Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Kyra opened the front door and stepped back to let Zeke inside.
“Fell asleep in the car,” Zeke whispered as he stepped over the threshold.
The German Shepherd whined and wagged her tail as she sniffed Ledger’s little sneakered feet.
Damn, why did her son sleeping with his head on his father’s shoulder tug at her heartstrings?
She shut the door behind them quietly and whispered, “C’mon, let’s put him right into bed. He needs to brush his teeth and wash up, but I’m not sure I want to wake him right now. I guess he didn’t get a nap.”
“He supposed to?”
“Yes, in the afternoon. My fault. I should’ve mentioned that. I can’t assume you know what to do.”
“Now I know.” Zeke continued down the hallway to Ledger’s room, the dog practically herding him down the hallway by running loops around him in the tight space with her bushy tail up and swaying like a flag.
“I learned by trial and error, a lot of Internet research, and plenty of calls to my mother.” Sometimes in complete tears. Especially when Ledger had been an infant and she couldn’t figure out why he was crying. Or why he wouldn’t nurse. Or what to do when he was teething. Or had a fever. Or…
The list was long. Raising a child was certainly humbling.
Once she pulled back the covers, Zeke placed Ledger in his bed, swept his hair off his forehead, and stared down at their son. “He’s perfect, Ky.”
Holy shit. She needed to stop letting this man affect her every time he didn’t act like a cocky asshole.
“I’m sure your parents thought the same about you when you were that age,” she murmured as she carefully removed Ledger’s shoes. She’d deal with the rest of his clothes, his teeth, and dirty face later.
After tucking him in, they quietly left the room and she shut the door completely because she wanted to talk to Zeke without waking up Ledger.
“I have something to ask you.” She headed out to the living room with Zeke on her heels.
“Gonna get you some scratch soon, Ky.”
“While that would be helpful, that’s not what I need to ask.” When they reached the living room, she turned to face him.
Holy shit, the man was drop-dead gorgeous. And it seemed that having a kid was humbling him, too. But at his core, she had no doubt he was still that arrogant asshole. One ready to get into a fight at the drop of a hat.
“Was he good for you?”
“Fuckin’ great. Spent some time with my mom. She ain’t happy ‘bout not tellin’ him who she is.”
“I’m sure,” she mumbled. “Soon. I promise.” Though, the thought gave her anxiety.
“Not soon enough, Ky.”
“Once I figure out what’s the best way to do it. I think we should both be there when I tell him. Then we can slowly introduce everyone else.”
“The best way to do it’s just fuckin’ tell him, Ky. Can do that this weekend.”
This weekend? “Maybe. I’ll let you know.”
“Ain’t no maybe ‘bout it. This weekend,” he insisted.
“Zeke—”
“That’s what you wanted to fuckin’ ask me? For today’s report?”
Oh, he was good. He was trying to keep her from arguing by changing the subject. “No.”
“Then, what?”
“I…um…” She bit her lower lip. He was not going to like what she was about to ask.
He’d be fine with the request itself, but not the reason for it.
Because of that, she braced herself to deal with the blowback.
“I have a date Friday night and I figured you could stay here with Ledger while I’m out. ”
He stared at her.
Then stared at her some more.
During that time, his relaxed demeanor quickly disappeared. “What?”
She simplified her request. “Friday night. Me and a date. You and Ledger.”
His jaw shifted. “Heard you.”
“Then why did you—”
“Fuck that,” he grumbled.
“Fuck what? Spending time with Ledger? I thought this would be a good opportunity for that.” She shrugged. “If you can’t or don’t want to do it, I’ll have my parents watch him.”
“The fuck that was ‘bout you goin’ on a damn date. Not ‘bout spendin’ time with my boy.”
“You don’t think I should date? Remember Glen? The guy you punched at the fairgrounds?”
Zeke sucked on his teeth. “That fucker’s still around?”
“He’s not a fucker and yes, Zeke, he’s still around. He’s a good guy. He’s also great with Ledger. And guess what? He’s not a jealous asshole who punches people for no reason.”
“Ain’t a jealous asshole.”
Well, that was laughable. But she went along with it like he was serious. “Good. There’s no reason to be since we’re not together.”
“Could be.”
“That’s true, but you preferred Bunny sucking your dick over me.” She wished she could flush that memory from her head, but every time she was with Zeke it was front and center. Apparently, her head didn’t want her heart to forget.
“Meant now.”
“I’m not interested. I like Glen.” Glen didn’t have an arrest record and he had a stable job. And, so far, she hadn’t seen him lose his temper once.
“Fuck Glen.”
“I don’t need your permission to do so.”
“What the fuck,” he growled.
“News flash: what I do with Glen isn’t your business. But rest assured, whatever I do with him won’t be in the middle of a party.”
She actually hadn’t had sex with him yet since they hadn’t known each other that long. Nothing past making out and some light touching, actually. She wanted to make sure the chemistry was strong before moving forward.
Ledger was a good example of how birth control could fail and she didn’t want that happening again. If it did, she wanted to make sure she actually wanted to be with the father before having a baby with him. Because once that child was born, you were tied to that person forever.
She certainly had no plan to have a bunch of kids with different fathers, anyway. Hell, she didn’t plan on having a bunch of kids at all. With anyone. At this point, one was enough. Especially since Zeke was the father of that one.
“My mother will be happy to watch him. I figured I’d ask you first since you’ve been pushing to let him know you’re his father.”
With one hand on his hip, he dropped his head and shook it. With an irritated sigh, he raised it again. “Gonna do it.”
“Do what?”
“Stay with him while you go out and suck that guy’s dick.” One side of his upper lip pulled up in a sneer.
She rolled her lips under at how specific he was. “We’re going out for dinner. And then…”
“Then?” he growled.
“I don’t know what he has planned after dinner.”
“Every goddamn man knows what the fuck he’s got planned after payin’ for your dinner. He’s gonna want paid back.” His blue eyes landed on her mouth, then dropped to her crotch.
She sighed. “I didn’t say he was paying.”
“Ain’t a fuckin’ man if he’s makin’ you pay.”
“It isn’t 1950, Zeke. Women pay their own way all the time.”
“Not in my goddamn world. If I was takin’ you out, I’d be payin’. Just like I did at the diner.”
“I figured you were taking your son out. Not me.”
“Ain’t you a package?”
“I guess so.”
“Then yeah, I paid for your fuckin’ meal like a real fuckin’ man would do.”
“Oh good lord, Zeke. Get over yourself. Anyway, I’m exhausted from coming off a twelve-hour shift. Most of those being on my feet. I appreciate you taking Ledger for the day. Did he eat dinner?”
“Yeah. Some chicken nuggets and fries.”
“No vegetables?”
“Fries are a vegetable. One of our cooks asked if he wanted carrot sticks. He said fuck no.”
Kyra doubted that Ledger used a curse word, and if he did, there was only one person to blame. She stared at that reason and sighed again. “What he gets is not up to him. He’d eat ice cream for dinner if it was.”
“What the fuck’s wrong with ice cream?”
She blinked. Speaking to Zeke was like banging her head against a wall. Or talking to her three-year-old toddler. “Ooookay. Thank you for bringing him home but my feet are aching and my eyes feel like sandpaper. I need a shower and some sleep. I have to do this all over again tomorrow.”
“What time you want me to pick him up tomorrow?”
Tomorrow? Her mouth dropped open. “That wasn’t an invitation to take him anywhere tomorrow. We were talking about Friday night and you can hang out here while I’m gone.”
”Keep forgettin’ he’s my kid, too, babe. Also get a say.”
This was what she was worried about: him taking over. Zeke thinking he knew how to raise a child after spending a few hours with one when he had no experience at all.
“Believe me, you’re making it impossible for me to forget.”
“Gonna watch him Friday night but gonna take him tomorrow, too. Gotta stop at all the businesses and he can go along.”
Wait…what? She bugged out her eyes at him. “You mean businesses like Heaven’s Angels?” Her voice might have risen a few notches with that question, too.
“Yeah. Girls will love him.”
“Zeke.”
“Will stop there first. Before it’s open to the public and any of ‘em hit the stage.”
She shook her head. “Zeke.”
“Babe. Gonna be okay. My boy needs to get to know his future empire before he’s old enough to take my place.”
“Zeke!”
He grinned. “Just fuckin’ with you.”
“No you’re not. You see him as the future DAMC president.” And that was a chilling thought. Their son was innocent right now, unlike his father. She wanted him to grow up to be a good man and member of society. Not the president of a motorcycle club.
“He’s a fuckin’ Jamison. It’s in his blood.”
Oh shit. Now might not be a good time to tell Zeke that Ledger’s last name wasn’t Jamison. It was Allen, her last name.
“Okay, so…it’s time for you to leave.” She waved a hand toward the door and looked at him expectantly.
Of course, he wasn’t taking that obvious hint and didn’t move an inch closer to the exit. Instead, he stared at her with something filling his eyes that twisted her gut.
What was he about now?
“Babe.”
She pulled in a breath, knowing whatever he was about to say next would be a real doozy. She cautiously asked, “What?”
“No reason for Glen when you got me.”
She groaned. “Got you? For what?” She was going to regret asking that. She knew how the man’s mind worked. Of course, she wasn’t wrong.
“Dick.”
She choked.
He smacked her on the back. “You okay?”
“I will be once you leave.”