Darius shook his head. “He looks like his mother. Spitting image. Same coloring, same features.”
“Maybe so, but he also looks like you.” She gestured at Dylan’s chin. “It’s all in the chin. The stubbornness. His smile is like yours too. I’ve only seen it once, but it did ring a little bell.”
Looking fed up with their inspection, Dylan pulled his hood back up. “Are you guys done arguing?”
“She’s arguing,” Darius corrected him. “I don’t argue.”
“Of course you do.” Kate shook her head at him. “You just don’t like to call it that because I usually win the arguments.”
“Oh, is that how you see it? Interesting.”
“Are you guys arguing about arguing now?” Dylan asked.
They both looked at him, and burst out laughing. “Busted,” Kate said cheerfully. “Let’s get going. We can argue on the way home.”
Home. The word suddenly felt so much more complicated. Home already had an upstairs landlady who rocked his world. Now it was getting a strange kid who’d just blown up that world.
The whole situation would have been so much more awkward without Kate around. After they said goodbye to S.G., the three of them drove home in Darius’ truck. Kate peppered Dylan with questions about Texas and what music he liked, what he did for fun, what he liked in school. Basic stuff. It gave Darius a chance to know more about him, without the burden of figuring out what to ask.
When they got back to Fairview Court, he panicked. It was almost six in the morning and they all needed some sleep—but Kate had her own bed to retreat to. That meant he’d be all alone with his brand-new son.
Kate gave them both a sleepy smile and a wave goodbye as she headed for the outdoor stairway.
He longed to kiss her goodnight. Or good morning, actually. Or maybe give her a “thank you for everything” kiss. Or an “I want to throw you down on a bed next chance I get” kiss.
But Dylan’s presence made him think twice about any kind of kiss. Was it appropriate? Would it upset the boy? Fuck, this was confusing.
He skipped the kiss and beckoned Dylan toward the downstairs entry. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Kate.”
That sounded more formal than he’d planned. She paused on the staircase and gave him a curious look over her shoulder. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything. Either of you.”
She hurried the rest of the way up the stairs. Darius had the strangest feeling that she was receding out of his reach, like a wave on the shore.
But why? The fires had been solved. There was no need for her to leave anymore.
He shook it off and ushered Dylan into the apartment. “The couch is there.” He pointed toward the very obvious couch in the middle of the living room. “Bathroom’s back there. I’ll get you a sleeping bag. We can pick your things up from Denaina’s tomorrow. Do you have much stuff?”
“Backpack. Sleeping bag. Not much.”
Darius nodded and went into his bedroom closet to search for a sleeping bag. His heart was hammering and he felt almost feverish. He had a son. A nearly grown son. What were you supposed to do with a son that was almost grown up already?
“When’s your birthday?” he asked as he came out with a North Face bag and one of his spare pillows. “I figure you’re about fifteen, yeah?”
“I’ll be sixteen on August third.”
“August.” He didn’t want to do the math, but he couldn’t help it. If he’d been born in August, Gillian had been three months pregnant when she’d left him.
But what was the point in rehashing the past? Gillian was gone. Dylan was here now. That was what mattered.
He tossed the pillow to the boy. “You should get some sleep. I have to be at the station by nine. Do you know how to make yourself breakfast?”
Dylan caught it against his chest and smiled. And suddenly, Darius saw exactly what Kate had been talking about. That smile was like looking in a mirror. Or maybe a time machine, before he started growing so much five o’clock shadow.
“I can make huevos rancheros like you wouldn’t believe,” he said. “Mom taught me.”
“All right then. Look forward to that.” He hovered in the hallway that led to his bedroom. What was he supposed to say now? Where was Kate with all her words when he needed her?
He cleared his throat. Logistics. Those were always a good topic. “There’s an extra key under the mat. But this is Lost Harbor and there’s not much to worry about.”
“Except fires,” said Dylan. His tone of voice was so extra dry that it took Darius a moment to see he was joking.
“Yeah. I guess so. And for the record?” He paused to get his tone just right. “I don’t joke about fires. Ever.”
Dylan’s smile disappeared. “Sorry, Mr. —” He stopped dead. “I mean, Fire Chief. Sir. I mean...what should I call you?”
Wow. Good question. Nothing in the realm of “dad” or “father.” That would just be weird. What would Kate suggest?
He could picture her laughing answer. Big Guy is taken, that’s what I call you. How about just your name? Why is this complicated?
“You can just call me Darius.”
The kid nodded and unrolled the sleeping bag onto the couch. Darius escaped into his bedroom and closed the door behind him, with a feeling of shutting out the entire big scary world Kate had mentioned.
His phone dinged. Text from Kate.
You guys doing okay?
Fuck if I know, he answered.
You got this. Get some sleep.
But what do I do with him? He fired off a string of texts. I missed the playing with Legos phase. The playing catch phase. I missed all the phases.
Just be yourself.
That sounded like a bad idea. His grumpy ass had no business taking on a troubled, grieving kid. But what else could he do?
Good luck. Don’t worry. Conking out now. Been a long day.
No shit. Not just long, but with some unbelievable ups and downs. His world had completely changed since their time together in her bed. And now that he had a boy on his hands, when was the next time he’d find his way up to her place?
Not long at all, if you counted dreams.
He fell asleep almost instantly, and his brief hours of sleep were filled with Kate. Naked Kate, laughing Kate, arguing Kate, kind Kate. Smart Kate, with her good advice. Lusty Kate. The more Kate, the merrier.
He woke up…happy. Not scared, just happy.
He had a son.
That truth sank through him like a blast of sunshine after a long winter. He had a son. Something he’d basically given up on—a family—had magically appeared in his life.
The answer to last night’s worries was simple, after all. He’d do anything his son needed. End of story.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kate’s offer of help was accepted the very next day. Darius had a training he couldn’t miss.
“Can you go with Dylan to his meeting with Maya? The news is already all over town and I just got a call from her. She wants to see him immediately. He could use your legal…presence. I’d really appreciate it.”
How could she say “no” to that deep voice on the phone?