Her Marine Next Door - Aliyah Burke Page 0,15

palm. Skylar sank to the ground, pushing her uninjured hand into Alpin’s wiry coat, and allowed the tears to fall free.

I don’t know if I can do this.

She fumbled for her phone and pressed a preset button. She didn’t expect her best friend to be able to answer but she had to try. Her tears had barely slowed when the call was answered.

“Hey, beautiful. What’s shaking?”

“I’m posing as my hot-ass marine neighbor’s fiancée, because he now may quite possibly have a son, and the baby momma is staying at his place, so naturally, he told her he was staying with me.” It all came out in a rush like she had a serious case of verbal diarrhea.

Silence before a long whistle. “I need far more detail than that.”

…

Parker stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He’d needed a moment to find his bearings. Meeting Cullen had hit him. Hard. He wasn’t sure how to process this.

“I fucking have a son,” he muttered. The words felt foreign falling from his mouth. Not wrong, just different.

He placed his hands on the sink and frowned as he shoved makeup aside. Already, Gemma had spread her things all over the bathroom as if she’d been there for months, not hours.

“I have a son.” The words fell once more. Nope, didn’t feel any more natural this time.

“We have a son.”

He snapped his gaze up and found Gemma watching him in the mirror. The gleam in her eyes was one he recognized from the night she’d come to his bed. He wasn’t attracted or impressed now.

“We’ll see.” Pivoting to face her, he crossed his arms. “Where is he?”

She shrugged. “Backyard?”

How could she not know? He pushed by her and hurried through the house to the yard. All sorts of images hit him of what could happen.

Cullen had bypassed the pool and was at the fence. Peering through the spacing between the boards. His teddy bear dangled at his side. The boy had his fingers touching Alpin, who leaned against the fence.

Parker smiled. “Like dogs, do you?”

A wary nod met his inquiry. Alpin ambled off, making his way to the sliding glass door that would take him inside. A place Parker wanted to be as well.

“Would you like to go meet him?”

This time, there was a bit of hope, followed by a nod. Holding out his hand, Parker waited. To his mind, he could hear every second tick by, and it was an eternity before Cullen put his small hand into his.

The emotion slamming into him wasn’t anything he could describe or had expected. He cleared his throat before heading to the house. He recognized the burn of tears and blinked them away.

Gemma met them at the front. “What are you two doing?”

Good question. What was he doing? Why was he accepting her word this was his child? She bore the signs of a habitual drug user, possibly a liar as well. He didn’t even have to look in Cullen’s direction to know he’d withdrawn into himself further. He could feel it. While he knew he should keep his distance, he hated that this boy showed fear of his mother. Every fucking protective instinct he had rose in defense of this child. So whether or not he was of his blood, he should be protected.

Parker vowed to find a way to keep him safe as long as he could. And when he was called back to service, he’d ensure this situation was handled, one way or the other. “I’m taking him over to meet Skylar and Alpin. While we’re doing that, you should go get some grocery shopping done for the two of you.”

There was indecision all over her face, but eventually she nodded. She crouched before Cullen, gripping his upper arm.

“I’m going shopping right now. You stay with him and be good. Remember what Mommy said.”

“I remember.” He barely spoke above a whisper.

“Good.” She got to her feet. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“You do that,” he said. He wondered if she’d even return.

Without a kiss to her son, she flounced to her car and got behind the wheel. Seconds later, she was driving out of the subdivision, and he was left with the child. He went in the house and gathered a few bags together and slung them over his shoulder.

“Let’s go meet Alpin.” Shortening his stride for the boy, Parker led him over to Skylar’s place.

He knocked on the door, then realized if he was supposed to be living there, he’d walk