Page 108 of Every Broken Piece
I bite the inside of my cheek, debating whether I should lie to protect Pax, but figure Gabe’s dad Spidey senses are stronger than my ability to lie. “Fine. No. But I don’t want you to be mad at him. The last thing I want is to come between you and your son. He was incredibly nice yesterday, helping me look for apartments and jobs and just making me feel welcome.”
He reaches for the water on the nightstand, twists the top off and hands it to me along with the ibuprofen.
I swallow the pills and drink almost half the water. It somewhat slakes my thirst.
He pokes my ribs. “Scootchy.”
“Scootchy?”
“Move over.”
I comply mainly because I’m so flummoxed by this man saying scootchy. He crawls up on the bed, propping his back against the headboard and pulls me into his side. It’s so easy and effortless to sink into him. Resting my head on his chestfeels right.
“I love Pax,” he says. “But I’m also angry at him for getting you drunk. He knows better. I taught him better. It was irresponsible, especially with your head injury.” He squeezes me. “I can love him and be angry with him at the same time. The feelings aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“I guess that’s what parenting really is.”
“It’s definitely a lot of emotions at once.”
“You’re a good dad.”
“Thank you.”
“I still don’t want you to be mad at him.”
He kisses my temple. “I won’t be for long. I never am and the little shit knows it. He slunk off in the early morning and is back at his apartment at school to lick his wounds, hoping he can avoid a lecture.”
I place my injured hand on his stomach and feel his abs tense. He gently lays his hand over mine. “I don’t think I’d like a lecture from you.”
“I’d never lecture you, Spitfire. There’s no need.”
“Ha! You don’t know that. Someday I may make you so mad that you can’t help but lecture me.” I clamp my lips closed because I don’t want to hint that there’s a ‘someday’ between us when so much is up in the air with my mother and my feelings for him.
“Someday, huh?”
Of course he latched on to that.
I pull my hand from under his and pluck at one of the pockets of his cargo pants. “Why’re you wearing these? You don’t seem like the type to wear dad pants.”
“Dad pants?” He sounds offended as he tips his head down to study the pants. “Are these really dad pants?”
“They are.”
“Well, I have a reason for dad pants today. Get dressed. Wear something comfortable that you can move around in, and sneakers.”
I tilt my head back to look up at the underside of his jaw, willing myself not to run my fingers through his close-cropped beard. “Where are we going? And why aren’t you at work?”
“It’s a surprise and I took the day off.”
He makes a disgruntled sound when I pull away to sit up. “You took the day off from work? Don’t you have a big client you have to meet? Won’t Jack be mad that you’re not there?”
He pulls me back into him. “We met yesterday. I own the company so I can take a day whenever I want. And Jack has no say in what I do in my personal time.”
I push away from him again. “I don’t want Jack angry because I’m taking you away from something important.”
He sits up so we’re facing each other on this big, comfortable bed. “Listen to me, Tess. Jack won’t be angry, but even if he is, it doesn’t matter. You need to stop worrying about making people mad. If they love you, they’ll get over it.”
His words hit a little too close to home. I grew up trying to please everyone because life is easier that way. If I pushed my feelings aside and thought about making everyone else happy, then life was peaceful. Gabe raised Pax the exact opposite, in a loving environment where a child wasn’t afraid to speak, wasn’t afraid to make a decision, didn’t have to walk on eggshells because he didn’t know what mood Gabe was in.
