Mack Daddy(55)

Mack finally noticed me standing there. I suddenly felt like an imposter.

Taking a few steps inside the room, I asked, “Are you okay, Jonah?”

“Yeah.”

Addressing Mack, I said, “I want you to know I’m going to be calling those kids’ parents to let them know what happened.”

“Thank you,” he said without looking at me.

Then came a very unwelcome interruption when Clarissa McIntyre and her son, Ethan, walked in.

Great.

“Sorry to intrude. We heard there was a little scene out there and wanted to make sure Jonah was okay.”

“Hey, Jonah,” the boy said.

Jonah’s face perked up a bit. “Hi, Ethan.”

Ethan was actually a very good kid, shy in his own right and seemed to be Jonah’s only friend. His mother, on the other hand, was the opposite of shy and couldn’t have been more obvious in her intentions.

Clarissa batted her eyes at Mack. “How are you holding up, Dad?”

“I was rattled, jumped out of the dunking cage when I saw those little punks messing with him.” He squeezed Jonah’s shoulder. “But we had a talk about ignoring bullies, didn’t we?”

“Ethan had the same problem with that group of boys.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I saw Kyle McDonough took your place in the dunk tank. So, I think you’re off the hook.”

“Good. I’m in no mood to go back there.”

“I’m kind of bummed I didn’t get one shot at it, though,” Clarissa said as her gaze wandered along Mack’s wet physique in admiration. “We were wondering if you guys wanted to join us for dinner tonight.”

Mack looked pensive. “What do you think, Jonah? You want to go over to Ethan’s for dinner?”

Jonah nodded.

“Okay. Thank you. I’ll call you later to find out what we can bring,” Mack said.

Clarissa looked like she’d won the lottery. “No need to bring anything. I’m gonna cook up a bunch of different things for us. Come hungry.”

Mack glanced over at me before he replied, “I will.”

He was totally f*cking with me because he knew I was jealous. I couldn’t blame him for being pissed after what Victor pulled. Mack had every right to be frustrated.

“Can’t wait. We’ll see you boys later, then.” She looked over in my direction, acknowledging me for the first time on her way out. “Bye, Francesca.”

Almost as soon as Clarissa and Ethan exited the room, things took a dramatic turn for the worse when Torrie appeared at the doorway. It was like a game of Whac-A-Mole, one down, and an even worse one appears.

A look of alarm shone on her face. “What the heck is going on, Mack? I asked around looking for you, and they told me something happened with Jonah.”

“I didn’t think you were going to show.”

She knelt down and kissed her son. “I’m so sorry, honey.” Turning to Mack, she said, “I didn’t expect to get called into the office on a Saturday. But I’m here now.” She gave her ex a once over. “Why are you drenched?”

“I was volunteering in the dunk tank but left when I noticed some boys picking on Jonah.”

“What were they doing exactly?”

“Pulling his hair and making fun of him.”

“Are you serious? You shouldn’t have left him alone.”

She was such a bitch to him.

Torrie finally acknowledged me. “Miss. O’Hara.

“Hello, Miss Hightower. Good to see you again.”

She addressed me, “Did you see what happened?”

“I did see them taunting him and pulling his hair. Mack interrupted it. They’re a group of boys who are known for making trouble. I’ll be contacting their parents.”

“I’d like their parents’ names and contact information, as well,” she said before turning her attention to Mack. “I’m going to get him out of here, take him home with me for a little bit.”

“He’s fine, Torrie. He needs to learn to be strong. He should stay.”

“He doesn’t look fine to me. I’m just around the corner anyway. You can come get him later.”

Mack seemed upset that Torrie insisted on cutting into his scheduled time with Jonah, but he let Jonah decide. “Do you want to go to Mom’s?”

When the boy nodded yes, Mack said, “Okay…well, it’s my night, Torrie. We have dinner plans with some friends, so I’ll come get him at five.”

I inwardly cringed at the thought of Mack going over to Clarissa’s tonight.

“Fine,” she said curtly before holding out her hand. “Come on, honey.” She looked at me. “Good to see you, Miss O’Hara.”

I faked a grin. “Same.”

After they disappeared, Mack and I were left alone for the first time.

A long moment of silence followed until he bitterly bit out, “Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He went home.”

“That was real funny what he did. Pretty juvenile for an old f*cking man.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was going to be mean about it. I think he just finally snapped.”

“I can relate. I can feel myself snapping at this very moment, in fact.” He wrung the water out of his shirt. “What was supposed to be a good day has turned into a real shitty one. I’m so done.”