Page 6 of Against My Fire

I run my hand through my hair before I take a sip of my beer. “Tayna was pregnant when she left. She had our son a little more than three years ago. I don’t think she ever was going to tell me about him, but she had an accident and didn't make it. So I am now his only parent.” I lean back and lift my legs onto the railing. “They are bringing him tomorrow.”

“Wow… I did not see that coming.” Logan leans forward with his arms on his knees. “She left because she was pregnant and she should have told you. You missed three years of his life now.” He rubs his hand over his mouth as he stares at the setting sun.

“I don't know what her reasons were, all I know is that my son will be loved and will never need anything.” It’s true. I will make sure that he has everything he will ever need. I might be new to this, but I will be there for him. I will be the best father that I can be. I will always listen to him and spend time with him. I will support him to follow his dreams.

If there is one thing I learned from my parents is that your children need your time more than material things. And that is what Taylor will have from me.

We talk about what is going to happen and how things will change when Logan tells me about his Aunt that can watch Taylor during the day. She recently retired and wants something to keep herself busy. I know his aunt and would be honored if she watched Taylor. She had me and Logan more times than I can count.

Logan gets up to get us some more beers. As he hands mine to me he points his towards me. “When is the jubilee happening?”

“It’s about three weeks away. I have everything ready and my parents will be here for that week.” I take a sip of my beer. I haven’t even told my parents about Taylor. I will do it once he is here with me. Once I know that they can’t take him away from me. I know Mom will be ecstatic about her grandson. She had wanted to be a Grandma for a while, but I didn’t want to bite.

Caleb gets up and stretches before he turns towards me. “Are we still doing the fundraiser for the fire department?” I chuckle as he asks. One of Caleb's friends is working at the fire department. We have done a few fundraisers for them and I will continue to do it. The fire department does a lot for us. Not just the ranch, but the whole town.

“Yes, the fundraiser is still happening. The prizes this year are out of this world.”

“I want the holiday. I don’t have anyone to go with me but I need a cruise.” Logan wiggles his eyebrows at me. He has been eyeing the seven-day cruise since we got it. That is one of our big-ticket items.

We spend a little more time talking about the Jubilee. It is the one-hundredth Jubilee of the ranch. This ranch has existed for a hundred years and I am proud to be a Walker. Proud to be the one running the ranch. To be the one that takes the family into the next generation.

???

I pace the living room as I check my watch for the millionth time. I have been up since three this morning. Who am I kidding, I barely slept last night. I just want to meet my son and have him in my house. To have him with me and to know that he is safe and taken care of.

How is it possible to love someone so much even though you have never seen them? I would lay down my life for him and I haven’t met him yet.

The door opens and Logan smirks as he walks in with his Aunt behind him. She smiles as she walks over to me. “Mrs. Robert, it's good to see you.” I hug her as she pats my back.

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ve got you.” She pulls away and holds my shoulders. For an older lady, she still looks good. She has always had this motherly vibe to her, maybe because she could never have children of her own. She also never took mine and Logan’s shit. Back in the day, she ripped us a few new ones. “I am going to get breakfast ready while you go take a shower. Logan told me about the social service lady. She won’t try anything with me here. I got you.” She didn’t give me a chance to reply as she walks away. I had a feeling that Logan would tell her. When I told him, he wasn’t very impressed with Sasha. Logan was there when Tanya left. He was there through all the times that I blamed myself for her leaving. He was the one that picked up the pieces every time I broke down.

I rush up the stairs and take the fastest shower known to mankind. After being done I run down the stairs again as I throw on my shirt. As my feet hit the last stair there is a knock on the front door. Logan and Mrs. Richards stand at the kitchen door watching me as I walk to the door. I open it to be met with Sasha, Carmen Ortiz, and a little boy with the same emerald eyes and dark hair as me. The boy holds on to Sasha’s hand as he stares up at me.

“Mr. Walker, I would like to introduce you to Carmen Ortiz, she will be handling your case after today.” Sasha motions at Carmen who smirks at me. I have known Carmen for a long time. We live in a small town, everyone knows everyone. I just have my selected few that I spend time with and I have spent time with Carmen on a few occasions, just because she and Luke share a love for Aly.

“Hello, Jaxon.” She shakes my hand. “Can I have a moment of your time before we do the handover?” She turns to Sasha, who only nods as she picks up Taylor and walks into the living room. I take a step out to join Carmen on the porch. She places her hands on the railing as she watches the horses. “I want you to know that my sole purpose is to make sure that Taylor is happy and loved. I have known you for a long time. I have known Tanya for a while as well. I know you will love that little boy and that he will never grow up needing anything. I will just be observing from time to time. If there is anything you need outside of my visiting times, you can reach out to me and I will help you.”

I stand there with my mouth agape. “I want that too. He is my son and I will give him everything that he needs. I want to see him grow up and be there for his first baseball game. I want to be there for all his other firsts that are still to come as I have already missed a lot of firsts already. He is my son, I love him already.” I state honestly.

“I know. I could see it when you opened the door. Now let’s go introduce you to your son.” She puts her hand on my arm before she walks back to the front door. I follow her to see Logan standing at the kitchen door. He nods towards the living room where his aunt sits with Taylor standing in front of her.

Taylor looks up and his smile grows when he sees me. “Daddy…” He pushes away from Mrs. Richards and runs to me. I bend down so he can run into my arms. I pick him up and hug him to my chest as his little arms wrap around my neck. “My daddy!” He lays his head on my shoulder. My heart swells ten times hearing him call me ‘Daddy’ and now being here with me. I am a dad. I am a father.

“Hey, Little man.” I choke out. How can someone not want their kids? He has crawled into my heart since the day I was told about him. I might not have known about him, but now that I know, I will never forget him.

He pulls back and stares at me. “I have a daddy!” He claps his hands and I chuckle at how excited he is. He starts talking so fast that I can only catch some of the words. Carmen chuckles from her place on the couch. Sasha watches us but doesn’t say anything. I don’t even care right now. All I care about is the little boy in my arms.

This is the start of the rest of his life with his Dad where he belongs. I will deal with Carmen and show her that he will be safe, happy, and loved right here with me.

Chapter Seven

? Bentley ?

This week has been one hell of a week. Or I would rather say the week and a half. I am lying on the cot in the firehouse trying to catch my breath after the call we just had. I didn’t know the family, but it seems like the others knew them.

It was a house fire, where the neighbor rescued everyone inside, risking his own life. I only found out after that he used to be a firefighter at this firehouse. Everyone loved him. I can’t get the scene out of my mind. The way the flames engulfed him. Captain Falcon and Lieutenant Skarin went to the hospital with him to speak to the family.

I listen as heavy footsteps come towards me, I know it’s Luke. I know his footsteps. I tried not to let any of them get close to me, but Luke has this way of just making you like him.

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