Chapter 18

Brock

It had been oddly quiet the past few days. I hadn’t heard from Ashley, and there hadn’t been any sneak attacks. I kept expecting to see her come charging through the door of my office. I should have known hiring Anna to work for me would be an Ashley repellent. Those two were like oil and water. They had never gotten along, and it seemed like things had only gotten worse. Having Anna in my office meant Ashley would never stop by for a quick round of sex in the back room. Bummer, but probably for the best.

She and I weren’t together. I couldn’t get used to seeing her on a regular basis. It would only bring that old heartache to the surface. I couldn’t let myself fall for her again.

Who was I kidding? None of that mattered now. It was too late. I missed her, even if it meant her yelling at me for something. I liked seeing her, challenging her, and making her so mad her cheeks flushed. Ashley had matured into a beautiful woman. I loved that she was confident and had done what she wanted to do. She hadn’t let anyone stop her. Of course, I would have liked to have been by her side as she climbed the ladder of success, but I would have probably held her back in some way. The fact that she had managed to do it all while being a single mom was even more surprising.

Dammit! Why did she have to be so amazing?

This morning, she broke the silence. She called while I was still been in bed, and I almost didn’t answer the phone. The persistent ringing and the possibility of a client wanting to look at a property was what drove me to roll over and answer the thing. I was glad I did. The moment I heard her voice, my heart kicked up a beat.

She wanted to meet at the park at eight in the morning. That seemed a bit early for a Saturday, but I was certainly not going to deny the woman. Her voice had been friendly and even chipper. I didn’t second-guess why. My body was too excited at the prospect of seeing her. I made sure I had on new underwear. I had no idea what she had planned, but if she wanted a quick roll in the grass, I was up for the task. Hell, I was always up for the task when it came to her.

I quickly breathed into my cupped hands, inhaled, and was happy with the minty fresh aroma. I knew it would probably be for naught, but I wanted to make sure I was ready for anything, and having fresh breath was important.

I pulled into the small parking lot adjacent to the park and saw that Ashley was already there—with Jasper. They were sitting in the area with the picnic tables at the bottom of one of my favorite trails. Ironically, it was the same bench where I’d seen Anna that day. It made me happy to see Jasper, and but I was a little bummed at the same time. I wouldn’t be getting laid, but on the bright side, I would be spending some time with my son.

“Hi.” I greeted them with a warm smile, not sure what to expect. “Hi, Jasper.”

“Hi.” He waved, holding up what appeared to be a coffee.

I looked at Ashley, a little surprised, but who was I to question her parenting decisions? I didn’t know the first thing about kids, but I didn’t think coffee was a good choice. If she wanted to give her kid coffee and amp him up, that was her choice.

“It’s chocolate milk,” she said.

“What?”

She looked at Jasper’s cup. “He has chocolate milk. I didn’t give him coffee.”

“Oh.” I smiled, a little relieved.

“Here,” she said, pulling a cup from the cardboard carrier on the table. “Black, right?”

I nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

Something felt off, and I was instantly on guard. I glanced behind me, looking to see if there was someone sneaking up on me. She was being a little too nice. Something was about to happen, but I had no idea what it could be. My stomach was a bundle of nerves as I looked from her to my son.

“Have a seat,” she said, waving a hand at the bench across the table from her and Jasper.

Before sitting, I looked at the bench, wanting to make sure there wasn’t glue or tacks. The woman had me on my toes. She was acting strangely. I didn’t think she was a killer, but I had watched plenty of reality television. Women did some crazy things in the interest of protecting their children.

She took a sip of her coffee. We sat there for a few seconds before she opened her mouth and shocked the shit out of me to the point that I felt like a fish out of water, gasping for breath.

“Jasper, honey, this is your daddy.”

My mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Jasper was off the bench and running around the picnic table a second after she made her announcement. He threw himself at me, his arms going around my neck and squeezing me tight. My arms automatically went around him. I embraced his little body against my own. I fought back the emotion that brought tears to my eyes and a giant lump to my throat.

“I have a daddy!” he squealed.

I nodded. “Yep.”

“Every birthday I asked for a daddy before I blew out the candles, but I didn’t tell Mom because if you tell, your wish won’t come true. I always asked Santa to bring me a daddy, too. I got one! I got one!” He clapped his hands.

“His name is Brock,” she said, “but you can call him Daddy or Dad or whatever you like best.”

“I’m going to call him Dad. I’m not a little baby. Only babies say daddy,” he said with a great deal of authority.

“Hey,” Ashley protested. “I call my dad Daddy.”

“But you’re a girl. I’m a big boy. I can’t be in the first grade and call my dad Daddy. I’m going to call you Dad,” he announced.

I nodded my head in agreement, still too shocked to add anything of value to the weirdest conversation I had ever been a part of. “Dad works for me. I would really like that. I’m Jasper’s dad,” I said, testing the words on my lips.

Imagining the baseball games and parent-teacher conferences where I could use that phrase made me flummoxed. I was Jasper’s dad. Me, an actual dad. I suddenly felt old and very inept. I didn’t have the first clue about how to be a dad.

“Okay, Dad,” Jasper said, hugging me one more time.

I looked up at Ashley. She was standing next to the table, watching her son with amusement on her face. I still couldn’t believe she had done that. There had been no warning. I hadn’t had a chance to prepare what I would say to my son when he found out who had fathered him.

Instead, I had prepared myself for a fight, a long and dirty fight that would leave us hating each other with Jasper caught in the middle. I thought for sure I would have to drag her ass to court and use the DNA results to prove paternity. I had gotten them back earlier in the week. It was no surprise to learn I was his biological father. The test had merely been a formality.

Then she sprang this on me. It didn’t make any sense. I had a feeling the other shoe was about to drop, but for now I wanted to enjoy the moment. I knew from experience that when something looked or felt too good to be true, it usually was. Ashley had done this to me once before. I had thought I was getting my happily ever after and she had ripped it away without even looking back.

“I’m glad you’re my dad,” Jasper said before pulling a rock out of his cargo shorts. “Here is a rock for you.”

“Thanks, bud. That’s a cool rock. I’m pretty glad you’re my son,” I told him, ruffling his short hair.

He smiled before pushing his glasses up his nose. “Can I go play now, Mom? You said I could after we talked to the man. My dad, I mean.”

“Yes, you may. Stay close, please.”

She sat on the bench across from me. I looked at the rock in my hand and then at Ashley. She seemed completely normal, as if she hadn’t just rocked my world. I looked over at Jasper and watched him kick some dirt with his shoe before moving to another area.

“Mom?” he called.

“What?”

“Can I go play on the playground?”

“Yes, but please don’t lose your glasses. If they fall off, bring them to me, okay?”

Jasper took off running toward the small playground and started to climb one of the toys. I watched him for several minutes. I vaguely remembered being a kid. He seemed so, so—normal. Well adjusted. He was lacking for nothing, it appeared. Ashley had done a great job with him. It made me proud to be able to call him my son.

“Why?” I blurted out.

She shrugged. “Well, I figured if we’re going to be living in the same town, he may as well know who you are. I don’t want people gossiping about who his father is. I want it all out in the open.”

“The same town? What do you mean?” I asked.

This could be very good and very bad. If she planned on sticking around, I would have a real relationship with my son. It also meant she knew something I didn’t about the farm. Had she found a way to keep it?

“Jasper and I will be leaving New York and coming here to live.”

“Oh.”

“It isn’t right for me to deny Jasper his father forever. He deserves the opportunity to know you, especially since we’ll be right here.”

“You’re moving back?” I clarified. I knew I sounded ridiculous, but my head was swimming from her confession. Maybe that was her plan: throw me off and then announce she was keeping the farm.

“Yes,” she said, not explaining further.

“Then we can share custody?” I asked hopefully.

She smiled. It wasn’t a real smile, but one that said “step away or I will bite you.”

“I’m not quite ready to approach that subject just yet. Can we take it slow here?”

I nodded. “Slow, yes, but we can’t avoid it forever. Now that he knows I’m his father, I want to spend time with him. I want to take him to games and go camping and teach him to fish.”

She laughed. “Slow down. You need to get to know him first, don’t you think?”

I nodded. “I guess. I have a lot of missed time to make up for. I want to spend as much time with him as I can. You have to be willing to let me hang out with him. I can’t possibly get to know him if you deny me time with him.”

“I know that, and I will. Let’s take it slow though. We have to ease him into the idea of having a dad before we spring weekend camping trips on him. Although, I don’t think he would mind a bit, and I think once you get to know each other, I’ll be more than happy to have a little weekend break now and then.”

I laughed. “You’ve done good, Ash. Like, really good. He’s amazing. I can’t wait to get to know him.”

“Thank you.”

“So, what exactly did you mean when you said you’re moving back?” I asked again, hoping to get a better answer—an answer that would tell me what I could expect for my land deal.

The smile she bestowed on me sent a shiver down my spine. I knew I had lost. Somehow, the woman had done the impossible. She didn’t say the words, but I knew. A pain in my stomach erupted at the thought of the money I would not get and the money I had wasted on lawyers and planning.

“I meant we’ll be staying. Jasper and I will be living here for the foreseeable future. Is that okay with you?” she asked sweetly.

I nodded. My voice seemed to have escaped me. “Staying,” I croaked out.

Another one of those slightly evil smiles spread across her face before she winked. “Yep. We’re staying.”

Lord, help me. My plans for the future evaporated, and I experienced one of those moments of pure panic. I couldn’t live in the same town with Ashley if she wasn’t mine. I could never bear to see her with another man, or my child with a man that wasn’t his father. My life had just been turned upside down in the best way imaginable, but I had no idea if it would work out.

Lord, help us all.