Once Written, Twice Shy (The Broken Men Chronicles)

by Decevito, Carey

  She peeled a dried chip of mud off my cheek, flicked it and said, “I think you might be right but you’ll look pretty with a more even complexion in the end.”

  “Pretty?” I lifted my head and gave her a perplexed look. She tried to hide her laugh but it was next to impossible with her head bouncing up and down off my stomach. “I’ll show you pretty. I think it’s time you earned yourself a few extra laugh lines, honey, then you can talk to me about mud baths.” I rolled her under me and set to tickling.

  We made it back to the house, still laughing about our earlier mishap. I started the hose and sprayed her down while she squealed when the water made contact.

  “Damn that’s cold,” she said shivering with her lips gaining a blue tint.

  “A white t-shirt would have made this whole experience that much better,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

  She snagged the hose from me, smirked and said, “Oh, it’s about to get better alright.” Taking aim at me, she fired.

  She soaked me good and proper as I used my t-shirt to scrub as much of the mud off as I could. I grabbed a few towels from the house, left a note letting my parents know what had happened to the ATV and we headed home. I’d have to go back with the old man at some later time and get it out.

  ***

  In an attempt to avoid the debacle of what was last night’s dinner, I made Alissa sit at the kitchen island while I cooked.

  The dishwasher handled the aftermath as we made our way to the living room.

  She walked up to the built-in library and grabbed the frame that held a photo of Jasper and I.

  “He looks so much like you.” She graced me with a sweet smile and I could have sworn I had seen a look of longing cross her face but as quick as it had appeared, it vanished.

  She put the frame back where it had been and I found myself envisioning a day where Jasper and her would meet and wondered if he would like her. Almost immediately, I was convinced that he would. However, my son getting used to her would take time as it had with Julie’s man.

  “Uh oh, you’ve got that pensive look again. What’s on your mind?” she asked as she sat down beside me.

  Before I had the chance to answer, there was a knock at the door. “Hold that thought,” I said and got up to see who could be calling on me. I hadn’t the faintest idea nor did I expect to find the person that stood there before me.

  Chapter 5

  I drew my front door inward and cursed when I saw her—Julie.

  She pushed past me. “Can I come in?”

  Do I really have a choice?

  Panic set in. I didn’t know what to expect when Julie noticed Alissa’s presence in my house. I turned to do some damage control and noticed that Alissa wasn’t in the room. A slight shuffling noise from the kitchen told me that that’s where she was.

  I huffed and ran my hands through my hair. Her visit was the last thing that I needed. “What are you doing here, Julie?”

  Within seconds, tiny arms tangled themselves around my legs. “Daddy!” Jasper cheered.

  I bent down and picked him up for a big hug and said, “Hey, buddy.” I turned to Julie. “What’s going on?”

  She never showed up unannounced. Since she’d left me, the extent of our interactions had been while exchanging our son or over the phone. It sounds bad, I know—exchange. In essence, that’s what it was.

  Somewhere between trades, we’d manage to discuss everything pertaining to our son with the very few occasions where we’d—meaning I—discussed our pending divorce. The times when I’d bring up the topic had always led to countless excuses, from losing the papers, to forgetting them, which meant no resolution. Needless to say, I was still a married man and slowly losing my battle at remaining sane where she was concerned.

  “Can you give Mommy and me a minute, champ?” I asked and set him down.

  “Okay, Daddy. I’ll go get me a juice,” he said before running off.

  “You know where they are.” And then I realized that I had inadvertently caused a meeting that I now hoped wouldn’t blow up in my face.

  I waited, willing Julie for a response to my earlier question but all I got was a sniffle and then I noticed her eyes. They were bloodshot. “We need to talk,” she said.

  My mind gravitated toward the worst. “Julie, what’s going on?” She couldn’t answer me fast enough and after several seconds, I pushed. “Julie!”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  I heard the crash of broken glass which caused my head to snap in the sound’s direction. Shit! Alissa stood in the kitchen’s entrance, looking pale. Jasper was there holding her hand, looking down at the mess.

  My son tugged on Alissa’s hand and handed her his juice box when she looked at him. “I know where the broom is, Allie. I’ll go get it,” he said and rushed off.

  I stepped toward her when Jasper was well out of earshot. “Alissa,” I said but the shake of her head told me she didn’t want me near her and I halted all forward progress. “It’s not-”

  “Who’s this?” Julie nodded in Alissa’s direction. “You freaked out about Todd but you have a slut?”

  “Excuse me?” Alissa said from her crouched down position as she had started to gather up the larger pieces of glass.

  My eyes bugged out of my head when Jasper returned and was handing the tools over to Alissa. I couldn’t let the kid bear witness to this fiasco of a first meeting.

  “Jasper, go to Daddy’s room, please,” I said. He smiled up at his new friend whose face had regained its coloring but showed a strained smile directed at my little guy. He grabbed his juice box from the side table and ran off.

  I reared on my son’s mother and said, “I hope that you didn’t drop by just to grace me with that news. We both know the kid isn’t mine since I haven’t touched you since before you left me. Now, get out!”

  “But-”

  “You know your way out unless there’s more,” I said. “And Julie, I don’t want to hear from you unless it concerns our son or those divorce papers. If you’re looking for sympathy, you’re knocking on the wrong door.”

  “Who is she?”

  “I-” Alissa began.

  I held my hand up to cut her off. “It’s none of your concern, Julie. As for-”

  Alissa came up beside me, grasped my hand and said, “I’m his girlfriend.”

  I looked over at her with a dropped jaw and she offered me a small yet strained smile much like she had to Jasper but the small gesture told me that she believed what I had said.

  “Right,” Julie said skeptically and I caught the tail end of an eye roll when my gaze returned to her, “the guy couldn’t keep me satisfied, I doubt that you’re anything more than a-”

  “A slut?” Alissa’s lips formed a thin line. If she were a cat, I would have been able to see those hackles of hers rise.

  I knew that Julie’s poor choice in words not to mention awful manners had rubbed her the wrong way. How couldn’t they? If the woman was cruisin’ for a bruisin’, Alissa struck me as more than capable of holding her own. Call me crazy but the thought of seeing her in a cat fight, defending my honor kind of turned me on.

  Not the time, Paxton, I reminded myself and tried to focus.

  “That’s right,” Julie said and crossed her arms at her chest.

  I felt the tremor of anger shake my body and knew that Alissa had felt it just by the squeeze on my hand.

  I eyed daggers at my ex. “I’ve heard enough,” I said. “Where the hell do you get off…hell, you don’t even know her, Julie. I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you since you didn’t give me the courtesy of being informed while you were out gallivanting with multiple others.”

  “Three,” Julie said, “there were three, including Todd so don’t make me out to be the village whore.”

  “You certainly weren’t Mother Theresa. Let me make my point clear.” I took a deep breath to make sure I didn’t say anything I’d live to regret later. “Alissa is not a slut nor do I sleep around. I sugg
est you get the hell out of my house and go find your boy toy. Your pregnancy problems are yours, not mine.” I geared to end my rant. “How about you tell me why you’ve brought our son into this. It’s clear enough that it wasn’t to deliver your baby news.”

  She took the backpack I had failed to notice and set it beside the coffee table. “I’m going away on business. It’s a last minute thing and Todd’s busy with work. I need you to look after him,” she said. “I should be back by tomorrow night.”

  “Next time, you might want to call ahead. Jasper!” I heard his miniature feet stomping as he came barrelling downstairs and latched on to my free hand. “Time to say goodbye to Mommy,” I said, my icy gaze meeting Julie’s, “she’s leaving.”

  With a chaste kiss to his forehead, she stood erect and eyed Alissa with utmost disgust. Snorting her disapproval, the woman spun on her heel and stomped out the door, slamming it. I swallowed the foul taste in my mouth.

  Damn her.

  Walking to the door, I turned the deadbolt to lock it. I was baffled at her intrusion and insulted for her callous behavior and far from warranted comments toward Alissa. Leaning forward on the door, I shook my head in frustration. I hadn’t expected both women to meet so soon and definitely not in the manner it had happened.

  What’s done is done.

  I heard some hushed whispers before a tiny set of arms wrapped themselves around my legs. Whatever frustration that lingered, most of it melted away in that instant. I turned and picked my son up, ruffling his hair with my free hand and giving him a wide grin. I wanted to talk to Alissa about what had transpired and I worried that her evening—our day—had been ruined but all she gave me was a genuine warm smile and I knew right then that it would all be okay somehow.

  “I see you’ve met Alissa, huh?”

  “Yup,” he said. “Daddy, can we watch a movie before bedtime? It was Allie’s idea.”

  “What do you think, Daddy, can we watch a movie?” Alissa asked with a teasing smirk.

  My lips quirked up at her and when Jasper grabbed my face in his hands for my undivided attention, I nodded. “Go change into your jammies while Allie and I set everything up,” I said and handed him his bag.

  “Yay!”

  ***

  I left Alissa and Jasper to watch the movie in my room while I got the pull-out couch ready for my son.

  I had brought us a small plate of cookies and three glasses of milk when I finished, and joined them. Alissa looked like she was having about as much fun as Jasper was what with the giggling I had heard.

  When the movie ended, I turned to find Jasper sound asleep with his head on Alissa’s lap and her fingers playing with his hair.

  “You look like you’re enjoying that,” I said. She grinned and nodded. I picked him up and turned to face her. “Let me get him settled then we can talk.”

  I brought him downstairs where his bed lay ready, set him down and pulled the blankets up to his chin, grabbing the stuffed puppy my mother had given him the day he was born. It was the only thing he could never part with and my heart clenched as he clutched it to his chest.

  “Night night, Daddy,” he said in his sleepy little voice.

  I bent down, kissed his forehead. “Goodnight, son.”

  I returned to my room to find Alissa still sitting in the same spot I had left her in, with the TV turned off.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  She shook her head. “Don’t,” she said. “Don’t do that.”

  “Don’t do what?” I stood at the side of the bed and watched her face.

  “Don’t apologize for being you. You’re a dad and you have obligations, routines, all sorts of special things you do with Jasper.”

  “It’s not that,” I sat down next to her, pulling her into my side for a cuddle.

  She lifted her head off my shoulder and looked at me. “I really don’t mind, Jasper’s a fun kid,” she said and laughed at my are you for real expression. “Why so shocked? I love kids.”

  “It’s just the fact that this was so spur of the moment. I never planned on having you two meet this way or for Julie to have said those things to you,” I said.

  “I’m fine. I’m a big girl, Paxton,” she said. “So…what to do tomorrow, Daddy?” I laughed but didn’t give her an answer. “I have an idea,” she said before I could come up with anything.

  “Really.” I turned my body to face her. “Do tell.”

  Her eyes shone with excitement. “I say we let Jasper decide what we do,” she said as I nuzzled the side of her neck then kissed it.

  She straddled my lap, my hands rubbed over her bare legs as our eyes connected.

  I captured her lips in a chaste kiss. “You don’t know what you’re in for, Allie.”

  She giggled. “He’s a three-year-old, not a group of monsters. And about Julie...”

  “What about her?” I asked.

  “Let her talk. It doesn’t mean I’ll listen.”

  I smiled and pulled her in for a kiss. “You’ve got it, babe.”

  ***

  We were in the middle of a nice make out session but as I got handy, Alissa pulled away, her breathing heavy. She blushed. “I don’t think I can do it with your son in the other room.”

  I grabbed her face and gave her a soft peck. “I understand.”

  We got ready for bed.

  My lips found the skin on the back of her shoulder as we said goodnight in the spooning position. I smiled when I felt her shiver of delight against my bare chest. I did it again. She whimpered.

  I trailed my fingers down the side of her arm. “I love the feel of your skin,” I whispered against the back of her neck. I groaned with her act of retaliation which was in the form of thrusting her butt into my crotch. Her shoulders shook with silent laughs. “Let’s get one thing straight, I have no problems taking you with my son in the house.”

  She rolled onto her back and I kissed her before nipping at her bottom lip. She let out a soft moan. I nestled myself between her legs and kissed her harder, wrapping her legs around my waist.

  “Pax,” she said against my lips.

  I kissed her quick and backed off. “I know, sweetie, can’t blame a guy for tryin’. I just needed a little more to hold me over.” I winked at her and rolled onto my back, pulling a snickering Alissa with me to cradle her head into the crook of my neck. “Goodnight, gorgeous.”

  “Sweet dreams, handsome.”

  Chapter 6

  I woke alone, with giggling going on downstairs. The sweet sound put an automatic smile on my face.

  I got up to search for the two of them.

  Just as I thought I’d find them in the living room watching cartoons, I was proven wrong and found them in the kitchen, cooking no less.

  Jasper was standing on a chair beside Alissa as she measured things out and let him pour the ingredients into a bowl. I leaned against the entranceway and watched the pair who were both looking like wannabe football players, sporting flour marks under their eyes.

  “Ah! Ha! ‘Tis time for the blueberries!” Alissa sounded like a mad scientist on the verge of a great discovery and Jasper seemed to love it if his giggles were anything to say about it.

  “Can I get them, Allie?” He bounced around on his chair. “Can I, can I?”

  Alissa freaked out with a squeal, dropping everything on the counter, including her act and grabbed Jasper by the arm to make sure he didn’t lose his balance and fall. She picked him up and set him down on the floor.

  “Go get ‘em, handsome,” she said and laughed as she turned to stir what was in the bowl, humming a tune I couldn’t quite make out but knew that it was some childhood nursery rhyme of sorts.

  “I thought that I was dubbed handsome,” I said which made them both jump.

  “Daddy,” Jasper said and ran to bounce around me, “Allie and I are making pancake ex-per-mints!”

  “Experiment, huh?” I asked and he nodded vehemently. I eyed Alissa and mouthed a thank you. She nodded in welcome,
gracing me with a grin. “Well I can’t wait to try those out then.”

  I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at the breakfast bar while they got back to work. It was amazing how well Jasper had meshed with Alissa. She had never said how she had gotten him to warm up to her so quickly.

  When Todd had first come into the picture, it had taken a while before the little guy could accept him as an extension to his family. As much as I had hated the idea of another man in my son’s life, it had taken me voicing that I was okay with him making friends with the man before he had given in. Maybe because Allie was considered as Daddy’s friend, Jasper simply had accepted her by default? I shook the questions from my head. Why mess with a good thing?

  “You guys need any help? I’m feeling a little left out,” I said and threw in a pathetic pout, gaining me an aw from Jasper and a snort from Alissa.

  “You can cook, Mr. Chef,” Alissa said and winked at me. “What do you say we set the table, buddy?” She ruffled Jasper’s hair and he beamed, giving her a nod.

  Half an hour later, we sat at the table, eating and discussing Jasper’s choices for fun for the day. I watched Alissa’s face for hints of regret to her suggestion but she looked about as eager as Jasper did. Huh!

  ***

  “Are you sure you can’t just drop me off at yours?” Alissa asked.

  She wanted to avoid any unnecessary drama that would most definitely occur when we got to Julie’s. I couldn’t blame her.

  “It’ll be fine.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Besides, we’re already running late. I don’t know ‘bout you but I’m not in the mood to give the woman more ammo after last night.” She snorted her dislike and then Jasper jumped into the conversation.

  A few minutes had come to pass and I saw her mouth a few curses but a smile played at her lips. “Just so you know, I’m doing this for that little guy back there.” She pointed toward the back seat where my son was bouncing around in his booster.

  My expert three-year-old manipulator had managed to change her mind even though I had given it my best shot. I had convinced her that she could sit in the car and wait while we went inside but my son had managed to put a stop to that.