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Hayden sighs and buckles up. “Dad, no one likes me at school. I hate being the new kid.”
“Who was that boy just now?” I refrain from opening the door and giving him a piece of my mind. That would probably only make it worse for Hayden.
“That was Christopher Walker. The biggest bully at school.”
“That’s the kid who’s been mean to you?”
“Yeah, ever since my first day.”
“Did you say his last name was Walker?” The Walkers have never liked our family. They call us snooty and uppity and have been aggressive at the local bar toward us on more than one occasion.
“Yeah. He stole my lunch and ate it himself, and my mom made me peanut butter and jelly, my favorite.”
“Did you get anything to eat?”
“No.” He’s on the verge of tears. “I’m starving. I tried to tell my teacher, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“Well, as soon as we get you home, we’ll get you some food. Would that help?”
Hayden sniffles. “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry.” And this is one of the reasons I don’t want Hayden to go to the regular elementary school. If he were tutored, he wouldn’t have to face this kind of bullying. And he’s only being bullied because he’s a Keith. He may have a different last name, thanks to Amanda never allowing him to take mine, but it’s no secret that Hayden has moved to Blue Mountain because he’s my long-lost son. People in this small town gobble up a story like that faster than a starving teenager at a pizza place.
I kind of feel like cornering the kid’s dad and telling him to keep his son in line, but I doubt that would do any good. I’m not going to go all mafia on the dude. It’s not really my style.
But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do nothing either. “I’ll talk to your mom, and we can tell the school. He’s not going to get away with this.”
“Okay.” His little voice sounds so scared and overwhelmed. If I weren’t driving, I’d take him in my arms and help make it all better. But I’m not sure how he’d feel about it. It’s bad enough that he’s moving into not only a new home with his mom, but now he’s moving into my house too.
It’s going to be a lot for him to handle at once, and I’m terrified I won’t be able to know the right ways to help. Maybe Jenni is right, and we do need that family therapy. I’ll have to get Maggie to look into it.
We pull up to the house, and it hits me that this is a start of a new era. I’m officially on my own as a dad. Before this, I had Mom, Jenni, and Amanda stepping in to help.
Just thinking about Jenni causes a heavy ache to build within me. I’ve barely heard from her. How am I going to face fatherhood without her by my side? She’s so good with Hayden. The irony of this situation is that she doesn’t want to be with me because we couldn’t have kids. But I already have one right in front of me, and I’m desperate for her help.
Hayden climbs out of the car when I’ve parked it in the garage, and he heads into the house.
“Want to see your new room?” I ask, following him.
“Sure.” That seems to cheer him up a bit. He dashes toward it. I showed him last week which room it would be. It used to be my guest room, but we’ve redecorated it and brought in toys, a new tablet for him—set up with parental controls at Maggie’s insistence—and a plethora of new stuffed animals. Maggie insisted those would help to comfort him when he misses his mom.
“Do you have any favorite toys you want over here from your mom’s?”
“Yeah, but she won’t let me bring any of them over here.” His face is sullen.
“Why not?” I ask.
“She says it’s best if we keep our households separate.”
That would probably explain why she decided to give away the backpack. And who knows what else?
“Okay. The good news is, we have some pretty great stuffed animals here. Miss Maggie picked them out for you.”
He grabs a squishy stuffed whale and wraps his arms around it. “I’m going to name this one Wilbur the Whale.” He climbs up onto his bed and sets Wilbur next to him. “What’s this?” He picks up the tablet.
I show him how to work it, and before long, his worries are forgotten as he starts downloading various learning apps and games.
I’d have to give Maggie a raise after all the wonderful things she’s thought of.