Bucking the Rules(82)

“But you didn’t call and take it back. You could have, and you didn’t.”

Her understanding, and even encouragement, pushed him on. “No. I didn’t. And so, seven months later, I got the call to meet her at the hospital. I walked in, and there he was. Perfect.”

He swallowed a little to keep from tearing up. “The most perfect thing I’d ever seen. And I knew, even though I’d been making a mess out of life when I made him, he was perfect and mine.”

“You didn’t get to see him being born?” Jo rubbed her cheek over his shoulder. “That’s sad.”

“Given the circumstances, I felt lucky she even went through with the whole pregnancy. She wasn’t a monster. Rose, I mean. Neither was her husband, though she’d led me to believe it at first. Or maybe that’s just how I painted him to justify my own actions. And I wasn’t either. Just a handful of adults making bad choices, who were all fortunate enough to make the right ones so my son could have a chance.”

“Do you ever wonder if she’ll come back and try to get him? Get custody, or whatever?”

The idea had his blood pounding in an instinctive fight-or-flight response. But he breathed through that.

“She signed away her rights. I guess in this day and age, anyone can sue for rights again. You can sue someone because a candy bar made you fat. But instinct tells me she’s not interested in remembering the affair—and consequence—that nearly ruined her marriage. I haven’t heard from her since the day the final line was signed making me the sole parent. She’s not a monster,” he said again, reminding them both.

“Is that how you want it?” The question was cautious, though he wasn’t sure whether the hesitation came from the question itself, or her fear of the answer.

“For now. Much as people like to talk about how a parenting duo is best, I know what my son needs is me. He’s got a support dream team, a place to call his own, and he’s got me. That’s all he needs for the moment. I figure this parenting gig is sort of fluid. If something isn’t working, we move on to try a new approach.”

“Very scientific of you.” Her voice held a touch of humor. “But why all the mystery?”

“I never want someone to look at my son and think mistake . He is blameless and amazing and I know that’s what would happen if the story of his mother got out. So I just locked it all down.”

She rolled until she was on top of him, her breasts pushing into his chest. “And the fact that people gossip and wonder doesn’t bother you?”

“They can talk about me all they want,” he said. He didn’t care. They couldn’t hurt him. “Doesn’t matter. Seth is what matters. I can take it.”

Jo kissed him lightly. “You’re a good man, Trace.”

He eyed her. “So you don’t think less of me for it?”

“For what?” She seemed truly baffled.

“For having an affair with a married woman, knowing she was married.”

Jo glanced over his head for a minute and chewed on her lip. But he knew she was trying to figure out how to word her response, not how to spin a lie.

“I think you made a mistake, which ended up reaping an unexpected reward. You obviously learned from it, since you’re here beating yourself up about the whole thing. And in the end, when the chips were down, you had a choice, too.”

“There was no choice.” How could she think there was?

“There was,” she argued softly. “So many men would have seen the out. She was fine with an abortion. Easy enough, and the problem goes away. You get to move on to the next woman, she gets her husband back, and nobody has to think about it again. You could have. But you didn’t. You chose the hard route. The one that permanently tied you to another human being for the long haul. Not just eighteen years, but life.”

“He’s my son.” That’s all he could think. All he could say.

“Exactly.” She kissed him again. “You’re a good man. You made a mistake. Trust me, I’ve made a few myself. But you learned, and you can move on.”

“With a kid.”

“Yeah. With Seth.” She nuzzled into the nook of his neck. “You’re a cute pair.”

“Why, thank you.” He flipped her over onto her back and worked his way down her body to her breasts. “Now, I believe I had a turn coming to me.”





Chapter Nineteen


Trace pulled up to the bar and parked. This was stupid. He shouldn’t have come. But he just couldn’t seem to stay away.

In the backseat of his extended cab, Seth whined and twisted in his seat. While the truck was in motion, his son never minded being buckled in. But when they pulled to a stop, it was game over. He wanted to go, or he wanted out. Trace felt the same way.