7. Another Date

7

ANOTHER DATE

“ H i, Dad!” Ty said, running toward him at ten the next morning. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he said. “Did you have fun?”

“I did,” Ty said. “We watched Despicable Me yesterday with lots of other kids.”

“One of your favorites,” he said. He’d picked his son up for a hug and then set him down. He loved that Ty wasn’t afraid to show affection like he’d never done as a kid. His parents never pushed him and he appreciated it.

“It was funny,” Electra said. “It’s the first I’ve seen it.”

He kept back any comment. He’d seen that movie and all the others in the series more than a dozen times. “We’ll see you on Tuesday,” he said.

“Actually,” Electra said. “I picked up an extra shift this week. Hope that was okay.”

“Sure,” he said. “Thanks for telling me now.”

Normally she didn’t tell him until he was running out the door to get Ty from daycare and drop him off. A few times he’d gotten to her place and she hadn’t been home and he’d call and get no answer and later be told she was working and forgot to let him know. Just another reason he never let her be the one to pick Ty up anywhere.

If he thought of having dinner with Kelly again on Tuesday, that was out the window. It’d have to wait until the following Tuesday or two weeks when Ty was with Electra for her Saturday night again.

He’d figure it out later, but he knew for a fact he was having another date with her.

“Can we go now?” Ty said.

“We can,” he said. “We are going to Grandma and Grandpa’s for an early lunch. They want to see you.”

“Yes!” Ty said, doing a fist pump. “Bye, Mom.”

Ty ran back to his mother and hugged her without being told.

“See you later, Tyson,” Electra said and he walked out the apartment door and to his SUV.

“What is Grandma making for lunch?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Probably one of your favorites. She always does.”

“She loves me,” Ty said. “That’s why.”

He smiled. “Yes, she does.”

His parents had been supportive when they found out he was going to be a father. Maybe it had to do with the fact he was scared shitless over it but never wavered from doing the right thing.

He’d confided all his concerns to them and they’d told him to go for custody and they’d help out every way they could.

He was glad that he gave Electra time to figure it out on her own rather than taking her to court. Deep down he knew she’d react the way she had, but it was in less time than he’d thought.

He drove to his parents and listened to Ty talking about the kids he played with yesterday and was glad that Electra had brought it up so his son could do it. He wanted Ty to have those memories with his mother.

“Grandma,” Ty yelled when he opened the door at his parents’ house. “I’m hungry.”

Susan Marshall picked him up and hugged him. “Did you eat breakfast?” Michael asked. It hadn’t occurred to him since he’d bought all the food his kid liked.

“I did,” Ty said. “But I threw it up and now I’m hungry again.”

He lifted his eyebrow. That was something Electra should have told him.

His mother put her hand on Ty’s forehead. “He’s not warm.”

“What did you eat yesterday?” he asked.

“They had an ice cream truck and it was free. Mom said I could go back as much as I wanted. I went four times.”

Michael shut his eyes and held back the groan. “Did you eat dinner with it too?”

“They had hot dogs and fries with the movie along with popcorn and candy. I ate everything. But my belly hurt last night,” Ty said.

His mother looked at him. “Go take a deep breath outside,” his mother said.

“Yeah,” he said.

He heard his mother bring Ty to the back of the house and his father talking and he went to the front porch to stand there and suck in some air.

It was stupid shit like this that shouldn’t be happening.

But he reminded himself that Ty was fine. Kids overeat and throw up all the time.

He walked back in and saw Ty with a glass of juice and some crackers in front of him.

“He’s fine,” his mother said. “We’ll start with crackers. He said he had pancakes this morning and then threw up after. I asked if Electra gave him anything for his bellyache last night and he said he fell asleep when they got back. That they stayed at the party until eight.”

“At least she didn’t ignore the fact his stomach hurt. Maybe he didn’t tell her,” he said.

“It’s over with now so don’t harp on it.”

“It would just be one more thing to the list of shit that happens every time he is with her,” he said.

“You could stop it if you wanted to,” his mother said. “Or have monitored visitations.”

“I’m trying not to be a dick,” he said.

“Which is more than most do.”

“She won’t have him again for over a week. She took an extra shift on Tuesday,” he said.

“There you go. Over a week of peace,” his mother said.

“Good point,” he said. “Hey, Dad. How are things going?”

“Better than it seems you’ve got,” his father said. Jay Marshall always had a warped sense of humor.

“At least one of us is doing well,” he said.

Which wasn’t true because his date with Kelly last night was much better than he expected it to be.

Even with the emotional dump truck of shit spewed on both their parts.

Was what she had more than his? Probably not.

His was ongoing and hers was in the past.

It’s not like he could hold it against her or judge her for doing something for a friend on his deathbed. That would make him an asshole.

“How is work?” his mother asked.

“Great,” he said. “Always busy. Which is a good thing.”

“I’m sure Alex appreciates the fact you are there running things for her. She’ll be out soon enough and you’ll have more on your shoulders.”

“I can handle it,” he said. “I told her not to worry. I’ve got people under me who will pick up the slack while I step in for her. She said she is taking eight weeks off, but I’m sure she will be checking in much sooner than that.”

“It’s hard to step away when it’s your business,” his mother said. “She’s turned that into something her father was never able to do.”

He knew that. That Alex’s father had all but run the business into the ground with mismanagement, though he tried. Alex moved back home to take over and slowly built it up.

When she was ready to start her family, she offered Michael a supervisor’s job and between his ideas, Cade’s financial backing, and some more loans, Marshall Printing expanded to one of the top national printing companies for online businesses.

The staffing was massive and always an issue filling shifts, but he worked it out without Alex having to stress.

If it fell on his shoulders, oh well, that was why he was paid the big bucks now giving him and his son a comfortable life.

“Something to pass down to the kids,” he said. “If they decide not to do anything with Fierce.”

“I’m sure Jolene will have something to say about it if no one does,” his mother said.

“Jolene has something to say about everything,” he said drily.

Like always wanting to fix him up. No, thank you.

Not too many wanted to be involved with him, between the hours at his job and being a single father.

The single father part was the hardest.

He left his job at five most days, dropping Ty off at daycare at seven in the morning when it opened. If he couldn’t get out at five, his parents picked Ty up. Then he’d go home and finish work up while Ty was in bed.

Half the time he just didn’t have the mental energy to put into a woman.

Then why did he agree to let Kelly set that bet so that they’d go on a date regardless?

Maybe he was just lonely more than anything.

If it had been a bad date, it would have proven to him that he was better off focusing on his son.

But it wasn’t a bad date. It was one that he felt comfortable enough to open up when he never had before.

Could be some of it had to do with the fact he’d known and talked to Kelly for years. Not a ton, but enough that he had a good idea of her personality.

He needed some sunshine in his life and she gave him a slight tan.

Which was why it stunned him to hear her backstory and that she was still able to be that way.

Or the fact she shared something so personal that no one else knew about.

It only told him that she was a strong person and could handle anything. She knew he was a single father and still approached him.

There were no secrets in his mind right now.

Which meant he’d be stupid not to try and see where this went.