He walked to a limousine and gestured for us to get in. “Us?” I asked with surprise.
“I couldn’t get a town car on such short notice. I figured it would be a fun way to see the city.”
I was going to get spoiled at this rate. “Jace, check it out!”
“We get to ride in a limo?” he asked.
“We do. Climb in,” Nash said.
It was like a carnival ride for the kid. He crawled all over the seats and checked out every inch. “Seatbelt,” I told him.
“Do you always ride around in limos?” I teased Nash.
“Sometimes. I like the leg room.”
I laughed, assuming he was joking. “Oh, you’re serious.”
“I’m a big man. I like to be able to stretch out.”
“Yes, you are,” I agreed.
He flashed me a look that said he was thinking about sex. As was I. Jace was staring out the window as our driver moved through the city streets. Soon, we were climbing out of the car and joining the rest of the tourists on the walking path to the bridge.
The wind picked up the higher we got. I could admit I was freaked out. I had a death grip on Jace’s hand. “Be careful,” I told him for the hundredth time.
“It’s safe,” Nash said.
“I’m sure it is,” I murmured. “It’s just really high. Really, really high.”
“How are you doing?” Nash asked Jace.
“I’m okay,” he answered.
“The wind is wild,” he said with a laugh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been up here. I forgot it was so windy. Are you cold?”
I shook my head. “I’m sweating like a pig if you want to know the truth,” I said with a nervous laugh.
He laughed. “Just a little bit more. We’ll take pictures and head back down. Unless you’re uncomfortable and we can go back right now.”
“No,” I answered quickly. “I’ve made it this far. I’m ready to go all the way.”
He winked. “You usually are.”
I shot him a glare. If I wasn’t so terrified of falling over the edge, I would have slapped his arm. “Very funny.”
We made it to the crest of the bridge and took the cursory pictures. They were not pictures I was going to ever show anyone. The wind had turned my hair into a wild mess. My hair was nothing compared to the look of sheer terror on my face.
Nash put his arm around my shoulder. On the other side, he held Jace’s hand. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry I took you up there,” he said. “I wasn’t aware you were afraid of heights.”
“It isn’t the heights that gets me. It’s the wind and the water below. It messes with my equilibrium.”
“I get it.”
A strong breeze blew over us. I shivered, sending goosebumps racing down my arms.
“We’ll stop at the little shop. You’re here and doing touristy things. It’s time for you to look the part. We’ll get matching hoodies.”
I laughed. “We are going to look so goofy. Are we always going to match?”
He shrugged. “At least we’ll be able to find each other in a crowd if we get separated. You’ll never have to try and remember what the other person is wearing. You just have to look down.”
“Good idea.”
We walked into the souvenir shop and managed to find matching hoodies for all of us. Nash stuck his suit jacket in the bag and wore the hoodie, which delighted Jace.
“Were you always rich?” Jace asked while we sat and ate grilled cheese on sourdough at a café.
“Jace,” I scolded.
Nash didn’t immediately answer. “I can show you where I grew up,” he said. “Then you’ll know.”
“You grew up here?”
Nash nodded. “I did. Not far from here.”
I was looking forward to learning a little more about the man I knew so little about. It was all stuff I should have known about the man who fathered my son. No time like the present to learn.
Chapter 60
Nash
I wasn’t going to get nostalgic. I refused to look back on the old days and feel melancholy. That was not what this was. This was me going back to the bad days and reminding myself how far I had come. I would never go back to the days filled with sadness and fear.
I grounded myself by rubbing my hand over the buttery leather seat of the limo. I looked at the opulence and then at her. I was not that scared little boy anymore. I had gone on to do better than my father ever could have. I made it out of the gutter, so to speak.
“This is nice,” Saige said as the car drove down a street of old houses so close together a guy could stick his arm out his bedroom window and touch the wall of the neighboring house.
“It wasn’t bad,” I said. “Middle class mostly.”
“I think it’s homey,” she said.
“Here,” I said loud enough for the driver to hear me.
The car pulled to a stop in front of the house I’d lived in with my family for twelve years. It was the first time I had seen it in a long, long time.
“This is your childhood home?” she asked.
I slowly nodded. I was subsequently blocking memories and welcoming the good ones. “It is.”
“I want a house with an upstairs,” Jace said.
“You’ve got a great house with an awesome bedroom,” I told him.
“It’s nice,” she said. She reached for my hand and gave a gentle squeeze. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Good memories?” she asked.
I cleared my throat. “Not so much.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you sad?” Jace asked.
I offered a small smile. “I didn’t have a great childhood,” I said. “I used to like this house. My mom always tried to make it nice. My dad worked really hard so we could live in this house. He started his own business and worked a lot. Like a lot, a lot.” I could feel myself going back where I did not want to go.
“That would have been hard,” she said.
I smirked. “Nah, that part was easy. The hard part was when my dad packed a suitcase one night after work and left. He walked out and said he’d call me later. He didn’t want to be tied down with a family. We were holding him back. He wanted to get rich, and he thought me and my mom were in the way.”
“You didn’t have a dad?” Jace asked.
“Not really.”
“Me either,” he said with joy. “We’re the same.”
I nodded. “I suppose we are.”
“What about your father?” she asked me.
“What about him?”
“Did he come back?” she questioned.
“Nope.”
“He abandoned his family?” she asked with shock.
“Yes,” I said. “He did. We lived in this house for two years before it was foreclosed on. My mom worked three jobs to try and keep me in the home I knew. We barely had enough money for food. We often used candles because we didn’t have electricity for a week here and there because she couldn’t pay the electric bill.”