AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did you have fun today?” I asked, rubbing his back gently. He was such a sturdy kid, heavy and solid, that when you looked at him it was easy to forget how small he really was. Holding him, though, brought back just how fragile his little body was. I could feel the tiny bumps of his spine, the sharp point of his elbow against my sternum, his miniature toes curled against my thigh. A rush of protectiveness hit so hard and fast that my heart started to race, and I wrapped my arm around him, pulling him close.
“I make cookies,” Rhett replied, reaching up to scratch his nose.
“Oh yeah?”
“Sugar cookies.”
“I love sugar cookies.”
“No chips,” Rhett said with a yawn.
I chuckled. “Yeah, Gran always runs out of chocolate chips.”
“You guys ready to go?” Emilia asked, coming up behind me. She reached past my head to run her fingers through Rhett’s hair, and I instinctively pulled the scent of her into my lungs. Jesus, I needed to get my head right.
“All done with my mom?” I asked, tipping my head back to look at her.
“Yeah,” she said, walking over to the door to put her shoes on. “She just had some pictures she wanted to show me.”
“She’s got enough of ’em,” I replied, carrying Rhett with me as I got to my feet. “I’ll just carry him to the car.”
Emilia looked at me and then Rhett. “That works,” she said with a smile. “Then I don’t have to put his shoes back on.”
“You guys leaving?” my mom asked.
“Yep.” I turned to look at her. “Told Rhett to call you gran, huh?”
“He was getting kind of confused, I think,” she replied, glancing apologetically at Emilia. “Two grandmas, you know.”
“Gran’s perfect,” Emilia said quietly. “Thank you.”
Mom squeezed Emilia’s shoulder.
“We’ll get out of your hair before the horde descends,” I muttered.
Mom laughed. “No such luck. Dad’s on his way back from the club with Titus and Myla. You’re going to just miss them.”
“I’ll see him tomorrow,” I said as she hugged me and Rhett together.
“You should come over tomorrow while Michael’s at work,” my mom said to Emilia, leaning around me to look at her. “The kids will all be at school, and I’ll have the place to myself. We can talk to Charlie about that job.”
“Okay,” Emilia replied with a tight smile.
I followed her out of the house and helped her put Rhett in his car seat and minutes later, we were headed back toward my place.
“Your mom’s so nice,” Emilia said with a sigh, leaning her head back against the seat.
“You’re surprised by that?” I asked curiously.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. “Yeah. I guess.”
“She’s always been nice to you.”
“I know,” she replied. “I guess I just wasn’t really expecting it. Polite, yes. Nice, not so much.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I screwed you over,” Emilia said tiredly. “Because I got pregnant at eighteen, disappeared, and showed back up here with a two-year-old. Surprise!”
