The sob of relief that escapes Christy’s lips makes me choke back my own tears.
“Was that Eddie’s wife who slapped her?” he asks.
“Yeah. Are they still there?”
“Oh, they’re still here, and Charles seems to be having a field day with Eddie. They keep on looking over here, so again, what is going on?”
“I’ll explain later. Just, whatever you do, don’t let them get near Nolan.”
“I’ll protect him as if he were my own,” he states without question, like a dad would.
That’s exactly how I feel about Nolan, so knowing that Eddie could just walk away from his son like that blows my mind. That piece of shit is going to hear about it too.
We walk back to the field, and Christy stops before we turn the corner.
“I don’t want to go back out there. Please just get Nolan, and let’s leave.”
I hold her hand against my heart. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“It’s okay. Just, please, go get my son.”
I give her a kiss and place my forehead on hers. She instantly wraps her hands around mine.
“I’ll be right back.”
She nods, and I head toward the field.
As soon as I enter, Charles calls after me, “Evan, can I speak to you for a moment?”
I hold up my hand to stop him. “No disrespect, Mr. Stone, but I think it’s best we leave.”
He places his hand on my arm. “I won’t say a word to him. I just want to see my grandson for the first time. I …” His eyes well with tears that he blinks away. “Please, I didn’t know he existed until a few minutes ago …”
I stop walking and take a deep breath, but keep my head down.
“I will go pick him up. And I will walk past you. Please, do not say a word to him. For now, that’s all we are asking.”
He nods. I go to move, and he stops me again.
“Please tell his mother, when she’s ready, I would like to get to know him.”
I shake my head. “That’s not my call.”
He nods again. “I respect that. On her time. I will make this right.”
I look behind him for any sign of Eddie or his wife, but they are nowhere to be found. I turn to Christy to make sure they aren’t near her. When we catch eyes, I nod her way and turn back to Charles.
“This is all very new for all of us. I, like you, had no clue who his father was. I just knew he wasn’t in the picture. Please let us digest all of this first.”
He nods, and I leave to get Nolan.
“Hey, bud.” I lean down to his level. “We could only stay for a little bit, so we have to get going, but how about I take you to my favorite ice cream shop and we split thebiggestbanana split they can make?”
He looks at the friends he’s made, then back at me.
I can tell he’s torn, and I feel awful for making him leave, so I add in, “You can have all the cherries …”
He smiles, then jumps into my arms. “Okay, but only if I get to choose the ice cream flavor too.”
