by Toni Aleo
“What the hell is your problem? Fallon blow you off?” Levi asked with a smirk. “That chick is going to be hard to catch.”
“I have a kid,” Lucas whispered, causing Levi’s eyes to go wide. He never kept things from Levi, and this was something huge that he needed to know about.
“Excuse me?”
“I have a kid, Aiden.”
Levi face twisted in shock as he tried to focus of Lucas. “I’m sorry I must have not heard you, did you say you have a kid named Aiden?”
“I did, because I do.”
Levi fell onto the bed, breathing in through his mouth and then out through his mouth. “How do you know? Whose is it? Fallon’s?”
“Yeah, and if you would have seen him, you wouldn’t disagree with me. The kid looks just like me,” Lucas said breathlessly as he thought back to the moment when his and Aiden’s eyes met.
The exact same color, shade and shape. His father’s eyes, now his son’s.
“So you don’t actually know if he is yours?”
“No, I know. I’m telling you Levi, one look is all you need to know,” Lucas said sadly. He just couldn’t get over the fact that there has been a little person running around with his DNA and he had never met him. Even tonight, he wasn’t introduced to Aiden, he just saw him.
What did he like?
Did he play sports?
Did he like hockey?
Did he ask about his dad?
What did Fallon tell him about Lucas?
But most of all, did he have dyslexia?
So many questions, and Lucas had no answers.
“We’ll we need to get a hold of Richard Price, get some paperwork going. Probably going to need a paternity test, and find out the legal shit. I mean, is there going to be back child support?” Levi asked as he stood up and started pacing the bedroom.
Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t care about that stuff, I just want to get to know my son.”
“Not until we get some answers,” Levi said, giving him a pointed look.
Lucas sat up quickly, pinning Levi with a look that told him not to fuck with him. “I didn’t even know I had a son an hour ago, and now you’re telling me I have to wait to get to know him?”
“Lucas I am doing this for you. Have I ever steered you wrong?”
Lucas shook his head. “No.”
“Okay then, give me a couple days. We’re going out of town anyways for that game in New York, by the time we get back there shouldn’t be an issue with you seeing Aiden.”
Lucas slowly nodded; he’d give Levi a couple days, but nothing more.
****************************
“Mommy, who was that guy that you were kissing?”
Fallon looked over at Aiden from the book that she was reading. It had been hours since Lucas had left and Aiden hadn’t said anything. While her emotions were going crazy, she was thankful he hadn’t asked but she knew in her heart that it was bound to happen. Fallon slowly shut the book, taking a deep breath in.
“Just someone I know.”
“What’s his name?”
“Lucas.”
Aiden nodded. “Lucas what?”
“Lucas Brooks.”
Aiden looked up at her. “Like my name.”
“Yeah, like yours.”
Aiden looked back down at his hands, and Fallon prayed Aiden didn’t ask if Lucas was his dad. She just couldn’t handle it, not until she talked to Lucas and found out what he was thinking.
“Is he your boyfriend?”
Fallon shook her head. “No, honey.”
“But you were kissing him.”
“I know, but sometimes adults kiss other adults.”
“Oh, okay,” Aiden said before looking up at her. “Will Lucas came back?”
Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know honey.”
“Do you like him?”
Fallon smiled. “Sometimes.” Aiden giggled as he cuddled closer to her.
“I wanna meet him. Can he come back?”
Fallon didn’t know why the words stung but they did. Fallon knew that Lucas knew Aiden was his son just with one look. Could Aiden tell? Maybe he was just being his six-year-old self and wanting a man around. Aiden loved Rob. Audrey had once said that Aiden starves for male attention, was that all this was?
Or did he really know that Lucas was his daddy?
“I don’t know honey, if he wants.”
“Can you call him?”
“I don’t know Lucas’ number, but I’m pretty sure he’ll call me.”
“And you’ll invite him over for dinner?”
Fallon bit her lip, she didn’t want to promise something that she didn’t know could be true. So she smiled, snuggling close to her favorite guy before saying, “We’ll see.”
**********************************
Lucas was basically playing the worst game of his life two days later.
“22! Get your shit together or get off the fucking ice!” Adler screamed from the defensive zone.
Lucas shot him a look before getting ready for the face off. He wasn’t going anywhere, he started this game, and he was going to fucking finish it. Lucas won the faceoff, skating forward as Adler passed him the puck. Lucas skated hard, keeping the puck from his opponent before sending it across ice to Welch. He skated towards the goal just as Welch passed it back to him for him to shoot. He pulled back for the shot and when he released, he totally missed the puck, causing one of the Rangers to steal it before heading down ice towards their goal.
Lucas never missed a shot.
God, he was fucked in the head.
When he heard the buzz off, his head fell. Not only was he sucking, but their defense was off too. Jakob and Shea weren’t doing what they usually did, they were lagging. And because of it all, the Assassins lost their third game in a row. Lucas followed his teammates into the locker room. Once inside, he walked straight to his bench, falling onto it as he leaned his head down, taking in deep breaths.
Man, he hated losing.
When he heard the door slam, he looked up to see Adler with his face red with anger.
“That game was bullshit! What the hell guys? We are better than this!” he yelled as he threw his helmet and gloves into his locker area. “Brooks, what the fuck? You missed all your shots tonight. Nothing went in and you had open shots!”
Lucas looked up at Adler before standing slowly just as Mrs. Adler walked in with the coaches. “I know you are not talking to me about my game? They got past you and scored three fucking times.”
“That might be the case, but I played my ass off, what the hell did you do? You looked like a fucking zombie out there!” Adler yelled taking a step towards him.
“I played my ass off, too!” Lucas yelled right back, taking a step towards him. Jakob came over, standing beside the guys. Probably in case someone did something they shouldn’t.
“You did not! What the hell was going on!?”
“Nothing, some people have off nights! You should know all about that, you sucked tonight!”
“I just had a baby; I’m adjusting!”
Lucas faced turned red with anger and he got right into Shea’s face. “And I just found out I have a fucking kid, so back the fuck up.”
The locker room went quiet except for the intake of breath that Mrs. Adler took in. Lucas glanced over at her and finally knew what his boss knew that he didn’t. Shea took a step back, and Lucas did the same before going to his locker to take a seat. Everyone was staring at him as he took deep breaths in and out.
It had been two days since he found out about Aiden and he was a mess. He hadn’t called Fallon or even gone to see her because he was having such a hard time dealing with it all. Aiden had been on his mind from sun up to sun down, and he was driving himself crazy with questions about the little guy. He was so scared that Aiden wasn’t going to like him. He didn’t know how to be a dad and it scared him to think of all the things he could fuck up. He worried about what Fallo
n was going to say to him when he asked for the paternity test, but most of all he was scared she was going to keep Aiden from him.
Lucas hadn’t moved from the locker room. He sat with a towel on his head, listening to everyone leave. No one had said anything to him, they just walked by. Some of his teammates placed their hands on his shoulder or they tapped his head, but no one said anything. Lucas was glad they didn’t too, because he didn’t know what to say back. He hated when he let his anger get the best of him and he spoke before thinking, because now the whole team knew that he had a kid. A kid that he never knew about or taken care of.
What a man he was.
When Lucas heard the click of a pair of heels, he tore the towel off his head and looked up to see Mrs. Adler coming towards him, with Shea behind her. She had a small, sad smile on her face as she came over and sat beside him on the bench. Shea leaned against the locker, not looking Lucas in the eyes. Lucas focused on the holes in the foam floor as Mrs. Adler placed her hand on his back.
“How you holding up, Lucas?” she asked in a low voice. Lucas shook his head. He had no one to talk too. Levi didn’t understand, all he cared about was the legal stuff and Lucas couldn’t even think of telling his mom yet. She would flip out and would be on the first plane to Nashville, ready to take over. He didn’t need that right now.
“I’ve been better,” Lucas answered.
“When did she tell you?”
Lucas still didn’t look at his boss as he shook his head. “She didn’t. I went to her house and Aiden came out on the porch. She never told me anything.”
Out the corner of his eye, he saw Elli shake her head. “Damn fool woman,” she whispered before moving her hand up and down his back. “What did Fallon say?”
“That she was sorry.”
“At least she did that. What did Aiden say?”
“He wanted to know who I was, and she just said I was someone she knew.”
Why was he telling his boss all this? What was wrong with him? He never told people his business, but here he was losing his damn mind.
“I’m so sorry Lucas. I told her she needed to tell you, like seven years ago.”
Lucas smiled, wishing like hell that Fallon had done that. “Woulda been nice.”
She laughed. “I know.”
They sat in silence for a moment before Lucas asked, “Is he a good kid?”
Lucas looked over to see Mrs. Adler wearing a beautiful, bright smile. “Oh yes, he’s a darlin’. Such a sweet boy.”
Lucas nodded his head. He knew that Aiden would be a good kid, Fallon was a good person — minus the withholding information business.
“I don’t know what to say Lucas, and I understand if you don’t want to do the campaign with Fallon anymore?”
Lucas thought for a moment, did he really want to be around someone that hid the biggest secret ever from him?
“No, I still want to,” he said quietly.
Mrs. Adler didn’t say anything, and since Lucas didn’t know what to say, he just sat there. She kept her hand going up and down his back, and then she stopped. She got up, leaving the room as Lucas ran his hands through his hair. Lucas looked up and saw that Shea was still standing there, staring at him.
“I’m good if you are because I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of each other from now on,” he said. Lucas nodded as a smile pulled at the side of his mouth.
“Yeah we’re good,” he agreed before looking down at his bare feet. When he saw Shea’s Converses come into his view, he looked up to see Shea looking down at him with compassion in his eyes.
“It’s hard at first, but it will click and you will never love someone the way you will love him. I’m here if you need someone,” Shea said, tapping him on the head before moving away. Lucas watched as he walked towards the door that led out into the hall.
“Thanks Shea,” Lucas said. Shea looked over his shoulder and smiled before walking out the room, leaving Lucas alone with his thoughts.
At least one factor in his life was working out; now all he had to do was get a relationship with his son.
************************************
Fallon didn’t know what to do.
It had been three days since Lucas had seen Aiden. Fallon hadn’t heard from him or from a lawyer. She would be lying if she didn’t say she was nervous as hell. Since he was a hockey player, getting his number was extremely hard and since she didn’t want Elli to know what was going on, she didn’t call her. It was a mess and all she could do was sit back and wait.
And she hated waiting.
“Mommy, I need sugar,” Aiden said, knocking Fallon out of her musings. She had been doing that a lot, ever since she watched Lucas walk away with no word at all.
“Yes, of course,” Fallon said, handing him the cup that held the sugar. Fallon watched as Audrey came into the room, going to the fridge.
They hadn’t spoken to each other in three days.
Fallon hated fighting with Audrey, but she’d be damned if she apologized. Fallon didn’t feel like she had done anything wrong, and if Audrey had an issue with helping her then why didn’t she tell her earlier? Why let it go seven years to the point where they were screaming at each other and calling each other names?
Aiden smiled up at Audrey as she came over, kissing his cheek.
“We’re making cookies!”
“I see that bud, having fun?” she asked.
“I am. You should help,” Aiden said sweetly. Audrey sent a look towards Fallon, but Fallon ignored it, pouring milk into a measuring cup.
“Okay buddy,” Audrey said with a grin, leaning against him as she picked up the spoon that would be used for mixing. Fallon handed Aiden the next cup and the cookie-making process proceeded in complete silence.
God, Fallon hated this. She hated a quiet house, she’d rather scream at Audrey than have her give her the silent treatment. So she swallowed her pride and looked over at her sister.
“How’s work?”
Audrey shrugged her shoulders. “It’s work.”
Fallon smiled. “I hear ya, it seems like problem after problem with this damn campaign. Elli is being kinda difficult.”
“Elli? Difficult? I don’t believe it,” Audrey said with a confused look on her face. Usually Elli was easygoing, but not with the campaign.
“She is making me use him,” Fallon said with a look. She didn’t want Lucas in the campaign. She didn’t want to work side by side with him. She didn’t want to hear his take on things, she didn’t want to be around that cocky smile, that sexy body, and most of all she didn’t want to see other females on it either.
“Have you heard from him?”
Fallon shook her head just as Aiden asked, “Who?”
“No one, honey,” Fallon answered quickly.
“That’s weird huh?” Audrey asked.
“Very,” Fallon agreed, and Audrey gave her a lopsided grin, causing her to grin.
“What’s weird?” Aiden asked as the doorbell rang. Audrey gave Fallon a look and Fallon shrugged her shoulders. It was late, and they weren’t expecting anyone.
“Nothing baby, mix the cookies,” Fallon said, wiping her hands on the towel that sat on the island.
“Who do you think that is?” Audrey asked as Fallon moved from the kitchen.
“Probably the neighbor,” Fallon said as she reached the door, but when she opened the door it wasn’t the neighbor.
It was Lucas.
He stood with Levi beside him, but Fallon couldn’t even take her eyes from Lucas’ to acknowledge Levi. Lucas’ eyes were so dull, so sad, and Fallon couldn’t catch her breath as she looked up at him.
“We need to talk,” Lucas said, knocking her out of her trance.
Fuck.
Chapter 11
“We do?”
It figured that Fallon still turned him on, even after everything she had done.
Just figures.
Fallon had flour on her nose and basically all over her. She
wore a very low cut blue shirt that showed off her beautiful, perky breasts. Her jeans hung low, tight along her thighs and he was pretty sure if she turned around, her ass would have his dick hard with just one glance.
He wasn’t here to check her out though, or to try to get her in bed. He came to talk about his son.
“Obviously Fallon, come on,” Lucas said.
“Oh, well. Uh, we’re kinda busy, you should have called,” she stuttered, causing his eye to twitch. His eyes always did that when his temper was about to snap, but he knew he couldn’t yell at her so he took a deep breath in.
“I don’t have your number, so I came over. This can be done between us, or I can get lawyers involved — your decision.”
Fallon’s face heated as she took a step towards him. “Don’t threaten me,” she all but growled out.
“I’m not trying to, I just want to talk about our…”
“Who is it Mommy?”
Fallon turned quickly, revealing Aiden.
Aiden James.
Lucas’ little boy.
Lucas took in the sight of the gorgeous little boy. Aiden looked so much like him that it blew his mind. How did he make a person that could be his twin? When Aiden smiled, it took Lucas’ breath away.
He smiled like that.
It was his lady-killer smile, and it filled Lucas with such pride to know his son could do it at the age of…Yeah, that was sad, he didn’t even know how old his kid was.
“Hey! You’re back,” Aiden said with a grin. “I’m Aiden James Brooks,” he said, holding out his hand. Lucas didn’t move.
Aiden James Brooks? Fallon had given Aiden his name?
Yeah, Lucas was pretty sure he was having a heart attack.
He reached out, taking the boy’s small hand in his massive one. Aiden’s grin was infectious, and Lucas couldn’t fight the smile that formed on his face.
“I’m Lucas James Brooks.”
Everyone was silent for a moment as Aiden slowly nodded his head, the same big grin never leaving his sweet little face. “Hey we have the same name, except I’m Aiden and you’re Lucas.”
“Yup, okay honey, isn’t it time for you to go to bed?” Fallon asked, causing Aiden to pull away from Lucas. Lucas felt empty as the little guy looked up at his mother with his eyes wide, and his arms slamming against his side.