“Me too!” Vince chimed in. “And I’m tough like my daddy!”
I felt my cheeks burn, grateful for his kind offer. After smiling down at Vince and agreeing, I waved goodbye, got in the car, and left. The police officers would take things from there. I needed to tell my mother anyway. She should be told what happened. She might even scold me for not telling her as soon as I could.
My mind raced with the possibility of what could have been if I slept over at Hunter’s. Would he have given me the bed? The couch? Access to his body… Fuck me, I wanted to lie down next to a brave, strong guy like him and let my worries go.
On the way to my mother’s house, my head began to drift away to deep thoughts once again. My chest still beat fast, unable to process the things that happened today. Never did I think that things like this would happen.
It was my first time talking to him really, and though it had been centered on the robbery, it was still a conversation. I had to think through what we might have in common, which didn’t seem like much. Maybe I would focus more on him, give him a chance to talk about what he loved? I didn’t give two shits about what we were talking about, just that we were in fact talking.
I was in love with my neighbor, and if I was being honest with myself…I had been for a long, long time.
Chapter Seven
Hunter
“Wake up, buddy. Let’s eat our breakfast.” I shook Vince’s leg, inviting him to join me in my early meal. He stretched and yawned, his tummy sticking out of his shirt. He seemed to have outgrown his clothes.
He sat up while rubbing his eyes. I picked up him and kissed his cheek. “Good morning, buddy.”
He wrapped his arms around my neck, resting his head on my chest. “Did the cops find anything last night at Miss Kylie’s house?”
“No, buddy.” I pressed my cheek to his forehead and carried him to the living room.
Despite the craziness of the night before, we’d had a blast together. The dark circles under my eyes were proof of our fun movie marathon. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning with Vince falling asleep on the couch as we watched his favorite cartoon movies.
He lifted his head up and sniffe
d. “I’m hungry, Daddy. What are we having for breakfast?”
“I’ve made a pile of blueberry pancakes, and of course your favorite too.”
“Bacon?” He untangled his hold on me and pushed at my chest, forcing me to put him down. He grinned and took off toward the kitchen.
I walked in lazily to find him sitting in his favorite chair at the dining room table, swinging his feet merrily as he waited. I made it quickly and fixed myself on too before sitting down in front of him.
“You like it?” I picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite as he tore into his food. The little guy wasn’t going to be little if he kept eating so much, and so fast
“Love it. You’re a great cooker, Dad.” He licked his fingers and smiled, his innocence drawing me in deep.
I ate my meal, hungered by last night’s tiring fun. I almost finished my plate when Vince spoke, asking about yesterday’s incident.
“Dad, what happened yesterday? Why were there police officers at Miss Kylie’s house anyway? What were they looking for? Clues?” He took another bite of his food and watched me with wonderment.
I wasn’t sure what to tell him, but the truth seemed like the best answer. He was too smart as it were. He’d figure that shit out on his own without me. “Bad guys broke into her house yesterday, Vince.”
He looked at me with a worried look, putting the fork down on his plate. “Dad, are bad guys around here? Near our house? Will they come here too?” His eyes widened as he shrunk back in his chair.
“No, buddy. Those bad guys won’t take a good boy like you. In case they come, I’ll wrestle them down and punish them hard. Nothing to worry about with your dad right here, okay?” I patted his hand and made sure he was okay.
A smile replaced the skeptical look on his face, the little tike probably grateful to hear that he had protection he could count on. He took his fork and continued eating, speeding his pace up so he could help me clean around the house.
Right after we finished the household chores, Vince and I prepped to go to the gun shop. It would be hard since Garren was out of town for the weekend, but we could handle it. I’d manned the shop a million times by myself over the years. After securing the lock, we left the house and drove off in the direction of the gun shop. I couldn’t help but glance back, not sure if I’d find Kylie’s car there or not.
Nope. Good. She didn’t need to be alone for a few days. My stomach tightened at the thought of her coming to stay with us. She wouldn’t, but I sure as fuck wished she would. So beautiful. Perfect.
I forced myself to focus on the road and made small talk with Vince as we drove the rest of the way up to the shop. He held my hand as we walked into the shop, and a big smile spread across his face as the bell above the door jingled.
“I like this place.” He gave me a curt nod and took his backpack with some books, crayons, toys, and snacks in it and walked away. He sat on the desk as he watched me clean up, right before customers started pouring in. Weekends were always crazy.