The Mechanic Gets His Girl by Jane Poller

Author:Jane Poller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: small town romance, spicy romance, contemporary romance, military romance, steamy romance
Publisher: Amie Lech
Published: 2023-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

“The DNA results came back.”

His dad didn’t say anything, and the silence stretched. He’d been hanging out with Wendy too long, because he wasn’t happy about the quiet. There was an itch in the back of his brain, and he needed to figure out why.

He rolled himself out from under the car and sat up. His dad was in front of him and held out a hand. Jake took it and let him pull him up, out of the darkness of his thoughts, his failures.

He pushed his chin up and met his dad’s eyes. “He’s mine.”

Mike’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything. Jake gripped his head at the temples and closed his eyes.

“I didn’t think he could be. There was a one in four chance, you know? She was sleeping with at least three other guys, Dad. But he’s mine. Can you believe it? I’m a dad.”

Mike tipped his head to the side. “And?”

Jake spread his hands wide. “And what? I’m a fucking dad. Maybe the worst dad in town.”

“Jake,” his dad chided.

He began to pace. “No, it’s true. I failed him. I walked out when he was barely a week old. Still in the hospital and hooked up to tubes. I only held him three times, did you know that? Three times of him being just barely bigger than my hand...”

He held out his hand in a cupping motion, then spun on his heels. “And now that I know, I don’t get to make up for that lost time. Isn’t that just too perfect? I told Goldie I wanted custody, but this damn deployment won’t let me. How can I be the dad I want to be if I can’t ever see him? How can I share him with her when I have the restraining order? Dad, I don’t—I can’t—”

He took a deep breath and held his head again, his shoulders bowing in as he choked back a sob. His dad’s arms circled his shoulders, and Jake buried his head. The familiar smells of Old Spice aftershave calmed him, reminding him of all the times when he was a kid and his dad had done just this same thing.

“Shh, it’s okay now. We’ll figure this out together.”

“I don’t know how, Dad. That’s the problem. What if I mess it all up even more?”

Dad pulled back and held both his shoulders. They were of similar height and build, but Dad’s eyes and hair were brown. Both he and Sarah had inherited his mom’s blue eyes.

But at this moment, staring into an older version of himself, he was glad that it was Dad and not Mom out here.

“You’re not going to mess up, Jake, because you’re not going to give up. The only way you can fail is if you don’t show up at all.”

Jake’s vision swam as he frowned and tried to hold back the emotions. “That’s what I’ve done. I’ve been gone and not been there for him.”

Mike nodded. “Yes, but that wasn’t your fault. Any judge will know you don’t get a say in deployment schedules.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.