“Not from the outside looking in. There’s no doubt in my mind you put your son before yourself—and really, what else is parenting?”
“I don’t know. I just know how much I love him and that I’m his whole world. I have to make sure he’s healthy and happy—otherwise, why did I have him?”
There’s understanding in his expression, and my gut tells me he knows exactly what I’m talking about.
“My mom was like that too. Before my stepdad came along. Imean, he’s my dad. I don’t think of him as my stepdad, but since we’re talking about childhood memories I wanted to differentiate the time before he came into my life. Stan married my mom and adopted me. And he’s great.”
“Did he and your mom have any kids of their own?” I ask curiously.
He shakes his head. “No. I think they tried but Mom couldn’t get pregnant and then I guess she got too old. But Stan says I’m all the son he needs.”
“That’s nice.”
“He stepped in, doing all the things a father would do. He got up at the ass crack of dawn to take me to hockey practice. He forked out all kinds of money so I could play and then go away to boarding school so I could play at a higher level. My parents sacrificed a lot for me so now I take care of them. Although, to be fair, other than paying off their mortgage, they won’t let me give them money.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.”
“They both still work. Mom’s only fifty-five and Dad is fifty-seven, and they both say they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if they retired. So, I spoil them with vacations and the holidays and stuff.”
“I’ll bet they’re proud of you.”
“I’d like to think so.”
From there, conversation flows easily. I tell him about my family in south Georgia, memories of growing up there and the loss of my parents in high school. How my aunt and uncle took me in, and about my dreams of both going to culinary school and becoming an actress.
He’s so easy to talk to, and we talk late into the night, until we’ve both gotten sleepy. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I feel like I should get up and go to bed, but it’s way too comfortable here. And I like listening to his voice.
Before I know it, I’m fast asleep.
Chapter
Seven
West
Sleeping on a relatively small couch is hard on my extra-large body, but waking up with a beautiful woman pressed against my side makes up for it. I don’t know how we got in this position, because when I woke up to put more wood in the stove around four in the morning, she was still on the other side of the couch. So sometime in the last three hours she drifted over to me.
And I can’t help but take a moment to look at her.
Really look at her.
Without makeup she’s just as pretty as with it, and she looks so innocent in her sleep. Like life and her son’s douchebag father didn’t try to break her. But she’s strong. I haven’t even known her for twenty-four hours but I can see it in the way she carries herself. The way she takes care of her son. Hell, even in the way she allowed herself to trust a stranger on the side of the road.
If I were in a different place in life, I’d want to take her out. Maybe see what there is to see. But I’m not doing the single mom thing again. My ex broke my heart, but it was more than that. I had a bond with her daughter too, and losing that hurt almost as much as losing her mom. That’s why I got myself traded because there was no going back, looking back, or even pretending like we could be friends.
Once I’m done with a relationship, I’m completely done. I tend to shut down and compartmentalize, for my own sanity.
That’s why the next woman I get involved with isn’t going to have baggage.
Orred hair.
I’m a sucker for redheads, and they always seem to break my heart. It’s probably unfair to lump them all together, especially since something about hair that color gets my dick hard every time. Like now. Of course, I wake up with wood most mornings, but it goes away pretty quickly if I’m alone. Since I’m not, I gently move Serena to the side and get up, heading for the bathroom.
It’s frigid in here so I’m quick to do my business and wash my hands. When I come out, Serena’s awake, checking something on her phone.
“Good morning,” she says. “According to the weather app, we got an inch of ice overnight and we’re expecting more. We’re going to have sleet and freezing rain on and off all day, which means I don’t see how you can drive in this.”
“Any news on the electricity?” I ask.