“Ok, buddy. Let’s roll.” I locked the door behind us and buckled him into his car seat when we reached the car. The only thing my mom had left behind for me was still putzing along, even though Chase hated that I drove it, but there was no way I was letting him buy me a new car. We were married now, but that didn’t mean I was going to let him pay for everything.
Maybe after I was finished up with school at the end of the semester and landed a job, I could afford a new one. “Are you excited to go back to school, buddy? I bet Miss Clarissa missed you so much. You’ll have to tell her all about our fun vacation.”
I glanced back in the mirror, smiling when I saw his unruly brown curls bob up and down. Chase was always trying to cut those things off and give Caleb a buzz cut like he had, but I wouldn’t let him touch them.
“Yup, I’m all ready. I’m gonna tell Rissa all ‘bout how we played in the sand and built castles. And how pretty you looked when you got to marry Chase.”
“Aw, thanks Caleb.” I swear this boy was going to be a little heartbreaker. Even though Chase wasn’t his dad, I could tell his charming ways were rubbing off on him. “Don’t forget Auntie Al’s going to pick you up from school today. I have to go back to work today, remember?”
“Okay, Mommy. Sounds like fun. Auntie Al always spoils me.” I snorted when he said it. That was the truth, just about everyone spoiled him, but you would never know it. He was still one of the sweetest little boys.
I dropped him off, giving him a longer hug than usual. The three of us had basically spent the whole summer together and it was going to be weird being apart from him again. Plus, I knew this day would probably change our lives forever.
Before Ally would head back to our place with Caleb in tow tonight, she was taking him to the lab for his DNA testing. I knew it was inevitable, so I didn’t want to put it off any longer. Roy had called once since we were back from vacation, but just to check up on Caleb and nothing else. I didn’t feel any sort of pressure from him to get the test done, but I really just wanted it over with.
Ally had offered to take him, I think after she saw how nervous Chase and I were about the whole thing, she felt like it would be a good thing. I pretty much already knew what the results would be. Caleb looked so much like Roy; it would be hard for anyone to argue that they were related.
I just wasn’t sure what it would mean when it was officially confirmed that he was in fact Caleb’s dad. I had taken care of that little boy basically his whole life and I wasn’t sure what I would do without him. Roy reassured me that he just wanted to be a part of his life and wasn’t trying to take him away, but sometimes these kinds of situations could get messy. I definitely didn’t want lawyers getting involved.
“Leah, over here!” I heard Remy’s familiar voice as soon as I stepped into my first class of the day and turned, instantly spotting her flaming red hair near the front of the classroom.
We had every class together this semester since we were both finishing our nursing degrees, which really was a good thing since she wasn’t working at Gino’s anymore. It had been a total bummer when she put in her two weeks. I loved working with Remy; she really was a breath of fresh air at that place when I was running around on my feet all night. I understood though, she didn’t really need to work since her parents helped her out a lot and she wanted to focus solely on the last semester of school so her grades didn’t slip at all.
“Hey Mrs. O’Neill, I saved you a seat. Running a little behind this morning? Could your sexy husband have anything to do with that?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me as I pulled out the textbook that had cost me an arm and a leg and set a fresh notebook on my desk.
“Actually, Chase was out the door before I even rolled out of bed this morning, I think he was a little excited for his first day of school. Mary even dropped off a packed lunch for him in a little lunchbox, it was so cute.” I rolled my eyes and Remy stifled a giggle when class started up. I hoped Chase didn’t expect me to pack his lunch every day. That was not going to happen.
My mind raced as Remy’s words registered in my head again. Mrs. O’Neil. Husband. I now had a husband. I don’t think the reality of that really set in until I stepped foot into the classroom.
I looked down at the antique band and centered diamond that sat on my ring finger, the light hitting it just right to make it sparkle. Did we get married too soon? I mean, I was only 20 years old, shouldn’t I be running around right now, being irresponsible, flitting from one guy to the next. Partying it up with my friends? I suddenly felt like an old, decrepit woman.