Father By Surprise. Sarah M. Anderson

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СКАЧАТЬ come to that. He didn’t even want to be thinking about dragging Tanya into court. But no matter what a custody case would do to her—or his reputation back in Chicago—he refused to leave Bear in a situation where his health was in danger. This was about his son, first and foremost.

      He’d have to go around Tanya. If she realized what connections he was making and what he intended to do with those connections, she might panic. He’d seen that before, too—people did stupid things when they felt cornered. He’d just found his son—he didn’t want Tanya to up and disappear with the boy. No, this situation required the utmost discretion.

      By the end of the day, Nick had a plan. Now he just needed an opportunity, and he got one handed to him on a silver platter. Bear was fussy—or so Nick assumed. He hadn’t figured how hard it would be to understand a kid who didn’t make any noise. The boy was wriggling and flopping and scowling and no matter what Tanya did, it only got worse.

      “I need to take him home. He’s super cranky.”

      Doreen looked around. “The closing dance…well, if he needs to go, we’ll go.”

      Nick heard the disappointment in Doreen’s voice and jumped at his chance. “I can take you home later, if you want to stay.”

      Doreen rewarded him with a huge grin. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

      Her joy was so real that Nick almost felt bad for having ulterior motives. “Of course—if it’s okay with Tanya, that is.” They both turned to Tanya.

      Nick didn’t like the look on her face because it was the same look he’d been seeing a lot—one of optimism and hope mixed with a healthy dose of skepticism. Was she on to him, or was this just more of what he had coming?

      “Sure,” she said slowly. “That would be great.” It didn’t sound great, but he took it.

      Tanya kissed her mom goodbye, and then Nick carried Bear back to Tanya’s rust bucket of a car. Nick recognized it as the same car Doreen had been driving years ago. “This still runs, huh?”

      Tanya was silent for a moment, leaving Nick to wonder if he’d managed to insult her again. But then she said, “Yup. At least I don’t have to worry about Bear trashing it, you know? Not like that car of yours.” Her tone was light, but not suspicious. Perfect.

      “Hey, no big deal. And I got a vehicle we can put the car seat in, just so you know.”

      Tanya looked up at him through wary eyes. “Bought a new car, did you?”

      “Actually, it’s an F-250 extended-cab truck. Figured I’d need something to handle winter weather sooner or later,” he added, so she wouldn’t think he’d bought a truck just for child transportation reasons.

      Tanya sighed, her shoulders drooping down. “I can’t get used to you throwing money around, Nick. I just can’t.”

      That he understood. It had taken several years for him to get to the point where he bought things for the fun of it instead of stuffing the money under a mattress like a squirrel hoarding nuts for the winter. “I want to see you again.”

      “Me or Bear?”

      No, she didn’t trust him. “Both. You have a standing invitation to come to my place. I bought a toddler bed for Bear and everything, so you wouldn’t even have to pack.”

      “Where would I sleep?” She asked it carefully, as if she knew exactly what sort of detonator was on that bomb of a question.

      If they were back in her little house instead of in the parking lot of a powwow, he’d kiss her. Hell, he was thinking about kissing her anyway, but he was pretty sure he’d get punched for his trouble. He’d undoubtedly stirred up an epic hornets’ nest by showing up at all, let alone spending the afternoon playing with Bear. People were going to figure out he was Bear’s father sooner or later, but sooner didn’t have to be this instant.

      So he leaned back even as he kept his eyes locked on hers. “Babe, you may sleep wherever you want.”

      “Oh,” was all the answer he got, but the way her cheeks colored up with a beautiful pink told him plenty. No, she didn’t have to love him. He didn’t have to love her either. It wasn’t a strict requirement. But she still wanted him.

      Luckily, the feeling was mutual.

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