Brendan (The Doherty Mafia Book 4) by Kasey Krane (summer reads TXT) 📗

I felt bad when she looked disappointed.

“No Mom, that isn’t what I meant. I have to get ready and get Davey ready for school.”

“I’ve got him ready. Cleaned and brushed and changed.” Mom gave Davey a wink and he giggled back at her.

I ran out of excuses to get my mother to leave. The longer she stood there, the more guilty I felt.

“Good morning.” I heard Brendan’s voice behind me and my heart stopped. Mom stared past me at the kitchen door and Davey looked curiously over my shoulder. Slowly, I turned around to face him.

I’d told him specifically to stay in the room until the coast was clear.

He did this on purpose. He wanted to defy my wishes. He wanted to prove to me that I could never tell him what to do.

“Oh. Hi?” Mom looked completely shocked. She had never seen a man in my apartment. She was quickly putting two-and-two together. She knew I had spent the night with him.

“Hello Davey,” Brendan said to my son. I held him tighter and closer. I was suddenly very afraid that everything would unravel. That everyone in the room would find out the truth about Davey’s paternity.

“You’re Mommy’s friend,” Davey said.

That made Brendan smile and he nodded.

“A friend? Well, we haven’t been introduced yet.” Mom went up to him, sticking a hand out. I could see her visibly gushing. Brendan had that effect on women of all ages, clearly. “I’m Carmen, Rosa’s mother.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Carmen. I’m Brendan. I’m sorry to impose on family time but I was just going to leave and I thought it would be rude to do that without saying goodbye.”

My heart still felt like it had stopped in my chest. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t say a word.

“Mommy make pancakes!” Davey squealed, turning to me. “We will all have pancakes,” he declared.

I had no choice but to make the damned pancakes.

Thankfully, Mom said that she was going to leave. I guessed it was because she had no choice since she was expected at her workplace. What she really wanted to do was spend some time with Brendan and figure out all the details of our relationship as she could.

She even winked at me as she was leaving. I was blushing a bright pink. Especially because of the fact that Davey and Brendan seemed to be getting along very well.

They chatted non-stop while I made the pancakes. Davey helped Brendan find all the toppings we were going to have with the pancakes. Then they cut up some fruit together. I watched with bated breath as I witnessed Brendan being as gentle with Davey as he could be.

I had goosebumps seeing them together—knowing that they were father and son. The fact that they didn’t know the truth was sad and scary.

I didn’t know what would happen if Brendan found out. He would lose his shit. He would blame me. And then, inevitably, he would leave. He wouldn’t want the responsibility of a son on his shoulders. It was all fun and games now when he knew he wouldn’t have to deal with a kid when he left my apartment.

Davey hadn’t been curious about his father. Thankfully, he hadn’t asked me too many questions or forced me to lie to him.

But from the way Davey had warmed to Brendan now—who was a stranger to him—it was pretty clear that my son wanted a male presence in his life. He needed it.

It was the only thing I couldn’t give him, no matter how much I tried or how much I wanted to. Maybe I was the one who disappointed my son.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I carried the plate of pancakes to the table. They’d arranged all the toppings and set the table with plates and cutlery.

Davey was in the middle of showing Brendan how he’d learned to do cartwheels. They looked like they were having fun together. From where I stood, it even seemed like Brendan enjoyed himself. It didn’t appear forced.

But I knew it was temporary, just an illusion. I would forever cherish this memory of seeing them together, but that was all it was meant to be—a memory.

Brendan was only doing this to prove something. That he had been right when he demanded that I introduce him to my family. He just wanted to prove me wrong.

And maybe he had proven me wrong. Maybe Davey was more emotionally stable than I gave him credit for, but I didn’t want to push the envelope on that.

We sat at the table together and ate our pancakes, talking and laughing and acting like a normal family. But the only person who wasn’t acting, was Davey, and that broke my heart.

“Can Brendan walk with us to school?” Davey begged after we were done with breakfast.

I was about to tell him it wasn’t going to happen, but Brendan jumped in before I even had the chance.

“Sure, buddy, let’s go,” he said chirpily.

This was a new side to Brendan. He wasn’t being a mysterious and dangerously sexy stranger this morning. Somehow, Davey had managed to tap into a thoughtful and cheerful side to him.

I couldn’t ruin the plan now when the two of them were already out the door. I grabbed my things, caught myself looking like a complete mess in the mirror, and then we left.

Davey walked between us for most of the way. At one point he even grabbed Brendan’s finger instead of holding my hand. I saw that and it made my stomach lurch. I didn’t know how to handle it—this feeling of keeping a guilty secret from my son.

Wouldn’t Davey have loved to find out that through some miraculous coincidence—this man he was having so much fun with was his father? Davey would be thrilled. And I wanted to make my son happy above everything else.

But I was afraid at the same time.

Brendan Doherty was not a father. He had never considered himself to be. And the truth was, I didn’t