“Night, Jake.”
“Night, little man,” Jake whispers, his long fingers combing through Lennon’s hair. Something about seeing them together makes my heart squeeze in my chest. This is what I always wanted—what I used to pray for when I was pregnant. It’s also something that I long ago accepted would never happen. The fact that it is happening now is bittersweet.
It’s also scary as hell.
For so long, I’ve been the lone parent in Lennon’s life. Decisions about his life have always been mine and mine alone to make. The rules are suddenly shifting, and it makes me nervous. Jake is a wildcard. I can tell with just one weekend that my son is starting to care for him.What happens when he goes back to Wyoming where he lives? What happens when he’s not here for my son to see every day?
These are questions that I need to sit down and talk with Jake about. Questions that need answers, but they are answers I’m afraid to hear. I can be honest, though.
I’m scared.
I’d rather not know.
I stand by the door and watch father and son, and for the first time, I feel like an outsider in my son’s room. At the same time, I feel something click into place. Lennon needs a relationship with his father, and there’s a bond forming between them. That’s good for my son, and that’s all that matters.
I walk out of the room, taking a deep breath to settle my nerves. I start throwing the paper plates and things in the garbage, picking up from dinner. Callie offered to do all that, but I waved her off. It’s late, and they don’t need to be out on the road at this time of night. She acts like it doesn’t, but I know that riding in a car makes her nervous even now. Her accident changed her—hell everything Mitch put her though altered who she is. She still thinks she’s weak, but if I’d been through everything she has, I don’t know if I’d still be standing—let alone risking my heart again.
“It’s been a good night,” Jake says, coming into the kitchen.
“It has. Thank you for dinner. You really should let me pay for at least half of it.”
“No way. I told you it was my treat.”
I watch as he walks over and sits on a barstool across from me. I finish cleaning off the counter, refocusing my gaze on the counter. I can feel the weight of his stare on me, though.
“Something on your mind?” I ask because the air around us is heavy. There’s a tension that makes me uneasy.
“I was hoping to talk to you, but today has been so good that I don’t want to ruin it,” he says, setting off a million butterflies in my stomach.
“Well that sounds ominous.”
“I think it’s past time the two of us talked, honey.”
There goes that endearment again. Why is it after all this time having Jake call me honey still makes my heart speed up?
“We’re talking,” I mumble, scrubbing the counter harder—even though it’s not dirty.
Jake puts his hand over mine to stop me and murmurs, “Look at me, Katie.”
I force myself to raise my gaze. He’s smiling at me, but even I can see he’s worried.
“You’re leaving Macon, aren’t you?”
“What?”
“Jake, I never expected you to stay here, but you can’t let my son—”
“Ourson.”
“You can’t let our son get attached to you and then just leave,” I finish.
“Katie,” he says with a sigh.
“I mean it. Lennon needs for you to stay in touch with him, even after you go back to Wyoming.”
“I don’t live there anymore. Didn’t Jeff tell you?”
“No. I just assumed, I guess. He asked to be the one to talk to you about the wedding, and to be honest, it sounds stupid, but I was relieved.”