Page 66 of Full Throttle

Dom

Saturday, Roxanne was waiting outside when I pulled up to get Josh. I was excited, nervous, plus worried she would pull something to stop it. I got out of the car, approaching the front door.

“Roxanne,” I said mildly. “I’m here to get Josh.”

“You’re early.”

I glanced at my watch. “It’s three minutes to nine.”

“He isn’t ready.”

The front door opened, and Josh came out, carrying a backpack. He seemed pleased to see me. “Hey, Dom. Cherry with you?”

“She’s waiting in the car.”

“Great.” He leaned up and kissed his mom’s cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

She watched him go, a frown on her face. She turned to me with a glare. “Keep your girlfriend away from him. He has a mother.”

“Is that what’s bothering you so much? First off,” I said, “Cherry is my fiancée, and you have no say in her being around. Second, she isn’t trying to take your place. I’m not trying to usurp your position in his life. You’re his mother. I have always respected that. But I’m his father, and I want to know him. You’ve stolen enough years from me.”

“Maybe I’ll move again.”

I had to laugh. “Have you met my new lawyer? He’ll stop you so fast, your head will spin. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. For Josh’s sake, why don’t you try to let us get along? It’s better for him, and he is the only one I care about in this scenario. Not you. Not your relationship with him. Just him. He can have us both. Love us both.” I shook my head. “Grow up, Roxanne. You don’t have to work to be the center of his life. You already are. Let him have love from other people. No kid should be denied love.”

Then I walked away before I said anything else.

I maintained a fake smile all the way to Littleburn. Josh asked a lot of questions, and Cherry kept up her information-gathering. She turned to high-five him when he told her he got a B+ in a pop quiz in math that week.

“Way to go!”

We stopped for breakfast, and as we waited for the pancakes, I slipped to the restroom and called Halton. I told him what happened, and for a moment, he was quiet.

“You didn’t say anything wrong, Dom. You spoke your mind, and you were calm. I’m glad you told me, though. If she complains, I’ll be able to defend it.”

“I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“I get it—sometimes it’s hard. I think it’ll be fine. Now, go enjoy the day with your boy.”

I hung up and looked in the mirror. I splashed some cold water on my face and decided he was right. I had been looking forward to this all week. I wasn’t going to let Roxanne and her petty demands ruin the day.

“Dom, what is that?”

I chuckled. “It’s a computer we use to develop concepts for artwork on cars.” I turned on the machine, showing Josh the program. “Stefano likes to draw by hand, then input it. Maxx likes the machine. I do a bit of both, but it’s a hobby to me. Those two are the real artists.”

He’d been full of questions from the moment we arrived. The guys all made sure to be here, and he’d talked to every one of them. He was in awe of Maxx’s size. Stefano’s talent pulling apart a car, Brett’s sculpting of new parts, and Chase’s leather work. He was fascinated by the Indian motorcycle in the corner, listening to the crew talk shop, and was thrilled when I had him help me with an engine we were rebuilding. Charly and Cherry came and went, and Gabby and Kelly stopped by to say hello. He was looking forward to when Rosa and Mack were coming, already in love with Rosa’s food, even though he’d never tasted it.

“Mom’s not much of a cook,” he confided. “We eat the same stuff all the time.”

I recalled her kitchen failures, and I was thrilled I could give him such a treat.

“You have so many people around,” he said, sounding wistful. “It’s awesome. Do they visit you too?”

“On occasion. And we do suppers and barbecues.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Maybe you can join us. If you want,” I added.