“I don’t think he can talk.”
“Never mind you.” Her fiery gaze snaps to mine. It’s like night and day when she turns back to my son.That’s something that’s going to take some getting used to.“You are going to be so spoiled. I’ve always wanted a grandkid.”
“And what am I?”
She ignores me while peppering his happy face with kisses. At least he’s not screaming, so I have another thing to be thankful for.
“Hey Bode,” Dax calls out from the bottom of the stairs. “You want to see his room?”
“Yes, we do,” Gran answers for me.
I wave her in front of me and follow behind. Having raised her own child, and me, she’s a natural at this. Caleb is staring at me as we walk up the stairs.
It’s a look of fascination. One that I’m mirroring back at him. The only kids I’ve ever been around are Marcus’s, and they’re easy. Maybe I’ll be lucky and get an easy kid too.
“I’ll take him.” Hitting the top step, I reach out to take Caleb from Gran. I need to get familiar with him, and…is it weird I want to be the one to show him his room?
Gran passes him over. “We’re going to have a word later.”
“I have no doubt.” It’ll be more than one word, but I figure the less sass I give her right now, the better.
Walking into the spare guest room, I find it completely transformed. “How in the world did you get this done?”
The crib is sitting in the corner with a mobile of animals hanging over it. The dresser now has what I’m assuming is a changing mat on top of it. The oversized chair by the window has a basket of books sitting next to it with a baby blanket thrown over it.
A complicated device—I think it’s a baby monitor—is mounted in the corner of the room facing the crib.
“The guys helped. You’ll need to figure out what to do with the furniture in the other room, but at least Caleb has his own space,” Harper tells me.
This woman does not get enough credit. I know she directed the guys to do all of it. If she weren’t here, I’d probably be cowering in the living room without a clue what to do.
“What do you think, buddy?” I ask Caleb. “Do you like it?”
His eyes stare at me, wide and wondering. He coos at me.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Harper tells me. “I’ll go get a bottle started for him. He’ll need a nap, and then I can walk you through a few more things before we head out.”
“Thank you, Harper. I mean it.”
She presses up onto her toes and kisses my cheek. “We’re here for you, Bode.”
For the second time today, emotion is taking over. This has been the craziest day of my life. I keep waiting to wake up from this dream. Me with a baby? Kids were never in the cards for me. I didn’t want them. Now, in the span of a few hours, my life has changed completely.
Dropping down into the chair, I hold Caleb in my lap as he stares up at me.
“I can do this, right?” I voice my concern to the only person who won’t judge me, and the one person I don’t want to fail.
Come hell or high water, I’ll do whatever it takes for my son. To be a better dad than I ever had. It’s a promise that I make to myself as much as him.
Because once I set my mind to something, I won’t stop until I succeed.
“I promise, Caleb. No matter what happens, I’ll be the best damn dad ever.”
ChapterThree
STEVIE - ONE MONTH LATER
“Last chance, Stevie. Are you sure you don’t want to stay with me?”
