“That’s cool. I’ve missed you.”
Ross’s chest tightened and he wondered how his son had missed him when he hadn’t known him, but he knew what his son meant. Justice hadn’t missed him but had missed having a father. Another flare of anger erupted within him at what Brielle had robbed him of, what she’d robbed their son of. How could she have done that?
“Mommy gets sad sometimes and cries at night. She thinks I don’t know, but I hear her. I think she was missing you, too.”
His son’s words put him right back in the middle of the emotional tug of war he’d waged all night. As angry as he was at Brielle, he also admired the way she’d taken responsibility for their son, at what a good job she’d done, caring for him.
“I’ve missed her, too.” Seeing his son’s frown, he corrected himself. “I’ve missed you both. Very much. But I’m here now and not ever going to leave again.”
Staring at the boy coloring at the kitchen counter, Ross knew he’d told his son the truth earlier when he’d made that claim. He wasn’t leaving Justice, not now that he knew about him.
“I know I’m a good colorer. Mommy tells me all the time how awesome I am at staying between the lines,” Justice said, so matter-of-factly that Ross laughed at the boy’s nonchalance at his praise.
“Does she, now?”
Not looking up, the boy nodded. “She tells me how good I am at lots of things. Mommies are like that. It’s their job.”
Curious, Ross couldn’t keep his next question in. “What’s a daddy’s job?”
That had Justice looking up at him with a “duh” expression. “To work and take care of the mommy and the kids.”
Smart kid. Ross nodded. “Yep, that’s the daddy’s job.”
“Are you going to take care of my mommy and me now that you’re my daddy?”
Justice’s eyes were so intent, so eager for Ross’s answer that he struggled to form words. Struggled to keep from promising him the world.
/> “Yeah, I’m going to take care of you and your mommy now that I’m your daddy.”
What he really wanted to explain was that he had always been Justice’s daddy, that he would have been there taking care of them all along had he but known about him.
He should have been there.
Brielle had been pregnant, given birth to his child.
To this adorable little boy.
Somehow he should have known, should have sensed that something monumental was happening.
His throat threatened to clog up and he cleared it just to be able to keep his lungs from collapsing from lack of air. “The first order of business on taking care of you and your mommy is for us to cook breakfast so we don’t starve to death.”
Justice gave him a not so sure look. “I just know how to make cereal.”
“Then it’s time you learn to make a good omelet. Chicks love omelets.”
“Chicks?” Setting his crayon down, Justice giggled as he repeated the word.
Ross ruffled the boy’s hair in what was supposed to be a light gesture. Instead, it was the first time he’d ever touched his son and his fingers lingered at the softness of his hair, at the innocence in the eyes staring up at him.
This child was his flesh and blood.
His.
Suddenly he understood the fierceness with which Brielle spoke of their son. He understood the love she felt for the boy. He felt it too, knew that he’d spend the rest of his life seeing to it that his son had a good life and knew that he was wanted, loved. By both of his parents.
As much as he wanted to take the boy into his arms and hold him close, he knew Justice wasn’t ready for that, neither would he understand Ross’s emotional overload. So, wishing he could somehow have the past five years to live over so he could experience every moment of this child’s life, he kept the mood light by giving Justice a meaningful look. “You know, girls.”
Eyes wide, Justice wrinkled his nose and went back to coloring his picture. “What do we care if they love omelets or not?”