Love, Exes, and Ohs (Cactus Creek #4)(45)

Vivian had moved from surprise to absolute shock when Blake had walked over to them and interrupted their now peaceful, and same-paged planning with a quiet, “I think mommy would want me to sleep at home tonight.”

He then gave them all a serious nod that belonged on someone lightyears older than his sweet eight year old self. “Don’t worry, you guys, mom and I already talked about the plan. She told me that if something ever happened to her, Xoey would take care of me and that I was to do all my homework, eat all my veggies, and make my bed every morning.” Tears flooded his little eyes. “Just like always. So I’m going to do the plan just like we said. Don’t worry, Aunt Vivvy. Mommy will be proud of me. I’ll be okay in my own room tonight.”

Vivian’s arms shot around him and wrapped him up into a tight hug. “Oh Blake, honey.” Overwhelmed tears mixed with a sad chuckle. “I forgot how you and your mommy talk about everything.” She set him back down and cupped his cheeks. “I think that’s a terrific plan. And your mommy will definitely be proud of you.”

After that, Vivian had been like a totally different person. She came over to give Xoey just as emotional a hug. “Take care of my nephew. I know I’m not his mother or his mom—?

Xoey hugged her back. “You’re his favorite aunt.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m his only aunt.”

“No, his favorite. You’re the one who tells him and his cousins the best bedtime stories, and makes the best spaghetti and meatballs. The one who made him the quilt on his bed with all his favorite cartoon characters, and the one who sat with him at the doctor’s and made him laugh the day he’d fallen and broken his arm.” Xoey smiled. “The one who he looks forward to seeing every weekend. The one I’m going to make sure he keeps seeing every weekend.”

At Vivian’s renewed rush of tears, Xoey squeezed her shoulder. “I promise.”

Vivian just nodded vigorously and hugged her again.

Looking around Blake’s childhood home now, Xoey was glad things had worked out the way it had, with Blake sleeping soundly in his own room.

She and Isaac had tucked him into bed two hours ago, and irrational or not, she’d checked on him on the hour since. Just as she was heading over to do right now.

“When he sleeps, he looks so much like you,” murmured Isaac, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”

Xoey smiled. “That just happened in the past few years. When he was first born, he looked mostly Caucasian.”

They quietly let themselves out of his room and headed over to the kitchen, her mind racing the entire time. She felt like she was nine years too late to the starting line and now had to sprint like a madman just to catch up.

“Honey, sit down. Rest a little. You haven’t taken a single minute to slow down.”

Xoey halted in her tracks and realized she’d been pacing around the living room randomly dusting here, picking up a toy there, and jotting down note after note in the notebook on the coffee table.

Suddenly feeling like a deflated balloon, she sank down onto the now fully reclined futon sofa, which, she didn’t even remember opening up.

Isaac pulled her into his arms and just held her.

She didn’t know how many minutes had passed when she whispered softly, “You haven’t asked about Blake’s father.”

His entire body tensed behind her, but his voice revealed nothing when he replied, “I didn’t think you wanted to talk about it.”

For once, she actually did want to talk about it. “He never wanted us. Me or Blake.”

Isaac was silent for a few beats before he asked quietly, “It was that guy, wasn’t it? The slick suit? Your first?”

“Yes.” Shame and embarrassment flooded through her. “I was a one night stand for him. Period. But I was too na?ve to know that then. I’d thought that night was the start of something great between us.” She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “I waited, you know. Every day for weeks. I waited for him to call me. When he didn’t, I was crushed. But that didn’t stop me from holding onto this glimmer of home all over again after I’d found out I was pregnant. That he’d tell me it’d all been a misunderstanding. But it wasn’t.”

“So you told him you were pregnant?”

“I tried. I went over to the place he’d taken me to that night. But apparently, he didn’t live there. He’d just used his buddy’s place to bang me. And because the door that had closed on my face that day was pretty thin, the laughter of his friends at my expense came through loud and clear. Evidently, not only were there many girls as stupid as me who’d fallen for the jerk, but he’d even used a fake name on me as well. Needless to say, I was mortified. A feeling that came rushing right back again when I filled out Blake’s birth certificate nine months later and had to leave the birth father’s name blank.”

“That bastard,” snarled Isaac. “Dammit, Xo, I want to kill the guy for being so heartless.”

“It’s okay. It’s his loss. He’s not getting to see this amazing child grow up.

“How often do you get to see Blake?”

She tilted in head in thought. “I guess about once a month or so. More during the summers, and of course the holidays.”