Easton

He watched her and didn’t avert his gaze. “I didn’t.”

He wasn’t going to lie to her or pretend something didn’t happen. Those three weeks were the best of his fucking life. They were the weeks he kept trying to forget along with other emotions but everything else he pushed to one side.

“Oh.”

“Taylor,” Axton said.

“No, it’s fine.”

“I was a teenage kid, Taylor. I didn’t say to you that I spent a great deal of time mourning.”

“You spent no time.”

“I’m not going to do this with you. Carla’s dead. You can’t handle this shit, then go. Leave. I’m not going to pretend I was some good little mourner when I wasn’t.” He saw Axton glaring at him.

Taylor and Axton were speaking to each other in low tones. She didn’t leave. She sat there, and he felt the power of her glare as it singed his face. The burn was very much real.

“I’ll stick around. See what you’re going to do.”

“I’m not going to do anything.”

“Aren’t you a little pissed you have a son and only now finding out about it?” Karson asked. “If that had been me, I’d be up in his mother’s face.”

“You don’t know what I did to her.”

“What did you do?” Taylor asked.

Easton looked her way once again. “I’m not saying what I did or didn’t do. It doesn’t matter.” He picked up his burger, taking a bite. It was pretty good, but to be honest, there was only one thing he was interested in, and she was across the room.

The kids sang to the kid; his kid, Easton. She called him Easton. That had to mean something after all this time. He wasn’t going to believe it didn’t have any meaning.

They were together for a short time, but she could have named him anything else. The kid looked happy though. He laughed, and Easton sat there with his friends watching as his son opened his presents.

He looked so excited and happy. His own childhood hadn’t been so lucky. His father wasn’t ever going to win awards for dad of the year. He was in jail now, but his birthdays would come and go with a gift here or there. A car. A woman. Some money. Nothing was ever celebrated with cake.

Scarlett was doing the right thing. His son had a cake. A party. Friends. They were all having a good time.

Had they been in the city this whole time? How long had she been close by without him knowing it? It seemed so surreal to him for this to have happened.

“Are you okay?” Romeo asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” They finished their meal, and his friends left the restaurant, heading outside. He’d already told them he wanted to try to talk to her again.

The kids were doing some kind of game with one of the waiters, and he walked over to Scarlett.

He watched her tense up as he got close.

“Hey,” he said.

“Just leave. Please. Easton has already asked me who you are, and I don’t want any complications.”

“He’s my son.”

“I think we both know why you don’t know about him. I wasn’t going to come looking for you, Easton.”

He pulled out his business card. “Please, I want to know everything, but I also get why you don’t want me to be part of his life. I wasn’t exactly a great role model. I get it. I do. But please, will you consider calling me?”

She stared at his card and sighed, taking it. “Fine. I’m not promising I’ll get in touch or anything.”

“He’s really mine,” he said, looking toward Easton.

“I think you should go. Your friends are waiting for you.”

Easton nodded. There was so much more he wanted to say, but instead, he took a step back, giving her the distance she needed. It wasn’t easy for him to do, and all he wanted was to ask questions, to get to know his son. To find out everything.

He left the restaurant with one last lingering look. What struck him hard was he saw it. He saw any hope and dreams of a future vanish before his very eyes.

“I know you saw it. The boy is yours, but Scarlett can never be. I saw the ring on her finger, Easton. She belongs to someone else,” Carla said.

It shouldn’t matter to him about the ring, and yet, he couldn’t get it out of his head. Scarlett was married, which meant he couldn’t have her. Someone else was playing dad with his kid.

He didn’t know what he could do about that.

Chapter Five

Over eleven years ago

“You’re all by yourself again,” Scarlett said.

Easton sat on a rock overlooking a lake. All camps seemed to be set up near a lake. This one didn’t have any known predators in it, but she hated to go swimming. It scared her in case there was something evil lurking beneath the depths.