Chapter 24
Griffin
Cricket shifts her BMW into Park and looks over at me. “Are you ready?”
She felt it would be less of a production if Jacob saw her vehicle with the “naked man” in it, versus her arriving in my truck.
Too much new all at once. Watching her maneuver through this situation has left me in awe of how her mind works.
She covers all the bases with him at the forefront of her motives, selflessly putting herself at the back of the list of priorities.
Everything said back at the house was with the best for him in mind.
I imagine it’s a way of keeping all the balls in the air that she’s been juggling while making sure he’s taken care of.
But what goes up must come down, and I’m thinking that her family won’t be the ones to help pick up the pieces once they fall.
At least not judging by how they were the other day when I met them.
Maybe that’s something I can help with. Those are the things needing to be worked out.
I’m not opposed to being the one there to catch them when they fall.
She deserves a partner after all she’s had to do on her own.
Can I be that man for her? I should slow down.
A lot is hitting hard and fast with curveballs thrown in.
I can’t just rush first base. Though I could steal it.
I lean forward in the leather seat to get a better look at Jacob, my son, from this distance while we’re parked. I narrow my eyes because my damn vision has changed since I last had it checked. Whenever that was.
“Do you mind if I take a second?”
Reaching over, she rubs my arm. “Of course not.”
He’s little. Maybe big for his age. I have no clue about these things.
What I can see is that the cowboy hat he was wearing earlier is bouncing on his head as he cuts through the field toward the playscape.
I lower my head because a layer of crap has gotten in my eyes, causing my vision to blur.
Rubbing the inside corners of my eyes, I try to clear the water forming there. No idea where that came from . . .
Cricket’s hand rubs over my back and then holds my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, fine.” I look up again as she pulls her hand away that I wish had stayed. “Not sure what that was about. Probably allergies.”
“Probably,” she replies with a compassionate grin, which lets me know she’s onto my act. She’s just kind enough not to call me out on it.
Knowing I’m not fooling anyone, I might as well lay my heart on the line. “That’s my hat, isn’t it?”
She’d undone her seat belt already and grasped the steering wheel, but she sits back, keeping her eyes forward on him, like me.
I see she’s beginning to suffer from the same allergies I am.
She takes a few breaths and then rolls her head to face me.
“He knows it’s his dad’s and wears it all the time.
” A laugh gently rocks her chest. “Sometimes even to bed.”
I was smiling from the moment she opened her mouth. These are the details that I never thought I’d get. She gives them to me so freely as well. “You made sure he had a piece of me without even knowing if you’d ever see me again.”
“It’s all I had to give him.” She grins. It’s so wicked that I have no idea what she’s thinking. “If I’m being honest, it was hard to give away. I loved having it, but he deserved to have it more.”
“You made that hat look damn good, babe.” I chuckle to myself. “But it’s also really fucking cute on him.”
Her laughter is louder this time. “It really is.”
When the laughter begins to fade, I ask, “Where does he think his dad is?”
“He’s asked about his dad once or twice, but he’s so young that it’s easy to respond without saying much. He doesn’t question it. Yet at least. I know it’s coming.” Glancing at me, she adds, “What will I tell him?”
“You won’t have to. I’ll be here for him.”
“You will?” The surprise in her question is shocking.
“I hadn’t made plans, but I guess the universe made them for me.” I slide my hand over to hers and hold it. “I’m going to be a good dad to him. I promise you.”
Squeezing my hand, she replies, “He’s all that matters, Griffin.
” She slips away from me and pops her door open.
I’m still wrangling through her response because it didn’t sound like there was room in that reply for us.
It’s not one or the other, but this is going to take baby steps.
We were headed in one direction, veered off the path entirely, and ended up in uncharted territory.
Her door shuts, and she starts walking, waving when Jacob sees her. I give her time to greet him without my interference. We didn’t discuss what we were going to do or say, but I think she’ll lead us in the right direction.
This playscape is quite a structure. Looks new. The Dovers probably had it built for Jacob, judging by the amount of money they seem to have out here.
An entire park for himself? I wouldn’t be surprised, but this is a way different life than how I was raised.
I thought a rusty hoe was good fun when pretending I was a knight in a jousting tournament, bending the blade straight out to take down an opponent that was only pretend.
Thinking about how dangerous it was for me to be riding a horse without a saddle or any reins to hold on to at eight seems monumentally irresponsible.
Running that horse fast through the back part of the rocky property, all for my make-believe adventures, was not the smartest for me or the horse’s safety.
All because I was hiding from my dad, so I didn’t have to do more chores.
“This kid has it made,” I say, opening the door to get out.
How would I fit into his life? This kind of lifestyle?
I have all the money I could ever want, that he could ever need, but I don’t understand living through wealth at this level. I’m a guy who had to earn his way through life using my skills, God’s gifts, and a lot of stubbornness to be the best.
I shut the door and start behind Cricket, who has a good lead on me. Jacob comes running, wearing what he had on earlier, but he’s added a white tee instead of being shirtless. “Mommy!”
Holding back, I wait for her to guide me on what’s best to do.
I shove my hands in my pockets and watch as she catches him in her arms. She wraps him in such a tight embrace that I wonder if he can breathe.
I chuckle, remembering how my mom used to do that with me.
Didn’t matter if I was three or twenty-three.
My mom always hugged me like it was the last and it meant the world to her.
I wish I had told her how much it meant to me.
Watching Jacob and Cricket, it makes me wonder if this is my mom looking over me, her giving me a chance to do what I didn’t with her.
Cricket kisses his head, and tells him, “I love you so much.” I thought I’d considered her position in all this, but seeing them together, her holding him like she’s about to lose him makes my heart clench.
Jacob looks up at her with the sun shining between them, and says, “Love you.” His eyes land on me, still standing near enough to hear their conversation until he whispers in her ear.
She laughs and then pretends to whisper, but replies for my benefit, “Ask him.” Cute.
When she sets him on his feet again, Jacob eyes me up. “Are you a real cowboy, mister?”
I didn’t think wearing my clothes from last night was a positive, but it might be what gets me into his good graces. “I left my hat in my truck, but these are my ranch boots on my feet.” Waggling my belt buckle, I reply, “It’s not the biggest buckle in my collection, but this one is my favorite.”
He looks at his mom again. They hold a silent conversation before he reaches up and she takes his hand.
My heart thumps in my chest as they walk toward me.
I wasn’t nervous about hopping on a bull at sixteen even though I had lied about my age so I could ride in the Wimberly County Rodeo.
I came in third. I feel robbed to this day.
When scouts showed up at one of my games unannounced to watch me play in my sophomore year of high school, I hit a homer like it wasn’t a big thing.
I didn’t even break a sweat when I stepped up to the plate with bases loaded to bat in a playoff game leading up to the World Series during my rookie season. I did what I came here to do and hit it out of the park.
Meeting my son for the first time has me sweating bullets.
When they approach, his eyes are on the buckle. It’s not showy, but it means the most to me.
Jacob punches the brim of his hat up, and asks, “Why’s it your favorite?”
“My dad won it when he rode in the rodeo a million years ago.”
“It’s shiny.” He bends down to look at his own. The plastic has no sheen at all. “Mine doesn’t shine.”
“That’s okay. Buckles represent different events.
” I bend at the knees in front of him and eye it up.
It’s nothing more than a toy costume piece from a store, but everyone deserves to feel good about their wins, especially when it comes to buckles and what they represent. “See that bull and the rider?”
“Uh-huh.”
“This is a championship buckle, buddy. You must be pretty good to have won this prize.”
Glancing up at Cricket, he giggles. “I got the prize, Mommy.”
“You sure did.” She kneels beside him and says, “Jacob, this is Griffin Greene.” Glancing at me, she smiles. “Griffin, this is my giggle-box of a son. Jacob.” She hesitates before adding, “Dover.”
Before I can react to something I have no control over, I remind myself that I wasn’t around.
There’s no reason he’d carry any other name than hers.
They’re a team. They always have been. But that doesn’t alleviate the sting of hearing it, a stark reminder of my absence in his life, and all because we didn’t exchange names, something so basic kept me out of his life.
There’s still the hat. That means something.
Holding out my hand, I say, “It’s good to meet you, Jacob, or do you prefer to be called Champ? ”
By how hard this kid is cracking up, he almost has me believing I could make a killing as a stand-up comedian. Shaking my hand, he replies, “Champ.” When he leans toward his mom, he twists his arms around each other and looks at her. “Can I play?”
Cricket slips her gaze my way as if I have a say in the matter.
As much as I want to talk to him some more and get to know him, he’s three, and his attention span is limited at best. Hell, mine sucks, so I can’t expect more from him on the first meeting.
With the quickest of nods, she says, “You can go play, but remember, I’ll be working so I won’t be home until late. Okay?”
He’s already running but turns right back around to come give her a hug again. This time, he looks at me, and says, “Bye, mister.”
“Bye, Champ.” I stand back up with her.
As soon as he’s out of our hearing range, Cricket says, “It was short. Sorry.”
“Short and sweet. That’s all it needed to be the first time.” We head back to the vehicle. “It went well.”
“It did.” She’s smiling so I take it as a win for both of us. We get in the car, and she starts it. “I don’t want you to think I’m rushing you off the property. Twice.” She laughs. “I have to work this wedding and need to get ready. You can hang out with me if you want or if you have things to do—”
“I do. A long list of them.”
“Oh God, yes!” Her mouth is wide open, eyes closed, and cheek pressed to the stone. Steam fills the air in the shower as water sprays down.
I drop my head just above hers, fucking her from behind.
With her body pressed to the wall, she begs for more, “Harder, Griffin.” Reaching around behind her, she holds me, digging her nails into my back and inspired to do as she pleads.
I slide my hands up the slick of her body and around to her tits, taking hold and squeezing until she starts to lose control.
Her hands swing back to the wall, pressing on either side of her head and then pushing back at her hips.
Catching my eyes over her shoulder, she says, “Please.”
Fuck. That’s all it takes. I grab her hips and fuck her even harder, faster, wilder, so nothing exists but the feel of our connection.
She meets me thrust for thrust, and the feel of her becomes too much, too everywhere all at once.
“So good,” I groan, but I know I can’t last. The heat of her consumes me, the sounds of our wet bodies hitting together have my thoughts spinning.
The coil breaks, sending me spiraling into my release, and the erratic movement causes me to lose rhythm.
But there’s nothing more that I want than to feel her coming.
“I’m so close.”
Reaching around her abdomen, I find that sweet cherry bud of hers and make it taut with my fingers. A pinch and circle, a tap, and tease. I need her to catch up before my orgasm ends and for her to fall apart with me.
She’s panting as I thrust into her, hoping she finds the inevitable slip from the cliff. One more breath, and she squeezes hard around me, tremors rippling through her body and breath. She pulls me into the depths of our release with her.
I move until I can’t, until the last of me is stripped away. I stay inside her even though our bodies have stilled, and our breaths run jagged. Dropping my head to her shoulder, I try to catch my breath again. I kiss the nook of her neck and along her shoulder.
When I’m steady in my body again, I pull back, tossing the condom to the floor. “I just checked off the first to-do of the day.”
She laughs, sliding against the wall for support and turning around. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she smiles at me. “How many more to-dos are on your list?”
“Nine.”
Resting her head back, fully amused, and from the way her eyelids hang a little lower, she’s properly worn out. “What are they?”
“I’d rather show you.” I slide my hand over her cheek and kiss her. Leaning my forehead against hers, I smirk. “How much time do you have?”