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What would I have done if I’d known sooner about Davi?
So many questions are swirling in my mind.
But first…
I rake my hand through my hair. “How was it?” There is nothing I can do about the past. Anyway, I want to know it all.
Never before have I had a reason to fight for something. Or someone.
This time I’m going to try and win. I want the woman who’s haunted my dreams since the night I met her. And our son. They’re both worth it.
“What?” she looks at me. Those green eyes will be the death of me. I fight the instinct to pull her into my arms and rain kisses all over that golden skin. Even if that’s what I want, things don’t work like that. At least, not for me.
“I don’t know. Everything. Your father said Davi was a preemie. Was it a complicated pregnancy? Were you under a lot of stress?”
She takes her time to reply as if she’s thinking about her words carefully. “Yes and no.” She pauses and lets out a slow exhale. “My family was shocked, of course. But very supportive. My father told me I was free to choose to do whatever I wanted to do. He said he would be there for me no matter what.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Adoption. Abortion. My stomach cramps. They were both options on the table for her.
“I got a lot of dirty gazes around town.” She smiles sadly. “The pastor’s daughter was pregnant and the father wasn’t anywhere to be found. We got a lot of turned backs and some complaints at the school I teach in.”
“Complaints? About what?”
She sighs. The wrinkles on her forehead make me want to hit something. Or someone. “A few parents said I wasn’t the right person to care for their kids. My morals were too low for their high standards.”
“Fuckers,” I grunt between clenched teeth. “So you’re a teacher? Let me guess, kindergarten?”
Mischief shines in those jade pupils. She’s so freaking beautiful. “PE,” she says. “I’m not the kind of gal who sits with a lot of kids and reads a story. I like kids, but I want them active, running around. Playing. Being healthy.”
There is no use. I can’t help it. My eyes travel over those curves, drinking everything in with the same desperation I feel when someone leaves an open bottle of whiskey sitting in front of me. I’d give all my money and then some to have my hands following the same path.
“Tell me more,” I ask her in an attempt to distract myself and also eager to know it all.
“It wasn’t that bad. I mean, after two school district meetings, everything was settled.”
“I should have been here.” The words leave my mouth in a snarl. How could they be so narrow-minded?
“None of us can change the past, David.”
So true. “Fine. Tell me more.” She’s right, the past is in the past, but we are building the future now.
“It was a high-risk pregnancy.” My stomach clenches at those words, she walked through hell because of me. “My doctor put me on bed rest for the last weeks, but I guess Davi was too impatient to meet the word. That kid has been in such a rush since.”
Davi. My son. He reminds me of me so much, not just for the physical similarities. We are like two drops of water. I’m the third of four brothers and growing up in an orchard, we were always running around, playing outside. My mother always had achanclaready to throw it at us if we dared to cross a line.
“Let’s cut the chase, David,” Melanie says, crossing her arms around her ample chest. Her tits push up, and I want to bury my face in that cleavage. “What do you want?”
“I want to know my son.”
I want way more than that, but in good time. I learned to deal with life one step at a time during rehab. I guess it is a good approach here.
“You met him already,” she replies.
“I want to spend time with him.” I pin her with a look. The same one I use in a business meeting. No matter what. This is nonnegotiable. “I want him to know who his father is. I don’t want him to think his father is too busy to be with him anymore. I’m here, and nothing is more important to me than….” A pause here is very much necessary. “Him.”
Her eyes narrow. “If you’re planning to take Davi away from me, get ready. I’ll drag you to hell and back.”
At this moment, Melanie looks like a lioness, ready to fight for her cub. Her golden mane curled around her like a halo. Her hair is longer than I remembered and lighter.
