The rumors around the de la Peña family are persistent. There isn’t a day that goes by when one of them isn’t the butt of college gossip. But the more I get to know them, and know of them, the more it’s clear they’re just really good people.
“He sounds like a nice guy.”
“Best captain I’ve ever played under. They’re a tight group of brothers, but they never make the rest of us feel like we aren’t part of the family too, you know?”
I shove the rest of my bagel in my mouth then we pick up the thirty five bags that come with having a small child. Wyatt doesn’t want Raffi to put him down while he eats, so the two of them walk to the car munching on breakfast.
The resemblance between them is almost comical. The way they look at each other, their mannerisms. Wyatt’s already working his dad’s lopsided smile like he knows it’s going to get him places.
“You got everything?” Mom stands at the door while we load the car.
“I think so. Do you need us to bring anything back?”
She shakes her head. “Just have fun, okay? Oh! Do you have your camera?”
Shit. Almost forgot. I pause before I run back inside, but Raffi gives me a reassuring smile. “It’s all good. I can watch him for thirty seconds.”
He’s trying to comfort me, but instead makes me feel like an idiot. I don’t truly believe anything sinister is going to happen in the time it takes me to get my camera, but I can’t help the tug in my gut. It’s there damn near every time I leave my kid.
Mom gives me a quick hug as I hurry back to the car with my camera. “You kids have fun.”
Raffi double checks Wyatt’s seatbelt before getting in the car and letting me do a final check. I’m sure it’s good, but there’s no harm in being super safe when it comes to car seatsafety. He’s still rear-facing, and will be until he’s fifty. Height limit be damned.
Ugh. Fine. Maybe not quite thirty-five but as close as I can get. The idea of him riding up front in the passenger seat makes me break out in a cold sweat.
“Ready?” Raffi unwraps another bagel and sits it on his lap.
“Ready!” Wyatt screams from the backseat.
I give one final wave out the window to Mom as we pull away from the sidewalk and will my flapping stomach to simmer the fuck down. It’s just indoor play and a walk around some gardens. No big deal.
So why does it feel like it’s a big fucking deal?
CHAPTER 30
Raffi
This is the most fun I’ve had in as long as I can remember. There’s something freeing about channeling your inner kid and just letting go.
Can’t remember the last time I was in a maze, but from the delighted shrieks of my son as I chase him through the squishy foam play area, it won’t be my last.
We’ve been here for an hour. For the first forty minutes, Victoria joined us inside the play frame. She doesn’t like to be too far from Wyatt, that much is clear, and I can’t really blame her. She’s been a single mom for his entire life, since that stick showed two lines, and as such, she’s got a tight grip on the reins.
Even now, I encouraged her to chill out with a snack and a coffee but her gaze is heavy on my skin. I bet she’s had to abandon any number of fresh, steaming hot cups of coffee over the years, and even though it’s play maze coffee, I figure it counts.
If someone had told me to take a load off and go have a snack, I’d grab the chance with both hands. And I’m not a single parent. But Victoria, something won’t let her disconnect.She said she has stuff to read on her phone, a reading app, but every time I glance her way, her eyes are on me, not the screen.
I’m not mad about it. I don’t begrudge her wanting to make sure Wyatt is safe. She knows me as a hockey playing douche who got her knocked up and ran away. But over time I’m sure she’ll see I can be trusted to hang out with Wyatt a little more. Sure, I have a lot of stuff to learn, but I bought a book on parenting and even started reading it. I’m not normally a fan of non-fiction stuff, but this is a subject I most definitely need guidance on.
Wyatt tugs my hand, guiding me back toward the slide. We’ve become fast friends, and I love it. He’s such a fun dude, and while the parenting book prepared me for something called a “Threenager” I haven’t witnessed demon mode yet.
When we reach the bottom of the slide, before we even manage to get to our feet, an older kid barrels across the foam padded floor, crashing into Wyatt who tips backward and lands flat. The shrill wail can be heard three zip codes over as thick tears spill down his cheeks.
The temptation to get up and chase the older kid and kick his ass is tempting. But I’m pretty sure that’s a no-no. Right? Grown-ass adults can’t just beat on little kids for being careless and knocking their kid over. Yeah. Sounds right.
Instead, I bend and pick Wyatt up, giving him a once over to make sure he’s good. No blood, no signs of a bump or bruising, it must have just been the shock of being knocked on his ass that made him cry. I can relate, sometimes when my legs go out from under me on the ice without warning, I want to cry too. It’s not a fun feeling.
Victoria appears at our side in seconds, like she watched the whole thing. She holds her hands out to Wyatt but he tucks his head into the crease of my neck and clings tighter. She can’t hide the hurt that lingers in her features, the sad eyes,the downturned lips, but she offers me a reassuring pat on the arm.
