Chapter 27 Presley #2
“Otis,” I correct him sharply. Can’t even get our child’s name right. Fuck him. “It’s Otis. He’s named after my father.”
“Right, right…sorry…” Cody holds up his hands in surrender. “But I was wrong to say I didn’t want to be involved.”
I scoff. Is he serious?
“That’s not what you said. You claimed he wasn’t yours. You accused me of cheating and getting pregnant to trap you. When in reality, it was you who was fooling around.”
“Details…”
“No, not ‘details’! I had to drag you to court. It took years to get you to acknowledge him, and that’s only after I proved paternity!”
“Presley, we’re splitting hairs.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. We are a long way from splitting hairs. I have the court records. But that doesn’t matter. And causing a scene won’t solve anything. Won’t make him any less of an asshole.
“So, I was thinking that maybe we could…come to an agreement.”
“No.”
The answer is out of me so fast I almost give us both whiplash. Still, that one word doesn’t feel heavy enough. There is nothing on earth I want less.
“You could at least think about it.”
“No,” I repeat. “I don’t need to think about it. Not after what you did to us. Not after all that you said in court.”
Again, I have the records. I have the proof of his refusal to do anything to help us. Until he was forced. Even then, he wanted to make it go away. It took a long time to stop hearing him say, “Fine, I’ll pay, but I don’t want to have to see him.”
He didn’t even want to see his son.
“That was then. This is now.”
“Why now?” I challenge. “What about now is different?”
“He’ll have a family.”
Excuse me?!
“Louise has a little girl, a little older than Os-Otis. I think it would be nice. He’d have a real family.”
Louise? Who the fuck is Louise?
Then it hits me.
He has someone new. Some new girlfriend who has a kid. He’s trying to impress her. Trying to show her he’s a good father. Give the kid a playmate.
Absolutely not.
Fury rises in me. I ball my fists, trying not to completely lose my shit. It’s not easy though. I’m ready to unleash on this man.
Jace beats me to it.
“He has a family.”
His voice is deep, powerful, and rough. Stepping in front of me, he puts himself between me and Cody, leaving no room to guess who he was talking to. Part of me wants to pull him away. Tell him I have this. But another part is holding on to those words for dear life.
He has a family.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Name’s Jace. And I’m their family. Presley and Otis are my family. And you don’t get to waltz in here and try to claim otherwise.”
Cody scoffs, trying to step around Jace to get to me. Jace matches his step, the two of them doing an awkward dance in the middle of the crowd. The crowd who thankfully isn’t paying attention.
“Whatever, man. Play house with her. I don’t care. I—”
“No.” There’s even more power in Jace’s voice now.
I startle, rocking backward. Jace snarls, shoving Cody.
“Now, I’ve said it once, and I’m only going to say it once more.
Otis has a family. He has a slew of aunts and uncles who think he’s the cat’s meow.
And while yes, he’s the oldest grandchild on both sides, he’s not going to be the only one…
on either side. Because all those aunts and uncles are ready and waiting to give him a gaggle of cousins. ”
I open my mouth, ready to correct him that not all the aunts and uncles are ready and waiting. Anton and Sawyer don’t want kids of their own, preferring to spoil mine. Ours. But I stop myself. That detail isn’t important right now.
Not when Jace is proudly declaring he wants to have more kids with me.
Wait…that is what he said, right? Stop, Pres…we can determine that later…not the priority…
Jace shoves Cody again, but this time Cody shoves him back. My heart stops, ready for a fight. I don’t think Jace would go there, but this is also a side I’ve never seen of him.
“Go back to wherever,” Jace says, low and slow. “Get your own family.”
Cody snickers, looking to me. “Seriously?”
I stand my ground, looping an arm through Jace’s. “Seriously.”
“Fine.” Cody starts to back up, eyeing the crowd of people surrounding us. “But this isn’t the end of this. We can revisit it later.”
He spins on his heel, hastily pushing through a family who stopped to gather themselves before the race. I watch as he walks away, holding my breath, hoping and praying that he doesn’t turn around.
“Pres… Mama…” Jace’s voice isn’t much louder than a whisper, but it reverberates through me as if he shouted it through a megaphone. Gathering me in his arms, he presses his lips to my forehead, holding me tight. “Mama…”
I relax into him, letting all the anger and anxiety that was holding me hostage release and drain out of me. His embrace is warm, comforting, and everything I need right now.
“You’re mine, Pres. You and Little Man.” Jace loosens his grip just enough to look me in the eye. “We’re a family.”
I nod, chuckling. “So I heard.”
“Meant every word, Mama.”
“Even the part about him not being the only grandchild on both sides?”
I poke his tummy, like he’s the Pillsbury Doughboy. Although he doesn’t let out the same giggle. The smile he gives me, however…that’s hot enough to melt the Arctic.
“Especially that part. Otis can’t be an only child. He needs some siblings. Although, I promise that he won’t be one of those insufferable oldests, like Gus.”
I laugh, knowing that Jace loves his oldest brother—almost as much as he loves giving him crap for his serious personality.
“I don’t think we’re at risk of Otis being as solemn as Gus,” I say. “Right, Otis?”
I look down, expecting to find my little turkey, but he’s not there. Scanning around us, I tell myself that he’s not far. That he’s simply hiding behind someone. That he’s joining in with one of the other families surrounding us.
But he’s not.
He’s nowhere to be found.
“Otis?” I call out.
Panic sets in. He’s gone. Again. He did a runner.
Fuuuuuuuuck…
“Where’s Otis?” I ask Jace, digging my nails into him.
“He’s right…” Jace twists, ready to prove me wrong. But I’m not wrong.
Otis is missing.