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HOPE
“What’s happening here?” I come out of the house hearing the loud noises.
There’s a huge truck parked on the street and three men are stacking enough wood to build a small cottage in my yard.
“Ma, come see. We’re ready to start building Mr. Stanley’s house.” Ray holds my hands and bounces on his feet.
My mouth is too tongue-tied to speak as Zach signs the papers and sees off the men.
With a giant grin on his face, he saunters toward us and musses Ray’s hair. “What do you think, buddy?”
In response, Ray hugs his legs before running around the logs with Mr. Stanley hot on his heels.
“Zach! Why have you ordered this much wood?”
He looks behind him with that sexy smile still adorning his lips. “I didn’t want to stop in the middle of the project. We’re gonna build the most amazing doghouse for Mr. Stanley.”
My mouth is still hanging open when Mom, who is sitting on her rattan reclining chair, asks, “You promised there would be a celebration before you start, no?”
“I’ll take a rain check on the big party, Gigi. For now, can you manage with these?” He grabs a small bag hidden behind our porch plants with an H monogram on the paper. “It’s from Hawthorne Bakery in Cherrywood. I promise I didn’t intentionally try to cheat on your baking. I was just in Cherrywood the entire day. I didn’t have time to visit Cakes for All.” He brings his hands forward in mock surrender after passing the pastry box to Mom.
“Zach, you can visit other bakeries. But—”
“This looks great.” Mom’s excited squeal interrupts me.
“It is.” Zach grabs one cinnamon roll and takes a bite out of it. His eyes close briefly before a huge grin pulls on his face. “Eat one of these, they’re really good.” He motions toward the half-eaten roll in his hand. “Not as good as yours, of course.”
“How do you manage to stay in such good shape when you eat this much sugar? For me, every morsel I eat sticks to my body.” This is so not fair. I shake my head in real annoyance before looking back at him. “Flattery isn’t really your style, Zach.” I raise an eyebrow, and for a brief second, his smile falters as he glances back at Ray and Mr. Stanley laughing and still running around.
My mind is distracted as I realize that I haven’t seen Ray this happy and excited in a long, long time.
“I want to talk to you about Ray.”
My heads jerks back at Zach who straightens his tie. Even Mom has kept the bag on the floor and is now fully focused on Zach.
When he squirms again, I say in a flat voice, “I’m not selling my son.”
His eyes widen and my heart smiles a little seeing him lost for words, but he quickly regains his composure. “I… I was not going to ask that. I’m not that crazy.”
“But you are…something else. You spend six out of seven evenings every week in my house, with my son. You’re building designs for a doghouse on a computer like it’s the most important building in St. Peppers, and then this…” I wave toward the huge pile of wood. “I’m waiting for you to get bored.” My voice quivers this time.
“I’m not going to get bored.”
His confident statement hits me the wrong way. “Zach, are you seriously telling me that before you met us, you weren’t going to some fancy party with a different girl every night?”
“Different girl?” His eyebrows shoot up.
“You don’t have a…steady girlfriend, I’ve guessed that much. But a rich guy like you would have many hidden, maybe you even made them sign a contract.”
Mom snickers and I shoot her a pointed look.
“You really think this about me? I never made a girl sign a contract.” He clenches his jaw, and as much as I don’t like the stunned, frustrated look on his face, this talk was long overdue.
“But you don’t deny having a new girl every night.” Before he can reply, I shake my head. This conversation has taken a wrong turn. “It’s none of my business, Zach. You and I, we live in very different worlds. But Ray is a kid. He doesn’t understand that one day you’ll get bored of him and leave. There has been no one apart from Mom and me in his life. But then you waltzed in like a prince and casted a spell on him with your charms.” My hands clench tight as I continue, “I’m a fool to allow all this knowing that whenever you decide to leave, I’ll have to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and put it back together. I don’t believe in the fantasy that you’re going to stay in his life forever.”
“But what if it’s not a fantasy?” The conviction in his voice and the sincerity in his face, makes my breath hitch for a second.
What in God’s name does he mean? I shake my head in irritation. “I told you I’m not selling Ray.”
