Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
BLAKE
“Where the hell is she?” I mutter as I narrow my gaze on the window, which is conveniently looking at the street and the house on the other side.
Her car wasn’t in the driveway like normal. She usually came home after work around four. I knew because I might have been looking out the window. Was it creepy? Yes. Did I fucking care? Not really.
Just because I was giving her time to get used to all of this while I figured out how to break down the news to the boys didn’t mean that I was giving up or that I didn’t care about her or the baby. Besides, knowing how stubborn Savannah was, I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw her carrying some heavy shit around once again, and the last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt. But I’d do the same thing even if an old lady lived across the street.
Who’re you trying to fool, Walker?
“Where is who?”
My head snaps in Levi’s direction as my heart kicks up a notch at being caught. So much for not attracting attention.
“Umm… Nobody.” I glance down at the castle. “You’re doing so good, buddy.”
“I can’t find the right piece.” Levi tilts his head and glares at all the scattered pieces on the coffee table. “Do you see it, Dad?”
“Let’s see…” I turn my focus on the Lego bricks, grateful that he was easily distracted. For now. “Looking for this?”
“Yes!”
His tongue peeks out of the side of his mouth as he places the piece in place and turns his attention back to the instructions.
Now that he’s entertained once again, I glance toward the window and that empty driveway.
What if something happened to her, and that was the reason she was late? I didn’t have her phone number, and nobody knew that the baby was mine. Even if something happened to either of them, I wouldn’t be able to know. I wouldn’t be able to be there for her.
Just the thought of it made my heart race and my palms turn sweaty as the anxiety inside me grew.
Fuck this.
I slide my hand into my pocket and pull out my phone. It takes me only a second to find the right number.
Blake:
Did you hear from Savannah today?
I watch the screen, my fingers tightening around my phone to the point my knuckles have drained of color as I will the answer to appear.
It feels like forever before three little dots flash on the screen.
Becky:
Was I supposed to?
Blake:
She’s not home.
Becky:
Are you spying on her?
Blake:
I’m not spying. She lives right across the street. It’s not like I’m blind.
Becky:
Mm-hmm… Sure thing, buddy.
Blake:
Seriously, where is she?
Becky:
Probably working? You do realize teachers mainly do their work after school is done for the day, right?
I guess I never thought much about that, but it made sense.
Blake:
You should give me her number so I can check in with her. Just in case.
Becky:
I’m not giving you her number.
I grind my teeth, feeling the irritation rising.
I hate this. I hated the not knowing. I hated that I couldn’t help her. I hated the thought of her all alone in that big ass house. I hated feeling this useless.
Becky:
What happened to letting her come to you?
Blake:
It disappeared when she didn’t come home at her usual time.
“Dad, what’s for dinner?”
Locking my phone, I turn my attention to my son. “Mrs. Maxwell prepared tacos. You hungry?”
“A little.”
“Okay, I’ll go and get started on that. How does that sound?”
“Good. I’ll try to finish this before dinner.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Pushing to my feet, I slide my phone into my back pocket as I make my way to the kitchen, just as there is a loud knock.
I stop in my tracks, my gaze darting to the door.
I wait for a heartbeat, thinking I might have imagined it since nobody ever comes here except for Mrs. Maxwell, and she has a key when I hear it again.
Somebody was definitely knocking.
Making my way to the door, I unlock it, only to come to a stop when I see the person standing in front of me.
“Blondie?” My brows pull together. “What’s wrong?”
My eyes scan her body, thinking I’m imagining it, but no, it’s her, here in the flesh. And she looks… fine? Better than fine, if I’m being honest. Her cheeks have a healthy flush to them, and her dress is hugging every single one of those delicious curves?—
“My porch isn’t creaking.”
Well, fuck.
I guess there went the hope that she might not notice. I’m surprised it took her this long to figure it out in the first place, still, I play along.
“Your porch isn’t creaking?” I repeat, tilting my head to the side.
Savannah grinds her teeth. “No, Blake. My porch isn’t creaking. Do you have any idea why that might be?”
I shrug, making sure my expression stays impassive. “No clue whatsoever.”
“Bullshit.” She moves closer, jabbing her finger into my chest. “You fixed it, didn’t you?”
“You’re imagining things, Blondie.”
She lets out a frustrated huff. “You can’t keep fixing things for me, Blake.”
“I can fix whatever the hell I want.” The words are out before I can think better of them.
Great, just great.
“It’s my house!” she protests.
“Exactly.” I take a step forward, closing the distance between us. The soft, flowery scent reaches my nostrils, sweet and sexy and so much like her. I want to lean down and try to find the source of it so I can bury my head there and inhale it deep into my lungs. Inhale her. “Since you’re the one who’s demanding to live there, I get the right to insist the place doesn’t fall apart, and you don’t get hurt. Would you rather I pay somebody else to do it? Because I will.”
“What? No.” She shakes her head. “Absolutely not. You’ll not pay anybody for anything.”
I cross my arms over my chest and give her a pointed look. “Then I’ll fix it.”
Her fingers curl into fists by her sides. “Why are you being so stubborn about this?”
I let out an unamused laughter. “I’m the stubborn one? Out of the two of us, who’s the one who’s refusing any sort of help?”
“Ugh, fine.” She stomps her foot, and before I know it, she’s spinning on her heels and marching back to her house. “Do whatever the hell you want.”
She was fine, alright.
“I plan to,” I call out, unable to resist it, the corner of my mouth twitching upward.
Savannah shoots me a death glare over her shoulder, and it takes all of me not to burst into laughter. I don’t think she would appreciate it.
I don’t know what it was about this woman that made me want to act like a freaking teenager, all so I could get a reaction out of her, but she did.
I stay on my porch, watching her until she’s safely inside her house, before turning around and going inside myself.
I’m just locking the door when I look up and spot Daniel standing on top of the stairs, watching me with a contemplative expression on his face.
“Hey, what are you doing there?”
“Hungry.” He glances at the door before his attention returns to me. “Who was that?”
Shit.
“Our neighbor.”
How much did he hear? I go back over my conversation with Savannah. We didn’t mention the baby, but still…
I have to tell them.
I tried a couple of times, but every time I opened my mouth, it was like I couldn’t find the right words. How the hell was I supposed to explain to them what happened? Levi wouldn’t understand it, but Daniel… he would understand it perfectly. Which was exactly what I was afraid of.
His eyes narrow slightly. “What did she want?”
“Something about her porch?” I shrug, trying to play it off and start toward the kitchen, changing the subject before he can ask any more questions. “I was actually just going to start dinner. We have tacos. How does that sound?”
“Fine.”
Levi joins us a little while later, and the two of them set the table while I finish the food. Meanwhile, Levi chats about school and his new friends, including a boy he wanted to invite over.
I was grateful that he seemed to be doing well and adapted so quickly, then again, this was Levi. Up until Reina left, he was always a cheerful and happy kid with lots of friends.
I glance toward my oldest son as we sit at the table to eat. “How is school?”
“Fine.” He shrugs, shoving a big bite of taco in his mouth.
“Make any new friends yet?”
“No.” He rolls his eyes. “They’re all weird.”
“Kyle’s not weird!” Levi defends instantly.
“Well, all the kids in my school are weirdos. And their accent is so thick I can barely understand them.”
“You should give them a chance, Daniel.”
“Why would I do that?” He looks up, anger flashing in his irises as he glares at me. “They don’t seem to have a problem with judging me. So why should I give them a chance?”
“If you came with that attitude, I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Whatever, I don’t care about what they say. I don’t need friends like them anyway. Besides, I’ll be going to college soon.”
I don’t point out that he has to graduate high school first in order to do that. Daniel was a smart kid, but since starting high school he barely put in any effort whatsoever. He kept getting in with the wrong crowd, which didn’t help motivate him to do better in school.
“Any extracurricular activities you’ll be picking out?”
“Like what? Horseback riding?” he snorts. “Yeah, I think not.”
“I’ll be playing football.”
My head snaps up, and I look at Levi, who’s shoving a huge bite of taco into his mouth, his hands sticky with the sauce.
“You wanna play football?”
Contrary to some of my teammates and colleagues, I didn’t put pressure on my kids to play football. Daniel used to insist we play catch when he was younger. It was like he was obsessed with it. We could stay out in our backyard for hours just tossing the ball. He wanted to play peewee football, and for a kid, he had a really good arm on him, and he was wicked fast. Then, one day, he just stopped. I’m not sure what happened exactly. Did he lose interest? Or did I just become too busy and told him no one too many times, so he simply gave up? Probably the latter. Either way, around eight he stopped playing and hadn’t picked up a ball since.
Levi, on the other hand, never showed much interest in playing. He liked to watch me out on the field, but to actually be the one with the ball? Not that kid.
Levi nods, licking his fingers. “Yes, there is practice on Friday after school. Kyle is coming, too.” His gaze fixes on me. “Will you come and watch me, Dad?”
“Sure thing, buddy.” Levi’s grin grows bigger as he grabs another taco. “You know you can pick whatever you want, right? It doesn’t have to be football. You can do a different sport or activity.”
The last thing I wanted was for either of my kids to think they had to play football in order to get my attention.
Levi’s brows furrow at my comment, the trace of that stubbornness I was familiar with coming to the surface. “I know, but I wanna play football, just like you. I can play, right?”
“Of course.” I ruffle his hair. He really needed a haircut. I added a mental note to take him soon. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
The chair screeches, drawing my attention as Daniel pushes from his seat and grabs his plate. “I’m going to my room.”
Avoiding my gaze, he puts the plate in the dishwasher before he leaves the kitchen.
“He’s angry again,” Levi says, grabbing his glass.
All the canceled appearances pop in my mind. How many times had I told him I’d come to his school event or game, but I never showed up?
Too many to count.
“He’s angry at me and with reason.”
And before this whole thing is done, he would get even angrier. I just hoped that I’d get a chance to make this right.
For Savannah and our baby.
For Levi.
For Daniel.