She closed her eyes at the unexpected desperation in his voice.
Not to mention the fact he actually used “please.” She wasn’t sure if she’d ever heard Zeke use it before. But because he did, she realized how genuine he was being. How serious he was taking this.
Of course, this could come back to bite her in the ass and could potentially hurt her son, but in the end, Ledger deserved to know his father, whether good, bad, or indifferent. Zeke also deserved to know his son. Despite how she felt about it. Or even worried about it.
One thing she definitely knew was that the DAMC family was tight. So if Zeke needed help, someone would always be there to step in. The proverb was: “It takes a village to raise a child.”
For Zeke—and soon Ledger—the DAMC was that village.
“If I hear that you had him on your sled tomorrow…” she warned. “Wait. Do you even have a vehicle to transport him in? He needs to be in a car seat.”
“Already bought a car seat. Got my truck to use, too. Got it covered, babe.”
He did?
Who was this man?
She wasn’t expecting any of this from him.
And that was worrisome.
Not for Ledger.
But for her.
“Got someone you wanna see,”Zeke announced, walking through the door at Sophie’s Sweet Treats.
It was difficult to keep the grin from his face, so fuck it,he didn’t.
With a blinding smile and a rushed “thank you,” Sophie shoved a pastry box at the customer she’d been waiting on before tugging off her apron and tossing it on the back counter. She hurried around the display case and over to Zeke, who had Ledger perched on his hip.
“Oh…my…goodness!” she squealed with her palms pressed to her cheeks.
For fuck’s sake, her eyes had a sheen to them.His mother was about to get overly emotional.
“Keep your shit together, Mom,” he warned.
Her eyes lifted from Ledger to Zeke. “But—” she started, then simply nodded and wrung her hands.
A tell-tale sign she was not going to keep her shit together.
“Hi, Ledger! It’s so nice to meet you!” she chirped, cupping his face.
“Hi!”
His kid was definitely not afraid of meeting new people. He told Ky last night that she was a good mother and every minute he spent with Ledger made him believe he was right.
The boy wasn’t a crybaby. He wasn’t shy or scared to go off with someone he barely knew. Though, that last one could really be a problem.
Especially with him being the son of an MC president.
“Lemme put you down, lil dude.” Only a few minutes of carrying him was a damn workout.
The second Zeke put Ledger on his feet, he ran over to the display case, slapped both his hands on it, and smashed his nose against the glass. “Want that.” He pointed to some kind of chocolate cake.
Zeke had to admit he wanted a piece of that, too. Growing up around the bakery made him appreciate the quality of baked goods his mother and Bella made. Now Bellaand Sophie were retired and only filled in when the shop was shorthanded. Like today.
Sophie went over and got down on his level. Her fingers were curled into fists, probably so she didn’t squeeze the shit out of him. “Your granddaddy loved chocolate whoopie pies. Do you like them, too?”
