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Okay, the kid had a point. “No. I assume they will, but no, I can’t promise.”
Max shrugged. “I better bring it.”
“It’s always better to be prepared,” Kia agreed.
He looked over at her and once again was struck by how damn beautiful she was. Her eyes sparkled with humor as she looked at Max, then back at him.
“Agreed. I’ll put some in my car later, so I always have some.”
“We got lots.” Max dropped his bag and flew back down the hall. He returned a moment later with a roll of toilet paper in his hand. He stopped in front of Jeff and thrust the roll at him.
Smothering a laugh, Jeff looked at Kia. She covered her mouth as she giggled. “Thanks Max.” He took the roll in his hand and held it out to Kia in acknowledgment.
“I think you’re all set now,” she said.
Max slipped on his other shoe and stood back up. Jeff grabbed the backpack off the floor. Weren’t there like weight rules about kids’ backpacks? This thing weighed a ton. He eyed the offending bag. The kid probably had a Swiss army knife in here somewhere too. There was being prepared and then there was this. Maybe they didn’t trust him as much as he’d thought.
Kia smirked at him, then sighed. “He’s on a boy scout kick at the moment and I think we’ve watched every kid’s movie ever made about wilderness preparedness, so he likes to be ready.”
“We aren’t going into the woods.”
Kia smirked. “You’re going out in the city. It’s a jungle out there as well.”
He laughed. “True enough, thus the TP.”
“Exactly,” she chuckled. She stepped up to Max and scooped him into a hug. “Have fun. Listen to your dad.”
“I will.”
“I’ll have him home by five,” Jeff said as he opened the front door. He glanced back over his shoulder at Kia. He was surprised by how badly he wanted to ask her to come with them. Because he was scared to be alone with Max or he just wanted to spend time with her, he couldn’t say.
His phone pinged in his pocket. Pulling it out, he glanced over at Max. The little boy rolled his eyes. “Is it Mom again?”
“Let’s see?” He flipped the phone over and saw Gonzo’s name on the screen. “No, it’s just one of the guys on the team.”
“Which one?”
“Gonzo.”
Max grinned. “He’s funny.”
“Yeah, he can be.” He could also be a royal pain in the ass. “The guys are going for lunch and wanted to know if we wanted to go with them.”
“Really?” Max’s eyes lit up. “I could come?”
“Yeah, they’re pretty excited to meet you.”
Max’s forehead crinkled. “But I met them already.”
“True, but that was as a player and coach. This is meeting you as my son, so that’s different.”
Max’s head bobbed up and down. “Yeah, different.”
Jeff smiled. Looking at Max now, it seemed impossible that he hadn’t immediately recognized him as his son. It was like looking at photos of himself as a child. The resemblance was uncanny. And if he was being honest with himself, it freaked him out a little. He barely knew the kid and yet they were connected to each other for the rest of their lives.
He ruffled the top of Max’s head. “Do you want to go for lunch with the guys, or you want to do our own thing?”
“Lunch with the guys,” Max whooped and jumped in the air.
