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“You wanted more?”
“I don’t know what I wanted, but I liked her. I wanted to see her again. She never mentioned a kid or responsibilities.” To be fair, neither had I. It was a night to escape our responsibilities, and maybe that was what had made it so great. If we’d been honest with each other about our baggage, it wouldn’t have worked.
He gave me a pointed look. “You have to be careful with her.”
“She clearly doesn’t want to go there.”
“She’s in single mom mode. She’s protecting her kid and trying to do what’s best for him.”
“I don’t blame her. She never expected to see me again.” But the irritation I felt about her leaving had dissolved. Leaving me with my attraction and nothing I could do about it.
“You’re going to forget about her.” His tone was disbelieving.
The idea didn’t sit right with me. “I don’t want to.”
“But you have to do what she asked,” Ethan insisted.
I sighed, taking a swig of my beer. “I’ll respect her wishes, but I’ll assist when I can. I can take Hunter to and from practices.”
“If you get involved, it’ll only bring you closer.”
“Hunter reminds me of myself.”
“Whatever happened with your career?” Ethan asked carefully, knowing I didn’t like to talk about it.
I shifted on the bar stool. “I did what everyone does. I bounced around in the minors, hoping I’d get called up, but I didn’t.”
“You quit to help your brother,” Ethan said.
“Brody was little, and it was clear Austin couldn’t handle him.” His ex was a druggie. She’d flitted in and out of his life before overdosing when he was five.
“You’re a good brother and a better uncle.” His expression was sincere, but praise made me uncomfortable.
“I do my best.” I set the empty beer bottle on the counter, nodding at Max, whose brow was raised in question.
After Max set the fresh beer in front of me, he moved down the bar, leaving us to ourselves.
“I know what it’s like to take care of a child that’s not yours.” Ethan adopted his stepson, Miles, shortly after he married his wife, Savannah.
I focused on him. “I’ll take all the advice I can get.”
“They crave a dad. Even if they’d never admit it to their mothers. There’s a void, and it’s easy to fill. But it’s also easy to let them down. You have to be sure you’re going to stick around before you insert yourself into his life. And you can’t forget he has a dad.”
“I won’t.” It was impossible to forget. Not when I was in the same situation with Brody.
“In Miles’s case, his father was never in the picture.”
I remembered he’d died before he was born. “Does that make it easier or harder?”
“It’s probably easier in some ways. Miles is so young. I suspect I’ll be the only father he considers his.”
His situation with Miles was different than mine with Brody and Abby’s with Hunter. It was painful to have a father who didn’t put you first. “Should I take Brody to see his dad?”
Ethan raised his brow. “What do you think you should do?”
“I don’t want to. He shouldn’t see him behind bars. But what about their relationship?”
Ethan shook his head. “Austin can write him letters.”
