Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Truett
I was pacing Gwen’s living room when I heard her car pull into the driveway.
She’d left to pick up Nate about twenty minutes earlier and I’d been a bag of nerves ever since. I’d lost my only daughter, but I was no stranger to children. Daniel had two boys who occasionally came over to the house with him and I loved the hell out of those heathens.
This was different though. It was always a big deal for a woman to introduce a man to her kids. The pressure to make a good first impression. The balance of trying to be fun and witty so they like you, but not so fun and witty they didn’t respect you. I’d never personally been the adult in that situation, but I’d met a few of my mom’s boyfriends over the years.
I’d hated them all.
They weren’t bad guys or anything. They were just random people I had little interest in getting to know.
But this was Gwen’s kid. The stakes had never been higher.
“I win!” The door swung open and a little boy wearing a white T-shirt and a blue striped bathing suit came barreling inside.
My lungs seized as I took him in. He was Gwen’s clone. From his dark hair and eyes to her nose and full lips, he looked just like her. Which also meant he looked just like Kaitlyn. It had stolen my breath when I’d seen him that first time at the restaurant, but after seeing so many pictures of him all over Gwen’s house, I hadn’t thought it would hit me as hard.
I was wrong.
“Who are you?” he asked as he came to a screeching halt in the foyer.
My throat was thick, but I managed to reply. “I’m Truett.”
Gwen had told him I was going to be there the night before when they’d talked on the phone. From what I’d heard of his response, he’d been excited. That was one of the only reasons I hadn’t hitchhiked home in the last twenty minutes.
He scanned me from head to toe, looking more than just a little disappointed. “No, you aren’t.”
Gwen came in behind him and shut and locked the door. “Dude, could you slow down? I’m getting too old to keep up with you.”
He tilted his head back and looked up at her. “That’s not Truett.”
She twisted her lips. “I’m pretty sure it is.”
“Then what’s wrong with his face?” he asked as if I weren’t standing directly in front of him.
Gwen bumped him with her hip. “Hey! Stop being rude. It’s called a beard. I promise it’s still Truett under there.”
Slowly, he walked over to me, his lips pursed and his gaze skeptical. He circled around me like a guard dog sniffing someone new. He lifted my arm, inspecting my tattoos, and only then did he seem convinced.
“Oh, hey, Truett,” he chirped.
“Hi,” I replied stiffly.
Speak, asshole. It’s a child. Don’t freeze up now.
I cleared my throat. Ah yes, the bribery portion of the evening. “I brought you a little something.”
“A present? It’s not even my birthday! You’re the best!”
I grinned as I snagged the gift bag off the couch.
It took him no time to tear out the tissue paper Gwen had added, his face falling into a deep frown as he examined the present. “Mom! Seriously?”
I cut my eyes to Gwen just in time to watch her stifle a smile.
“Truett, you shouldn’t have!” she feigned surprise.
Perplexed, I stared at her. She’d sat with me on Amazon the night before and helped me pick out a gift I could have delivered the following day.
Nate turned the box over in his hands, disgust curling his mouth as he pinned his mother with a glare. “A pressed flower kit? You made him get this, didn’t you?”
I flared my eyes at her. “You said he’d asked for that.”
She laughed. “Well, I thought you’d like that. We haven’t done one of those before.”
Nate groaned but turned his attention back to me. “Uh, thanks for the gift.”
I scowled at Gwen. “There’s something else in there too. Something I picked out.”
With much less enthusiasm than before, he took the present and unwrapped it slowly, a fake smile plastered on his face. But when he read the writing on the box, the smile morphed into a full-on grin. “Is this that jellybean game where some of them taste like grass and boogers?”
I proudly nodded.
“I’ve been wanting this!” He bounded over and threw his arms around my waist.
I turned to stone immediately, but something deep inside of me also relaxed. The hug lasted less than a few seconds, but his excitement lingered.
“Mom, look! You have to eat them and you don’t know what you’re gonna get!” He held it up just inches from her face. “Can we play it? After dinner? Please?”
Disgust turned the corner of her mouth down, but she skirted the question and announced, “We’ll see. But first, you need to go take a shower.”