When I arrive at the firehouse, I shoot the shit with a few of the guys before heading to Dad’s office. I knock lightly on the doorframe.
Dad looks up and smiles when he sees me. “Hey, son.”
“Hey, you got a minute?” I ask him. I’m suddenly nervous that he’s going to be upset with me. I know that’s an irrational fear, but it’s there all the same.
“Always for you,” he says. Both of my parents have always put us kids first, whatever we needed.
I walk in and close the door. He raises his eyebrows in question, but doesn’t say anything. I take the chair across from him and stretch out my legs. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately about life and how busy everything seems.” I decide to ease into it.
“Indeed, life can feel like it’s passing you by,” he says.
I nod. So far so good. “Yeah, the shop is growing. Asher and I just hired another part-time artist to help out. Grace is taking over for Ember full-time; business is great.”
“That’s great news. I knew you boys would be a success. You’ve talked about your own shop since you were teenagers. I’m proud of both of you.”
That’s Dad. Always telling us how proud he is. My gut clenches at the thought of disappointing him. He’s watching me, waiting. He probably already knows what’s coming. He’s a smart man, my dad. He won’t say it for me. I’m going to have to just go for it. “So, I was thinking about maybe cutting back on my volunteer hours here,” I say.
Dad steeples his fingers under his chin and leans back in his chair. “I see. And what’s brought this change on?” he asks. I can see the mischief in his eyes, eyes that are just like mine. He knows, but he’s going to make me say it. My mind drifts back to the Fourth of July party and our conversation.
“Tatum. I love her. The shop is my living, how I support myself. She is the air I breathe and I need more time with her. I want it all with her. I can’t be married and have a family and never be home. I won’t do that to her or our children,” I tell him. I gave him way more information than he needed, but I want him to know where I stand. This is a forever deal for me, and I want to be the kind of husband and father that he was, that he is. “I want to be there for my family like you were,” I add.
Dad smiles. “I love being right. So how does Tatum feel about all of this?” he asks.
He really wants to know if she’s in as far as I am. I can honestly say without hesitation that she is. “She loves me, too. The marriage and kids thing, has yet to be discussed, but I want that. I know she does as well; we just haven’t talked about that for us, for our future.”
Dad stands up and walks around the desk. I stand as well. “I’m damn proud of you, son,” he says, giving me a hug. “As far as your time here, this is my dream, not yours. I appreciate all that you do and I enjoy working with you. You tell me how much time you’re available and I’ll make it happen. Hell, you don’t have to volunteer at all. I’m proud either way. You have to love your life, Blaise, for you and, well, now for Tatum,” he says, leaning back against his desk.
I release the breath I was holding. “Thank you. I’m not ready to give it up completely, but I would like to cut back. I’ll talk to Tate about it, about us, and get back with you,” I tell him.
“Sounds good. In the meantime, I’ll go ahead and start scaling you back a little at a time.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I say, with emotion in my voice.
He nods his head. “Now get out of my office; some of us have work to do,” he laughs and winks.
Just as I walk out the door, the alarm sounds. There is an auto accident, time to suit up. I send Tate a quick text letting her know.
Me: Hey. Just got called out on a run. Will stop by when I’m done. I love you.
Tatum: K. Love you. Be safe!!
Just as I’m putting my phone back in my purse from replying to Blaise’s text, it rings. It’s Mary. Surely she doesn’t have the closing scheduled already.
“Hey, long time no talk,” I say in greeting. She laughs.
“Hi, Tatum. I got everything scheduled for Thursday of this week at three in the afternoon. I thought a later time might work so you could drive down the day of and miss less work. The family wants to move fast; they have to be out of their place in two weeks. They love that you have given them immediate occupancy.”
“Wow. All right then. Let me talk to my boss and get everything squared away and I will see you on Thursday,” I tell her.
“Great. See you then,” she say, and we end the call. I look up when I hear a knock on my office door. It’s Harry.
“Hey, Tatum. Nancy had a dentist appointment that she forgot about. I told her to go ahead and go. Can you cover reception for the next thirty minutes until we close down for the day?” he asks.
“Sure, no problem at all. Actually, I’m glad you’re here. That was my real estate agent. I sold my parents’ house, so I need to be in Ohio on Thursday for the closing.”
“No problem at all. You have the time, just let Nancy or I know how long you will be gone so we can cover for you,” he says with a wave of his hand.
I seriously lucked into the best job ever. Working with Nancy and Harry is great!
“Thank you so much. I’ll let you know for sure tomorrow,” I say. I need to talk to Blaise first and see what his schedule is. I wonder if he’ll come with me.
Harry waves his hand in the air dismissing me as he walks back to his office.
The last half hour of the day feels like two minutes. I pack up my stuff and head home. I decide to stop at the store and pick up the stuff to make meatloaf. That way Blaise can easily heat it up when he finishes with his run. Meatloaf is better cold in my opinion anyway.
The store is quiet. Monday nights must be the best time to shop for groceries. I’m bending down to pull a box of macaroni and cheese from the shelf when I hear a snarky voice behind me say, “Well look who it is.”
I stand up to my full height and see no one other than Beth. She’s pushing a cart with an adorable dark haired little girl sitting in it. Beth follows my gaze to her daughter and smirks. “She looks just like him, huh?” she says sweetly.
Wait! What? I shake my head at her question.
“Blaise claims she’s not his, but look at her; you know she is.” She speaks in her sugary voice, the voice that is threating to rip my heart to shreds. He lied to me.
“B—Blaise said the baby wasn’t…” I trail off as I study the little girl before me. She has straight dark hair and dark brown eyes. She has Beth’s eyes. I’m trying to find something, anything, that will convince me that what she’s saying isn’t true. Sure she has dark hair, but that doesn’t make her his. He wouldn’t lie to me or run out on his responsibilities. Would he? Who am I kidding? I’ve only known him a few months. I allowed myself to fall head over heels in love with him in a matter of months. Do I really know him? I thought I did. Look what happened with Josh and we were together for years.
“The real reason my husband left me is because he found out that she’s not his.” She strokes her daughter’s hair. “Blaise was coming around to the idea of being a dad until you came into the picture. Now he wants nothing to do with either of us,” she says. Her eyes find mine. “Please for my daughter, walk away.” Her voice is not mean, or hateful; she sounds…sincere.