I didn’t have a chance to reply. Reg bounded in, looking exhausted and Rhys was pumped up from practice, talking a mile a minute about his awesome touchdown and the teammate whose mom brought freeze pops for the kids ’cause it was so hot outside.
I nodded along and plied them with donut treats while acutely aware of another shift.
No so long ago, I’d hoped to join their family. I’d wanted to be part of something safe and kind. Maybe it was me wanting to be on a team again. And I’d loved Reg—just not the way you’re supposed to love someone you thought you could spend your life with. But I’d respected him, wanted him. I’d loved his kids’ energy, their tenacity, and their individuality. And they’d liked me. That had seemed like a solid start. The rest would have come with time. If he’d have let me, I would have forced a happy ending and made us out to be something we weren’t. No better than my mother.
Gretchen was smarter than the average kid. She’d known about her dad and me, even though we’d gone out of our way to tell the kids we were only friends. Reg and I hadn’t made any promises to each other, let alone his kids, but she’d sensed a loss, another separation, another divorce, another way her world was shaken and rendered unsafe.
I’d bonded with Rhys over flag football and with Gretchen over the alchemy of donuts and when it was obvious that Reg and I were cooling off, I’d assured them nothing would change.
But change was definitely coming.
She knew it. Months ago, she’d admitted that she didn’t want to share my time. But the truth was…she didn’t want to be forgotten. No one did.
“Hey, Gretch.”
She turned in a flurry, the black fabric of her cape twisting around her slim body. “Yeah?”
“Donuts are forever.”
I was rewarded with a shy grin and a fierce hug.
Reg held the door open with one hand, his gaze darting between his kids racing for his truck and back to me. “Thank you. She thinks you’re the bees’ knees.”
“I am.”
He chuckled lightly. “I know you are. G’night, Dex.”
I locked the door and drew the window blinds, my mind spinning in five directions. I was supposed to be at a game in Elmwood in an hour, but I was hungry and no, I would not be eating another donut. The chorizo jalapeño was going to be a hit, though. Even Viggo would love it.
Buzz buzz
My pulse revved as I glanced at my cell, frowning at the caller ID.
“Mom?”
“Yes.” No secretary acting as sentry. That was…odd. “Hello, Dexter.”
“Uh…hi. How are you?” I asked in a stilted tone.
“Well. I’d like to discuss the child.”
CHAPTER 23
VIGGO
Summers in the forest reminded me of home. The days were warm, but not stiflingly, and the evenings were cool. Our days were longer in Sweden, of course. I missed the extra sunshine, and I made up for it by working outdoors. Today the temperature hovered at seventy-seven degrees. Too hot for my coworkers.
Or so they’d claimed, and yet, seven of them were milling about the bandsaw I’d been using before my lunch break. Beau, Micah, Lyle, Dirk, Jay, Kirby, and Tony. Most people would steer clear of this group of bearded ruffians. One on one, they were congenial enough, but in a pack, they looked….mean. But so did I.
I cast a menacing glare at the lot as if to prove the point to myself. “What do you want?”
“You know what,” Beau said. “I’ve been on you for months, and you’ve been dodging me like a fox. I brought reinforcements with me today ’cause we’re desperate, man.”
The others grunted in agreement.
My brow pinched in confusion. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Is this about?—”
“Flag football,” Tony piped in. He was shorter than the others with reddish hair, rosy cheeks, and broad shoulders, and a permanenttwinkle in his eyes. “Will got hurt, Ted’s out, and Niall’s knee is fucked. Elmwood is gonna kick our asses on Saturday if we don’t show up with fresh blood.”
