Laying Finn down in his crib, I grab the monitor. It’s a little late in the day for a nap, but I’m a firm believer that rest is the best medicine there is. So schedule or not, he’s tired, and he should sleep.
I should probably take a nap myself, but I’m not the best sleeper at night. I’m an even worse napper. Walking downstairs, I collapse on the sofa, needing to catch up on a few things, but I can’t help my mind from wandering to more pleasant things.
Slade’s question about birth control tells me he’s more than ready to take the next step. Who am I kidding? The man’s been ready. But I think I finally am, too. I should’ve been more prepared for his question about birth control. The last thing I wanted was to bring a baby into my old life. Ironic, because now I have Finn. But I got him out. We aren’t in that shitty life anymore.
I’m keeping my promise to him. And it’s not that we are living in this fancy place, or can now shop at the mall. Those things do make life nice, but . . . The doorbell rings, disturbing my thoughts. Rushing to answer before it rings again and wakes Finn, I open the door without looking to see who it is.
His blue eyes look around me. “My son home?”
A visit from Slade’s dad was not on my agenda today. “He went to the office for a couple of hours.”
“I called him there, but they said he wasn’t in.” Lyle raises an eyebrow. Obviously, Slade made his secretary relay that lie. “I thought he was probably home with you and Finn.”
“He’s not here,” I say, opening the door a little wider for him to see I’m telling the truth.
“How is Finn?” he asks. “Slade never updated me.”
Sometimes, I think I’m too soft because that just made my heart hurt a tiny bit. Slade called his dad for help, then doesn’t update him or let him know what’s going on. He simply used him for his connections. That’s cold, but I have to remember the history between them.
“It turns out, it was just an ear infection,” I say. “He’s asleep.”
His eyes glance at the stairs. “I remember Slade’s mother and I rushed him to the emergency room when he was only about a year old. He was just learning to walk. You know, unsteady. The dog ran past him and knocked him over. He got quite a bump on his head. Scared the hell out of us. Turns out, he has a really hard head,” he says with a knowing smile.
Smiling back slightly, I say, “Finn’s not walking yet. I’m not looking forward to it.”
“When your child takes his first steps, it’s this strange mix of pride and fear. I remember thinking those were his first steps away from me.”
Dial another dose of sympathy right up. His blue eyes cast down. He and Slade are a lot alike. To the outside world, they both look like men not to be messed with. They carry an air of power, control, but those of us who know them, know the softer side of them—the side that’s been hurt and broken. I’m much the same. I open the door wider. “Would you like to come in?”
He walks inside, but I don’t close the door behind him. He looks back over his shoulder, noticing I’ve left it open. If he’s offended, I don’t care. Being in a locked room with a man I barely know isn’t going to happen, Slade’s father or not.
“Thank you for helping last night,” I say, not taking a seat. It’s strange to be in the same room with him, given how we started. Awkward doesn’t begin to describe it, but I want to move past it, and he seems to want to as well.
Lyle sits down on the sofa. “It was nothing. Besides, if this thing between you and my son goes where I think it’s going, Finn will be my grandchild.”
Why that never occurred to me, I don’t know.
He chuckles to himself. “Never thought that would happen.”
“Why not?” I ask, stepping a little closer.
“Have you met my son?” he says with a grin. “He doesn’t let people in. Ever since his mother died, he’s been very hard to reach.”
“Maybe that’s because you blamed him for her death,” I say with attitude.
He looks up at me. “He told you about that, huh?”
“He told me everything.”
“You know, I’ve tried over the years to make amends with him. I’ve apologized to him countless times. It’s no excuse, but I was out of my mind with grief. Slade won’t hear any of it.”
“I thought he told me everything,” I say, sinking down into a chair. “But he never told me that.”
“Slade’s real problem isn’t needing me to forgive him. It’s him needing to forgive himself,” Lyle says. “It was my job as his father to help him do that. I didn’t do a very good job.”
“He told me you two used to be close.”
He clasps his hands in front of him, looking over at me. Something is different about the way he looks at me now. I can’t pinpoint it. “After my wife passed. . .” Even after all this time, his voice gives when talking about her. “I was a real bastard. The things Slade saw me do. The things I said to him.” He shakes his head at himself. “Eventually, I moved that out of the house, but the damage was done.”
More than a little curious, I ask, “And now?”
“I like my life,” he says. “My relationships are simple. I gave my heart to one woman a long time ago, and she still has it. The rest of my life is just passing the time.”
I’ve heard and seen a lot of sad things in my life, but what he just said broke my heart. Even though his wife has been gone for years, I can feel his pain like it happened yesterday. I’m new to love, but I’m no stranger to pain. Perhaps, that’s our common ground. I haven’t been a fan of Lyle Turner, but maybe I need to think again. “I just realized I don’t know her name. Slade’s mother?”
“Juliet,” he says.
“That’s a beautiful name.”
“She’d be so disappointed in what Slade and I have become.”
I want to tell him there’s still time to fix it, but I know better than anyone that things can’t always be fixed. I don’t think this is one of those times, though.
“You’re a mother. You understand?”
“Dad?” Slade says from the doorway. I was right to keep the door open. “What are you doing here?” Slade’s eyes go to me as if to ask if I’m alright.
I give him a little nod. “Your dad just stopped by to check on Finn.”
“I should go,” his dad says, getting to his feet. “I’m glad little Finn is feeling better.”
“Thank you again for helping last night,” I say.
He looks back at me, and this time I place the look in his eyes. Now he looks at me like a father looks at a daughter. Growing up, I never had that. It’s slightly uncomfortable to have it now, especially considering this man once had his hand on my ass. If my relationship with Slade is going to last, we need to fix this family stuff. A relationship doesn’t happen in a bubble. It includes the people around them, their family.
“Maybe next time, Finn can thank you himself,” I say as Slade’s head whips around. “He’s pretty good at blowing kisses.”
“I’d like that,” he says, smiling at me before looking at Slade. “She reminds me of your mother.”