face, heard his voice, flirted with him, sexted with him, but none of that even remotely assuages my desire to see him in person.
So yeah, I’m just as excited to see Ryder today as Nate is, if not more.
Ryder climbs down from the driver’s seat, waving at Nate as we approach. “Yo, buddy. You ready for an adventure?”
Nate glances at me, curious now. “What’s going on?”
Pulling him aside, I kneel in front of him. “Ryder wants to take you out for some fun. Just you and him for a couple hours.” I examine Nate’s face, watching his reactions carefully. “Is that okay with you?”
Nate glances up at Ryder, then back to me. “Just me and Ryder?”
I nod. “Yup. Just you and him.”
He frowns. “You never let Derek take me anywhere.”
“I never trusted him, I guess—which should have been a major hint that he was a slimy poophead.” I smile at my son. “I feel differently about Ryder. I trust him in a way I never did Derek.”
Nate is clearly thinking hard. “Do I have to?”
I hold my expression in neutral. “No, you don’t.”
He looks at Ryder again, briefly. “Why?”
“Why what, buddy?”
“Why do you want to take me wherever you’re taking me?” This is addressed to Ryder.
Ryder takes a knee, and I move aside for him. “Because I think you’re cool.” He holds up a hand to forestall Nate’s protest. “I wouldn’t BS you, kid.”
“BS?” Nate asks; Ryder just arches an eyebrow, and Nate giggles. “Oh. Bull-crap, but the S word.”
“Right-o.”
Nate’s eyes narrow. “Adults like to tell kids things they’d don’t really mean, but when an adult does it and says it’s for the kid’s own good, it’s not really lying. Is that what this is?”
Ryder snorts. “News flash, buckeroo, that’s still lying. I don’t make a lot of promises, but the one promise I can make, right now, is that I’ll never lie to you, not even that kind of lie.”
“Okay, so…for real. What’s this about?”
Ryder takes a moment before answering, and when he does, he looks Nate in the eyes, a hand on his shoulder. “The real, honest truth…I want to take you out for two reasons. One, because I really do think you’re cool, and I want to have some fun with you. I’m a boring old adult, and I don’t get a chance to have very much fun.”
I cough, suppressing laughter as an inappropriate response to that statement pops into my head.
Ryder eyes me sideways, obviously correctly interpreting what I was thinking. “Hush, you. We’re having serious guy talk.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
He turns back to Nate. “The other reason is because I like your mom, a lot.”
Nate frowns. “What does that have to do with me?” He pauses, and then his face lights up. “You’re trying to impress her!”
Ryder laughs. “Sort of, yes.” He taps Nate on the chest. “You are the most important person in her life, as I’m sure you’re aware. That makes you important to me, because your mom is important to me. So, I want to get to know you. I want us to be friends.”
Nate nods, understanding. “Got it.” He looks away, thinking, and then back at Ryder. “Are you gonna marry my mom?”
