Page 32 of Just Like That
I frowned and hesitated. I was out of my depth with no idea how not to wake a sleeping child. Being unprepared was not a feeling I enjoyed.
“Trust me, he sleeps like a log. Just unbuckle him and throw him over your shoulder.” Hazel didn’t wait for me and instead started walking toward my house.
Unsure of exactly how to manage it, I leaned in to unbuckle Teddy. His breath whooshed out in a soft, sleepy rhythm. He smelled like dirt and too much sugar.
As carefully as I could, I slid an arm around his back. Teddy slumped forward, and I caught him with my shoulder. True to Hazel’s word, he shifted and moaned but didn’t wake.
I stood, jostling him gently to get him adjusted. His limp arms hung over my shoulder, and his head rested against my chest.
My heart hammered beneath my shirt.
The sun was just starting to set over the lake, and the sky was splashed with inky blues and a riot of pinks. At the top of the stairs, Hazel leaned against the post with a soft smile as she watched me.
“You’re a natural,” she said as I approached.
I grunted in acknowledgment, ignoring the tightening in my chest as I carried him up the stairs. I carefully shifted Teddy to the other shoulder.
“Keys are in my pocket,” I announced.
Her eyebrows shot up. “You want me to fish them out for you?” she teased.
I exhaled, despite my traitorous dick perking up at her offer. “I got it.”
Her soft laugh floated on the cool breeze. With not much grace and an awkward shove, I managed to unlock and open the door, stepping aside to let Hazel enter first.
She quietly slipped inside, and I closed the door with my foot. I headed through the open living space toward the stairs in the back. Without waiting for her, I climbed the stairs and walked Teddy to the end of the hallway and into a spare bedroom. Originally intended to be an office, it was a corner room with built-in bookshelves and a reading nook I thought he might like. The bed was staged with a no-nonsense gray comforter and several pillows.
With one hand, I pulled the comforter back and gently deposited Teddy into the bed. He immediately rolled over and curled into a ball. The world dissolved as I stared down at him.
Could he really be my kid?
I hadn’t let myself even entertain the thought, but for a brief moment, with his black lashes swooped low over his cheeks, it was hard to not see the similarities. From his dark features to his serious personality, every interaction I had with him made me question it more.
Who had Olive Adams been? Where had we met? How could I have not known for so long that I’d fathered a child?
Frustration ate at me and I turned on my heels. My fist clenched as I thought of all the unanswered questions that swirled in my mind.
I was the man with the answers. This wasn’t at all how I’d built my life to be.
As I walked past, I peeked into another unused bedroom, surprised to see Hazel hadn’t followed me upstairs to claim a room for herself and turn in for the evening.
Of course she didn’t.
With a sigh, I walked back downstairs in search of her.
The house was quiet as I surveyed the living room and kitchen. I quickly peeked out a window and didn’t see her at the skoolie either.
I braced my hands against the counter and let my head hang. Stress had been building for weeks, and I felt at my breaking point. I had constantly been juggling it all—work, my dad, Hazel and Teddy’s arrival, my fucked-up family.
I could feel my chest cracking open, and I didn’t have time for a breakdown. I needed to keep my shit together and power through—like I had always done.
With a sigh, I looked up.
The breath was stolen from my lungs.
Far in the distance, she was walking along the beach. Much like the night I’d seen her in her nightgown, Hazel looked like a ghost. This time she walked along the water’s edge with her sandals in her hand, gently kicking her feet as the waves lapped over them.
Something deep and feral coiled in my gut. For the briefest moment I enjoyed watching her—imagining what it would be like if she were mine, if we hadn’t stopped that kiss.