Page 26 of Can't Get Over You
“Riding with his boys.”
“Well, I guess the tie wasn’t cut after all, because now, you have Cody.”
“I don’thavehim. And I’m out of the business of saving Marco’s ass.” Even back then, he’d understood it wasn’t his friend’s fault. The guy’s dad bailed, and his mom had been more focused on partying than parenting.
The only reason Jude hadn’t wound up like him was because he had a great family.
“If you don’t take guardianship of him, what happens?” she asked.
“His life stays the same. He’ll hang out at the club until Carlo gets back.” But if Marco could’ve made something of his life if he’d had a decent parent, what did that mean for Cody?
“Okay, well, let’s check on him. He shouldn’t be around this”—she gestured to the party—“kind of thing.”
They crossed the kitchen to the back door, but before she could open it, he pulled a parka off the hook and shoved it at her. “Here.”
“Oh. Thank you.” She quickly shrugged it on and headed outside, where kids of all ages chased each other, shouting and throwing snowballs.
“You know which one he is?” Jude asked.
She looked around. “I don’t see him.”
“Hey,” Jude called out to a girl running by. “Where’s Cody Rossi?”
She shrugged and dashed off.
He had his hand at his mouth, ready to shout the kid’s name, when Finlay pointed. “Oh my God. That’s him. That’s Cody.”
Chapter Four
Jude didn’t knowwhat he was expecting when he’d spoken with a five-year-old on the phone, but it definitely wasn’t the thin little boy wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, squatting at the base of a tree and sticking pine needles and rocks into a mound of dirty snow.
“He’s not wearing a coat.” Finlay was already on the move. When she reached him, she crouched, using her fingers to get the boy’s unruly curls out of his eyes. “Hey, Cody.” He neither answered nor looked at her, but she persisted. “What’re you making?” Her breath came out in white puffs.
“A fort.”
“Are these windows?” She touched some of the rocks.
“No. They’re guards.”
A visceral memory hit of being outside in the cold, just like this kid. That feeling of being exposed and vulnerable rocked him to his core. Because at least he’d had Marco. This boy didn’t seem to have anyone.
“Oh, that’s really cool,” Finlay said. “I bet the people inside feel really safe. Hey, guess who’s here to see you?”
The boy’s gaze flicked up.
Several emotions ran wild inside him. First, the boy’s uncanny resemblance to Marco threw him back to his own childhood when his friend was a scrappy, skinny kid who wouldn’t back down from a threat. But also, with the same wild black curls and dimples on either side of his mouth as his dad, the boy reminded him of the quieter moments with his friend when they’d hike or build forts away from the chaos of the club.
But man, it was like looking right into Marco’s hazel eyes.
Until this moment, Jude had understood intellectually what Carlo was asking of him. But right then, he got it on a much deeper level.
Because this is Marco’s son.
And he’s out here alone in twenty-degree weather with no supervision.Did he even have food in his belly?
If something happened to Carlo, this boy would grow up in the club. He wouldn’t have a traditional education, celebrate holidays, or know the kind of love only a parent could give a child.
Cody would live by his desires and not his obligations. Like Marco, he might never realize his potential or become the man he was born to be.
