He blew out a breath. “He’s my son, too. Just ‘cause I’m an idiot don’t negate the fact he’s got my goddamn blood runnin’ through his veins.”
Her eyes bugged out. “Did you just use the wordnegate?”
He squinted up at her. “I use it wrong?”
“No, you used it right. That’s why I’m a bit shocked.”
“Guess I ain’t such an idiot.”
“Don’t worry. One big word doesn’tnegatethe fact you’re still an idiot.”
He groaned. This time not from his pounding head. “How the fuck am I gonna tell my parents?”
“You just open your fucking trap and tell them. You’ve never had a problem running your mouth before.”
“Gonna be pissed and thrilled at the same time.”
“Add in a sprinkle of disappointment. In both you and the lost time they could’ve been spending with Ledger.”
“That shit ain’t my fault.”
Her head tipped to the side. “You sure about that?”
He sighed. “Not sure I should tell ‘em now, anyway. Ky wants me to take it slow, but no fuckin’ way my parents ain’t gonna demand to meet him if I tell them.”
“Damn. That’s true. But if you keep it from them and they find out later that you did…”
“Between a rock and a hard place, cuz.”
“Nothing new. Zeke,”—her tone became way too serious—“do you trulywantLedger in your life? Do you want to be responsible for someone other than yourself? Side note: you’re not really good at being responsible for yourself. You really need to think this through before you enter this kid’s life and fuck it up. Or decide being a father isn’t for you and leave him in the dust.”
His cousin was always his voice of reason. When she wasn’t busting his balls.
He flopped back onto the bed and flung an arm over his eyes.
Did he?
Yeah, he did. Especially since Kyra came along with him.
“Hey,” Vi said softly at the same time she nudged the mattress. “Like I already mentioned, you’ve got a whole army behind you. That boy will want for nothing. The same as us growing up a part of this club, he’ll be protected and loved. So will Kyra. Not to mention, when you fuck up, there will be plenty of others to step in. And, cuz…”
His arm dropped to his side.
“It’s guaranteed you’ll fuck up. No parent is perfect. You just have a steeper hill to climb.”
His ass was turning numb.Sitting on a fucking wooden bench in the bright sunlight in the middle of the afternoon wasn’t his idea of a good time.
But he agreed to it anyway since it was the first step in getting to know his son. Ky had told him to meet her here at the park and of course, the hell if he was saying no.
He adjusted his shades and spread his boots wider to get more comfortable.
A week ago, he never would’ve guessed he’d be here: watching his son run around and using the playground equipment with his former woman watching his every move to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.
The afternoon sun made Ky’s hair appear more blonde than usual. Even though she was too far to see the blue in her eyes, he could still see they were covered with sunglasses to protect them from the glare as she pushed him on a swing.
Ledger’s pure laughter was loud enough to reach Zeke’s ears.
He rubbed his chest. Why the fuck did it ache so damn much?
