“Momma,” he said as he grasped Lily’s arm tightly.
“Hey there, little man. You’ve grown a foot since the last time I saw you.” John Warren studied me, almost like he was trying to decide if he knew me, or if he even wanted to know me.
“Our appointment is in fifteen minutes. We better get rolling if we want to be on time,” Lily started. “You wanna just ride with us?”
“Sure,” I told her as I grabbed the diaper bag off of the rocking chair. Once she had John Warren buckled into his car seat, she said, “The place is just down on the square, and they said it wouldn’t take long. The nurse said that they’d just run a cotton swab inside your cheek and then John Warren’s. When the results come back, we can sign off on the papers.”
Her voice cracked when she spoke. I knew she was worried that I might change my mind, decide that I didn’t want them to adopt my son, but there was no chance of that. It was impossible to miss the way he looked at her, like a son looks at his mother, and I would never take that away from him.
“Sounds good.”
“I really appreciate you coming all the way here. I know…” she started.
“It’s fine, Lily. I know you’re eager to get this thing done,” I clipped.
“Maverick, he’s happy. He really is. We’ll give him…”
“Lily, stop…. I know he is happy. Anybody can see that, and I know you’ll give him the life he deserves. That’s why I brought him to you in the first place, and I’m not about to change my mind now.” My chest tightened at the thought. There was no turning back after this. I had to wonder what the hell was wrong with me. I should’ve had some doubts, some second thoughts, but I didn’t. When I looked at John Warren, I still found myself questioning how all of this happened.
On the way to the hospital, Lily talked nonstop about everything that had happened since I’d been gone. Once we got there, the test didn’t take long, and they said that we should have the results later today or in the morning. Usually these kinds of tests take days, even weeks, to come back, but Sheppard’s wife, Ana, worked at the local hospital. She called in a few favors and was able to get a rush put on it.
As soon as we were done, I texted Bobby to let him know that we were heading back to the house. By the time we got back to Lily’s, Bobby’s SUV was already in the driveway. When we walked in, I was relieved to catch the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. Goliath was pouring himself a cup when I walked in.
“Mind if I grab one of those?” I asked without even saying hello.
“There’s a fresh pot brewing… help yourself,” Goliath told me as he motioned his hand over toward the coffee pot.
I was pouring myself a cup when Henley walked over to Lily and said, “You must be Lily. I’m Henley, a friend of Maverick’s.”
Shaking her hand, Lily replied, “It’s great to finally meet you, Henley. I’m glad Maverick had you to tag along, so he didn’t have to make that long drive alone.”
“I don’t think he really even knew I was there. He’s a man of few words,” Henley laughed. She gently ran her hand over John Warren’s head and said, “He is just too cute for his own good.”
“He’s going to be a lady killer, that’s for sure,” Courtney chimed in.
When I looked over to Henley, she caught my eye for just a moment, then looked away. She twirled a loose strand of her hair around her finger as she listened to the conversation floating around the room. This wasn’t the Henley I knew. She wasn’t her normal confident self. The doubts of last night were rolling around in her head. I knew I should go over to her, try to ease the awkwardness that was building between us, but I couldn’t make myself take that first step. She was right to have her doubts. She should fucking regret it. She was innocent and pure, and the last thing she needed was to get involved with a man like me – a man tarnished by his past.
Chapter 16
Henley
?
What the hell is wrong with me? I can’t even look at him. It’s stupid. I know I have no reason to feel like this. I know last night didn’t mean anything or did it? He’s not acting all weird. At least, I don’t think he is. So why I am feeling so off center?
“I was going to take Henley into town and show her the shops around the square. Do you want to go with us?” Courtney asked Lily.
Lily looked over to Goliath and asked, “Can you keep an eye on JW for me? I don’t think it’s a good idea to take him with us. You know how he likes to get his hands into stuff.”
“No problem. I’ll take him over to the clubhouse with us. You can just meet us over there when you’re done,” he answered, looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world. This huge brute of a man was wrapped tight around her little finger, and he didn’t seem to mind that everyone knew it. I liked that about him.