Murders & Romance: A Psychic Detective Romantic Mystery (Isaac Taylor Mysteries Book 5) by Lashell Collins (ready player one ebook .TXT) 📗

anymore. I know the things they do look cool and they seem like badasses, but… they’re not going to be so cool in prison. And that’s where most of them are heading.”

“I know.”

“You’re smarter than that, Mateo. The way you love to read and draw. You can be anything you want to be, if you work hard enough.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“Hell, yeah, I believe it. I believe in you. You got the smarts and the talent to be anything you want to be.”

Mateo’s gaze drifted around his room, and Pete smiled when he saw a spark of curiosity and wonder in the boy’s eyes. The sight ignited the strangest flame of hope and pride in his chest. Where the hell had that come from?

“Well, I’ve got to work in the morning. You get some sleep.”

He was about to stand when Mateo surprised him with another question.

“Uncle Pete?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to marry Jada?”

Pete’s butt hit the seat of the chair with a soft thud, and all the air left his lungs.

The kid could sure surprise him with the things that came out of his mouth sometimes.

But this wasn’t about Jada. Not really. He understood that now.

This was about him and his nephew. What was it his mom had said about him thinking in terms of being Mateo’s guardian some day?

He licked his lips and looked Mateo in the eyes.

“Whether I do or not makes no difference, Mateo. Because you and I are a package deal. Where I go, you go.”

Mateo’s lips twisted into a pout again.

“That’s not true. Grandma is my guardian. Not you.”

There was nothing Pete could say to refute that. Julieta was his legal guardian. And maybe it was time they looked into that.

“I’m not going anywhere, Mateo. No matter what happens, you are stuck with me, kid. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Pete left Mateo’s room and went back downstairs to the living room where Julieta sat knitting and watching TV. She looked up and smiled at him.

“I thought you were going to bed, mijo.”

“I am, but I wanted to talk to you about something first.”

“Qué es?” What is it?

“How would you feel if…” He hesitated and wondered if she would be offended by the suggestion. Maybe he should leave it alone.

“Pedro? If what?”

“What would you think if I suggested we look into transferring legal guardianship of Mateo over to me?”

Julieta stared up at him for a long moment, and Pete wondered what his mother was thinking. Finally she set her knitting aside and looked into his eyes.

“Are you sure about this?”

Pete sat down beside her.

“I’ve just been thinking that it might help Mateo to know that he’s stuck with me forever. No matter what, you know? I mean, you were saying that he needs to know that his place in my life is permanent. And I want to show him that he’s not a burden to me. That this is something I want.”

A slow smile spread across Julieta’s face, and Pete thought he saw a mixture of pride and relief in his mother’s eyes.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, mijo.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure, mamá? Because I don’t want to step on your toes or take Mateo away from you or make Paulina angry or anything. I only want what’s best for Mateo.”

“I know that, Pedro. And Paulina will see that too, eventually. But honestly… she has no room to object. Even if she did, there’s nothing she can do about it from behind bars, is there?”

“I don’t think so. But I’ll have a lawyer look into it.”

“Dad? Seriously, take a deep breath and chill. Please!”

They sat in a booth near the back window in the greasy diner Trey loved. Gavin’s heart pounded in his chest like he was beating a big bass drum.

Trey was right. He needed to chill out. Badly. But he couldn’t seem to take in a breath deep enough to make his heart slow down.

God, what had this woman done to him?

He looked down at the table and clasped his hands together on top of it.

He felt ridiculous. Like a twenty-something bringing a girl home to meet his folks for the first time.

“I’m not so sure this was a good idea.”

“It’s gonna be fine, Dad. Why are you being so weird about it?”

“Because it’s a weird situation, Trey. Do you know how long it’s been since I even went out on an actual date? And now I’m sitting here in a diner with my nearly grown son, waiting for my… my… aw, hell, I don’t even know what to call her!”

“Girlfriend.” Trey’s tone was teasing. “We call them girlfriends.”

“Very funny, wise guy.”

“Well…”

“Yeah. Just wait until you bring someone home to meet your old man in a year or two. Then we’ll talk about this day.”

Trey laughed at him, and Gavin shook his head. Then his gaze fell on the front entrance just as the door opened and Gerri Miller stepped in. The bells over the door chimed, and it was like music from heaven heralding her arrival.

Still unable to take a proper deep breath, Gavin huffed air from his chest and stood. She was dressed in a white skirt that sported a jagged hemline that danced around her calves, and a matching top. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, and Gavin realized that he’d never seen her this way before — all feminine and sweet and girly.

She walked toward him with a smile.

“Hi.”

“Hi, yourself. You look amazing.”

He leaned in and kissed her lips, not giving a damn that his son was watching their every move.

“Thank you.”

He gestured to the booth and stepped aside so that she could slide in across from Trey. Then he slid in beside her.

“Um, you remember my son, Trey.”

“Of course.” She smiled at him and stretched out her hand. “Good to see you again, Trey.”

“Yeah. You, too.”

“And thank you for the dinner invitation. Your dad said this was your idea.”

“No problem. Thanks for coming. And thanks for making my dad goofy.”

Gavin shot him a look.

“Who you calling goofy?”

“You!” Trey shot back. Then