“But it’s just—well, you’re kind of a dick. You made grownups quit. You’ve probably made more than one cry. I can’t let you be mean to my kid.”
“I’m not mean to kids,” he said. “Relax. I’m going to do this. Your son sounds a lot like me when I was his age. I know I would have been thrilled to have someone to hang out with me. My dad was always too busy.”
If I was there, it couldn’t hurt, right? It would give Jace the one thing I simply had not been able to give him in all these years. I had failed Jace in so many ways. I could do this. It was for Jace. “Okay, but if Jace isn’t up for it, I’m not going to force him to hang out with a guy he doesn’t know.”
“But you know me,” he argued.
I wrinkled my nose. “That’s not your best argument.”
“Very funny.”
“You have to promise me you will be on your best behavior,” I said. “I don’t want you to say anything about what happened between us.”
He gave me a dry look. “Do you really think I’d tell a kid about banging his mother in the office?”
Again, a piece of lettuce made me choke. “No. I hope not. Please, don’t even hint at anything like that. Jace is young and I’m not afraid to say he is a little sheltered.”
“All right, then I’ll be over tomorrow morning. I know where you live.”
“You don’t have to pity him, or me, for that matter. We’re getting along fine. It’s just a bit rocky.”
“And I’m going to be there tomorrow morning. We’re going to do boy things. He’s going to see me walk, talk, and do normal guy things. I’m not going to pretend it’s a cure for all that ails him, but it can’t hurt.”
“Thank you,” I finally agreed. “I do appreciate it. I might be a little bit of a helicopter mom. I feel like I have to be extra since he doesn’t have a dad. I have to be enough for him.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been around kids. This should be fun.”
I groaned and shook my head. “Please don’t make me regret this.”
He winked. “I’ll try not to.”
Chapter 38
Nash
I followed the instructions on my GPS, winding down one narrow street after another until I made it to her house. The first time I visited her house, I had been in a bit of a state. I didn’t feel that way now. I wasn’t sure what I felt. Crazy maybe. I couldn’t believe I was going to hang out with a kid. That was not my usual thing. Hell, I went out of my way to avoid the things. Humans, not things.
I wasn’t trying to impress Saige. This was about a kid that needed some help. I’d been the nerd back in my own childhood. I’d been picked on and bullied until I was certain life was about the cruelest gift a parent could give their kid. My dad never helped me. He could give a shit about the drama I was dealing with.
I pulled to a stop in front of her house and suddenly got a bad case of nerves. “What the hell are you doing, Nash?” I asked myself. I didn’t know shit about this kind of thing. I could end up telling the kid all the wrong things.
I thought about calling her and telling her I couldn’t make it. I could make up a good excuse. Unfortunately, the front door of her house opened, and she was standing on the little porch. There was no escape. I was in it now.
I took a deep breath and got out of the SUV I’d pulled from the garage. I never drove the thing. It was big and bulky and not nearly as easy to get around in, but it was far more sensible with a kid in tow.
“Hi,” I said as I walked toward her.
“I wasn’t sure you would actually show.”
I shrugged. “Here I am.”
“Be nice,” she said with a hard look. “You might be bigger than me, but I will drop you if I don’t like what you say.”
“Got it. I’m not an ogre.”
“That has yet to be determined.”
I followed her inside. The kid was sitting on the couch with his eyes glued to the TV. “Jace,” Saige said. “I’d like you to meet my boss.”
He barely looked at me. “Hi,” he said.
“Jace, turn off the TV.”
The kid did not look happy, but he did what she asked.
“Hi, Jace,” I said. “I was hoping we could hang out today.”
He didn’t look impressed. “Okay.”
“I want to take you guys somewhere,” I said while looking at her. “Is that okay?”
She shrugged. “I think so. Jace, do you want to go out?”
“I don’t know.”
“Grab your jacket, buddy,” Saige instructed.
The kid climbed off the couch and walked out of the living room. “He’s nervous around new people,” she explained.
I nodded. “It’s cool. He’s shy.”
“Where are we going?”
“I have a buddy that owns an indoor gun range. He will hook us up with whatever we need.”
She was staring at me with an odd look. “You’re serious?”
“Yes, why?”
“You want to take my eight-year-old son to a gun range? A place where people will be shooting loud guns.”
“You wear ear protection,” I told her.
She slowly shook her head. “He’s eight. He’s never been around guns. That’s not exactly a kid-friendly thing to do, especially with a complete stranger.”
That changed everything. “Can I take him fishing?” I asked.
“Fishing?”
“Yes, with fishing poles. That’s not dangerous. It’s boyish.”
“I don’t have any of that stuff,” she hesitated.
“We’ll stop at the store and buy what we need.”
“Isn’t it a lot?” she questioned.
“Not really.”
“Where are we going?” Jace asked. He stood just behind Saige, like he was afraid to get too close to me. He really was a timid kid. He had some of Saige’s features if I really tried to see it, but I was guessing the kid favored his father.
“Nash would like to take you fishing,” she answered in a cheery voice. “Does that sound fun?”
He looked uncertain. “I don’t know how to fish.”
“I’m going to show you,” I told him. “Let’s go.”
I drove to a sporting goods store and looked like the consummate city boy with my designer jeans and expensive tennis shoes. Saige was wearing tight jeans and flat shoes, but she had that uptown look as well. We didn’t quite fit in with the plaids and old, worn baseball caps, but I didn’t care.
“Let’s start with the necessities,” I said and stopped in front of a row of tackle boxes. I had some at my place, but it wasn’t like I had used them in the last ten years.
“What’s that?” Jace asked and pointed to one of the boxes.
My initial response was surprise. Then I remembered the kid had never been exposed to this kind of thing. “That’s a tackle box,” I answered. “We’re going to buy hooks, bait, weights, and line to put inside it.”