Jesse bawked at him. “No. I’m going into fourth grade.”
It was Zach’s turn to look stunned. Jesse must be a prodigy if he was going into fourth grade at six years old. “You are?”
Jesse gave him an annoyed look. “I’m eight.”
Zach paused, trying to digest what he’d just said. “You’re eight?”
Jesse nodded. “Yeah.”
Zach tried to remember what Danielle had said and he was pretty sure she’d said that Jesse was six. But why wouldn’t Danielle know how old her son was? Instead of trying to figure that out, he just shook his head. She’d probably just been so exhausted that she’d forgotten. He couldn’t count how many times his parents had called him Isaac or vise versa.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll like fourth grade,” he said, drawing his attention back to Jesse who was staring at the arcade in the back of the store. A slow smile spread across Zach’s lips as he nodded toward the arcade. “Wanna go play some games?”
Jesse didn’t answer, instead, he leapt from the booth and started making his way toward a racing game on the far end. Zach chuckled as he picked up their dishes and discarded them in the garbage before making his way over to Jesse.
He wasn’t sure how long they played games, but when he glanced out the front windows to see the setting sun, he realized it must have been hours. He glanced down at his watch to see that it was almost seven o’clock. Realizing that he never left a note for Danielle, he figured they should probably get back before she panicked.
He walked over to Jesse who was killing zombies and clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, bud. We should get back.”
Jesse let out a groan but then nodded as he finished killing the last zombie and returned the gun to the holster on the side. “Can we come back here tomorrow?” Jesse asked as Zach motioned for him to follow and they walked to the front door together.
Zach chuckled as he held open the door and Jesse walked through. “Um, maybe. I’ve got some things to do, but I’ll check with your mom.”
Jesse’s shoulders slumped at the mention of Danielle. Zach studied him. “What’s wrong?”
Jesse jumped over a large crack in the sidewalk and sighed. “Mom doesn’t like me playing those games. She thinks it makes me hyper.”
Zach swallowed. That wasn’t something he wanted to hear. Would she be mad at him that he took Jesse to the arcade? He was already tip-toeing around her and now this?
“Maybe we’ll keep today as our little secret,” he said, glancing down at Jesse. “And maybe, I’ll take you to a field and we can throw a ball around, you know, to help balance you out.”
Jesse got a contemplative look on his face and then he nodded. “Okay. That sounds like fun.”
Zach reached out and tousled Jesse’s hair. For only having spent the afternoon with him, Zach was beginning to like this kid. He was sweet and kind and Danielle was doing an amazing job raising him. And then the thought of the deadbeat dad who left the two of them caused heat to prick at the back of his neck. What kind of father just abandons his family like that?
He shook his head to help dispel those thoughts as he held open the front door of the apartment complex. He ushered Jesse through and over to the elevator. Jesse looked tired and small. He was just a kid, the blue streak of ice cream across his face only solidified that fact.
By the time they got to the apartment door, Jesse was dragging. Zach turned the door handle and swung open the door. Just as he stepped into the apartment, Danielle’s very red and very angry face greeted them.
“Where have you been?” she asked, bypassing Zach and rushing to Jesse where she pulled him into a hug. Jesse murmured something in protest, but Danielle didn’t seem to hear him. Instead, she looked over at Zach with death in her eyes. “Why did you take my son and not leave a note?”
Regret settled in Zach’s stomach from the panicked look in her gaze. She’d been worried about Jesse, and Zach had been an idiot to not only take her son, but not leave a note.
The extremely blonde haired girl from the other day came walking into the room from the bedrooms. Her gaze ran over Zach and she gave him an appreciative look. Then, she looked over at Danielle who was still hugging Jesse. “Hey, you found him,” she said, giving them a thumbs up.
Danielle shot her an annoyed look but the girl didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she walked over to Zach and extended out her hand. “Sunny,” she said.
Zach met her hand and shook it. “Zach.”
A strange giggle mixed with a snort emerged from her lips. “I know,” she said, her cheeks hinting pink.
Zach just nodded, not sure where to go with that.
Sunny glanced from him over to Danielle who had ushered Jesse over to the sink and turned on the water. She was wetting a paper towel and wiping his face with it.
“Good job, stealing him,” Sunny said, nodding toward Jesse.
Feeling uncomfortable, Zach shook his head. “I didn’t—I mean, that wasn’t my intention.”
