"Shut up, Jaxson. He doesn't want to hear that," River yells.
"She's right. I don't want to fucking know."
How the hell did I wake up this morning single and now I might be someone’s father? “Fuck!"
"Fuck…" A little voice repeats my sentiments, and I glance over next to me. Matty stands before me holding my iPad up, his brown eyes wide in curiosity.
I cringe and push my hands through my hair. "No, little man, we don't say that. It was bad of me to say."
"No fuck?"
"No."
Shit, I've had the kid for less than an hour and he's already cursing. If he is mine, I'm already failing at his dad thing 100%.
Holly is going to kill me.
"Ah, shit, was that the kid?" Jaxson echoes through the phone, and I groan.
"Yeah."
"Ha. Priceless."
"Shut up.
"What are you doing with him already?"
"I'm watching him while Holly works. Long story. Listen, I got to go."
"Alright, keep us posted."
"Will do. And get me the background check." I hang up the phone and place it face down on the desk. "What's wrong, little man?" I pick Matty up and place him on my lap.
He shoves the iPad at me, and I take it from him. "Broken." He pouts, his lower lip quivering.
I tap the screen and it doesn’t light up, letting me believe it’s fully dead. I toss it to my desk and spot my collection of classic model cars on my bookshelf and get an idea.
"Hey, do you like cars?" I ask, trying to divert him away from the dead iPad.
He nods, his lips tipping up at the corner. “I love them.” He waves his hands around wildly.
I lift Matty in my arms and he rests his head on my shoulders. I do wonder why this kid trusts me when Holly said he normally doesn’t trust anyone. The thought is sobering, but I don’t overthink it. I take him to the door, peeking out to Mary who is working away at her desk.
I clear my throat and grab my assistant’s attention. “Mary, I need a favor.”
Mary looks up from her laptop and her jaw slackens. “Yes, Mr. Morgan,” she stutters as her eyes dart between Matty and me.
“Can you find us some toy cars this little guy can play with and grab some graham crackers and ice cream. You can eat ice cream, right?”
Matty nods his head vigorously and rubs his tummy. "Chocolateee icecream."
“Right away, Mr. Morgan.”
“While we wait, I have something you can play with. You just have to promise to be careful.” I pick up a model car from my shelf, one of a 69’ cherry red Mustang. “This is just like the car I drive.” I hand it to him, and he squeals.
“Vrooom…” He swings the car around and almost whacks me in the face.
“Alright. Let’s not get too crazy, bub.”
“Thanks for watching him. He wasn't any problem, was he?" Holly asks, picking up Matty and wiping away the excess chocolate from his face.
The two of us just finished downing our cups of ice cream that Mary had picked up from the ice cream parlor down the road. The kid ended up getting more on himself and the carpet than in his mouth.
“No, of course not. We played with cars and ate a gallon of chocolate ice cream." Her eyes go wide. "I'm kidding, about the gallon. We had ice cream though, just one cup."
She giggles. "If it was that much, I'd be calling you back to clean up his vomit or entertain his sugar high at two a.m."
"We had fun. Right, bub?” I raise my hand for a high five and Matty slaps it in return.
She combs her fingers through his hair. "So, will you let me know about the testing? If that's something you still want to do."
“I do. I’ll handle it and get back to you. Hopefully, it won’t take too long to get the results. If he ends up being mine, well, you should know, I take care of what’s mine. If not, then we will go from there.”
“Right. Well, we should go. Thank you for watching him. I got a lot done.”
“Good, but I do hope your babysitter is better by tomorrow,” I say curtly.
"Yes, of course." She frowns. The cherry model car smacks her in the shoulder. "Oh, did you want your car back." She goes to reach for it out of Matty's hand and he pulls it back. His eyebrows pinching together defensively.
“No, he can keep it.”
“You sure? It looks nice, and I can promise you after tomorrow it won't look that way."
"I'm sure. I have the life size version in the garage."
Her mouth forms a little 'o.’ She's impressed, and for some reason it makes my stomach twist. "That's sweet. Thank you."
"Don't think too much into it," I snarl, and her face scrunches at my reaction.
“Alright. Well, thanks.” She shuffles Matty to her other hip and whispers something in his ear.
The little boy with my matching eyes smacks a kiss into his hand and then waves at me. “Bye Li-um.”
“Bye buddy.”
"So, what did you want to see me about?" Landon makes himself at home pulling a soda from my fridge and propping himself onto a barstool. He twists the cap and takes a long pull from the coke bottle before setting it down on the counter. “I’m actually shocked you wanted to see me.”
“Yeah, well, only you can help me answer some questions. Plus, you're my brother, and when have you known me to hold a grudge against you for long.”
“Is that a serious question?” He snorts.
“Listen, I’m not in the mood to debate. Right now, I need you to be serious.”
“Okay, man, what’s
