I slipped from the booth and knelt at the side of the table. “Hey, buddy, you like horses?”
He began nodding, resembling a bobble-head figurine more than a little boy. Chocolate ice cream covered his lips and ran down his chin. It was the cutest damn thing I had ever seen.
“What do you say I take you to see some horses tomorrow?” I asked, completely ignoring Stacey’s reaction. I no longer gave a shit what she had to say. I had a lot of time to make up for, and I didn’t feel I needed her permission for that.
“Do you have a horse?” Austin asked, looking at me hopefully.
“I sure do, bud. A whole ranch full.” I smiled at him before standing and leaning over to kiss the top of his head. Before pulling back, I lowered my voice and stared directly at Stacey. “Have him at the ranch by ten.”
“But I—”
“I’m not asking, I’m telling ya. You know where it’s at. You can stick around for a bit until he’s comfortable, and then you can take off. I’ll bring him by your parents’ place when I see fit. Because the way I see it, now is my time to get to know my son. I don’t need your permission for that.”
I stood up and ruffled Austin’s hair. Backing away from the table, I put on a happy face. “See ya in the morning, buddy.”
He waved and turned around to face Stacey and began excitedly talking about horses as I forced myself to exit the diner, my feet feeling heavier with each step.
Standing outside, I looked back and watched him through the window of the diner as anger, loss, and regret hit me like a tidal wave and the tears began to roll down my cheeks. I reached into my back pocket and pulled my phone out, then dialed Ryan’s number.
“Yeah.” His muffled voice filled the other end of the line.
I took in a deep, shuddering breath and broke. “I have a son, and she never fucking told me. Almost four years old, Ry, and he is beautiful. Fucking gorgeous.”
“What?” He sounded much more alert this time.
“Stacey’s back from California,” I said and cleared my throat so I could continue. “She’s come back and, uh…” Fuck if those emotions I was trying so hard to fight weren’t winning the battle against my restraint. “I have a son.”
Chapter Three
Alena
Saying I slept peacefully last night would only be a lie. I was restless, and on more than one occasion, I got up just to pace around the apartment. I hated being here alone. Now that Amber was married and Bailey had moved in with Jackson, nights like the one I had last night are the worst. I would have done anything to be able to crawl into bed with a close friend and talk for hours about my worries. Instead, I was left alone to wonder what would happen now that Stacey was back. Now that Noah had met the son he never knew he had.
Call me selfish, but I truly hoped this wouldn’t mean the start of a relationship I thought he and I had was now over.
I was sitting on my bed looking through some dress patterns when Amber called out for me.
“I’m in here,” I replied without looking up. I decided to settle in Livingston mainly because of Amber and Bailey, but I also decided I could focus on my true passion here—fashion design. Eventually, I hoped to open up a little boutique where I could display my creations.
The bed dipped, and I held my breath, waiting for what I knew was coming.
“Noah called Ryan last night,” Amber began. All I could offer was a nod. My stomach knotted as I waited for her to continue. “He was real messed up about Stacey and…”
I lifted my head to look at her. “His son,” I finished.
“Yeah, how crazy is that?”
“It’s sad, really. You should have saw the hurt in his eyes. The way he looked at the little boy, it took everything I had not to cry. He missed out on so much time.” Even thinking about it now brought fresh tears to my eyes.
“Have you talked to him?” she asked.
“Not since last night,” I replied. “I knew he had things to deal with. So I just said good-bye and walked back here so he could talk to Stacey and his son.”
We sat there in silence until the sound of Bailey hollering up the stairs brought us both back to the present.
“I guess we better go downstairs. You know she won’t stop yelling until we do.” Amber rolled her eyes as she smiled and stood from the bed. “Come on. If I have to deal with the wild woman, so do you. I can only take so many recaps of her and Jackson’s sexcapades before I need to be rescued. You have to run interference.”
Bailey loved to embarrass Amber, so Bailey often insisted on telling her the most recent sexual position Bailey and Jackson had tried or newest place in the yard where they’d decided to have sex. Sometimes I thought she enhanced the story just to torture Amber even more.