Chapter Two

***Magnolia***

Oh. Come on. How can this day go from bad to worse to insane? Damage control. I need to compartmentalize. Joshua first. I open my mouth to say something but I'm prevented from doing so because there's suddenly a broad back in front of me.

"Hey, kiddo. Everything is okay, all right? This is your cat? Did you give him the name Ketchup?" I stare at the man who's now crouched down in front of my son.

Shit. I swallow hard. Our son . There's not a single day that goes by where I don't think about leaving this man's bed that day. He absolutely gave me the night of my life and it's also safe to say I used his memory to pull me through some dark times in my life.

"You're not going to eat him?" Joshua says as he turns slightly but still holds Ketchup away from him.

Ketchup starts to squirm and jumps out of his hands and onto the floor as he runs into the hallway. Probably heading upstairs to find a nice quiet place to finish his nap.

"I don't eat kittens, pussies, cats, whatever. Seriously. I don't." He sounds desperate and suddenly blurts, "I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat." He looks back at me for help.

If this moment wasn't so messed up, I would laugh. I hold out my hand for Joshua to take. "Come on, sweetie, let's make you a cup of hot cocoa. Okay?"

Joshua takes my hand and we stroll toward the kitchen, almost there he digs his heels in and glances back.

He's eyeing Darby's brother and I'm still not sure what to call him. Other than the father of my child. Ugh. Darby said his name is Easton, but he doesn't use it because he's a biker and everyone calls him C.Rash. I have no clue why or if it's short for something.

Like I said, I have no clue what to call him or know anything else about this man. Other than he's a-freaking-amazing in bed and the night we met was mostly driven on both our animal instinct. When he mentioned there was no time to put a condom on the second time I did understand. We had sex four times and spent hours enjoying each other's bodies. I crashed into a deep sleep and woke up late and had to rush out to meet my parents in time.

"Would you mind joining us in the kitchen? I'm pretty sure Joshua is digging his heels in because he needs to keep an eye on you so you don't rush upstairs."

"I'm not eating the f—" He stands up and rubs his neck. "Fine. But, can I have some hot cocoa too?"

I glance down at Joshua and I raise my eyebrow. It's something I always ask Joshua myself, and he always gives me the same reply. I'm hoping he does the same thing now because I kinda need it to break the ice between them.

"I don't know," I say as I tap my chin and direct my question at Joshua. "Can he?"

Joshua crosses his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not sharing my cookie."

"Well," I say, and can't help to keep the laughter out of my voice when I connect my gaze with the father of my child. "I'm not letting him eat my cookie either."

A deep sigh rips from his chest and he shakes his head. I swear I thought I saw a smile tugging his lips. "Just some hot cocoa is fine." He stops heading our way and holds up his finger. "I'm just gonna make a quick call first, okay? I'll be right there."

Panic starts to flare up. What if he's calling a lawyer? Or his buddies from that motorcycle club he's in, so they all come here to help him take Joshua away from me. Would he do that? Oh, shit.

I glance down at Joshua. "Can you please head into the kitchen and grab the cookies for me? I'll be right there to fix us some hot cocoa, okay?"

He nods and heads into the kitchen without a word. I'm pretty sure he's going to stuff a cookie into his mouth, but right now I have other problems to deal with.

Stepping closer, I lower my voice to a mere whisper. "Are you going to take him away from me?"

His head rears back as if I slapped him. "What? No. Why would you…? Ah, me mentioning calling someone freaked you out. Listen," he says and releases another deep sigh. "To say I'm shocked, surprised…hell, I don't even know what to say, how I feel, or how to react. Before you told me about the kid, you and I agreed, we should have handled the morning after we met differently. Clearly, we need to stop looking back and look forward. I don't know what to do right now or how to handle anything. I just found out that little man—whose first impression of me is one where he thinks I'm gonna eat his damn cat—is my son. I'm his father. I—"

"That's my Daddy?" Joshua says with a mouthful of cookie.

"Motherfucker," Easton mutters underneath his breath as he glances at me. "The little dude has impeccable timing. I…what…I…a little help here," he croaks.

I glance at Joshua and realize I need to know something first. Stepping closer to Easton, I lean in and whisper, "You have two choices here, either you want him in your life or not. Right now, I need an answer."

A hard look slides over his face. "He's mine and I never turn my back on my responsibilities."

I give a tight nod and feel my heart start to beat again. Dammit, it's as if my whole life depended on this man's answer.

"Thank you," I tell him and I have to swallow at the emotions clogging my throat. I rush out my words on a mere whisper. "He knows he has a daddy who loves him. And this sounds weird, but I always mentioned to him how I lost his daddy and didn't know where he was and how his daddy didn't know where we were either. It might not have been one of my best choices or wrong of me but lying didn't feel good either. And I gave him presents from his daddy for each birthday and so on."

Easton nods. "Thank you. And I guess it sounds weird, though it was the truth."

Joshua is now standing next to me and is pulling my shirt. "Mommy? Did you finally find Daddy?" The hope in his voice is killing me and makes my eyes sting. "Santa helped, didn't he? Yes, he must have." His gaze hits Easton and uncertainty washes over his face, making him step closer to me and suddenly he's shy and wants to hide behind me.

Easton squats down. "Maybe Santa did have something to do with it, but it doesn't matter, because I found you, buddy. They say you don't miss something until you find it…but it sounds like you missed your daddy. If only I knew—" He chokes up and slams a hand over his face, covering his eyes as he starts to rub furiously.

"Mommy?" Joshua pulls my sweater. "Daddy needs hot cocoa. And you need to share your cookie, because I'm not sharing mine."

Easton snorts a laugh. I furiously blink my tears away and can only nod as I let my hand slide over Joshua's hair. He's staring at Easton and is now giving him a whole different look. As if he's taking him in and seeing him through different eyes.

"Can you play baseball?" Joshua blurts before he starts to rattle, "Danny's dad plays baseball with him when he gets home from work. Mommy can't throw a ball and catching one always goes wrong too. Can you?"

I clear my throat. "Okay, sweetie, there's enough time to talk about any of this tomorrow. Let's get into the kitchen and make some hot cocoa so we can all calm down while we eat a cookie. I'm sure he will answer some of your questions and then it's time to brush your teeth and get into bed to get some sleep."

He takes a step into the direction of the kitchen but turns to Easton. "You're going to stay, right? Or you might get lost again and Mommy couldn't find you for a very long time when she lost you the first time."

Oh, my damn heart. Tears are now freely falling down my face. Dammit. I should stay tough for Joshua and yet I don't have an answer to give him.

Easton steps in front of me and squats down to Joshua's level as he points at his bags. "See that, buddy? I'm going to be here when you wake up."

Joshua's eyes slide to the bags and happiness spreads his face. "Okay," he says and runs off into the kitchen.

Easton turns to me and my body fills with emotions, thoughts, everything is a blur and yet I do know one thing for sure. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like. But please, don't confuse him. I know you said you never turn your back on responsibilities, but Joshua is more than that. He's—"

He leans into my personal space and my breath catches as my lungs fill with his scent, making memories from the night we shared together many years ago rush back. Great. Add it to the many things I can't deal with right now.

"I know," he says in a low voice. "I might not have been a father, but many of my brothers have kids. I've seen and been around them to know what having a kid entails. Just give me a moment to breathe and to let my mind catch up. We need to talk and I am taking you up on the offer to stay. Even if I…wait. This thing Darby mentioned, about that fucker who did that to you years ago, how he's still tormenting you by coming back each year. Please tell me it was all a scam to get me here, ‘cause if it's not, I have to take other precautions since my mind is all over the place now."

Fear slams through me. Dammit, I'm such a mess. I swallow hard. "I wish it was."

"Fuck," he snaps and it makes me flinch. "Shit. Sorry. Dammit. I guess I have to watch my language from now on. Listen. I need to make a phone call, okay? Like I said, I'm not going anywhere. Then I'll come into the kitchen and we'll drink some hot cocoa with the kid. Our kid. Holy fuck. Our kid . Yeah. This is gonna take some getting used to." He rubs a hand over his neck. "I also need to install some security cameras around the house, but that might have to wait till morning. I want eyes on this place. I would take you guys out of here, but my sister mentioned the fucker returns every year around the same time. I want to catch him; this needs to end and it will end now."

I nod warily. I've heard this a few times over the years, either from the cops, or from the private investigator my parents hired. No one seems to be able to end this ongoing nightmare. I lived through it, thought I was saved, and heard nothing until exactly a year later when the headless birds started to show up.

Easton snorts. "I can see you don't believe me. Doesn't matter, you're bound to find out what kind of man the father of your son is."