Chapter 45

Jackson

You don’t want to know what that felt like. Believe me, it wouldn’t be fair for me to tell you. It’s like, some things in life just shouldn’t be shared. You know what I mean?

I was deeper inside her than I’d ever been inside anything in my entire life. Balls deep would be an understatement. When I slipped inside her ass, all I could think about was how good it felt, how deep I felt. You want to possess someone? You want to own them? That’s how you do it.

When it was over, I collapsed, unconscious. We both did. We fell into a deep, complete slumber, and if it wasn’t for Faith’s phone ringing at about six in the morning, Sam would have probably found us there on the sofa, my cock crushed against his mother’s ass, my semen all over her chest, all over her pussy, still oozing out of her asshole.

What can I say? She told me to make her mine, and that’s what I did.

But it would have been a terrible way to introduce him to the idea that I was his father.

I woke with a start when the phone rang.

“What is it?” Faith said into the phone. “Lacey, calm down, I can’t understand you.”

Something was wrong. I’d been worried about Lacey. She’d seemed unstable. I knew I should have listened to my gut.

“Lacey, I’ll be right there. Of course I will. No, Jackson’s here to watch him. You just calm down, tell the cops I’m coming.”

Faith hung up the phone. She was pale.

“Cops?” I said.

“It’s Lacey. She was arrested at Matt’s apartment.”

“Matt?”

“The guy she’s seeing. He’s been cheating on her, or with her. She was wrecking his apartment. Tearing up his clothes, throwing them off the balcony into the parking lot. I think it got out of hand.”

“Fuck,” I said.

Faith nodded. “She must have really lost it for the police to get involved.”

“Hell hath no fury,” I said.

She eyed me sternly. “Don’t you ever forget it.”

I pulled her toward me. I didn’t want her to worry about me for another second of her life. I’d never hurt her.

“I’ve got to go to the police station,” she said. “She’s got no one else to call. The brothers don’t know about Matt. And you’re not going to tell them. Lacey wants her love life to remain private.”

“I understand,” I said.

“Sam,” Faith said, not knowing what exactly she wanted to say.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’ll get him to school.”

“Really?”

“Don’t you worry about a thing.”

“He’ll be surprised to see you.”

“I know,” I said. “Believe me, I know all about surprises. We’ll handle it. I’ll get him to school. You’ll be there to pick him up.”

“Are you sure?” she said. “I really hate to inconvenience you like this.”

“Faith, it’s not an inconvenience. I want to do it. He’s my son. It’s about time I spent time with him.”

Faith hugged me. I grabbed her and pulled her close. I took her chin in my hand and tilted her toward me. Before she knew it, my tongue was inside her mouth.

“I have to shower,” she said, as soon as I stopped kissing her.

“Go,” I said. “I hope Lacey is all right.”

She was a whirlwind. She went to her room, showered, dressed, and was gone in the space of ten minutes. I sat on the couch and wondered what Sam would think when he woke up and found me there. I’m not the kind of guy people usually ask to babysit. In fact, most sane people would rather leave their kid home alone than have a guy like me hanging out with it.

It was still before seven. Faith told me Sam would wake at about seven, so I took the opportunity to have a quick shower. I also tidied the living room. There were signs everywhere of the ravaging I’d given Faith during the night. I didn’t want Sam seeing any of that. Not ever.

By the time the clock struck seven, I was sitting at the kitchen counter, dressed and washed, a cup of fresh coffee in my hand. It was a strange feeling. I’d never been in that position in my life, waiting for a kid to wake up, and yet, it felt good. Like it suited me. I loved it. Who’d have ever thought?

I prayed Sam wouldn’t be frightened when he found me there instead of his mother.

I knew I should have gone into his bedroom to wake him for school, but I didn’t want to intrude in his space. He might be eleven, but he was still a man, and a man needed his space.

I shouldn’t have worried. When he came out to the kitchen in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes, he seemed pleased to see me.

“What the?” he said, almost jokingly.

“Coffee?” I said, preempting anything he might say about my being there instead of his mother. The best way to deal with the situation was to change the subject.

“I don’t drink coffee,” he said. “I’m too young.”

“Right,” I said. “Sorry, I’m not used to hanging out with kids. I should have known that. What do you drink?”

“Orange juice,” he said, staring at me like I had two heads.

I poured some juice and handed him the glass.

“What’s going on?” he said.

“I’m taking you to school,” I said. “Your mother’s friend, Lacey, had an emergency during the night. She asked me to come over because she didn’t have anyone else to call. Believe me, I was as surprised as you were.”

“When’s she coming back?”

“Your mother?”

“Yeah.”

“She shouldn’t be there too long. A couple hours, I’d guess. Hopefully she’ll be the one who picks you up after school.”

“And what if she can’t?” Sam said.

“If she can’t, I’ll pick you up.”

He looked at me for a minute, weighing me up. I’d found some Pop Tarts and put two in the toaster. One each. They popped and I handed him one, took a bite out of the other.

“Thanks,” he said.

“My pleasure, buddy.”

“What happened with Lacey?” he said.

“Hell if I know.”

“I bet it has something to do with Matt.”

“You know about Matt?”

Sam smiled at me. “I hear everything,” he said. “They think I’m not listening, but I always am.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” I said.

God, he was a smart kid. I knew my kid would be smart. I wanted to lean over the table, knock over his juice, and hug the hell out of him. I wanted to squeeze him so tight. I wanted to tickle him, hear him laugh. But it was too soon. Those things took time.

“So what’s the deal with Matt?” I said.

“He’s Lacey’s boyfriend. Mom says he’s a cheating piece of shit.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Your mother wouldn’t like it if she heard you using language like that.”

“That was a direct quote,” he said.

I couldn’t fault him for that. “Fair enough,” I said.

We got through his morning routine without any hiccups. He liked my truck a lot. I told him I’d teach him to drive it if he wanted. He liked that idea a lot. When we got to his school he was a little hesitant to get out.

“What is it, buddy?”

“Thanks for the ride,” he said.

“Anytime.”

“You’re a good guy, Jackson,” he said.

I was stunned. I’d never have imagined that a kid saying something that simple could have hit me with such an emotional impact. I almost felt like I’d cry.

I had a son.

Thanks to Faith, I had a son.