"I was thinking, Alex, that you've made such progress, we can start cutting back on the amount of time that I'm here with you."
"I’m very happy to hear that I'm doing so much better. Although I'll admit that I'll miss having you around so often." He looked at me over the rim of his water glass. "I suspect Carter will feel the same way."
Did that mean Carter had told him about the SUV encounter after all?
I looked down hoping he didn't see the blush of my cheek. "Well, you know what they say, all good things must come to an end."
When I arrived back home that evening, I told Regina and Tanner that I would have more time with them over the next couple weeks until I got my new client.
Tanner jumped up and down, and then jumped into my arms, giving me a big hug. "We can play together all day, mommy."
I laughed feeling so happy wishing I could always make Tanner this happy.
"How about I take us all out for ice cream?" I said.
Tanner's body bounced up and down in my arms. "Yay, I love ice cream."
"You two go. I have a few more client things I need to take care of and you could use some time alone with your boy," Reggie said.
She really was a fantastic friend and support. I needed to do something to repay her.
I took Alex out to the car, again wondering if maybe I should have taken Carter up on his new car offer. My clunker got me where we needed to go, but if it ever broke down, that could be a problem."
As I drove us towards the ice cream parlour, Tanner chatted away in the back seat. I had this moment of déjà vu of Carter and I riding in the back of an old cab in Mexico as it drove us out to the middle of nowhere to see an un-excavated temple of some sort. He was exactly like Tanner, chatting and smiling, and looking perfectly content in the world.
It was time for me to stop putting off what needed to be done. I had to do some serious thinking, get my head straight, then do the right thing for Tanner.
15
Carter
This was a stupid idea set up by a desperate man. As it turned out, I was a desperate man, I thought as I looked over the fake medical reports and scans that would show a torn meniscus. Being well-traveled, meant I had the opportunity to meet a lot of people, including a graphic artist in Bali who didn't have any qualms with creating fake documents for me. In his defense, he seemed to think this was all for a practical joke. It was a joke, sort of. At least I hoped someday that Jess and I would be laughing about the lengths I would go to win her over. Perhaps when we were celebrating our fiftieth wedding anniversary.
Of course, the complete opposite could happen. If or when Jess realized my deception, it was possible she wouldn't take it well at all. To my mind it was a reflection of how badly I wanted to be with her, so it was a good thing, right? Women liked to know that the men who cared for them did so in such desperate ways. At least that's the way Andi explained it.
With that said, Jess might not be like that. Or maybe it wouldn't matter. All the time and money I was spending on this little charade could be for nothing. Whatever it was that was keeping her resistant to me may not be swayed by the fact that I was so desperate to have her. It could get even worse than that. She could end up thinking I was obsessed, becoming some sort of crazed stalker. I told myself that failure wasn't an option, but I wasn't the type of man who was going to force himself on a woman. I had to come to terms with the fact that at some point I might have to accept that for reasons I didn't understand she didn’t want to be with me.
However, that day hadn't come yet. So, until then I was going to embark on this ridiculous scheme, and hope that it worked.
I left the documents on my desk and stood coming around to the middle of my office, so I could practice my limp. Later I would wrap my knee, but for now, I wanted to practice looking like I was in need of a physical therapist. I was making a second pass across the office, when my door opened and Noah strode in.
He looked me up and down. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. What do you want?" I went back to my desk sitting in my chair.
Noah walked over to the front of my desk sitting in the chair there. "Did you access files on Jess’s background report I did on her?"
"I access all the background reports you do when it relates to the business or family," I said.
His eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me. "So, you weren't trying to get personal details in your quest to win her over?"
"If I was looking for personal details, I wasn't going to get them from the report you did."
Noah scowled. “That report was just as thorough as any of the others I do."
I shrugged as I leaned back in my chair. "That’s my point. If I wanted personal info, that wouldn’t be the place to look. I don’t know why you’re accusing me of looking at a standard background report to find personal information on Jess when you know that I review those reports, just like Ryan and Hunter do."
Noah seemed to accept that. He looked at the papers on my desk and reached out picking up the fake doctor’s report before I couldn’t think fast enough to cover it.