Daddy's Stepstalker (Daddy's Little Deviants)

“Yes, of course. Where have you been?”

He pulled a face and shrugged. “That hardly matters now. Are you hungry? I made your favorite stew just the way Mom always made it.”

I was still too stunned to move. To think clearly. Hell, I wasn’t even breathing properly. This was so unexpected. Was my mind playing tricks on me? I’d resigned myself to the fact that I’d never see him again, but here he was, in the flesh.

“Ari, I—”

“Don’t you want to freshen up?” he asked me with a cheery smile. “Go! I’ll be done by the time you get back.”

I needed time. Time to think. To process everything that was happening. I nodded and walked out of the kitchen.

You can’t trust him. He’s not the sweet little angel he pretends to be around you.

My ex-wife’s words stopped me in my tracks, and I turned back to Ari. She couldn’t be right. He was so small, so delicate, his brown eyes so piercingly honest.

“How did you get in?” I asked.

I’d locked the door this morning, hadn’t I? It was a part of my routine to double-check since a year and a half ago, when the police found my neighbor stabbed to death with a knife in his bed. They never did find his killer when the only suspect, a.k.a. me, because of the contentious nature of our relationship, had an alibi.

“Silly, Daddy. I know where you keep your spare key, remember?” His smile faded, his full bottom lip drooping. “Why? Did I do something wrong by letting myself in? You don’t want me here.”

“No, Ari, that’s—”

“She got through to you, didn’t she?” He ripped off the apron and tossed it onto the table. “She’s somehow made you believe every vile thing she used to say about me. I’m sorry. I thought you’d be happy to see me. I’ll let myself out.”

His eyes were full of tears when he walked by me.

If you try to hold on to him, Shaw, you’re going to regret it.

I held on to him, enclosing my hand over one slender bicep. Wow, when did he get all those muscles?

“Ari, please stay.” The plea fell from my lips. “I’m just a bit caught off guard, is all. It’s been four years.”

“Four years of me trying to find my way back to you.”

Our eyes met, and I believed him. His gaze reflected nothing but honesty. He was the same sweet boy I’d known since he was fifteen.

“I’m going to change, and then we’ll eat together. You can tell me everything. How does that sound?”

He nodded, a smile peeking at the corners of his lips. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be any trouble. I just wanted to see you again, you know. You’ve always been so good to me. Better than my deadbeat dad.”

“I'm sure. ” And for good measure, I chucked him under his chin. His head barely reached my shoulders. He was still so incredibly small and vulnerable. The instinct to protect him reared its head again.

Some things never changed. I wasn’t sure I wanted them to.

"Welcome home, Ari."