Christyne Butler - A Daddy for Jacoby

Justin put down the boxes and walked out of the room, Gina’s breathless assurance she was okay ringing in his ears.

Was he stupid?

Gina was smart. Too smart. Did she know he’d been inches away from kissing her? He hadn’t looked into her eyes, hadn’t read her body language. Pink lips and a pink curl was all he’d focused on, but she must’ve known…

Just like she had to know he’d been inches away from kissing her three months ago.

He’d been teaching her how to shoot pool for almost an hour and she’d finally gotten the right ball into the right pocket. She’d jumped into his arms and hugged him and he’d never been more tempted in his life.

Then they’d been rudely, but thankfully, interrupted.

Pushing the memory from his head, he entered the main area of The Blue Creek Saloon and saw the tables and booths starting to fill up with the Friday night regulars for dinner. Some would stay for the live music and dancing later and the spring night would bring out the college crowd once the sun went down.

He spotted Jackie, the assistant manager, near the kitchen entrance and headed her way.

A tall blonde and little boy standing nearby hit his radar, but only because he made sure to always be aware of who was in his personal space. A habit he’d picked up in prison, which is why it still bothered him those punks had gotten the jump on him and Gina that night.

“Murphy said I had a visitor?” he asked when Jackie turned to him.

“Yes, you do. This young lady—”

“Justin! Finally!”

The blonde launched herself into his arms and Justin had no choice but to catch her. Unlike Gina’s curves, however, this girl was skin and bones. Her hair and clothes were dirty and she smelled like she hadn’t bathed in a while.

After catching his balance, Justin peeled her arms from around his neck just as Gina and Ric walked in from the back hall. “Ah, I’m sorry, but I don’t know—”

“It’s me, Zoe! Zoe Ellis?” The girl clutched his hands. “You must remember me.”

He didn’t. Over the last three months, his encounters with the opposite sex consisted mostly of conversations with his sister Racy, and his coworkers. Yeah, there had been that girl he’d celebrated his release with when he first got out, but this wasn’t her. And he’d gotten more than a few offers for company from a couple of the waitresses, especially after everyone thought he and Gina had slept together—

Nope, not going there .

Justin forced his attention back on the girl, realizing he’d missed most of what she’d said.

“—and then we got a hotel room and didn’t come out for three days. I tell ya, I can still remember how you—”

“Look, you must have me mistaken with someone else. I’ve been…gone for quite a few years and only got back in town about three months ago.”

“Well, I know it’s been a while, eight years in fact, but I never forgot.” The girl reached for the little boy next to her.

Justin took in the child’s dark hair and eyes, seeing both fear and curiosity in his gaze as he clung to a scruffy-looking teddy bear and a dirty pillowcase that bulged at odd angles.

“In fact, I’ve had a constant reminder of those crazy few days,” she continued. “Meet Jacoby. Your son.”

Justin couldn’t move. He wanted to. His legs screamed at him to run. Run hard and run fast and never look back. Ashamed at that thought, he shoved it aside to concentrate on what the girl had just said.

“My what?”

She yanked on the kid’s T-shirt, forcing him to stumble forward. “Your son. Jacoby Joseph Ellis.”

At the mention of his father’s name as this child’s middle name, Justin’s gaze snapped from the boy, whose downcast eyes were centered on his own dirty sneakers, one sporting a big hole in the toe, back to her.

“How—He can’t—He can’t be more than five years old. I’ve been in pri—” He paused and pulled in a deep breath. “I’ve been out of touch for the last seven years.”

“He’s small for his age. His seventh birthday was in January. If you count back nine months…”

April. Eight-plus years ago. A few months before he and Billy Joe had been busted for drug trafficking.

A bust he’d actually helped with.

Tired of the life he’d been living, Justin had anonymously slipped insider information to the cops on the drug ring he and his brother worked for. The guilt and fear over what he’d been doing had caused him to live in an alcohol-induced haze for weeks. No drugs, though. He’d never touched the stuff, despite his chosen profession, but partying had included a wild weekend he and his buddies had spent in a small town in Colorado.

Was it possible he was this boy’s father?

He tried to remember the girl as she rummaged in the large purse at her shoulder. She pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper. “Here’s his birth certificate.”

Justin read his name listed as the boy’s father. “If this is true, why now? Why not get in touch with me when he was born?”

“What could you have done from where you were?”

“You knew where I was?” He clenched the certificate in his fist. “But you never thought to tell me you had my baby?”

“Ah, it might be better if you all move to one of the back booths?”

Justin looked up to find Gina standing behind the little boy. He read curiosity, concern and another emotion he couldn’t identify in her eyes. She looked from him to the main area of the bar. He then noticed both Jackie and Ric had disappeared, but the tables had filled up, and most were watching them.

Damn, he should’ve thought of that. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

He marched to the other side of the bar and slid into the end booth. He watched Zoe eagerly follow, not even looking back to make sure the boy was with her. She plopped down next to Justin, moving in much too close.

“How about burgers and fries for you two?” Gina asked as she helped the little boy get settled into the opposite seat.

“And sodas,” Zoe added.

“Maybe milk for your son?”

Justin picked up on the edge in Gina’s voice as she stared at him. What? She expected him to make that call?

Zoe waved away the question, her attention on Justin as she rested her hand on his arm. “Oh, he drinks soda all the time.”

“Except at school. I have chocolate milk there.”

Justin shook off Zoe’s touch as the boy spoke for the first time, even though it seemed like he was talking to his bear instead of to one of the adults.

“Chocolate milk is my favorite. I’ll be right back.” Gina’s smile for the boy was sweet, but it disappeared as she shot Justin a hard look before walking away.

“Is she your girlfriend?” Zoe asked.

“What? No, she’s…a coworker.” Justin smoothed out the birth certificate and folded it in half. “I work here at The Blue Creek. How did you know where to find me?”

“I figured this was the best place to start. You talked about this bar that weekend we spent together. Besides, who can forget a town called Destiny?”

The pieces were starting to fall back into place. He and his buddies had gone on a road trip. They’d ended up at a house party and a couple of guys had been in the kitchen giving a girl a hard time. He’d stepped in and she’d stuck by his side the rest of the night.

And the rest of the weekend.

“You told me your name was Susie,” he said, more details surfacing in his foggy brain.

“Yeah, I lied.” She shrugged. “It was just for fun.”

“How do I know you’re not lying now? Just because you put my name on that piece of paper—”

Gina appeared with two plates of food and the drinks, cutting off his words. She must’ve taken someone else’s order to get back so fast. After everything was on the table, she turned to the boy. “Would you like to wash your hands before you eat?”