Page 46 of Dirty Puck

“He was a tiny peanut. Six pounds. They measured him three times, but he kept pulling his legs up back into the fetal position. He was less than nineteen inches, but since they couldn’t get an accurate reading, they put nineteen inches on his birth certificate.”

“Most precious thing I ever saw,” Claudia said. “I neverhad children, so I got to dote on the both of them. I was the one who drove them home from the hospital, despite my aversion to driving.”

We would’ve been lost without Claudia. I smiled at her, reaching out to squeeze her hand resting on her knee. Most people couldn’t fathom how deeply my affection, appreciation, and loyalty flowed for that woman.

“Well, I thought you should know in case you and my son ever?—”

“Ma, stop.”

“What? A mother can hope.”

“Woman, you’re lucky I brought Bree here to visit. Don’t push your luck.”

All I could do was sit there and laugh uncomfortably, turning my attention back to the photos. Then I got to laugh jovially at little, naked Reece in the tub or on a beach, and aside from that suggestion of he and I having a kid together, he’d been right, none of the photos fazed him. Given his cuteness factor as a baby, he’d had no choice but to grow up into the irresistible stud machine I got to take into my bed now.

Eventually, the night caught up to me and I had to call it. Reece picked up a very-asleep Benny, carrying him to the air mattress, and we got him tucked in. After a kiss on the head for my son and a hug for Claudia, we excused ourselves, leaving the door open for Claudia to change in the bathroom.

“This has been such a fun day,” Char said and I agreed wholeheartedly.

“Thank you for being so welcoming,” I replied right before she hugged me. It felt good to get hugged by a mom and without thinking, I hugged her back. When I stepped away, Reece moved in. Then he let her go, leading me over to our room.

As I changed for bed, I started rehearsing the inevitable: the “No, we’re not having sex tonight” conversation. I could already picture Mr. Grabby-Hands trying something thesecond the lights went out. I had my speech locked and loaded—firm, reasonable, and maybe just a little smug.

But the second I crawled under the covers, Reece wrapped his arms around me, pulled me close, and kissed the top of my head.

“Thanks,” he said. “For today. She’s so happy.”

And that was it.

No groping. No sly moves. Just warmth, quiet, and a kind of tenderness that made my heart ache in places I hadn’t realized were still bruised. He closed his eyes to get some sleep. It took me a few beats to realize that he had no intention of fucking me tonight, which helped my mind to settle. I nuzzled in closer and closed my eyes, too, suddenly, forgetting every line of my imaginary argument.

CHAPTER

EIGHT

BREE

Sunday morning, we showered and dressed, and Reece took us all out for breakfast. My grits, biscuits, and sausage gravy, paired with fried green tomatoes, completely hit the spot. I went with oatmeal and scrambled eggs for Benny.

We ate and talked and laughed. A few people wandered up to the table when they saw Reece. These weren’t necessarily fans, but people from the town who’d known him his entire life. He introduced me as his girlfriend and Claudia as my grandmother.Happydidn’t begin to cover the emotions running through me while I watched everyone interacting. It felt like a real family—yes, I knew that it was temporary, but I loved being a part of a big family like this.

After breakfast, Reece took us on a small walking tour through the town. He carried Benny and I held on to his bicep, resting my head against it as we meandered along the street, every so often popping into a shop that interested us.

Everyone in town knew Char. People stopped us so many times to sayhithat I started a tally in my head. Fifty-seven people had stopped us before we headed back to the house. Char seemed a bit tired, and we didn’t want to push our luck.I told her that I had to put Benny down for a nap because Reece told me she’d fight it, not wanting to be the fun-sucker of the group.

She’d yet to mention her illness, so I wasn’t about to ask. If she wanted this weekend to not think about it, well, I planned to give it to her.

With this being our first meeting and my plan to cook Sunday dinner before we had to leave, I decided on something comforting but different than the meals Char had cooked for Reece growing up.

“I need to go to the grocery store,” I announced to the room.

“I’ll take you,” Reece replied. “Benny’s down, so it’s a good time.” He paid better attention to those details than most men paid to their own children. Our time together might’ve been fleeting, but I’d enjoy it until the end.

“Let me grab my purse,” I said.

He stopped me abruptly with his, “No need. You won’t be paying.”

Right. I knew that. It was just going to take a bit to get used to. I held my hand out to him and we started for the car.

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