AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He patted me on the back. "Good. I can stay longer if you'd like. I can be your wingman, so to speak, when you talk to Betts again."
I shook my head. "No. I need to do this on my own.”
When I left the casino,I didn't head back to the office to talk to Betts. Instead, I drove out into the desert, parking at one of the hiking trails and taking a walk. I had to get my shit straight. I had to figure out how I had gotten here and what I was going to do moving forward.
It appeared that Betts had come to the decision that I wasn't worthy of her or the baby. She was wrong. Not that I was perfect, but I was capable of love. I'd wanted to give it to her. I wanted to give it to the baby.
What I had to figure out was how we'd move forward. She didn't love me, and after today, I was pretty sure she didn't respect me. The best I would be able to hope for would be a civil coparenting relationship. I knew I could do that as most of the time, Taylor and I got along all right.
Thinking of Taylor brought me to Dean. I wasn't sure what I did or said that had us turning the corner, but things were definitely in a better place now than they had been when he arrived. He'd spoken to Taylor a couple of times since he'd been with me, and so far, she hadn't made any statements to indicate she was ready for him to go back to Los Angeles. But I knew I couldn't rely on her indifference. I needed to take steps to make sure that Dean at least stayed with me until he was eighteen.
By the time I headed back to my car, it was time for me to head home as Dean would be arriving home from school shortly. One of the things I came up with as I sat in the desert was that I should have been clearer with Betts about how I was feeling. I didn’t know that it would have made a difference, especially since it appeared she wasn't the type of woman I thought she was. But it made me realize that not sharing what was going on led to a breakdown, so I needed to be more open with Dean. So I didn’t have to think about dinner, I ordered a pizza on my phone and picked it up on the way home.
When I arrived home, I made my way to his room, finding him at his laptop. "How was school?” I did my best to sound normal.
As usual, he shrugged. "Fine."
"I picked up pizza for dinner. You ready to eat?"
He nodded, closing his laptop and standing. "Extra cheese and pepperoni?"
I nodded, smiling and feeling grateful that he was here with me. "Of course. Is there any other kind of pizza?"
We headed out to the kitchen, and I got plates for the pizza while Dean filled our glasses with water to drink.
Once we sat down to eat, I asked, "How are you feeling about being here with me?"
He stopped mid-bite of pizza and looked up at me.
"I know it was tough at first, but things are going well, right?"
He nodded. "It's okay."
My heart sank a little bit because I was hoping being here with me was more than okay. "Are you wanting to return to Los Angeles with your mom?"
He stilled, his eyes widening as he looked at me. "You’re giving me up again?"
Holy shit. "No. Not at all. What I'm trying to say, very poorly, apparently, is that I want you to stay. I want to make it legal. I want to have full custody."
I watched Dean as he sat back in his chair and studied me. "For how long?"
"Until you're eighteen. I know I wasn't a good dad for a long time, and I've been trying to change that. I like being your dad. I want you here."
Emotion swept over his face. He looked down and shrugged. "Yeah, okay."
I smiled, knowing that his nonchalance was covering up happiness. “There's something else I want to talk to you about."
"Is it Betts?" he asked.
My brow furrowed. "How did you know?"
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not an idiot. I know you guys like each other. Are you getting married?"
I studied him for a moment, wondering what he'd seen between me and Betts that I hadn't. "No." I tilted my head to the side. "How would you feel about it if I did?"
He plucked a pepperoni off his pizza and popped it into his mouth. "It would be okay. She's cool."
A wave of sadness washed through me that marriage wasn't an option for me and Betts. "I'm glad that you like her. But we’re not getting married."
