Oh my God. A thought dawned on me:What if Caleb lived with his mother?
As the woman made her way into the living room, still not looking at Caleb or me, she began to spout off a list of questions. Her back was to us as she opened an ottoman and rifled through the contents before she quickly turned in our direction. However, instead of looking up at us, she dug through the couch cushions.
“Caleb, dear, Noelle left Mr. Snuffles here. I also don’t have her cleats. She said she left them in her gym bag, but they aren’t there. Do you have Mrs. Gomez’s email? I need to ask her something about that class parent thing I signed up for. Noelle also told me to tell you how you missed your phone call, so she’s not giving Daddy a good night smooch over the phone as punishment.” The woman prattled on, flipping her short hair as she finally looked up.
The woman’s eyes widened as she saw me standing next to Caleb, who grabbed my hand in his. Maybe a tactic to keep me from running. A good idea on his part.
“Shit,” the woman, presumably Caleb’s mother, said and ran over to us. “I’m so sorry.”
She peered at Caleb with an apologetic look on her face and then focused her attention onto me. “You must be Grace.” She outstretched her hand for me to shake. “I’m Anne, Caleb’s mother.”
He told his mom about me?
I was still stunned by the whirlwind of information just thrown at me, so I stood there in silence, trying to take in all that had just happened.
I grabbed her hand and mustered up enough of my manners to greet her. “Nice to meet you.” I smiled, looking at Caleb, wanting to grill him about all these revelations.
Anne cleared her throat and affectionately grabbed Caleb’s arm. “I’m going to head out. I’ll tell Noelle to call you later … or in the morning.” She glanced at me again. “I’m sorry again for interrupting.”
The door slammed shut, and Caleb and I were alone once more.
Well, as alone as we could be now that there was a giant elephant in the room.
“Daddy, huh?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. I couldn’t help the amused expression that plagued my face as I waited for him to elaborate.
Caleb smiled sheepishly once more. “Yes. Daddy.” He shrugged, blowing out a breath. “I have a daughter.”
CHAPTER 14
Caleb
“You have a kid?”Grace asked, and I nodded slowly. “A daughter,” she added, seeming unable to help the smile that crossed her face.
“Is that a problem?” I asked trepidatiously.
She shook her head from side to side. “No!” Grace corrected quickly. “Not at all.”
“Good,” I said simply. I grinned at her, leaning against the bookcase.
“Good.” She mirrored my stance as she leaned against the other bookcase.
This was going to be an interesting evening.
Grace sat at the table as I brought out the food I’d made. Just burgers from the grill with fresh corn from the farmers’ market and a simple side salad. I had to learn quickly how to cook so Noelle and I didn’t starve. Well, really, I just hated depending on my mom and other people to help more than they already did.
I poured Grace more wine as she took another bite of burger.
She began to chew and let out a content moan. “You’re such a good cook.” She covered her mouth and continued to eat. “Ireally shouldn’t be surprised—you’re a man of many talents.” Grace winked at me and I proceeded to blush.
I took a slow sip from the stemless wineglass, trying to recount the events from this evening. It had barely started and yet so much had already happened. So much had been revealed.
After my mom dropped the bomb and left, and I had confirmed that I was indeed a parent, I had gone into the kitchen to grab our meal. We settled in around the dining table, eating in relative silence, the only sounds the scraping of cutlery against china, and the occasional appreciative noise escaping our lips. Both of us were blissfully ignoring the elephant in the room.
When Grace told me that my having a daughter wasn’t a problem, I longed for her to mean it.
I didn’t intend on lying by omission to Grace about Noelle’s existence. I never had to navigate relationships and my child before.
I didn’t have the time. My kid didn’t need to get attached to somebody I wasn’t sure would stick around. Noelle had been through enough with her own mother’s abandonment. I wouldn’t purposely cause her more pain and trauma.
