Page 97 of A Return For Ren

If what he suspected was true, he’d have to think this through more. He loved that Dee could watch Max for him, but he had to do what was right for his kid too.

When Max woke up, he let him crawl around the house some to tire him out. He would have loved to leave before Max’s morning nap, but he didn’t have enough time to get everything ready and figured they’d leave after lunch.

Since he was staying for two weeks, there was no rush to get there and mess up Max’s schedule.

He cleaned the house, fed Max his lunch, changed his diaper and then loaded his kid up for the two-hour drive. On his way out the door, he grabbed the mail that had been dropped off and it would be held for him for the two weeks he was gone starting Monday.

He never got much more than junk anyway, just like it seemed to be in his hand now. He tossed it on the front seat and pulled away.

Max was happily watching cartoons on the iPad in front of him and Ren found himself smiling over seeing Zara in a few hours.

“Hi,” Zara said when she opened the door for him two hours later. “Was he awake the whole time?”

He had Max in the carrier in his hand and his son was kicking his legs and wiggling to get out and go to Zara.

“No. He woke up about ten minutes ago. I thought for sure he would start screaming to get out, but he was fine. I managed to turn the iPad back on and entertain him.”

“He’s getting used to the car,” she said.

Ren leaned in for a kiss now that Max was out of his seat. “He is. I’m not sure if that is good or bad, but I’m thrilled either way. It does make it easier.”

“Hey, buddy, did you miss me?” Zara asked kissing Max on the cheek.

His son was giggling and smiling and doing his deep belly laughs as Zara was playing with him. There wasn’t anything better in the world at this moment.

“I think he did. If you want to entertain him, I’ll bring everything in.”

“I can put him in the playpen and help you,” she said, bringing Max over. But when she tried to set his son down, Max let his displeasure be known.

“Or not,” he said. “It’s fine. I’ve only got one big bag of clothes. His stuff doesn’t take up much room. The rest are my monitors and computer. I appreciate you giving up your office for me.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I can work at the table. I don’t sit at the desk that much. Or I can still use the office when you’re done to do my billing and such.”

She followed him to the door and watched as he brought in his monitors first to her office. The chair that he’d bought for the rental was here now too. One less thing that he had to worry about.

“I bought a new monitor to keep here,” he said. “I hope that is okay. I figured it will be easier to bring one monitor and my laptop.”

“You should have said something,” she said. “I would have gotten it.”

“No,” he said. “It’s for me. It’s not a big deal. I’m trying to figure out what will be less to bring back and forth. Not having to bring a ton of things for Max helps. You have it all here.”

The only things he had to bring were clothes, blankets, and bottles for Max. One or two of the toys he knew his son really enjoyed, but they were small enough.

Zara had everything else from when Willow was a baby so it wasn’t like she had to go buy anything.

It almost felt like he had two households and he hoped she didn’t think he was pushing his way into hers.

He wasn’t sure what to think when she suggested he not come last week, but listened rather than argued. It made sense in the long run. They’d have the same amount of time together and it’d be fewer trips for him to pack up and keep Max in the car.

“Anything to make it easier for you,” she said. “I want you to feel like you can come here whenever you want.”

It was exactly what he needed to hear. “Thank you for that,” he said.

“I don’t want to say this is still new. It’s not. But this part of the relationship is. It’s going to take getting used to.”

“Hopefully not for long,” he said.

“We’ve got time yet and you know it,” she said. “For now, bring the rest of the things in and I’ll help you unpack them. I made room for you in my dresser and closet and I can put Max’s things away if you want. He can stand in the crib while I do.”