Mike looked at me for a long moment and then burst out laughing. “Yeah. The fucking brat stuck me in it instead.”

I patted his knee. “Don’t worry, if there are any big, scary raccoons, I’ll protect you.” I opened the door, jumping out, happy to be away from the crowd. I didn’t wait to see if he was behind me, but ran up the wooden steps, pushed open the door, and stopped dead in my tracks.

It may have been smaller than my first tree house, but it was beautiful. It was mostly one large room, with gleaming hardwood floors. To my right there was a wall, sectioning off what I assumed was the bathroom. The rest of the space was all living area, a queen sized bed took up most of the left side, a small leather chair sat next to a dresser outside the bathroom. Across from me were two giant windows flanking an open French door, leading to a screened in porch that looked like it was perched over the magnificent lake.

“Wow.”

Mike came in behind me, stopping beside me. “Yeah, wow.” He turned, taking in the space that resembled a master bedroom. He groaned when he glanced behind us. “Thank fucking Christ for Kelly.”

I turned, smiling when I saw the six pack of my favorite Angry Orchard hard cider sitting next to a six pack of Sam Adams on a bureau. “Thank God for the Kellys,” I agreed, positive it was Lia and not her husband who had left the much needed present. I grabbed the cartons, one in each hand, and turned toward the porch.

I plopped down in one of the two rocking chairs, set the containers on the table between them, and yanked one of my bottles out, trying to twist the top off.

“You’re gonna need this.” Mike’s voice was full of humor as he sat in the other rocker and held up a bottle opener. “Here”—he snatched the drink from my hand—“let me.” He handed it back to me with a smile and I tipped it back, chugging much faster than I should have. “Hey, now. We’re not racing,” he scolded.

I held up my half empty bottle, grinning back. “Lucky for you, ‘cause if we were, I’d be winning.”

His bottle top popped off, and he took a swig. “Little girl, you keep drinking like that and you’ll be in a heap on the floor before you finish your second.”

I stared at him, trying to decide how to respond. “Are you trying to imply you can out drink me?”

He shook his head. “I’m not implying shit. I’m stating fact. We both know you’re a goddamn lightweight.”

“Ha!” I snorted. “Shows you what you know. How much you wanna bet I can out drink you?” Just for show, I downed the rest of my cider.

Mike only shook his head, smirking as he opened a second bottle and held it out to me. We sat in silence, looking out at the moonlit lake. I’d lived in New York over half my life and had never really appreciated the beauty that was this magnificent lake until that moment. The way the water lapped on the shore was hypnotizing. I let myself get lost in the beauty, the peacefulness of the moment completely relaxing me.

Mike’s phone rang, startling me back to the present. He swore under his breath, pulling the smartphone from his pocket. “I’ve gotta take this,” was all he muttered before he stood and strode in to the house.

I tried not to eavesdrop, moving my attention to the porch itself. Star shaped Christmas lights were strung around the tops of the screens, casting a soft, comforting light around the room. The white walls were decorated with a red, white, and blue nautical theme. There was a locked screened door to my left that I assumed led down to the beach. The sound of a speedboat drifted over the water, and I stared at the black lake trying to catch a glimpse of it until Mike came back out.

“Sorry about that. Jake,” he explained with a shrug.

“Just saying goodnight?”

Mike shook his head, staring at the water, avoiding my eyes. “He read some things he shouldn’t have. It upset him.”

My stomach filled with dread. “About you?”

He didn’t respond.

Shit. I took a deep breath. “About me.” I lifted the bottle and downed my second drink. Mike was wrong. There was no way I’d tap out until I made my way through this entire six pack.

Chapter Fourteen

~ Mike~

The way she chugged her drink, she would end the evening with her head in the toilet praying to the porcelain gods. Either that, or with a trip to the emergency room. Neither was how I wanted to spend my night.

“Hey, hey, hey.” I reached out, squeezing her leg gently, just above the knee. “Slow down.”

She didn’t argue, which shocked the shit out of me.

“It’s not a big deal, Mols. The real issue here is that my son was up alone, playing online unsupervised. I understand that some parents let their kids do whatever they want on summer vacation, but Jake has rules that he needs to follow, even if I can’t be there to enforce them. His mother needs to pay attention and parent him.” I sighed, resisting the urge to call Julie up and tell her exactly what a shitty parent I thought she was. “He could have looked anything up and she wouldn’t have known. Or cared.”

A smile tugged at Molly’s lips. “Trying to keep him from the porn?”

I snorted. “Porn? Fuck, having him see a little girl-on-girl action is the least of my worries.”

Mols scrunched up her face in disgust.

“Kids are fucking sneaky, so much more than when we were young. Now they do all kinds of shady shit—from hiding behind a screen and bullying each other to researching the ingredients needed to create the next synthetic drug in the basement. I want to make sure my kid grows up and has a chance in life. I’ll kill someone before I let him join a gang, become a druggie, or do something that would ruin his future.”

Mols only stared at me, a sad look pulling at her features. “You’re a great dad. He’s lucky to have you.”

I shrugged, never sure how to refute that. Truth was, I was a mediocre dad at best, but I’d never stop trying to be better. “I’m the lucky one. He’s a great kid. Best mistake I ever made.”

It was an old joke, one I’d told thousands of times over the years, but didn’t really mean. Yeah, he’d been a surprise and I hadn’t planned on marrying his mom, but Jake was hands down the best thing that had ever happened to me. I don’t know who I’d be without him.

Mols closed her eyes for a second and I was sure she was playing a losing game of wills against the alcohol. “You must think I’m a monster.”

I snapped my back straight, leaning forward slightly. “What? Why in the hell would you think that?”

She shook her head more than once, the alcohol clearly affecting her thought process. “Because you’re the super dad. When you say things like that, that you’d kill someone for him…”

“Because I would.” I interrupted.

“Oh, I have no doubt.” She waved her hand in the air, dismissing everything I’d just said as she set her empty bottle down and grabbed another, popping the top herself and taking a long pull. “You’re the kind of dad who has a wallet full of pictures so he can carry his son everywhere. The one who brags to everyone who will listen about his kid’s achievements. The one who would do whatever it takes to provide for his child. You love that kid with every part of you, Mike, and you would never give him up. So someone like me must disgust you.”

I hadn’t planned to bring it up tonight. Hell, I hadn’t planned on bringing it up ever. I knew we’d have to talk about what I’d learned at some point, but I also knew she’d have to be the one who started that conversation. I just assumed we’d do it later, when we were both sober, but fuck it.

“Not even fucking close, kid.”

Tears filled her eyes and I fought the need to push the damn bottle from her hand and yank her into my arms. Molly didn’t need comforting now, though. She needed to get out the feelings she’d kept buried for a long ass time.

“How can you not? You’d do anything to have your son with you all the time and I gave mine away.”