Page 23 of Free Wind (Lifeguards of Barking Beach #2)

Tasha grinned. “Yep. I got off easy.” Her smile faded. “I haven’t told my parents about you either. When I rocked up pregnant, it wasn’t the best day. But they adjusted, and they’ve been awesome with Coop and love Tony. I’ll talk to them once we know where all this is…going.”

“Makes sense.”

“Anyway, about our visit. Tony’s brother’s marrying a Freo girl, so we decided to make a holiday of it.

Had to wrangle with Coop’s school to get him the time off, but he can handle it.

He’s smart as.” She beamed. “His grades are top of the class, and he’s so curious about the world.

He always has been. When he started crawling, it was game on. ”

For an awful moment, Blake couldn’t breathe through a swell of regret and longing that choked him like grief. He’d missed out on so much. He’d never get to see his son as a newborn. Or rolling over, crawling, taking his first steps…

What if his son had needed his help and he hadn’t been there? Of course Cooper had needed him. Thank God he’d had Tasha and Tony, but there were so many things Blake could’ve helped with.

“What was his first word?” he asked, his voice gone hoarse.

Tasha’s smile faded as her face softened into a sad, sympathetic expression. “It was ‘meow.’ He loved talking to our cat, Gorgonzola. It took him a while to be able to say her actual name. She was just ‘Meow’ to him.”

Blake laughed, blinking away sudden tears. “Sorry I missed that.”

Tasha’s eyes glistened. “I am too. I really am.”

“I understand why you didn’t tell me. I’m just starting to really think about what I missed.”

“I can send you all the pictures and videos we have. Well, maybe not all of them since it would take you months to get through.”

“I’ll take everything. Please.”

“Of course. I wish—I wish I could turn back time.”

Blake smiled sadly. “I do too. But all we can do is move forward. What about child support?”

Tasha shook her head. “Not necessary. We’re good.”

“It’s absolutely necessary. I owe you backpay and of course going forward. What about uni? An education fund.”

“Already covered. Honestly, this isn’t about money. I really want to make that clear. We don’t need or want your money.”

Blake took a deep breath, trying to calm his agitation. “I understand that. Regardless, Cooper is my son, and I need to help him financially. Please.”

Tasha smiled softly. “All right. I’ll discuss with Tony, and the three of us can come up with a plan.”

He exhaled slowly. “A plan sounds good.” Even if Cooper wasn’t keen on having a relationship with him—something Blake really didn’t want to ponder—he would help him financially.

“Right. Speaking of plans, we’ll be out there a week—arriving Friday, wedding Saturday. Meet you Sunday? We can see how it goes. It’s short notice, I realize. Not sure what your schedule’s like.”

“Whatever works best for you. I can have a chat to my boss about taking a few days off. I’ve got some time accrued.”

She smiled, looking relieved. “All right. We’re heading down to Bremer Bay for two nights to see the killer whales. Coop’s obsessed. Depending on how you and he feel, maybe you could come with?”

“Absolutely! I’d love it.” He wasn’t sure exactly where Bremer Bay was, but it didn’t matter. He’d be there.

“Okay. We’ll see how things go, yeah?”

He nodded again, trying not to think about the possibility of things going badly. “Have you—he doesn’t know anything about this yet? Meeting me, I mean.”

“Not yet. That’ll be for tomorrow after school.” She lifted her shoulders in an exaggerated shrug, her thick, sculpted eyebrows rising in tandem. “Suppose we’ll see how he reacts. It’ll be up to him in the end if he’s keen to meet you so soon or not.”

“Of course.” Blake tried to keep an even expression on his face while his mind pleaded, Please like me! “If he doesn’t want to meet me for whatever reason, I’ll respect that.” Even though the idea of it made him want to spew.

Tash tilted her head, gazing at him, assessing. Behind her, shadows from a lamp painted a beige wall and ceiling, the corner of a painting in view, though Blake couldn’t make out more than a green shape. “You really do seem grown-up.”

“You too.”

“Yeah, I guess we’re proper adults or something. Rumor has it, anyway. I have two brilliant kids, so I suppose I’m doing all right. Did I tell you about Rosie?”

After Tasha spoke about her daughter, he said, “They both sound amazing. Cooper’s brilliant, huh?”

Tasha beamed again. “He is. I realize I’m extremely biased, but yes.”

“He must get the brains from you.”

“Didn’t you have a scholarship to uni, or am I remembering wrong?”

“Yeah, but I’m a garbo now.”

“Council job with benefits, right? That’s smart, mate. Not that I don’t love working for a nonprofit, but sometimes I think I should’ve become a tradie.”

“What kind of nonprofit?”

Tasha told him about the food bank she worked for before saying, “By the way, do you have a boyfriend?”

He actually almost said yes, which was crazy. “I just started seeing someone, actually. It’s still new, but…” He shrugged.

Tash laughed, the most loudly and genuinely since they’d been speaking. “But you fancy him quite a lot.” She grinned. “Nah, don’t deny it. Your whole face lit up.”

“Did it?” He realized he was grinning too, and his face flushed warm all the way down to his chest. “Yeah, I… I like him. Still early days, though.”

She sat her chin on her hand and said in a teasing tone, “Come on, tell me everything.” She straightened. “You don’t have to tell me anything, though. I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“All good. I…” He inhaled and breathed out slowly.

“This has been quite a week. I’m a clubbie here at Barking Beach, and I’ve had this crush on a lifeguard.

And he actually likes me back. Then I became a father overnight.

Haven’t had this much excitement since… I think this is probably the most exciting week of my life, actually. ”

She smiled sympathetically. “Exciting and terrifying?”

“Definitely.” He laughed. “I didn’t plan for any of this, and I usually have multiple contingencies in place. Didn’t see this coming. Not that going on a couple of dates with a guy compares to having a son.”

I have a son.

“No, but tell me more about this hot lifeguard.” She waggled her eyebrows. “If I can’t live vicariously through my gay secret baby daddy’s love life, where can I?”

Blake grinned. “His name’s Damo. Like I said, he’s a lifeguard at Barking.”

“The new Bondi, right? It’s on our to-do list, actually. Living in Parramatta, we don’t get to the beaches too often, and Coop wants to see it even though it’ll be crowded as hell.”

“Maybe Damo can give you a tour or something. Show Cooper the lifeguard tower and all that. If Coop wants to. If he even wants to meet me. And if Damo’s able. I shouldn’t be making any promises for him.”

“It’s all right, you’re not. Actually, if everything goes well, maybe you could bring him to Bremer?

Or another friend? Might help take the pressure off.

So it’s not just you feeling awkward with us.

Our daughter Rosie will be staying in Perth with her grandparents.

She’s too young for the whale watching.”

“That would be amazing.” He could ask Kat, but the idea of going to Bremer Bay with Damo to whale watch made him feel like the sun was shining. Damo would love it.

“You met at the beach?”

“Yeah. Kind of a funny story, actually. Could have been tragic, but it wasn’t.”

She leaned back on her leather couch and sipped from a glass of red. “I’m all ears.”

So, Blake told the mother of his child how he’d helped Damo with the panicking tourists, and she laughed and smiled in all the right parts, and hope filled him like a balloon.

It was all new with Damo and Cooper, but Blake’s confidence swelled. Look how well this talk with Tasha had gone. The new plan was in motion.