with this one. I don’t know what I would’ve done without Mom and Reagan. One, if not both of them, has been with me since the moment I brought him home. I appreciate them so much, but at the same time I feel like they’re hovering. I have to learn to do this on my own, as a single father. That’s not a title I ever imagined being associated with, but life is often unexpected.
“Hey, are you even listening to me?” Reagan asks.
I don’t take my eyes off the road—precious cargo and all that. “Sorry, a lot on my mind,” I confess.
“What’s up?”
I laugh. “Everything.”
“Ridge,” she says softly.
“I’m good, really. Just thinking about how much you and Mom have helped me with little man.” I glance at her in the rearview mirror. “I think I need to try it on my own, you know?”
She’s quiet for several minutes. I don’t look at her, afraid of what I’ll see. Maybe she thinks I’m not capable.
“You’re good with him,” she finally says. “We just want you to know that you’re not alone. We’re with you every step of the way.”
I take a minute to let her words sink in. “I know, and I love you both for it, but I have to do this. I have to learn to take care of him. You and Mom can’t be there every day for the rest of his life. I have to learn to be both Mom and Dad to him.”
Silence greets me. I glance in the mirror and see she’s wiping a tear from her eyes. What the fuck? Tears? I hate tears.
“Reagan?”
“I’m so damn proud of you, big brother. Knox is a lucky little boy to have you for a father. I don’t know many men who would be thrown into your position unexpectedly and handle it like you have. Like you are.”
I nod, choked up a little at her praise. We drive the rest of the way to my place in silence. It’s not until I pull into the drive that I break it.
“I need to run to the store and stop by the office. Do you mind watching him?” I turn to face her. “I’m going back full time on Monday. I just need to stock up on a few things for next week.”
“Snuggle time with my adorable nephew? You got it, brother.”
“Thanks, sister.”
She grins. When we were little, I insisted on calling her ‘sister’ instead of Reagan. When she was old enough to talk, she called me ‘brother.’ Over the years, it’s just kind of stuck. It’s our thing, I guess.
I carry my little man into the house and unstrap him from his seat. Holding him close, I breathe in his baby scent. In just a few short days, I’ve become addicted to it. Addicted to my son.
I have a son.
That knowledge still rocks me to the core. Melissa and her surprise is not something I would have expected. Losing her after her waking up? Well, my world was rocked once again in just a few short days. I’m pissed. How can someone who had their life’s dream in their grasp, someone who lived through so many hardships and obstacles, be taken from this world just when she’s getting what she’s always dreamed of?
I’m angry, and if I’m being honest, scared out of my fucking mind. Everything he needs falls on me. Those are big shoes to fill.
“All right, little man. I’m going to go run a few errands, but Aunt Reagan is going to keep you company. You’re in charge,” I tell him.
“Hey!” Reagan says. Her hands rest on her hips as she tries to glare at me, but I can see the amusement in her eyes. “Give me my nephew and be gone. We have cartoons to watch.”
I kiss my son on the forehead and hand him over to my sister, doing the same to her once he’s settled in her arms. “Thank you. I’ll hurry.”
“Don’t. I have nothing to do today. I go back to work on Monday.”
“Thank you, Reagan. For everything.”
She smiles and waves me off.
My first stop is the shop. Dad has been here every day keeping things going—this was his business, after all. I pull into a parking spot and look at the building in front of me.
Beckett Construction.
Last year, Dad decided it was time to retire. Mom has always been a stay-at-home mom, and business has been good over the years. Dad worked his ass off to make it a success while