My mother chose to wait on the porch, which in my opinion was in the best interest of Stacey’s safety. I could almost feel the anger boiling off Mom and knew if she had the chance, she would lay down the shit on Stacey. She never really cared for her when we dated, not like she did for Claire and now Amber and Bailey. Stacey just never really fit in with my family, but love can be blind—or lust. Whatever it was, I was in my own little bubble back then.
Stacey crawled out of the car, looking up at me. I imagined her glaring beneath those big shades of hers.
“I’m not sure leaving him here would be the best idea,” she said as she closed the car door and crossed her arms over her chest, making her breasts practically spill out of her tight shirt. “He knows you’re his father, we had a long talk this morning, but I just think we need to take this slow.”
“Yeah, well, I also told you that I didn’t give two shits about what you think. You already took enough away from me. You’re not taking any more of my time with him.” I pulled my hands from my pockets and took a step around the hood of her car. “You wanna stick around for a little bit, that’s your choice. But once he’s comfortable and settled, you can take off. I know where your parents live.”
“But—” I narrowed my eyes, daring her to continue. “You were never so direct before,” she complained as she walked around the back of the car to get to the other side.
“Things change,” I said as she opened the door.
“Hi!” Austin called, instantly breaking the tension.
I itched to go to him but remained where I was standing. Stacey helped him from the car and took his hand before leading him around the car. My body was humming with excitement. I had plans to spend every moment of our entire day doing fun things with Austin. As they came into view, I heard my mother stifle a sob of joy at seeing her grandson for the first time. I offered her a reassuring smile before kneeling in front of Austin. “Hey, bud, you ready to spend the day with me?” I asked, watching closely for any signs of resistance on his part.
His big blue eyes studied me. “Are you my dad?”
Without even thinking, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled his little body against my chest. “Yes,” I whispered into his neck. My body shook with emotions I never felt before. “I’m your daddy, bud.”
The tears rolled along my cheeks as he placed his arms around my neck and hugged me back.
Last night I had refrained from doing just what I was now because I didn’t want to scare him, but now I couldn’t stop. I wanted to spend the day with him in my arms because I was terrified if I let go, he would disappear. I would deal with my anger over missing out on so much of his life later. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy having him here.
“You plan on giving me a chance to meet my grandson?” I jumped in surprise as my mother spoke from directly behind me. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw she had also been crying. “I think I’ve missed enough of his life.” She shifted her eyes toward Stacey, and my heart raced.
I released my hold on Austin and stood, making sure to keep his hand in mine. I wasn’t ready to let go completely yet. “Austin, this is my mother and your grandma,” I said.
He looked at my mother the same way he had me. It was as if he was taking the time to analyze her every feature. A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as his eyes connected with hers once more. “Hi,” he said.
“Hello, Austin.” My mom’s voice cracked, and the sound pulled at something deep in my chest as I tried to wrap my head around the fact I was someone’s father.
***
Stacey had stuck around for about two hours before she finally gave in and left Austin with me. I was more than positive it had a lot to do with the fact my mother and I didn’t give her the attention she was hoping for. Stacey always wanted to be the center of attention, but we were completely focused on Austin. Every time he laughed or smiled, my heart raced with pure joy. It was addictive. They say you love your child the second you see them after they’re born. Well, that same feeling hit me the moment I first saw Austin standing at Stacey’s side. I was undeniably in love with my son and falling harder with each passing second.
Now Austin and I were on our way to Ryan’s, where my brothers were waiting not so patiently to meet their nephew. I was going to introduce them the next time Austin visited, but the assholes had no patience. They had been calling and texting all day, asking what he was like and so on. Plus, Olivia showed up with Amber right after lunch, and the guys didn’t like that they got to meet Austin and they hadn’t had the chance. It was as if they were all in a competition to who would get to know my son the most.