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“So, can I call you dad now, then?” Cooper’s voice was quiet and full of uncertainty. My heart somersaulted as I put him in his car seat.
“You absolutely can.”
“Good.” He beamed. Closing the door, I walked around the back of the truck and took a deep breath. This was too much, my life hadn’t ever been this full. Climbing into the truck, I pointed it home.
The conversation around the table tonight was much happier than the last few days. Mom had Cooper in her lap, and Nora was in mine. “It’s good to see you happy again, Kipp. I know this day is usually pretty hard on you,” Ryder said as he shook his head. I looked at the calendar, six years ago today my dad died and I hadn’t even thought of the darkness once. “You’ve come a long way since we tracked you down to that bar in Texas. God, you were a mess.” He reached for his beer and life stopped for a moment.
“Was that the one where we had to kick the girl out of his trailer?” Griff asked as he grabbed a new bag of chips and set them on the table. My stomach dropped to the floor and I felt Nora stiffen against me.
“Yeah, she was wearing a blonde wig, remember Nash? I swear she was barely legal.” Ryder said, looking beside him. Nash wasn’t laughing. He never made jokes about those months, but this was different. Ryder looked at me and then to Nora. “No. It couldn’t have been.” He shook his head and Griff leaned back in his chair like he was trying to imagine Nora in a blonde wig.
Nash pushed his chair back from the table and pulled open the drawer we kept the bills in.
“When you brought Nora home the first time, and I saw Cooper I had my suspicions, which were confirmed by Julie. So, when I sent the DNA away on Nathan, I sent it on Cooper too. I’ve never looked at the results. I figured that was for the two of you, or if this thing went way south, I was prepared not to let Cooper leave without knowing.” He handed me the envelope and I stared at it. Nora moved off my lap and sat on the empty chair beside me. A hush had fallen over the room and Cooper looked at each of us, looking like he might cry.
“Do you want to go somewhere private?” I asked Nora.
“They’ve apparently been with us since the literal start, no need to hide things now.” She reached over and put her hand on my arm. Ripping open the envelope, I pulled out the paper. I read it and handed it to Nora. “Oh, my God. It was you.” She dropped the paper onto the table. We both looked over at Cooper, who had decided the chips were a much better option than the conversation we were having. Putting my arm around Nora’s shoulders, I had the sudden urge to be alone with my family. I loved everyone around this table, but I had a son, and we needed to process this.
“I think we need to leave these three. Boys, you’re at my place tonight so get ready to go.” She looked at the four grown men at the table and they all stood without a word. “We’ll be back tomorrow,” Mom said as she set Cooper in my lap and kissed me on the head, and quietly walked out the door. She hadn’t done that since I was a kid.
“Nash,” I faltered. Standing and setting Cooper on the chair, I stepped to where he stood. “Thank you.” We’d been friends for as long as I could remember, he’d been the brother I never had and was now the person I owed everything to. Hugging, he slapped me on the back and nodded.
“You would have done the same.” He left the kitchen, and he was right, I would have done the same thing. I couldn’t even be a little bit angry that he’d done this behind my back.
“Why don’t we go to the living room? It’s more comfortable than here.” I motioned them to follow me. Cooper darted between us and I pulled Nora back to me. “Do you want to tell him tonight?” She still looked like a deer in the headlights.
“Yes, I want him to know.” She nodded and her eyes filled with tears.
“We’ll talk about these later,” I said as I wiped a tear away with my thumb. God, she was perfect, perfect for me, even when I had no idea. “Hey Coop, come here for a second.” I sat down in my chair and he climbed up into my lap. Nora sat on the arm rest and put her arm around me. “So, your mom and I found out something tonight that might be a little confusing right now, but someday we’ll explain it all.” I looked up at Nora. “Well, maybe not all of it. But it turns out that,” I paused, “I’m your real dad.” I was making a mess of this and suddenly I wondered if I should have had my mom stay. She was better at this kind of stuff.
“I know.” He shrugged and looked at me funny.
“How do you know, Cooper?” Nora asked, looking from him to me.
“We look exactly the same. I saw pictures at Grandma Julie’s and I thought it was me, but it was you.” Cooper pointed at me.
“Wow. Okay. That was…” Nora stammered, kissing Cooper’s forehead. “I think it’s been a long day. You need to get to bed because you have chores tomorrow morning, little man. There’s a horse out in that barn that needs looking after.” Nora knew just what to say to prevent any tears at bedtime. I had a lot to learn about being a dad, but that didn’t have to happen tonight, either.
“Come on, I will help you get ready.” I lifted him off my lap and gave Nora a quick kiss as I got up from the chair. “Be back in a minute.”
“Sure you will.” She smiled smugly, crossed her arms, and slid into my spot.
She wasn’t wrong, thirty minutes later; after a glass of water, an extra trip to the bathroom, two books, and a re-tuck in, I stood at the door ready to turn off his light. “Night Cooper, have a good sleep.”
“Night, Dad,” he mumbled. My nose started to tingle as I flicked off the light and pulled his door closed. Leaning up against it, the weight of the day hit me like a ton of bricks and I slid down the door and sat on the floor. Four years of his life I’d missed out on. Missed Nora being pregnant, missed his birth, missed being the one to help her with night feeding and changing diapers. There was nothing I could do to change that and I had so much more time to come.
Standing, I walked back into the living room and stared at her. I didn’t remember the girl in the blonde wig, but it didn’t matter, she was here now in my chair. “I’m impressed, only half an hour,” she giggled, turning and looking over the back of the oversized chair. “You have bedtime duty every night, Dad.”
“It’s a deal.” I leaned over the back of the chair and kissed her. When I pulled away, she stared up at me quizzically. “What’s that look for?” I asked, rounding the chair and squeezing in beside her. She wiggled and put her legs across my lap.
“I was just sitting here thinking that, as it turns out, you’re the only man I’ll ever sleep with.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?” Arching my brow, I waited for her answer. She moved, and straddled my legs, taking my face in her hands.
“It’s the most amazing thing in the world.” She lowered her mouth to mine and I pulled her tightly to me. We shared a son, and we were sharing our lives together. I slid my hand to the back of her head and tangled my fingers in her hair. Letting our tongues explore one another, her hands pressed against my chest, searing her touch on me, so I would never forget. “Maybe we should move to the bedroom, less chance of getting caught, again,” she whispered in my ear.
She didn’t have to ask me twice. We both got off the chair and walked toward my room. “I suppose you need to move your stuff into my room,” I said as we got to my door.
