The Man Who Has No Heart (Soulless 2)

Derek ran to the door and stabbed his fingers into the doorbell over and over. “Dad!”

I smiled as I took my time, wanting to give them time to embrace before I got there.

The door opened, and Deacon squatted down. “There’s my little man.” He wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tight, his chin resting on his head.

Derek hugged him back, a miniature version of his father. He pulled away and pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. “I made you another drawing.” He unfolded it and presented it to him. “It’s you and me at the cabin.”

Deacon smiled wide as he stared at it. “I love it. Thank you.”

“I thought you’d like it since you liked the last one so much.”

“Very thoughtful. Thank you.” He gave him another hug and a kiss on the hairline. “Hungry?”

He shook his head. “I had cereal on the plane.”

He rose to his feet. “That’s not enough for a growing man like you.” He guided him inside.

I made it to the door.

Instead of dropping his smile when he looked at me, he still wore it, like he was just as happy to see me as he was to see Derek. “Let me take that.” He pulled the backpack off my arm and welcomed me inside.

I rolled the luggage into the living room.

He set the bag on the couch and came back to me. “How was the flight?”

Derek helped himself to the kitchen, opening the fridge. “Can I have a beer?”

Deacon looked at him over his shoulder. “What?”

“You drink it.”

“No, Derek. When you’re older.”

“That’s what you always say… When you’re older.”

Deacon chuckled and turned back to me. “Sorry, how was the flight?”

“It was good. We colored.” I found him even more attractive when he interacted with Derek, when he behaved like a father…because he was good at it. He was loving, affectionate, and grateful to have a son like Derek.

“Want to join us for dinner? Grilled chicken breasts with rice and veggies.”

Derek cringed from the kitchen. “Ugh. Chicken nuggets!”

He didn’t take his eyes off me. “Or chicken nuggets, if you prefer.”

I should say no and leave, but I was tired of denying his requests when I wanted to stay…when I didn’t want to go home to my empty apartment with the sound of the TV in the background. I wanted to hear Deacon’s voice, hear Derek’s laughter. “I’ll pass on the nuggets. But the first thing on the menu sounds good.”

“Great.” He smiled at me, wearing the handsomest smile I’d ever seen, the kind that showed all his teeth and made his eyes shine. He gave me a one-armed hug as I came inside then shut the door behind me.

The touch was quick, but it was natural.

Like he didn’t think twice about it.

Derek eyed his father’s glass of wine. “What’s that?”

“Wine.” Deacon cut into his food.

“It looks like dirty water.”

I chuckled. “Good observation.”

“Can I have some?” He reached for the glass.

Deacon pushed it away. “Why are you so interested in alcohol all of a sudden?”

He shrugged, sitting in front of his empty plate. “Grown-ups drink it all the time.”

“But you aren’t a grown-up.”

“Yeah…I guess. Where does wine come from?”

“Grapes,” Deacon answered.

“Doesn’t my juice come from grapes?”

“Correct.” Deacon never showed a hint of annoyance with all the questions.

“So…am I drinking wine?” Derek asked.

“No. The grapes go through a fermentation process,” Deacon explained. “Which brings out the alcohol. And the grapes in vineyards are different from the kinds put into your juice. If you were to take grape off a vine and put it in your mouth, it would taste sour, not sweet.”

Derek absorbed the information, like he was thinking it over.

“How’s your mom?” Deacon asked.

Derek left his asparagus on the plate, only eating the nuggets his father made. “Same.”

“Do you have fun with her?”

“Not really,” he answered. “She’s boring. She never likes to do anything.”

That didn’t surprise me at all. She’d only had a son to tie down Deacon, not to nurture him and raise him into an amazing person. It was completely selfish. Ugh, I hated her. I could barely think about her without getting worked up about it.

Deacon didn’t ask any more questions.

“So, what are we doing tomorrow?” Derek asked. “Going to the cabin?”

“Actually, we’re taking you to the planetarium,” Deacon answered.

We?

“Seriously?” Derek slid his fingers into his thick hair, so excited he might explode like a rocket. “Dad, that’s so awesome! I’ve always wanted to go. It’s going to be so cool! Like the coolest thing ever…” He continued to ramble.

Deacon turned to me, smiling slightly as he listened to his son go on and on.

I smiled back, knowing he was thanking me with his look, sharing his son’s excitement with me…like I was part of the family.

I’d turned one of Deacon’s guest rooms into a permanent bedroom for Derek.