Heartless: A Small Town Single Dad Romance(72)

I prop my hands on my hips, giving him my best say-nothing glare.

He’s not a stupid man. He’s grinning at me like he knows something. And I’m sure he does. I just don’t need him making it weird by making some joke about us giving the lawn a blow job or whatever shit he comes up with for entertainment.

I can’t wait to be old and retired and say things just to see how people will react to get my kicks.

That’s the dream right there.

“Just tired,” is what I opt to respond with.

Harvey props himself against the post on the front porch with a knowing grin. “That’s what happens when you stay up too late partying at your age.”

Willa stands up straight now, arm slung around Luke, who is still clinging to her. “I was the one out partying. Cade stayed home to, uh, clean the house. He’s very tidy. You did well in that department.”

My dad scoffs. “That boy only cleans when he’s anxious.”

Dick.

“Well then, his anxiety must be off the charts,” Willa quips, trying to keep things light. Her bartender banter is on point, but my dad doesn’t fall for it.

“He’s looking mighty relaxed this morning,” he replies, grinning ear-to-ear.

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, kicking at a stone in the packed dirt beneath my work boot.

Willa snickers and looks away. We both know we’re busted. Old Harvey’s fucking eagle eyes never miss a beat. And that’s what I get for staring at Willa like she hung the moon.

It’s been all of ten minutes since we left the house, and I’m already failing at keeping things between us under wraps. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to, but I also don’t want all the pitying looks when she leaves. The throat clearing and the back pats. And if people don’t know about us, they won’t know why I’m miserable. And that just feels a lot more bearable to me.

“What’s the plan today?” I stare down at Luke, opting to ignore my dad entirely.

“Planning my birthday! Willa, you’ll come right? Even though it’s on the weekend?”

She smiles down at him, giving his small shoulders a tight squeeze. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Will you play happy birthday to me on your guitar?”

She laughs and my dick goes hard. Watching Willa play the guitar is up there for me. All unplugged and stripped down, just her soft raspy voice and the gentle strumming of her dainty fingers,

with long hair splayed against the stained wood.

It’s almost as hot as watching her sit on a bucking horse and stick the ride.

“I have an even better idea,” Willa says. “I’ll teach you how to play it too.”

Luke’s eyes go wide. “In front of everyone?”

“Only if you want to.” She ruffles his hair, and my brain snags on everyone. Because Luke’s birthday is the one day of the year that Talia likes to crawl out of the woodwork.

I glance over at my dad. We spent enough years working this land together, learned to read each other pretty well, and I see he’s thinking the same thing.

I’ve never wanted to keep Talia away from Luke. I’ve given her every opportunity to be a part of his life, even if she hasn’t taken those chances.

I think it hurts me more than it hurts Luke. For him, she’s not a factor. For me, she should have been. I can’t wrap my head around missing him growing up, but I’ll never shame her for it, and I’ll never gatekeep our son so long as she isn’t hurting him.

“We need to talk about the reunion, Cade,” my dad says. “Come for lunch? You and I can do some planning.”

“Willa too!” Luke is already dragging her up to the house, his tiny hand clamped around hers.

“It’s her day off, pal,” I remind him, seeing the line between everything blur and desperately trying to keep it in place.

She glances down at Luke and over at me. “It’s okay. I don’t need a day off from you, buddy.

You’re one of my favorite people in the world.”

My heart stutters in my chest, and I suck in a sharp breath. The way Luke smiles, the way he stands just a little bit taller, makes the bridge of my nose sting.

I scrunch it up and give it a wipe before looking away. Then I stride to the house, head down, so no one will see the emotion in my eyes.

But I don’t need to look at my dad for him to know. After all, who knows their son better than a single dad? Before he retired, we spent long days on the range together, so it’s damn near impossible to keep anything from each other.

“You’ve got it bad, boy,” is what he says, clapping me on the shoulder as I move past him.

And he’s never been more right.





25



Willa

Cade: Just need like ten more minutes.

Willa: Any guesses on whether or not I put panties on this morning?

Cade: I’m sitting with my dad right now. I don’t need a boner.

Willa: No panties. My kitty is too sore from riding your massive pole.

Cade: Woman, are you intentionally ignoring my instructions?

Willa: You don’t tell me what to do. I thought we’d established that by now?

“W illa! Let’s go.”

My head whips around at the sound of Cade’s authoritative voice, barking at me like I work for him. Like it’s not my “day off” and we didn’t spend the entire night fucking each other’s brains out. I shake my head and widen my eyes down at Luke.