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“Thanks,” I was finally able to choke out. I coughed to clear the last of my throat. “I should probably go back to Oakland soon and close out my apartment. Get us moved up here permanently. Plus, I can’t let Grandpa’s business go unattended for much longer. There are probably contracts that are already behind schedule.”
“Good idea,” Raven agreed. “I’ll get some of the guys to follow you down in a few days with a moving truck. Essentials can be brought here, and the rest can go to Uncle Chaz’s house… Or Tanner’s?”
I lowered my gaze back to my dinner. “I’ll let you know. I’m still figuring it out.”
Tanner wanted me to give him a chance, but that didn’t mean I was going to move in with him. Still, he would need someone to take care of him once he was out of the hospital. Matt lived with him, and I guess Rory did too now.
Hell, I didn’t know what to do yet, so I just left it at that.
After dinner, I bathed Reid and got him ready for bed. As soon as he was asleep on the bed, I took a quick
shower and then carefully slid in beside my son. Instantly, he cuddled into me, one chubby little fist balling in my shirt.
Smiling, I smoothed his dark curls back from his face and closed my eyes…
The buzzing of my phone pulled me from a peacefully dream-free sleep sometime later. Groaning, I reached out blindly, feeling for my cell phone to shut it up. My eyes squinted open to peek at the name on my screen, and I saw it was Matt. Sitting up in bed, I answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” Tanner’s voice filled my ear. “Did you sleep well?”
A glance at my phone’s screen again showed me it was just after nine in the morning. I’d slept for over twelve hours. Shit. I started to panic, worried about Reid, but he was still sound asleep beside me. His butt was up in the air, his head turned away from me.
I fell back onto the pillows, my heart trying to return to a normal pace.
“Jos?” Tanner sounded anxious. “Baby, are you there?”
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I just realized I slept all night and Reid hadn’t woken me up.” Pushing a few strands of hair out of my face, I turned onto my side. “How are you feeling? Did you get any rest last night?”
“Woke up about five this morning, starving. Matt brought me some breakfast from Aggie’s, though. Nothing like French toast and scrambled eggs with bacon to make a man feel alive again,” he chuckled.
A smile lifted my lips. “I’m glad you’re feeling well enough to eat. You always were a pig. Your lack of an appetite scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m back in my private room. Can you come be with me?” His voice lowered. “I miss you.”
My heart melted at his confession. “I miss you too,” I admitted. “I’ll come as soon as I get Reid ready for the day and find someone to babysit for me.”
“Is he doing okay?” he asked. “I mean… Hell, I don’t know what I mean. The only kids I’ve been around are Bash’s, and even then, I don’t have all that much interaction with them.”
“He’s doing fine. Actually, he and Max seem to be best friends at the moment. Which is a good thing because he hasn’t been missing me too much while I’ve been busy this past week.”
“When can I meet him?”
The uncertainty I heard underneath his usually cocky tone left me speechless for a moment. “Tanner, are you nervous to meet your son?”
“Hell yeah, I am. What if he doesn’t like me? What if I fuck it up? What if I fuck him up?” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I’m not exactly in the best shape at the moment to show him any attention. What if he wants to play with me, and I can’t?”
“He’s not even two,” I reminded him. “I think you can relax. He’s not going to want to pass a ball with you anytime soon. Just relax. Reid will love you.”
“Fuck, I hope so.”
I bit into my bottom lip, melting a little more at the thought he cared so much about what his son would think of him that he was insecure. “I’ll be there soon. Give me about an hour, okay?”
“Just you?”
“I really don’t want to expose Reid to the germs of the hospital unless I absolutely have to. Plus, I think your first meeting with each other should be somewhere you’re both comfortable,” I explained.
“Yeah. You’re probably right.” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “Someone will drive you over. Don’t go anywhere alone.”
