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  “I am Keyon,” I corrected.

  He shook his head. “You Daddy. I Keyon.”

  Tegyn giggled. “He’s not wrong.”

  “I tried,” I muttered as we all stood there awkwardly.

  She glanced at her luggage still sitting where I’d dumped it after I entered the house half an hour before. “Looks like everything made it in. Wanna show me where to stick my stuff?”

  “Nah, I’ll carry it up after lunch.” I gestured for her to follow me. “I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  “Awesome.” She padded behind me. “Nice house.”

  I nodded. “That’s exactly how I think of it. House. A place to hold my stuff.”

  Her brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with that?” She pulled out a stool while I walked over to the stove.

  After pouring the macaroni into the boiling water, I faced her again. “I want a place to hold my heart, a place filled with the people I love.”

  “I love you, Daddy!” Keyon launched himself into my arms.

  “And I love you, too, buddy.” I grinned and held him close a moment before growing serious. “Having you here is the closest I’ve been to that dream,” I murmured as I stared into her eyes.

  Tegyn inhaled sharply, but nodded. “I see,” she responded. Then she shook her head. “So, what’s for lunch?”

  “I’m making macaroni and cheese.” I pointed to the box.

  “And?” Her brows rose.

  “And what?” I frowned.

  She sighed. “That’s no lunch for a growing kid.” Tegyn wandered over to the fridge and peered inside. “Okay, I’m seeing signs we need groceries.” Opening the freezer side, she murmured, “We have hot dogs.” She moved to the pantry and stepped in. “How about some canned fruit too?” Instead of looking to me for approval, she grinned at my son. “Do you like hot dogs, Keyon?”

  He nodded happily. “And fruit.”

  Teygn made her way to the stove. “Saucepan, then step aside. I’ve got this.”

  I think my hand was shaking slightly as I passed her the pan. This was new to me. Camilla hated cooking. She hated cleaning. She wasn’t the least bit domestic. Two minutes in my house and Tegyn was going to make it a home. I could feel it. And that thought was equal parts exciting and terrifying. I reached in the cupboard and passed her the pan she’d requested. Then I wandered around the island and sat beside Keyon.

  “What you think of this, Key?” I asked him, worried it was moving too fast and he’d be confused.

  “I yike she.” He smiled.

  “You like her?” I asked, once again trying to correct him.

  “Yes, Daddy,” he whispered.

  I frowned. “Then why so quiet about it?”

  “When you loud, they leave.” Keyon leaned his chin on the granite.

  His words hurt. I knew why he thought that. He was awake the night his mother left. He was here while Arionna packed up. Why wouldn’t he worry about losing Tegyn? I knew how he felt. I didn’t want to lose her either.

  12

  Tegyn

  * * *

  “I’m sorry,” I murmured to D after an incredibly quiet lunch.

  “Why?” he asked with a frown as he reached out and laid his hand on mine.

  I stared at it, embarrassed by how much I relished his touch. Sure, he was warm and comforting. His hands were large enough to completely encompass mine, but mostly, I loved the way he made me feel…so safe and cared for. I stood to pick up our plates and nodded toward Keyon, who was doing the sleepy kid head nod. “What if I clean up while you lay him down for a nap?”

  D stood. “Good plan.” He reached for his son, but the little boy pushed his hands away. “What? You don’t want a nap?”

  “No, I want her. Her carry me.” He smiled at me and held out his hands.

  I looked at D for a reaction. He seemed embarrassed by the boy’s actions. “I’m new,” I explained. “Give it a couple of days and I won’t be all shiny and new anymore.” With a shrug, I reached for Keyon. “Plus,” I added happily, “this gives us an excuse to move me into my new room.”

  With a grin, D strode to the laundry room to collect my bags while I started up the stairs with the little guy. “Which room is yours?” I asked as I realized there were rooms both directions from the top of the stairs.

  “There!” He pointed toward the end of the hall to the left.

  “Okay, here we go.” I wandered down the hall while he clung to my neck. For some reason, I felt like he might need some nurturing from a woman. When I reached the end of the hall, I realized I’d found the master bedroom. “Not this one.”

  Keyon laughed. “Naw! There!” And he pointed to the room to my right, so I turned and realized I’d found the place.

  “Here,” I murmured as I pulled back the covers and laid him on his mattress. “Get some rest. We can play when you wake up.” Without thinking, I covered him up, and pressed my lips to his forehead. When I pulled back, his eyes were squeezed shut and he had a smile on his face.

  Standing in the doorway was D. And if I didn’t know better, I’d think he had tears in his eyes. I walked over to him and smiled shyly. “He’s tucked in.”

  After clearing his throat, D murmured, “Your room is right here.” He pointed to the one directly across the hall.

  I nodded. “Right next to yours,” I noted quietly.

  “Yeah. For now,” he teased.

  “Because you plan to move me to the other end of the hall?” I guessed with an eye roll.

  D dropped my luggage on the bed, which was already made up and wrapped his arms around me. “No, Tegyn. Because I plan to move you into my room.”

  I swallowed hard. “You’re still married,” I reminded him again.

  “You think I don’t know that?” He shook his head sadly. “I know. I feel it every day. So much regret.” He blew out a breath and stared out my door. “That little boy is the only good to ever come out of me being with Camilla. And even then, I look at him and wish he was ours.” He swallowed hard and looked away.

  “He could’ve been,” I admitted as I unzipped my first suitcase and started carrying clothes to the dresser across from the bed.

  D inhaled sharply. “What you mean?”

  “Well, we didn’t use any protection. We could’ve totally had a baby together.” I avoided looking at him even though I could feel his eyes burning into me.

  “Yes, we did. Didn’t we?” He moved closer and laid a hand on my arm.

  I laughed. “No. We tried one time and your penis shrank in protest at the condom. And I wasn’t on the pill…so, yeah. We could’ve had a baby together.”

  Reaching out, D turned me to face him. “And you’d be okay with that?”

  I licked my lips, choosing my words carefully. “If you mean would I be okay having a baby with the man I loved, then yes. I still hope to do that one day.” His eyes widened. “Only, I plan to be married. I’m not going to be some dirty secret.”

  “How could anyone not be proud to be with you?” he asked, his voice incredulous.

  “Well, he could be married to someone else and making me his side-piece.” I leaned in and whispered, “I’m the marrying kind, remember? I’ll never make that mistake again.”

  “Don’t I know it, baby.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry for what I did to you.”

  “That’s nice, but it doesn’t change a thing. It didn’t even change that everything is still the same now.” I strode back to the bed and carried another armload of clothes back to the dresser.

  “It’s not like that. We weren’t even living on the same floor when you and I were dating. I couldn’t file separation papers because she wouldn’t move out.” He held his head in both hands and I felt somewhat guilty for upsetting him, until I remembered how much he’d hurt me. “Now, she’s gone and I’m going to go file for custody this week. I have no idea where she’s living, so I’m filing in absentia. I’m trying, Tegyn. I’m doing my best to make everything right.
” He sighed loudly. “You’ve surprised me too.”

  “How’s that? Being a stickler for marriage before kids? I’m sure lots of women are like that.” I shrugged.

  D closed the distance between us and rested his hands on my hips. “No, by saying you wouldn’t mind if we had a kid together.”

  I frowned. “Why would it be a big deal?”

  His eyes widened. “You really don’t see color do you?”

  My head tilted. “Not like you think. I see it, but I don’t care. I was raised in the north. There’s no stigma for interracial dating or marriage. Is it a problem here?”

  He sucked in his bottom lip and I wanted to nibble on it. I wanted to feel his lips on mine once more. And I’m pretty sure he knew based on the way he was studying me. “Some places.”

  “With your family?” I guessed.

  His shoulders sank. “What makes you say that?”

  “Your sister was less than friendly at class and I passed them coming in here. She refused to acknowledge me and Necie looked positively miserable.” I sank down on the bed. Watching him hurt. He made me think our relationship would never be accepted by his family. And that would end us before we even began.

  “There was an incident. My family…” D threw his hands up in the air, either unwilling or unable to explain. “Yeah. They were not happy to hear you were moving in.”

  I eyed him carefully, soaking in every subtle nuance of our discussion. “And that’s why they moved out? You mentioned they were living here…”

  “They were. Now they’re not.”

  “Because of me,” I grumbled.

  “Because my sister is a straight up bitch, that’s why.” He huffed.

  “Here’s something else you should know about me,” I began sadly. “I’m not about creating strife in families. We’re not even dating and they have decided they hate me and want nothing to do with you.” I gnawed on my cheek.

  D knelt on the floor beside me. “Yet,” he murmured as he lifted my hand to his lips. “We’re not dating yet.”

  “Oh, you think we’re going to date? You mean…if you ever get divorced, if the family ever approves, and maybe if the damn planets suddenly align?” I looked away as burning hot tears filled my eyes.

  “It will all be worth it. Don’t give up on us yet, Tegyn,” he whispered in my ear while pressing his forehead to the side of my head. “I don’t plan to just date you. I’m going to marry you. We’ll give Keyon a baby sister or brother one day.”

  “We’ll see,” I responded vaguely. “What if you give me some space to unpack?” I couldn’t meet his questioning eyes. If I did, he’d see how upset I was with one look at my face.

  “Okay, Tegyn. I’ll let you be, for now.” Slowly, he stood and made his way from the room.

  Almost an hour later, I’d finally pulled myself together and unpacked. Then I’d tiptoed into Keyon’s room to watch him sleep and make sure he was okay. With no more excuses and rather curious what DeSean was doing in this painfully silent house, I wandered down the stairs and paused at the main floor.

  In another room, he was talking on the phone. “Paxton, just checking in. Wanted to see if there was any time frame on the LA trip yet?”

  Apparently, the phone was on speaker because a moment later, I heard a deep voice responding. “Looking like another week, maybe week and a half. Sorry. They are organizing things. You still set to offer your services?”

  “Absolutely. Either me, or one of the guys from my team will be there for you,” D responded confidently.

  “Well, I’d prefer you, but if you can’t do it and you have someone as qualified, I’m sure that will work as well.” The man cleared his throat. “I need to go for now. Practice. The season may be over, but I gotta keep working it.”

  “I get it Mr. Gentry.” D laughed.

  “Paxton, or Pax, please.” The man groaned.

  “Right. Have a nice day, Pax.” Then the call ended and I realized I had been holding my breath.

  When I let out a breath, DeSean called to me. “Come on in here, Tegyn.”

  I wandered through the French doors, which stood partially open. “Hi. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to listen in.”

  “Girl, if I had anything to hide, it wouldn’t have been on speaker.” He leaned back in his chair, folded his hands on his chest. “I said that wrong. I can’t imagine having anything to hide from you.” His brow furrowed. “You better?”

  “Yeah. I’m good.” I sank down on the couch against the back wall. “Nice office.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” He chuckled. “It’s ours.”

  “Ours?” My brows rose.

  “Yes, I’m sharing the office with you. You’ll need a place to work and you’re welcome to this room any time you want it. I barely worked in here. I mostly hid.” He smirked. “Nothing to hide from anymore.”

  I nodded and noticed some movement in the entryway. When I looked, Keyon was peering in. He took one look at his father behind the desk, found me curled up on the sofa, and rushed over to climb into my arms. “Hi!”

  “Hi, Keyon.” I smiled as he settled on my lap. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Uh huh. We hide now?” He bounced excitedly.

  “Hide?” I frowned and glanced at D.

  “Yes, he saw something on a show and now he wants to hide all the time. We play hide and seek a lot to pass the time during the day.” He leaned forward in his seat. “You want all of us to play?” he asked his son.

  “Uh huh.” He clapped his hands, then slid off my lap. “I hide with her.”

  I tilted my head. “Do you know my name, Keyon?”

  The little boy frowned. “No,” he whispered.

  “My name is Tegyn. Can you say Tegyn?” I smiled at him.

  Keyon took a deep breath, like he was incredibly focused and trying so very hard. “Teenan,” he said proudly.

  “Close, buddy. Tee-gun,” DeSean corrected as he stood up from his desk and wandered over to sit beside us on the couch.

  The boy looked at me and sighed. “I call you T.”

  I grinned. “I can live with that.”

  D snorted.

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  “Looks like someone does call you ’T’ afterall.” He wore a half smile.

  Suddenly, I recalled one of our first conversations. “Things change.”

  He reached out and laid his hand on mine. “My feelings don’t.”

  Reveling in the possibility DeSean meant he still loved me was nice, but I couldn’t think about that right now. “So, hide and seek?”

  With a sigh, he nodded. “Sure. Let’s play.”

  “Count!” Keyon yelled at his father while sliding off my lap.

  “Of course, little man.” D laughed.

  “Come, T.” Keyon tugged on my hand and I followed him up the stairs.

  “One. Two. Watch out, he likes to hide in the attic. Three. Four.” DeSean continued counting.

  Soon we were at the top of the stairs and he dragged me to the right, away from our bedrooms. We passed two other bedrooms and ended up in the bonus room. With sloping walls, I realized this had to be over the garage. On either side of the room, there were teeny tiny doors. Keyon pulled me toward the one on the right.

  “Are you sure you want to go in there?” I asked. “I bet it’s dark.”

  He shook his head. “Light. Come on.” He motioned for me to crawl through the door with him, and I did.

  This couldn’t be terrible, or DeSean would’ve told me not to do it, instead of warning me where I’d end up. Sure enough, I found there was a light switch just inside the door way and I realized this was a storage area. The sub floor ended six feet past the door, with the rest of the space consisting of exposed rafters. “Stop here,” I urged. “We might fall through the ceiling if we go too far.”

  “Nah. I do. Watch.” He started to move off the sub floor, but I wasn’t ready to take the chance.

  “Wait.” I looked around. “We need to
be quiet to trick Daddy!”

  This thought seemed to appease him. While we waited for D to hit whatever magical number to come search for us, I studied my surroundings. I hated being in stuffy closed in spaces. I’d get through this by looking around and forgetting how uncomfortable I felt. Just past the sub floor, I saw a scuttle hole. Obviously, this dropped down into the garage. I leaned out, lifted it up, and took a peek. There was maybe a three foot drop onto the highest storage shelf which had been built almost like stairs inside the garage. “Brilliant,” I murmured. Now I was curious if the other side had the same feature, but I could hear D calling for us down the hall.

  “Keyon, oh Keyon, where are you?”

  “I right here!” The little boy giggled and covered his mouth with both hands.

  He was so damn cute, I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Are you in the bathroom?” D asked as he noisily opened the bathroom door.

  Keyon whispered loudly, “No.”

  I heard D snicker, which made me grin.

  “Nope. Not in the bathroom.” The footsteps came closer. “Are you in the bonus room?”

  “No!” Keyon laughed loudly.

  Our cover had been blown from the beginning. I’d have to work on the art of stealth with this kid. Still, I was enjoying myself.

  “Huh. Maybe you’re in here!” D yelled as he yanked the door open.

  I squealed right along with Keyon.

  “Daddy, you find me.” The boy held open his arms and D picked him up.

  I crawled out and stood beside them. I’d been so lost in the moment, I’d nearly forgotten why I’d moved in. D reached out and smoothed my hair back.

  “I’ll always find you,” he murmured as he stared deeply into my eyes.

  Shivers ran down my spine. I had no doubt he meant it for me. And I had no doubt I wanted it.

  13

  DeSean

  * * *

  Night time was the toughest time of the day. This may be why I didn’t mind working until I was nearly blind from exhaustion. Last night was great because I was able to touch Tegyn while she slept. Tonight, she’d be in her own room and I had no excuse to be near her. Having her around all the time was supposed to balance out the other desires I’d had to set aside.