AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you.” I focus on getting him food, not wanting to push him.
“You are my mom’s boyfriend?” His voice is quiet, and I barely hear him over the microwave as it runs. I turn to look at him. He’s got his chin resting on his hand. He doesn’t look upset but thoughtful. His head is cocked to the side and his brows are raised.
“Would that bother you?” I ask him as I push the bowl of fruit toward him.
When the microwave dings, I pull out the breakfast burrito and cut it in half to help it cool for him. He looks at it then up to me.
“You aren’t around a lot of kids, are you?”
“No, buddy. What did I do wrong?”
“Mom cuts it diagonally and then gives me a fork.”
“Sorry. I’ll get better.”
“So, you are?”
“Yeah, I guess I am now.”
“It wouldn’t bother me. Mom has never had a man spend the night. I know Grandma always told her to go out before she died.”
“Yvonne?”
“Yep.” He takes a bite, and I see why he needs the fork as half the filling falls out onto his plate.
“Hello.” Briar’s voice comes from behind us.
We both turn toward her. She’s in a robe that I want to strip off her, but our son is seated at the bar. I hold out my arm and she walks over. She’s stiff when she reaches my side. I pull her in, and she looks at Orion, who is watching us as he eats.
“Are you my dad?” he asks out of the blue.
Briar stiffens next to me. I don’t know how to answer him, so I wait for her to take the lead.
“Why do you ask that, Rion?” She moves around the bar to sit next to him.
“He has the same eye color I do. You told me once that my dad was working out of the country. I’ve never met Thor until just a few days ago.”
He looks between the both of us. I’m still rooted to my spot, unsure of how she wants to progress. I want to say, “Hell yeah, I’m your dad.”
“Yes, he is,” Briar says before she starts crying. “We don’t want to lie to you, but other people kept us apart.” She pauses and looks over at me before her face clears and her eyes shine. “Son of a biscuit eater,” she exclaims as she jumps up and walks over to her tablet. “Give me a sec.” She rushes to her office. I think she figured out finally what I already did. She’s only gone for a few moments when she returns.
“You.” It’s all she says, and I can’t stop the nod. She’s right. I’m the reason her home was broken into and why she was left alone the last few years.
“It was Shelagh, but I don’t know why. She took the software to hack your system. She’s also the one who kept us apart.”
“Orion, please go to your room.” Briar looks at him and waits until he’s behind a closed door.
“That crazy personal assistant we all warned you about stole your software and used it to attack me? It doesn’t make sense. She wasn’t the one who beat me up.”
I move around the bar and pull her into me.
“I’ve turned everything I know over to the police. I’ll protect you.”
I hold her to me and pray I can do that.
Chapter 9
Briar
