I didn’t need to have another baby. Jake, Brayden, and Brittany were all I needed, as long as I had Gabe by my side.
I knew I wasn’t Brayden and Brittany’s mom, but I’d come to love them, and I knew they cared about me and Jake.
“Who the fuck is that, and why is he holding my son?”
I realized I was smiling from ear to ear when I replied, “That’s Gabe Mitchell. He made the kitchen cabinets youhadto have.”
I realized how fortunate I was that Troy had insisted on those darn cabinets.
****
Gabe
Oh, fuck no. They’re mine.
That’d been my immediate reaction when I saw Gretchen and Jake in the booth with that asshole.
While I’d talked with Beau that morning, I realized he was right—as much as that’d pained me. I loved her more than my fear.
For the first time in seven years, I allowed myself to consider what having another kid might look like.
It looked like Jake.
And however many more little Gretchens she wanted.
It’d been confirmed when my little man caught sight of me and slipped out of his booster chair to make a mad dash my way.
The look on the fucker’s face, along with Gretchen’s bright smile, when I scooped Jake up in my arms had felt immensely satisfying.
The four of us approached the booth where they were seated.
I opened with, “Look who I found!” the same time Jake asked, loudly, “Mama and Jake at your house?”
“That’d be fun, huh, buddy?”
He nodded solemnly and added a lot of gibberish along with a very clear, “Pancakes!”
That made me laugh out loud.
“I’ll definitely make you pancakes again.”
Troy scowled and looked at Gretchen.
“What is he talking about? Why is thecabinet makermaking my son pancakes?”
I answered for her.
“Because Jake likes pancakes for breakfast, that’s why.”
“And how the fuck do you know that?”
I lightly cover Jake’s ears with my hands and admonished, “Language!”
It seemed to have the intended effect, because the dude’s face got red, so I went in for another jab.
“I think the bigger question is, why don’tyouknow that?”
“That’s none of your business.”
