Jamison
This was karma. It had to be. Flynn was practically sitting on Cody’s lap.
How did I let this happen? We got off the plane and everyone was hungry so we drove into town. Flynn was particularly agile. Physically, mentally, he was blowing through the developmental markers like nobody’s business. Recently, we’d started to have an issue with the car seat. The issue being that he could unbuckle himself. We rented this giant suburban. Little people come with a lot. We installed the car seat. We drove to town. Everything was fine.
Anyway, we found a parking spot. Maggie was in the front seat talking on the phone with her mom. I opened the back door, only to realize that I put the diaper bag in the trunk. So, without thinking, I crossed to the trunk to get the bag, and then I thought maybe I should grab some cash from my suitcase because little small-town cafes don’t always take cards. I took my time, took my wallet out, counted the cash, stored it in the billfold pocket, put everything back in my bag, situated the other bag on my shoulder, then, and only then, I walked back to where I left the door open to find the empty car seat.
And so, the chaos began, Maggie and I were frantically running in and out of every storefront on the block. Admittedly, our first stop should have been anywhere with food. Flynn loved to eat. And he’d slept the entire plane ride so the snacky foods we had in the car were not cutting the mustard so to speak. I clambered into the cafe, hopeful, and there he was on the counter, talking to Cody. I felt like the gods installed a homing beacon in my child and steered him right into his father’s lap. I was so not prepared for this.
And if that wasn’t enough to send my heart into a frenzy, Cody looked up, locked eyes with me, and instantly called me James. My nether regions were whistling dixie. Admittedly, I had a very particular relationship with my vagina. We were good friends, but I allowed her to have a mind of her own. I believed that men were not the only people who should have the right to name and anamorph their genitals. My vajayjay was Lexi and she was very sexually empowered, incessantly demanding, and a keen observationalist. Standing in front of Cody, Lexi was particularly busy catcalling in a sassy syrupy southern accent: My oh my, what do we have here, yum-my. Hey, sailor, wanna go for a ride? Oh, hello,I remember you, but how about you remind me anyway.
I had to admit, she wasn’t wrong. He was freaking beautiful, even more masculine than I remembered. His hair looked the same, but he was sporting some well-groomed scruff. And his shoulders, so broad. I was pretty sure he was genetically tied to those horses he loved so much. He was just sheer muscle. Okay, I remembered that, but it was different standing right in front of it. All I could think of to say was hey. Hey was not a real sentence. I was not even sure hey was a real word. Hay was for fucking horses. Heh, that was kind of funny. Hey, horses, cowboys, got it? Oh my God, I was stupid nervous. Nothing was going the way I planned it. Who was I kidding? This was a chaotic mess because I didn’t plan any of it. Like everything in my life, I winged it. Deep breaths, Jamison. Deep breaths.
“James?”
Oh shit.He said something and I missed it. “I’m sorry. What?”
“What are you doing here?” He looked happily surprised.
“Vacation?”
“Are you asking me if you’re on vacation?” He laughed.
I shook my head. Jesus, get it together. “No, sorry. I’m just... What are you doing here?”
He smiled like he was enjoying my disarray. “I live here.”
Oh, God, I knew that. I was lying now.
“You do?” I managed to choke out.
He nodded, then signaling toward Flynn, he said, “He yours?”
“Yes.” I looked at Flynn and felt my face relax with the love I felt for him. “That’s my Flynn.”
The kind-looking woman standing behind the counter spoke to me. “Well, mama, this handsome baby of yours has been asking for a cookie. Okay if I give him one?”
I nodded but signaled for her to wait. Then I stepped toward Flynn, leaning into the counter because, before all things, I was his mother. “Hey, kiddo, you cannot walk away from Mommy or Maggie like that.”
Flynn looked up at me. “I didn’t talk to stranger Cody. He talk to me.”
“It’s not just about talking to strangers,” I said calmly. “What if you got hurt and I wasn’t there to help you? Or what if I couldn’t find you? Who would put you to sleep?”
“Flynn is thirsty and wants a cookie.” He looked up at me, seeking my approval and then with joy, he said, “Please.” Talking sense to a two-and-a-half-year-old wasn’t always the most fulfilling experience. I shook my head, ruffled his mop of blond hair, and signaled to the woman that she could fulfill his request.
Cody introduced me. “Hazel, this is Jamison…” He paused for a beat, and I waited patiently, wondering how he was going to choose to explain our relationship. It wasn’t exactly an easy situation to describe, even though he didn’t know that the boy in front of him was his son. He couldn’t exactly say this is a woman I had a one-night stand with and it was particularly memorable because we chose not to use protection; by the way, have you met her son?
He continued. “A good friend of mine who I haven’t seen in a few years.”
That was ecumenical.
Hazel winked. “Any friend of a Morgan boy is a friend of mine.” Then she bustled off to get a plate for the cookie.
“Nice to meet you,” I said to her back.
I suddenly remembered Maggie and turned to her. “This is Maggie, my friend and Flynn’s nanny.” I signaled back and forth between them. “Maggie, Cody, Cody, Maggie.”
Cody nodded and smiled. Maggie did the same, and then she signaled to me that she had Flynn covered.
Pointing over his shoulder with his thumb, Cody said, “That’s my brother, Wyatt.”
I peeked around Cody to look at the man sitting on the stool behind him. He was tall and broad with thick dark hair, very handsome. His mouth was full of food, so his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. He paused his chewing to smile at me. He was silly. It was all over him. This man was the reason Cody didn’t think of himself as funny or goofy because he was compared to Wyatt.
“A pleasure,” I said.
He nodded, swallowed, and cleared his throat. “You, the James?” he asked with mischief in his eyes.
Oooooh, he was a troublemaker too. No matter, I was trouble as well.
“One in the same, I imagine,” I said before righting myself so I could look Cody in the eyes again.
“Ignore him,” Cody growled.
“Done,” I flirted. Oh shit, I flirted.
“So... you have a son.”
“You... I mean, I do.” Lord or Goddess or Buddha, whoever is listening, help me.
He glanced at my hand. Was he looking for a ring?
“Do you have a husband?”
OMG, he was looking for a ring.
Behind him, Wyatt laughed and muttered, “Smooth.”
Shaking his head and talking under his breath to himself, Cody said, “All day. All day he’s checked out and now he’s got ears like a freaking bat.”
I leaned in, put my hands on his shoulders, and whispered in his ear, “I promise, you got this. He can’t undermine your game. I know better.” Fuck, what was I doing? This man made me crazy. I leaned back and dropped my hands but not before I heard a strangled breath of desire fall from his lips.
“No…” I swallowed. “No husband.”
Cody raised his eyebrow in curiosity. “The boy’s father?”
I didn’t answer immediately because this was the moment. I had a choice to make. Either I told him now that Flynn was his son, without knowing anything about his life other than he was still interested in me, or I lied. It was just a few more days of ignorance while I figured out if he was decent enough to father my child, right? I mean, I couldn’t just tell him standing at a soda shop counter in front of his brother who I’d never met before, could I?
I must have hesitated too long because Cody said, “Gosh, James, I’m sorry, that’s a totally personal question.”
“No, it’s just. Well, you know how I was back then,” I winked. Inside, I cringed. You know how I was back then. Ugh gross. What the fuck was wrong with me?
He smiled. “Wild? Intoxicating? Irresistible?”
Wyatt snickered behind him. “Better.”