Chapter 21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Camden
I have my hands full with bags as I walk from my house to the neighbor’s. After spending the afternoon helping my dad, I made a quick trip to the grocery store and grabbed stuff for dinner before stopping by the house to clean up from our garage time.
I love spending time with my dad. I’ve always enjoyed tinkering in the garage on anything I could get my hands on, and that passion continues today.
However, I couldn’t help but continually glance at the time.
So much so he noticed and asked me about it.
When I told him I was having dinner at Maren’s, he just smiled and told me to follow my heart. That’s what I’m doing.
That’s what feels right.
Before I even knock on the back door, I hear the sound of running feet. “Cam!” Theo bellows through the door, jiggling the handle.
“Theodore Adam, you know you’re not supposed to open the door for anyone, right?”
“Yes,” he states, clearly unhappy about the reminder.
The door unlocks and opens, revealing the most gorgeous woman and her son. He throws himself against my leg. “Cam! We pway!”
Chuckling, I carefully step inside the house. “We can play in just a bit, little dude. First, we need to get these groceries put in the fridge. Wanna help?”
He nods eagerly, while I toe off my slip-on shoes and kick them onto the rug. Before I move into the kitchen to empty the bags, I lean in and press my lips to Maren’s. “Hi.”
“Hey, you,” she replies with a sexy little grin.
“Hope you guys like sloppy joes and tater tots,” I state, setting the bags on the counter.
“Can’t wait,” she says.
“All right, little dude, let’s put this stuff away and then we can play for a bit before we make dinner. You’re gonna help me with dinner, right? The two guys feeding our woman.”
Theo nods eagerly, anxiously waiting for the first item to be put away.
I hand over the ground beef and help him open the fridge.
We follow that up with a small onion, bell pepper, ketchup, mustard, and a package of cheese, and then I take a bag of tater tots and put those in the freezer.
The small slider buns and the brown sugar go on the counter, and then I give my full attention back to Theo. “Okay, we’re all set.”
“Pway!”
I take his hand and follow him into the living room.
His favorite show is playing on the TV, and as soon as I slip my coat off and set it on the arm of the chair, I plop down on the carpet and start building a block wall, all while knowing what’s coming.
As soon as I add the fourth level of blocks, Theo moves, knocking it down with a giggle.
“Hey,” I say, placing my hands on my hips. “That was my wall.”
“I knockdid it down.”
“I see that,” I reply. “How about you build a wall?”
“Okay,” he says, getting to work on the scattered blocks. His little tongue slips out as he concentrates as he builds.
“How was your afternoon?” I ask, leaning back against the chair and turning my attention to Maren.
“Good. I got a few loads of laundry done and the bathroom and kitchen cleaned while Theo napped. How was yours?” she asks from her position on the couch.
“I went and helped my dad service his snowblower, since it wasn’t wanting to stay running, and then changed the oil in my mom’s SUV.”
“That’s nice of you,” she replies.
“Charli and Quinn brought June over for a bit, so I got to give squishy kisses to my niece’s cheeks.”
Maren smiles. “She’s adorable. I got to meet her at the salon.”
“I know,” I tell her, glancing back down to what Theo’s doing. “Quinn sent me a picture.”
“What? When?” she asks, confused.
“He snapped a picture of you holding June and sent it to me later that evening.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that.”
I return my gaze at her. “You’re not mad, are you?”
She looks concerned at first, then realization sets in. “Mad that he snapped a picture or sent it to you?”
I crack a smile. “Either.”
“No to both,” she states. “He was a big part of my high school years right along with you, so him taking a picture of me holding his baby doesn’t bother me.”
“Mommy, pway,” Theo says.
Maren climbs down onto the floor and parks it right next to where I sit. For the next thirty minutes or so, we play with blocks, cars, and whatever else Theo goes and retrieves from the toy basket for us.
Finally, I glance at my watch and know it’s time to start dinner. “Theo, I’m going to make dinner. Do you still want to help?”
“Yep!” he proclaims, jumping up and running to the kitchen.
Maren smiles and shakes her head. “I’ve never seen him so eager to help in the kitchen before.”
I stand up and extend a hand to help her up. “I think it’s great to have those skills or at least be willing to assist.”
“Absolutely,” she replies, wrapping her arm around my waist. “And having good role models in his life is a huge plus.”
I hope she’s referring to me, because I realize instantly that’s what I want to be. A role model, a father figure, someone Theo can come to for anything.
Entering the kitchen, I go straight to the fridge to retrieve the ingredients needed to start the sloppy joes. “Can I help?” Maren asks.
“How are you with arranging tater tots on a baking tray?” I ask.
“Excellent,” she says with a chuckle.
“While you do that, I’ll chop the veggies and get everything ready for the pan.”
We work in unison, preparing our meal, and when the tater tots go in the oven, I insist Maren has a seat at the table to relax. “I’ve got this, Shortcake.”
“Ortcake,” Theo says softly, making his mom and me smile.
“Come on, little dude, you can sit on the counter while I cook the meat, but you have to stay back. This meat makes grease, and that grease can splatter and burn you. All right?”
“Okay.”
I spend the next twenty minutes preparing the meat mixture. When it’s complete, I pull the tots from the oven and place them on the stovetop beside the pan of meat. I bought slider buns because they are smaller and perfect for Theo’s little hands and mouth, and also grabbed some sliced cheese.
“Ladies first,” I announce, pulling three paper plates out of the cabinet and setting them on the counter.
“Wadies fwirst.”
Maren gets up and walks toward the counter. She ruffles her son’s hair as she passes, scooping a small pile of tots onto the plate and making herself a sandwich.
“Have a seat. I’ll get Theo’s plate,” I tell her, retrieving lemonade from the fridge and pouring two glasses. “Theo, go get your cup.”
He runs into the living room and comes back with his cup. The sound of his feet on the floor, his laughter in the air, his arms wrapped around me when he hugs, it’s all music to my ears. Right here is the only place I want to be.
I set his cup down on the table and lift him into my arms. I place him on the counter and make his plate before moving him to his booster seat and putting his food down in front of him.
Maren squeezes a blob of ketchup onto his plate and he dives in, scooping up the tomato sauce with a piece of potato.
“You got everything you need?” I ask Maren before making my own plate.
“Yes, thank you. Eat, Cam.”
“Eat!” Theo bellows.
“Yes, sir and ma’am,” I state, grabbing the third plate and making my food. I put two sandwiches together and add a pile of tots before joining them at the table.
“What do you think?” I ask Theo as he takes a bite of his sandwich. I didn’t put a lot of meat on it, and I’m glad I didn’t. Little crumbles of meat fall out of the bun and land on his plate.
“Dood!”
I glance over at Maren and smile.
This is the life I always wanted.
The woman.
The family.
And it’s finally within reach.
“Come ’ere,” I murmur, holding out my arms and waiting for Maren to join me.
She climbs onto the couch, settling in my arms.
“Is he out?”
“Like a light,” she says as she presses her cheek against my chest.
“I think he had a great night.” We played, ate dinner and cleaned up, played some more, took a bath, and then read books. And I was there for every step, enjoying myself more than I ever could have imagined.
At one point, when he was in the bath and playing with cups while his mom washed his hair and body, I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was wrong with his sperm donor.
He messed up big time, if you ask me, but do you know what?
I’m the one benefiting from his idiocy. I hope walking away from Maren is something always niggling in the back of his brain as his biggest fuckup in life.
Bluey is still playing on the TV, but neither of us reach for the remote to change it. I revel in the feel of having the only woman I’ve ever loved back in my arms. Her son sleeps soundly in his bed a room away, and having his favorite show playing on the television is fitting.
“Can I ask you something?” she asks softly.
“Of course.”
“What do you see in your future? I know you haven’t dated seriously and you clearly haven’t been married since we broke up…right?”
I snort and press a kiss to her forehead. “No, I haven’t been married. Never would even consider it, you know, after.”
“It’s okay, Cam. You can say it. After I left.”
I exhale and press my cheek against the crown of her head.
“Yeah, after you left. All those visions I had didn’t feel right.
What I wanted for the future was only the dream because it was with you.
” I sigh, hating that these words could hurt her, but I continue, “After that, I just pushed all those ideas of marriage and kids out of my head. I had fun, casually dated, and didn’t think about the future.
It worked for me, but in retrospect, it wasn’t really working at all.
Looking back, I know I was just surviving, not thriving, to use something I think my mom said to me. ”
“I know you said not to apologize anymore, but I am sorry, Cam. I wrecked a lot that day.”
“But you have to look at the silver lining, Shortcake. Without all the pain, you wouldn’t have had that perfect little boy sleeping in his bedroom,” I tell her.