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I shake my head. I have no idea if my son will follow in my footsteps and become a mechanic, but I won’t push him into anything. He’ll find his own path.
“Will you keep an eye on Coop for a second. I left my phone in the office. I’m just going to run and get it.”
“Sure, buddy. Me and Coop got stuff to catch up on anyway, right, little man?”
“Right.” My son nods, his expression about as serious as I’ve ever seen it.
I shake my head and jog into the workshop. There’s no sign of Slider, but the tow truck wasn’t parked on the front either, so I assume he’s on a tow.
It doesn’t take me a moment to find my phone. The battery is dead, but I have a charger in the car. When I return outside, I can see the crowd has thinned out considerably over the road. Nia comes to the door and looks out and my stomach tightens at seeing her. She looks beautiful today. She’s wearing a soft green summer dress, her legs bare, her feet in a pair of wedged heels. Her hair is loose around her face, a mass of tight curls, but her expression is not beautiful. She looks a little despondent. Maybe the big launch isn’t going as well as she planned.
I make a decision.
It’s probably a crazy one, but I make it even so.
“Little dude, I need to stop in across the road too before we can get to the park. Do you want to come with me?”
He nods. My kid is always up for anything he perceives might be an adventure.
I unstrap him from the seat and lift him down to the ground. All the while, I can feel Beanie’s eyes boring into the back of my skull and when I risk glancing at him, he gives me a wiggle of his eyebrows. I glare back, hoping this communicates nothing is going on between me and Nia, but he doesn’t seem to grasp this, if his grin is anything to go by.
I hold my hand out to Cooper and he slips his tiny fingers into my palm, so we can walk across the street together.
Nia watches us approaching, her smile warm, though a little wary. Maybe we need to address the fact I turned her down for dinner—and soon.
“Hey, Nia. It’s the big day, huh?”
She sighs. “The big day has been slow.” Her eyes slide to Coop and I can see the question there.
“Nia, this is Cooper—my son.”
I don’t miss the slight jolt she gives at hearing this, but she keeps her mask in place.
“I had no idea you have a child.”
“He’s three-years-old.” I don’t know why I impart this information, only that I feel the need to tell her something.
“He’s a little sweetheart.” She gets down onto her haunches, so that she’s eye level with Coop. “What are you up to today?”
My kid, who has never been shy a day in his life, is all too keen to impart our day.
“We’re going to the park.”
“That’ll be fun.”
“Daddy’s the mostest fun at the park.”
“Thanks for that endorsement, kiddo,” I tell him, ruffling his hair.
Nia smiles. “He’s adorable.”
“Don’t be fooled. He can be a monster. He hasn’t quite left the terrible twos behind.”
“I don’t believe you. He looks so sweet.”
He does look like a little cherub with blond, shaggy hair and bright blue eyes. In full meltdown mode, though, he turns demonic.
“Have you sold much?”
