my time changing Micah into his pajamas. I kept waiting for the sound of the front door closing, but it

wasn’t happening. Which meant Dewayne was waiting on me. When I couldn’t do anything else, I

tucked Micah in and slipped quietly from his room.

Dewayne was standing in the living room with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at the

pictures of Micah and me I had lining the mantel. One was from the day he learned to take his first

steps. Another was from his third birthday. The last one was taken the day I graduated from beauty

school.

“You were just a kid here,” he said, picking up the photo of me and Micah when he’d taken his first

steps.

“I was almost eighteen,” I said. But I had been a kid.

“You look so proud of him. You don’t look tired or bitter. Just happy.”

“I was happy. My baby boy was walking, and I was the only person he would walk to. He was

trying to follow me around the house. That’s how he started walking. Crawling wasn’t fast enough.”

Dewayne set it back down. “Do you have extras? I’d like photos of him and you. My mom and dad

would too.”

I had taken so many photos and sent them with the missing letters. I’d also been keeping a

scrapbook for my parents up until he was three and I realized they were never going to reach out and

get to know Micah. So I’d stopped making it. But I still had it.

“I have a scrapbook of his first three years that y’all can have. I can get you copies of photos from

the past two years to add to it.”

Dewayne smiled. “That would be great. I want to see him as he grows. I want to see you with him. I

love watching the way he looks at you. It says a lot about you and what kind of mother you are. That

kid thinks you can do no wrong. He tells my mom and dad all about the things you’ve taken him to do

and the things you cook that he loves. I think Momma may love you more than she loves me these

days.”

He grinned when he said it. That was the only reason I knew he was kidding. I didn’t want to make

him feel like I was trying to walk into his life and change it. I just wanted Micah to get to be a part of

his life. Micah already loved him.

“Your mother loves you,” I said, assuring him.

He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, she does. Don’t know why.”

Because you’re lovable and kind. Because you make everyone around you smile. Because you have

a really big heart. I remember you taking the time to make a scared little fourteen-year-old girl feel

safe in high school. I didn’t say any of those things, though. I couldn’t. Not now. Not after last night.

“You’re blushing. You thinking about last night?” he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

I covered my warm cheeks with my hands, hating my tendency to blush.

“It’s okay. I can’t seem to stop thinking about it either.”

Oh my. The silly flip my heart always did around him turned into a wild flutter.

“Problem is, I got to stop thinking about it. You do too. We can’t go there. We have Micah to think

about, and I don’t do relationships, Sienna. It’s not me. I’m my own man. I don’t like to be tied down.

I don’t even want to think of settling down. Being the man you deserve. It’s not me. You need the

settling-down type. You need a Cam Dodge in your life. Not me. Us,” he said, motioning his hand

between the two of us, “we’re friends. Hell, we’re family. That boy in there is what’s important, and

we both love him. Let’s not mess up what he needs with something that won’t end well.”

The fluttering stopped. It sank to my stomach and made a tight, painful knot. He was making sure I

got that he wasn’t interested in something with me. Just some phone sex and he was ready to move on.

That hurt way more than the “average” comment he’d said he hadn’t meant.

“You understand, right? It ain’t that you aren’t gorgeous. You’ll make a man a really lucky

sonuvabitch one day. I’m just not the man you settle down with. I’m the bad boy girls sew their wild

oats with. But I’ll be the best damn uncle in the world. And if you need anything, you come to me. I’ll

take care of it. Always.”

He would do anything for me because of Micah. That was it. If it weren’t for Micah, he wouldn’t

care that I was back. That I existed. I was a young single mom with a job that got me by from week to

week. I didn’t have a lot to offer someone. I got that. But hearing Dewayne say I wasn’t enough hit me

hard. Really hard.

I just nodded. I couldn’t speak.

He smiled, walked over, and pressed a kiss to my forehead like I was a kid. Then he turned and left.

I stood there for a long time. Letting it all sink in. Tomorrow I would move on. Tomorrow I would

find a way to forget Dewayne Falco. But right now I wasn’t ready.

DEWAYNE

By Thursday I had stayed away from Sienna’s for a week. I had texted Sienna and told her to take

Micah to my parents’ Saturday morning, that I would pick him up there. I had spent the day with him,

then left him with my parents minutes before Sienna got back, using my job as an excuse for running

off.

I was trying to give myself time to forget how much I wanted her. She had been so accepting of my

reasons for not being able to be with her that it had been painful. I wasn’t sure what I had wanted her

to do. Argue with me? Maybe. Maybe I wanted a reason to kiss her lips again. Touch her in places I’d

dreamed about. Fuck. Who was I kidding? I loved being near her. Watching her move. She had this

way about her. Even when she was doing something simple, I was completely fascinated by her.

She had listened to my reasons and then nodded. That was it. Nothing else. So I’d run out of there

and hadn’t been back. I couldn’t face her. Because I was pretty damn sure I’d grab her and kiss her

until we both forgot what a bad idea that all was.

I took a drink of my Coke and fought the urge to light up a cigarette. Not drinking or smoking was

fucking kicking my ass. When I had turned down a beer and ordered a Coke, Rock had looked at me

like I’d lost my mind. He didn’t understand. He had never laid a hand on Trisha that wasn’t a hand she

wanted there.

“Preston’s alone. That’s odd,” Rock said as he took a drink of his cold, foamy beer. I was lusting

over his drink. Shit.

The pretty boy in our group pulled out a stool and sat down with a grin. He was engaged and happy

about it. Real happy. He was always smiling. Asshole.

“Where’s Manda?” Rock asked.

“She finally shake you loose?” I asked.

Preston shot me an annoyed glare. “No. She’s coming. She’s bringing a friend,” he said, then

grinned again.

“Stop smiling so damn much. Hurts my eyes,” I grumbled, and took another drink of my Coke.

“Ignore him. That Coke he is drinking is straight-up Coke. Nothing added. He’s sober and surly,”

Rock explained.

Preston’s eyebrows shot up about the same time Rose Mann walked up beside me, wrapped her arm

around my shoulders, and gave me a good view down her shirt. I’d known Rose since high school. We

all had. She’d moved into town when we were sophomores, and she immediately made the

cheerleading squad. I’d fucked her back then, but only once. Hadn’t touched her since.

Still, she had aged well. Still had perky tits and a head of brown curls. “Hello, Rose,” I said, sliding

my arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

“Hello to you, Falco,” she purred, and pressed against me. She then moved her gaze over to

Preston. “You leave the fiancée behind tonight?”

Preston shook his head. “Don’t let her too far out of my sight. She’s headed this way soon.”

Rose rolled her eyes, then glanced over at Rock. “And where’s your little missus?”