Page 24 of Game On

“No!” Liam cried.

“Lily will be here with you tonight, okay?”

Liam balled his little fists.

“Liam,” Logan said sternly.

The temper tantrum boiled up to the surface, so I stepped in. “Liam, we’re gonna have so much fun tonight. Right?”

Liam’s mood shifted when he looked at me.

“Give me a hug,” Logan said.

My heart melted when Liam sweetly hugged his uncle goodbye. If you didn’t know their relationship, you’d think they were father and son. It was that red hair and even some of their mannerisms. It was clear Logan loved the little boy with all his heart.

“I’ll see you later,” Logan said to me.

I nodded. He left shortly after, engulfing Liam and me in silence. But not for long because the little boy was determined to wear me out.

“Come on, Liam, bedtime,” I tried to persuade the four-year-old.

The little boy in question crossed his arms over his little chest. “No!”

I read through the very thorough binder Logan had put together while I cooked dinner and Liam sat with his tablet. In the binder, Logan mentioned bedtime could be a fight. Before now, Liam had been a little angel. He kept me on my toes, having me playing mini-sticks with him for most of the afternoon. He even behaved when I gave him a bath and got him in his jammies. When I told him it was time to get into bed, that’s when he pushed me.

“Liam, it’s time for bed. I’ll read you a story.”

“No bedtime.”

“Yes, bedtime, mister.”

He scrunched up his little face and shook his head. “No!”

The binder said Logan was trying to get Liam to sleep in his big kid bed in his room instead of in Logan’s room. I knew the trap of co-sleeping, so no judgments there, but since his uncle wasn't home, I was going to try to get him into his own room tonight.

“Big boys go to bed on time, in their big boy beds,” I told him. I knelt down near the little bookshelf next to the bed and studied the books. “Come show me which story you want to read.”

“Okay…”

He pulled out three different books and handed them to me. He climbed onto the twin mattress, and I sat next to him. He cuddled into my side, and I opened the first book to read to him. After the first book, he had fallen asleep. Kids wanted to fight you, even if they were sleepy.

I eased off the bed and put the books away. I tucked him in and quietly left the room, making sure the nightlight was on if he woke up later. I found my bag and changed into a pair of leggings and a hoodie. I shed my restrictive bra and flopped down on the couch. I turned the TV on and found the hockey game, put it on low, and took my laptop out.

I wanted nothing more than to be at home playing video games. I wanted to do that so bad. It would have been so weird if I had lugged my console over to Logan’s. He’d probably think I was weird. I already dealt with ‘fake gamer girl’ comments from jerks in the gaming community. I wasn’t sure a jock like Logan would understand my love of games.

The only good thing about not being able to play Dragonspire right now was that it forced me to focus on my business. I opened up my browser and started working on my website. I needed to get this up and running soon, but I wasn’t much of a webmaster. I was using a simple program to have a basic website to get myself started. I wasn’t sure starting this business was smart, but I’d been going to job interview after job interview with no luck. At least I had work booked with the tattoo shop and the bar. Hal said he’d want my help with his personal finances during tax season, too, so I was making strides.

I had only been working for twenty minutes when I heard a scream. I tossed my laptop onto the couch beside me and ran into Liam’s room. The little boy was crying for his mama. I went to him and rocked him into my arms.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” I told him while I stroked his back and tried to get him to calm down.

“MAMA!” he cried and clung onto me for dear life.

There was nothing in the binder about this.

So I did the only thing I could think of—I crawled into the tiny bed with him and held him to my chest. I let him cry it out while I sang to him and whispered that it would be okay. I didn’t know what was going on with him, but my heart hurt at hearing this little boy in so much anguish.

Eventually, he calmed down, and I wiped his tears. “You’re okay, baby,” I cooed. “I got you.”