Page 2 of Cedarwood Manny

“Too busy to be happy? Too busy to get to know your kid? Come on,” she said. “Don’t ignore you’ve been hurt, but don’t glom onto that hurt like it’s a lifeline. It’s not.”

She was only twenty-five, but she approached the situation with the maturity of an older woman. He sighed. “That hurt runs deep.”

“I know,” she said. “I heard the things Gerry said. He is a dick. He never should’ve been so rotten, but he was and you have to move forward.”

She’d seen some of the issues, but not all. She hadn’t been around when Gerry had begged Adrien to help him have a child. His ex had wanted a son and had connected with Kyle’s surrogate, but once Kyle had been born and proved to be more of a challenge than a doll or toy, Gerry had left.

“He was never strong enough to be a dad for the duration,” Kelsi said. “You are.”

“I’m a crusty old dentist,” he said. “Who wants to be with a guy like me? Most people hate the dentist when they aren’t trying to date him.” Kelsi was one of the few individuals he knew who liked dentists.

“You’re old, but you’re not crusty. You’re more defined than a lot of guys my age.” She shrugged. “But you’ve got fifteen years on me. You’ll always seem old.”

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“Luis liked you.”

“He wanted us to move. I like Cedarwood.”

“So that was a minor drawback. What about Eric? He was sweet, too.”

“He lived with his mother because he didn’t want to pay for an apartment. I want someone a bit more responsible and independent,” Adrien said.

“Okay, I agree. He might have been an odd choice after all,” she said. “But you can’t ignore everyone because there might be issues. You deserve better.”

He bit back a growl. Not only was she making sense, she wasn’t going along with his plans. Sure, she didn’t know the plans per se, but that didn’t matter. She was leaving when he wanted her to hang around and be there for Kyle until Adrien sorted out his life. Besides that, Adrien hated change. She’d thrown him a curveball and he didn’t know how to deal. Give him an oral issue, an infected molar or lost crown and he could find a solution. In his life? No chance. He wanted the status quo back.

“Hey, you need to give yourself more credit and try harder with Kyle. Things will work out,” she said. “Why don’t you go to that support group? I’m sure they could give you tips for forging a relationship with Kyle.”

“How do you know?” He’d seen the fliers for the support group but had doubted its effectiveness.

“Because I can’t help you forever. You need to be a dad. Stop being scared, like I said. This could be what you need to get you going in the right direction.” Kelsi patted his shoulder. “The group is there to listen and a new man could be the partner you deserve.”

“You going is not what I need,” he blurted. “I can’t do this on my own.” No support group, parenting tip or change would help.

“You have to force yourself to try with Kyle and to not be like your mother. She isn’t his parent—you are.”

He hated when Kelsi was right. “I’ll still need a nanny. I can’t stay home with Kyle and still keep regular hours here at the office.”

She hugged him. “I know it’s scary. Getting married is exciting and scary as hell to me. I’ll be living with Mike. What if we’re not as compatible as I want? I don’t want to be divorced ever.” She shook her head. “You can handle Kyle for the weekend. You’ll take him to preschool on Monday and if you have to reschedule a few appointments, the world won’t end. Just explain to your patients there are a few quirks you have to fix with your life and they’ll understand.”

“Kelsi.” She made things seem so easy.

“I’m not turning down Mike or a trip to Vegas.”

He had to stop being selfish. He could handle being a dad, even if he was afraid. “I’m sorry. Have a great time and enjoy the vacation. You deserve to have your dreams come true. Congratulations and I’m thrilled that you’re happy. Thanks for working with me and Kyle. You helped us a lot and you’ll be hard to replace.”

“Thank you.” She clapped him on the shoulder again. “Take a breath. You can do this.”

“Sure.” He wished he shared her confidence. “I have no choice.”

“True. But also, I’ve pulled some strings to get you a new nanny, er,mannyand you’re going to love him. You should get the info about him later today.” She smiled. “I’m going to pick Kyle up from his play date and I’ll tell him on the way home about my getting married. Why don’t you grab a coffee and head home, too? Anyone who has an emergency can still call you.”

“I know.” He needed time to fortify his nerves before he faced his son. “Thanks.”Wait, a new manny?She’d helped… Monday?Christ.This was out of control.

“Welcome.” She bounced out of the office, leaving him to the no longer soothing strains of the instrumental music on the radio.

He scrubbed both hands over his face. Kelsi made sense. He’d never been good with kids, but now that he had Kyle, he had to change. Even at the office, he didn’t handle juvenile patients. Mike did. Gerry’s words came back to him.‘Have a kid,’Gerry had sworn.‘The child will bring us closer together,’he’d said. But Gerry hadn’t stuck around. Teething and potty training had proved to be too tough for Gerry to teach to Kyle. When things had gotten tough, Gerry had left.

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