Love, Exes, and Ohs (Cactus Creek #4)(47)

He was Xoey’s first and worst Mr. Wrong.

…And Blake was his son.

The shrill ringtone of his cell phone pierced through the silent apartment, jarring his already rattled composure.

“H’lo?” he picked up on autopilot, unsure of what else to do besides let the world keep turning.

“Hey! Are you still at my apartment?”

“Yep,” he replied woodenly, still too thrown to be able to provide more than one-worded answers.

“Oh good. Blake wants to go bike riding this afternoon and I told him I’d join him on my roller blades. They’re in the hall closet. Do you think you can bring them back with you?”

“Sure.”

Pause.

“Isaac, are you okay? You sound…strange.”

He snapped out of it then, giving himself a hard shake, mentally and physically. “I’m fine, sweetie. Just distracted.”

“Oh. Is it work? I’m sorry, I know you’ve been spending a lot of time with me and Blake lately—?

“No,” he broke in, probably more loudly than he needed too. “There’s no problems with work. And why on earth are you apologizing for that? I love spending time with you two.”

“We love spending time with you, too. But I know it’s a lot.” She hesitated for a beat. “I’d understand if you just need to take some time to…assess everything, or even take a break. I know you only signed on for one of us. So if this is too much right now—?

“Xoey, stop. Just stop. Do you honestly think I’d break up with you because you have a son? That I’d suddenly just up and not want you anymore?”

“Sometimes it happens,” she said quietly. “It’s no one’s fault.”

He growled. “Tell me you’re not thinking about Blake’s biological father right now, Xoey.”

Her silence compounded his frustration.

Damn the friggin’ irony of the situation.

“I’m never going to stop wanting you, Xoey. And I’m not leaving you. Or your son.”

At her continued silence, he then went and declared the one thing that would nail the point home like nothing else could.

“I’m not him, Xoey. That’ll never, ever be me, I promise you.”

The soft, trembling sigh on the phone line told him that vow was exactly what she’d needed to hear.

He’d definitely hammered the point home…right into his own coffin.





CHAPTER TWENTY


XOEY HELD ONTO Blake’s jacket and watched as he ran into the hospital room to spend some time with Darcy.

They’d been coming to chat with her every day for the past week. After she’d explained to him that Darcy could very likely hear everything around her, and that talking to her would help her, Blake had been a little trooper on a mission. Every day after she’d pick him up from school, he’d tell her all about a particularly eventful thing that had happened, or explain some cool new thing he’d learned. And after each tale and summary, he’d inevitably turn those wide eyes at Xoey and ask, “You think Mom would want to hear this story?”

Xoey answered yes every time.

Some days, on the car ride over to the hospital, Blake would give her a little worried frown and lament that he didn’t have any cool things to tell his mom that day. So they’d spend a few minutes brainstorming and recalling fun or funny things that he could talk about before they headed in.

Several times, mid-conversation with Darcy, he’d looked like a panicked actor ready to call out, “Line!” when he’d stumble or forget something he was going to tell her.

Xoey would fill in the blanks for him and watch, adoringly, as his little chest would exhale in relief moments before he’d pick up the story and take it for his usual animated spin.

And every time, before he left for the day, he’d say a variation of the same thing:

“You look real good today, Mommy. Don’t worry, I’ve been eating all my vegetables and doing all my homework. You just keep getting better. I’ll have some more funny stories to tell you next time. Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

He was absolutely precious.

Today, Xoey was certain he wouldn’t need any help filling in the blanks as his class had gone on a big Friday field trip the day before. And this morning, Isaac had brought over a bunch of his buddies to play football with Blake at the park. He’d had an absolute blast and had been talking non-stop the entire ride over to the hospital.

As Blake launched into the detailed accounting of his field trip, Xoey settled into the chair in the far corner to give him some space.

She was downright shocked to see Vivian step in moments later and claim the seat beside her.

“I hear you’ve been bringing Blake over here every evening.”

“He wants to come—? Xoey began in defense.

Vivian held her hand up. “I’m not criticizing, just commenting. I was surprised at first to learn that, because it’s not something I would do.”

Again, Xoey felt the urge to defend her and Blake’s decision to stop by every day.

And again, Vivian held up her hand. “Again, not judging. I just want to…talk. Is that okay?”

Xoey nodded and took the olive branch that Vivian was clearly holding out for her to take.