“You’re good with him,” I commented, placing a steaming plate of food in front of him. “My niece and nephew, too.”
“I love kids—always have,” he rumbled, taking a huge bite of the muffin. “That’s fuckin’ good.”
I made a mental note to whip up another batch.
“Cole doesn’t have any siblings,” I hedged carefully. I knew next to nothing about Cal, and my curiosity was hard to contain. Aside from being able to piece together that he’d had Cole young, I didn’t have much to go on.
“Would have had a busful of kids.” He shook his head ruefully. “Cole’s mama didn’t feel the same. But that’s a story for another day.”
“Okay,” I agreed readily. If anyone understood not wanting to unearth the past, it was me.
He cocked his head toward Mason. “He’ll nap in the car?”
I nodded.
“Got someplace I want to show you.”
****
After loading up Mason’s car seat in his SUV, he’d driven us to a beautiful lake outside of town. I was amazed at how hands-on he was with Mason. In many ways I’d always been a single mother. Even when I was married to Tim, he’d traveled a lot of the time and when he’d been home he’d never taken much of an interest in Mason.
Watching Cal now, his jeans rolled up as he lifted a squealing Mason in and out of the water, I was in a state of shock that I could actually sit for a few minutes. The gift of being able to watch my son from afar was priceless—plus watching Cal wasn’t half bad either.
As if he could read my thoughts, his gaze turned toward me as I sat soaking up the sun on the rocky shore. “He loves the water.”
I smiled. “I guess so. This is a first for him.”
My phone pinged then, the message eradicating any bliss I’d channeled over the last few hours.
You’re mine and so is he.
The blood drained from my face as I read the message from Tim more than once, hoping like hell I’d conjured the words. When they remained on the screen, I wanted to cry and scream at the same time.
Instead, I fought for composure. I’d learned over the years to harness what control I could. I could control how I reacted. I could control how I played the cards I’d been dealt. I’d been doing it all my life.
Tim could hit me—but I could choose not to cower. He could threaten me, and I could choose to be angry instead of afraid. I looked up, watching my beautiful child squeal with joy, and wondered how in the hell his own father could threaten him.
Cal looked up again, the grin dropping from his face immediately. He picked Mason up and stalked toward me, his expression tense. “What happened?”
I stood up and reached for my boy, needing to hold him. Cal handed him over without hesitation. “Babe,” he pressed.
I handed my phone over with a sigh, rocking Mason, giving myself comfort in loving him.
“Motherfucker,” Cal growled.
I glared at him. “I’d really rather not have Mason’s first word be the f-word.”
His gaze zeroed in on me. “We need to get your phone to Sal. He might be able to track the source.”
I nodded.
“Jill, this text? It means I’ve stopped fucking asking. We’re going to your apartment and packing your shit. You’re staying with me.”
We stared at each other in a silent standoff.
“Okay,” I agreed finally. The minute Tim had threatened Mason he’d taken any hesitation to accept Cal’s offer out of me. Any reservations I had could wait; they weren’t as important as keeping my son safe.
“He’s asleep,” Cal noted, looking in the rearview mirror as we hit the highway, headed back to my place.
