Page 83 of Reckless With You

“Yeah, you had Evan.”

“You’re going to meet him soon, that much I can promise you.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

Robbie shrugged, not looking at me.

“I would say I don’t really have a choice, but I do. And so does Melinda. And so does Evan. But Evan knows that I’m not his biological dad. That’s the data, something we couldn’t hide from him because, even though he’s a little boy, he wanted to know why my bone marrow didn’t match, and why Melinda’s wasn’t good. I don’t know if we made the right decision in telling him, but we can’t go back now. So, he knows that I’m not his dad.”

“And he knows that I am,” I said, letting those words settle. The test results had come back. I was Evan’s biological father. I’d be meeting him today.

Melinda had wanted me to, said that I needed to see the little boy that I would hopefully be helping.

I didn’t know what to think. Didn’t know what would happen next. But if Melinda needed me to help her kid, I’d figure it out.

Because I wasn’t going to let my problems, my insecurities, make a little boy hurt any more than he already was.

That was the only thing I could promise.

I didn’t have much left, after all.

“Evan’s a great kid, the light of my life. Melinda and I thought about having another child about a year ago. We love him so much, we wanted Evan to have a little brother or sister. And then all of this happened, and things got complicated. But he’s a good boy. And I think you’ll like him. He’s funny, sweet, a little tired right now, but he still has so much energy in those eyes of his that you know he’d rather be running around, chasing me, or playing a game outside.”

“I really hope he gets to do all of that soon,” I said, my throat tight. “I really hope so.”

“Well, we’ll figure it out.”

“I’m going to donate, Robbie. No matter what happens after, that part you don’t need to worry about.”

Robbie’s shoulders sagged, and he nodded. “Melinda said you would. She was worried at first, but she said she remembered how you sometimes talked about your patients. At least in the general sense. She said you’re caring. And the fact that you’re here at all says that. We figured you’d try. Or figure it out. Because Evan can’t go anywhere. Especially now.”

Tears slid down the man’s face, but I didn’t reach out to comfort him. If he had been one of my friends, I would have, tears didn’t scare me. Robbie just needed a moment to himself, so I turned away, waiting for Melinda to come back. She was in Evan’s room, getting him ready to meet me, though I didn’t know if Christmas Eve was the best time for that.

I’d brought Evan a present. A book I’d liked when I was a kid, one I hadn’t been able to keep while in the foster homes. But I’d liked it.

I knew I wanted the boy to have it. Maybe. Maybe he wouldn’t like it at all.

I had been a little bit younger than Evan when I lost everything. Now, I could only hope that this little boy had a chance.

I didn’t know exactly what would happen next.

“Tucker? Are you ready?”

I stood up, my knees shaking, my palms damp. I tucked the wrapped book against my side and nodded. “As long as he is.”

Melinda gave me a sad smile, but there was real hope in her eyes.

Hopefully, it wasn’t for naught.

“He is. Let’s go, he’s excited to meet you.”

“Really? And he knows who I am?”

“In a sense. He’s a little too young to understand everything, but he knows that you were my friend before. And that you guys have the same blood type, and some other very similar things. And that you are his daddy, too, just not in the same way that Robbie’s his daddy.”

My heart sped up, and I swallowed hard, not a single word coming to mind.

Other thandaddy.