“Hello?”
I’m already smiling as the familiar voice fills the line. “Hey, Jim. How are you?”
“Mack, good to hear from ya, Son. I’m fine, fine. How’s it out there? Lena all right?”
I take a seat on my porch steps and set the baby monitor down beside me. “Lena’s good, Jim. She just went for a walk.”
I’m met with silence on the other end of the line. After a pregnant pause, he finally asks, “What’s going on, Son?”
Son.
Even before I dated his daughter, Jim Stanley called me son. Hell, after our relationship ended, he still used the term. He’s always been the closest person I have to a real father, and I find myself getting a little emotional over his question.
Clearing my throat, I give him an answer. “I have a favor to ask.”
“Shoot.”
“There’s this…thing Saturday night. A gala for my sponsor, Hicks. I have to go, along with my team. I just…well, I was hoping Lena would go with me.”
Jim’s silent again, the only noise the steady sound of his breathing.
“Jim?”
“Lena used to love to get dressed up. She was always too little to go to most of the events I had to attend, but there were a few. Her favorite thing was to go pick out her dress and then get her hair done. One of the wives of a tire changer was a hairdresser and made sure Lena was taken care of.”
A soft smile plays on my lips. When I close my eyes, I can imagine a young thirteen-year-old Lena Stanley getting all dolled up in a lavender and yellow dress, dark curls pinned to the top of her head.
“Have you asked her?”
“Not yet,” I reply, watching the sidewalk for her return.
“Why not?” There’s no judgment in his question, just genuine wonder.
“I don’t have anyone to watch Oliver. I know there are tons of services out here, but I’m just not ready to leave him with someone I don’t trust yet.”
Jim exhales. “I understand, Mack. So, ask me.”
“Ask you?” I reply, a hint of a smile in my voice.
“Yep, just ask. I might say yes.”
I sit up straight, flashbacks to the first time I asked Jim if I could to take out Lena are racing through my mind. The nerves are still very real. “If you don’t have a race Saturday night, I’d love to fly you out to Los Angeles so you can see your daughter, and maybe even help me with Oliver so I can take her to the gala.”
Why do I sound like I just ran a marathon?
Jim’s chuckle fills the air between us. “I’ll be there Friday, Mack. No need to pay for my flight. I’d love to come meet your little boy and see my daughter. And yes, I’ll be happy to watch him for a while Saturday night. In fact, I’m honored you’d trust me enough to be left with him.”
“No one I trust more than you, Jim.” Besides his daughter, that’s the absolute truth.
“Then, I’ll call you with my flight details.”
“We’ll pick you up,” I tell him.
“Can’t wait, Mack. So tell me about that win, Son,” he encourages, jumping right into conversation about Sunday’s win.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m just signing off with Jim as his daughter comes around the fence at my driveway and walks my way. Even from my porch, I can see the smile on her face as she snaps a few photos of the trees, flowers, and even a bird flying overhead. She keeps her face tilted toward the early evening sun and grins, letting the warmth spread across her cheeks.
All I can do is stare at her beauty.
When she glances toward the house, she spies me sitting there, watching. Lena gives me a tentative grin and makes her way to me. “Oliver go down already?”
Nodding, I reply, “Yeah, he didn’t even get his entire bottle empty before it was curtains. That means he’ll probably be up earlier than normal later.”
“Probably,” she replies, looking around at the landscaping along the steps.
Scooting over, I tap my hand on the wood beside me. “Have a seat.” When she sits beside me, her outer leg brushes against mine, and I have to stop myself from reaching out and touching her smooth skin. It’s toned and tanned and on full display in cute little denim shorts. I’m pretty sure she’s trying to give me a heart attack. Shaking images of her sexy legs out of my mind, I add, “I have something to ask you.”
She glances to the side, a hesitant look on her face. “Haven’t you already asked me enough?” she teases.
“Yeah, the last ask was a pretty big one. This one isn’t like that. Plus, it involves shopping.”
Her eyes dance with excitement. “You have my attention.”
I lean back on my hands to keep from touching her. “Well, this Saturday night is that Hicks gala I mentioned, and I was hoping you’d go with me.”
She swallows hard. “Like a date?”
I shrug. “We can call it whatever you want, Lean. All I know is I’d love to take you out for the evening. A thank-you, of sorts.”
The moment I say the words, I want to pull them back. Something flashes across her face. It’s almost a grimace, like she’s in pain. That’s how I know I’ve messed up without even realizing it.
Lena seems to sit up straighter. “What about Oliver?”
“Actually, I have someone coming to watch him.” I can’t help but smile.
“Really?” she asks, confused. “We haven’t started to vet nannies yet.”
Now it’s my turn for my stomach to drop to my shoes. The only reason to vet nannies is because she’s leaving. That thought makes me want to punch a puppy. No, I’d never actually hit an animal—or a human—unless he was asking for it. When your father occasionally uses you as a punching bag on heavy vodka nights, you learn to only throw a punch when absolutely necessary. I’ve thrown exactly three in my entire life, and none of them
