Page 55 of Deception & Daylight (Oak Ridge #3)

Liam

When You Love Someone - Lukas Graham

The doorbell rings for the third time in less than two minutes, and I’m rushing to dry off from my shower.

I damn near fall flat on my ass as I hop into a pair of grey sweatpants on my way to the door.

Another ring and I’m muttering expletives under my breath as I swing the door open.

When I see who’s on the other side, my anger gets the better of me, “What the fuck are you doing here, Breanna?”

Her gaze slowly rakes over my body, stopping on the tattoos covering my chest, and it sends an unwelcome chill up my spine. I haven’t seen my ex in almost five years and nothing good can come of her showing up out of the blue. “Nice to see you too, Liam. Really nice.”

“I’ll ask again, Bree. What the fuck do you want?”

“I have someone you need to meet. Can you at least keep an open mind?”

My brows draw together in confusion as she glances over her shoulder at the small green car parked in my driveway.

I follow her line o f sight to the rear passenger door and stumble back when I see a little boy in the backseat.

He can’t be more than three or four years old, and I’d recognize those green eyes anywhere.

This little boy is mine — I know it in my bones.

Closing my eyes, I suck in a lungful of air and try to gentle my tone, but the anger is apparent in every word. “I have a son?”

“We were never right for each other, Liam. You know that. I didn’t want to bring a child into a broken relationship.

” To her credit, she doesn’t break eye contact when she spews her bullshit excuses, but that’s all it is…

bullshit. Breanna and I were never going to work out, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have loved my son.

“So you thought it was a good idea to keep him from me?” My nostrils flare against my barely contained anger. I want to head into my gym and pummel all of my frustrations into the heavy bag, but now isn’t the time.

“Like I said, two broken people would’ve only made a broken home for him. I didn't want that.”

“And what about what I wanted, huh? Did you think about that before you took off with my kid?”

“I have a lot of regrets, Liam, but that’s not going to change the situation I’m in now. I need you to take him.”

I stumble back a step, trying to wrap my head around what she’s saying. “What the fuck? You can’t just re-home a child like a fucking pair of shoes that no longer fit, Breanna.”

“I can’t take him with me, Liam. You should get to know each other. He’s a good kid. I’ve raised him well, despite what you might think of me. He needs you.”

“He doesn’t know me, Bree. He needs his mom. He needs stability. I work in a bar. I don’t know the first thing about raising a kid.”

“I didn’t know the first thing about being a mother, but I managed. Besides, you practically raised Connor.”

My younger brother and I grew up moving from o ne foster home to the next. By the time I aged out of the system, I was able to take him with me, but he was already well into his teens by then. I know next to nothing about little kids, and I don't even have friends to lean on for help.

“You had nine fucking months to prepare for that. You’re dropping a four-year-old off with a man he’s never met. You don't even know me anymore. What about your parents? Wouldn’t they take him?”

“I haven’t spoken to them in five years. They disowned me when I told them I was going to be a single mom. Just meet him. Please.”

The little boy stares out the window, watching our interaction, and something in his green eyes compels me to give this a chance. “Ok. I’ll meet him.”

She nods and I watch as she walks back to the car and helps him out of his car seat — another thing I know nothing about.

He’s clutching a well-worn fleece blanket in one hand, and a stuffed dinosaur in the other.

He’s radiating nervous energy as his eyes dart around the yard.

When he finally looks at me, I muster up a soft smile for the little dude who looks so much like me when I was younger, only now realizing I don’t know his name.

When he steps onto the stoop, I crouch down to his level. “Hey little man, I’m Liam.”

“Are you my daddy?”

Unsure how to answer or how much he knows about what’s happening today, I look up at Breanna in silent question. She nods and I return my attention to the little boy in front of me. “I am. It’s very nice to meet you…”

“Aiden. His name is Aiden.”

“You like dinosaurs, Aiden?” His face lights up with an adorable smile, and if I still had a heart, it would’ve leapt out of my chest. I feel instantly connected to this person and we’ve only just met.

I can honestly say that’s only ever happened to me one other time, and it’s not something I like to think about anymore.

Although, I can’t seem to escape her these days.

Aiden nods his head, his ginger curls bouncing with each movement. In an attempt to form some kind of connection with him, albeit a shallow one, I ask, “What’s your favorite dinosaur?”

“Ste – steg – stegosaurus,” he says, stumbling over the word.

“Is that the spikey one?” I already know it is.

Connor went through a major dinosaur phase when he was around ten years old, after we were placed with our fourth foster family.

The dad was a geologist, and it was one of the better homes we spent some time in.

But once his wife got pregnant, they no longer had space for hand-me-down kids.

Aiden cuddles his dinosaur to his chest and releases a yawn. “Come inside, Bree. It’ll be more comfortable for Aiden and we can talk.”

“I can’t stay, Liam. And I can’t take him with me.”

“Don’t do this,” I plead.

“Mommy?” Aiden’s voice is broken as he stares up at his mom. “Are you going now?”

I don’t know how much Breanna has told him, but it’s clear he was prepared for her to leave him and it breaks my heart for this kid who’s about to be stuck with a stranger in a strange town.

He must be terrified. I know what it’s like to feel unwanted, and I’ll be damned if he ever feels that from me.

Maybe I don’t know the first thing about being a father, but I’ll learn. For him.

Breanna bends down and kisses his head, smoothing a hand over his curls. “Be good for your daddy, okay?”

“Where are you going, Bree? How can I contact you?”

“Take care of my son. You’ll be a better parent than I ever was.”

Aiden looks up at me through tearful eyes, and the need to comfort him overwhelms me.

I pull him into my arms and he buries his face against my shoulder, his tiny body wracked with sobs.

I hold on to my barely contained rage as I watch Breanna deposit his car seat and a much too small suitcase on the ground outside of her car, and take off down the drive.

Aiden's breathing slows and by the time I have him inside, he’s fast asleep on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry, little man.” Sinking down into my leather armchair, I vow to do everything in my power to give this kid everything he could ever need and more.

He will want for nothing. I don’t know how the hell we’re going to make this work, but I’m willing to do what it takes to be the father Connor and I never had.