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“Brave girl,” a deep voice rumbled from behind Bash. An older man who screamed alpha from his every pore. Judging by the facial structure and the similar shade of green eyes as Dean’s I was willing to bet he was the Miller in Miller and Sons Auto.
He gave Cole a reassuring pat on the shoulder as my mate walked forward and I got my first good look at him in years.
For Hollow’s sake I wanted to break down all over again, but I wouldn’t scare Theo like that again.
Cole had always been a looker. I thought that the first time I met him, when we were still in grade school. But the man in front of me was nothing like the boy I remembered, and I knew I was responsible for that. The slight limp he had as he walked forward and approached me rested on my shoulders.
The carefree spark in his blue eyes was gone, replaced with an ache I could understand all too well. I’d felt the whisper of his mutual pain when we’d first seen each other, but blessedly the only thing slipping through the cracks of the bond that I thought had completely shattered, was relief.
His dark hair was grown out in a way I’d never seen before, still damp as if he’d just showered, and his muscles were more prominent than they had ever been when he’d played football.
“You don’t know how good it is to see you again,” Cole said. He meant it, too. I could tell in the way he spoke. He always chewed on his lower lip when he lied.
He was close enough I could smell his signature scent of basil and lime, the same base notes that I smelled on our son every day.
I could see the questions in his eyes, the way his gaze didn’t stray far from Theo or myself.
I’d expected anger.
Resentment.
A repeat of the heated conversation we’d had before he’d left to come back here. Basically, anything other than this relatively calm conversation we were having.
“This is Cole, buddy,” I told Theo, squeezing his hand tightly. “We used to go to school together right here in Holiday Hollow.”
“I like school,” Theo said, excitement lighting his face before he turned towards Cole and said hi.
Cole’s smile grew. “It’s really nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
“Theo,” he said proudly, pointing at himself. “I honked the truck.”
“Theo,” Cole croaked. “As in…”
I nodded my head as I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back the tears. I’d named Theo after Cole’s late grandfather, who he always looked up to growing up and who used to let us stay up late on the porch swing outside his house.
"So he's?" The question hung in the air between us and I finally noticed the other guys had backed out, giving us a moment. The backdoor was open, likely to hear if we had another breakdown and needed someone to keep us together.
"Yours," I confirmed. "When I found out about him, I was... so many things. I tried to call a time or two but your phone said it was out of service."
"My number changed," he confirmed. "I had to switch carriers to save some money."
He almost looked ashamed, and I knew then he held just as much blame for this separation as I did. We likely spent the last few years beating ourselves up. There was a lot of baggage between us, but I hoped we could find a common ground for Theo's sake.
"He asked about you and I couldn't lie," I managed to whisper. “He wants a dad in his life, and he deserves one too.”
His eyes filled with tears, that he blinked back before crouching down to get on Theo's level. Just seeing them together had my chest tightening. It confirmed that no matter how hard or painful this was for me, it was the right choice.
I knew Theo would be fine. My son was the sweetest boy I knew. He could make friends with the grumpiest of people, I'd witnessed it more than once. He met his dad with a bright, crooked little smile that had the alpha melting. Cole's smile matched his, a single dimple on their left cheeks coming to life.
"I'm your dad, Theo. It's so good to meet you." He tried to keep his voice strong, but it cracked and a tear rolled down his cheek, making his blue eyes shine even brighter.
I put a hand over my own mouth, trying to contain the sob that shook me, tears blurring my eyes again though I blinked them away rapidly, refusing to miss a single second of this.
"You're my dad?" His entire body contained so much excitement he did a crazy little dance before launching himself at my former mate. Cole caught him, even in his surprise, both of them tumbling backwards.
Cole laughed then, the sound rich and loud, echoing in the room. I grinned as the guys poked their heads in, taking that as a sign to come back in.
"He's mine," he told them proudly, as if anyone doubted it.
