Fool Me Once

Keegan breathes out a deep sigh, but doesn’t say anything for another minute. “I did go here… but I…” He speaks slowly, and I’m not sure why he’s choosing his words carefully, but I listen with patience. “I left school at the end of the year. The spring break we met was my last year here.”

When he doesn’t give me any more, I ask, “And you’re back now?”

He clears his throat. “Yeah.”

“What year are you?”

“A junior.”

Jeez, it’s like pulling teeth. “When did you return?”

“This semester.”

I stare at him for a moment, trying to figure out why he just clammed up on me. If he were a random guy I just met, I’d let it go, but he’s the father of my child, which means I need to learn about him. “Why did you leave for over three years and then return?”

He sucks in a breath then exhales harshly, averting his eyes.

“Keegan?” I prompt. “What’s going on?”

“I got my AA and figured I was done,” he finally says. “I’m taking a few classes while I figure out my next step.”

“What’s your major?”

“I’m not sure,” he admits.

“Well, what classes are you taking?”

“Umm… a psych class, U.S. Government, and a criminal justice class.”

The awkward silence is now back in full force, and I can’t help but wonder how this is all going to work. Will Keegan want joint custody? Do we go to court and let a judge decide? He hasn’t even said if he wants to meet Zane at all. Although, he did say he would show me pictures one day, so he must want him in his life in some way, right?

I breathe out a frustrated sigh, and Keegan smiles nervously at me, giving me the confidence I need to ask him my question. “Do you want to meet Zane? I mean, do you want him in your life?”

“What?” He scowls. “Of course I do.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, good.” Then another thought crosses my mind. “Are you dating someone?” When he smirks, I realize that came out wrong. “I mean, is there someone you need to talk to? Let her know you’re now a dad?”

“No,” Keegan says. “I’m not dating anyone. You?”

“No. I’m focusing on school and my future. No guys. No dating. No hooking up.” I cringe when I blurt out the last part, and Keegan laughs.

“Got it. So, where do we go from here?”

“I guess we just take it one day at a time.” I shrug. “You can get to know Zane, and once everyone is comfortable, we can tell him you’re his dad.”

“My mom is going to freak out when she finds out,” he says with a chuckle, and my heart sinks. I didn’t think about Keegan having family, since Sierra and I don’t have one. It’s always just been the three of us with a side of Brenton. He has a brother he occasionally talks about, but he isn’t close to his parents. Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t think he’s ever mentioned either of his parents. Hmm… I’ll have to ask him about them one day.

“Will she be upset?” I ask, already feeling the need to go mama bear on anyone who doesn’t like my son—family or not.

“No way.” He laughs, and for a second it reminds me of the Keegan I spent time with on the beach. It’s light and sweet and masculine, and goes straight into my chest and slides down to the apex of my thighs. “She’s going to be ecstatic. She was a kindergarten teacher, so she loves little kids. She retired last year and is always complaining how much she misses being around all the kids.”

“Oh, good. How about we start with introducing you to him first and then we can go from there?”

“Sounds good.” He gives me the first real smile since we’ve started talking.

“What about dinner tomorrow night at our place?”

“Dinner at your place sounds perfect.” Keegan’s grin widens. “It’s a date.”

Blakely

“Please, can I bring my book to school?” Zane begs. He always wants to bring his stuff to share, but then he gets upset when someone doesn’t treat it as they should. And he’s very protective of his books. He takes after my mom and me in that way.

“And what if someone draws on it?” I ask, shooting him my best mom look.

His brows furrow. “I won’t draw on them this time, I promise.”

I stifle my laugh. When Zane let his friend borrow his book, the little boy drew on it, so my son decided he would draw on him to show him how it feels. His mother was not happy about marker being all over her son’s clothes and arms, but she couldn’t say much when she was told her son drew all over Zane’s book. It’s a dog-eat-dog world in preschool.