Tasha laughingly watched DJ high-five his fellow classmates then wave at his teacher before he turned to her. She had been standing there for five minutes already watching her son laugh and smile with the others. Tom never liked them to linger, but she couldn’t interrupt him. For the first time since—well the year she could remember, DJ wasn’t pouting hunched over rushing to the car. He was happy and he finally had friends! She couldn’t ruin that for him. He came running to her, arms wide open and the biggest smile on his face. She crouched down and he launched himself at her and she caught him, standing and spinning him around. She stopped and hugged him tight peppering his face with kisses. Instead of grumbling and turning his face away, he was actually giggling and letting her kiss his little face to her heart’s content.
She pulled away and smiled up at him. “So kiddo, how was your day?” she could already guess but she still wanted to hear it all.
He grabbed her face and planted wet a wet, noisy kiss on her cheek. “It was great momma! Miss Blakely listened to my suggestion and she even let me teach for a few minutes. I gave all those who got an answer right a piece of candy,” he announced proudly.
With a raised brow she said, “Did ya now. And where if I may ask, did you get all that candy?”
His cheeks got a shade of pink as he looked down at his twisting fingers. She found that both peculiar and amusing. He was so cute when he felt guilty.
“I got them from the kitchen store,” he whispered looking at her from under his thick and long eyelashes. “Am I in trouble?”
She held herself from chuckling, “No you’re not in trouble. You shared them as a reward to others. That makes me a proud and lucky mommy to have a son like you.”
His lips spread in a beaming smile that reached his wide brown eyes. And yet again she was hit with a sense of familiarity. DJ eyes suddenly grew saucer wide and his smile was face splitting.
“Daddy!” he yelled making her ears ring for a second. He wiggled vigorously in her arms, effectively slipping out of her hold. She’d barely lowered him to the ground when he pulled away and took off running behind her.
“DJ!” she yelled turning to chase after him. She froze.
Tasha watched as DJ launched himself at a man and the stranger quickly caught him coming out of his own stupor. She watched them speak, DJ so animatedly and the stranger cautious with a ghost of a smile on his lips, though his eyes still held surprise. His eyes roamed DJ’s face questioningly, and then it was like a light bulb went on in his head and he quickly turned to look at her. His eyes, his gaze on her made her gasp and took a step back. God she only wished she knew why or remembered why! Even more she wished she knew the revelation he’d just come upon because she sure as hell wanted to know what was going on. Why did she feel so hot under his gaze? Why didn’t she feel even the slightest twinge of fear as the stranger carried her son? And why did her son call him daddy? The stranger looked just as surprised as she did by DJ’s claim.
What was Tom keeping from her?
The moment the man took his first step to her, she suddenly felt the fear that was absent flood her. She took several steps back until her back slammed into her SUV. The stranger stopped right in front of her and if it wasn’t for DJ he would have pressed up against her, she was sure of it.
“How’ve you been Victoria Secret?” he asked with a breathy whisper.
“What?” she whizzed out. Why the hell did he make her feel so breathless and light-headed?
“It’s daddy, momma. Don’t worry, I already told him you don’t remember anything. You didn’t remember me until I reminded you, right momma?”
Not looking away from the stranger’s swirly brown eyes she muttered, “Right, DJ.”
The stranger turned his head slightly toward her son, but he too never broke eye contact. “DJ, what’s that stand for?”
Little hands slapped onto his shadowed cheeks then forcefully turned his head. Tasha looked at DJ too.
“How do you not know that?” he accused. “It’s a nickname for Damien Junior or Damien James.”
Something flickered in the stranger’s eyes before he smiled broadly making Tasha’s heart stutter. That’s where she knew the smile came from. And those swirly browns… she’d been looking at him for five minutes and now was when it hit her. She looked between the two and her breath caught in her throat—dear God!
No, no! DJ truly wasn’t Tom’s son.
“Of course I didn’t forget—Damien James Chan.”
DJ’s proud grin matched the strangers, “Just like you.”
“Yeah, just like me, except for one thing. James is your grandpa’s name, your momma’s daddy.”
Those words rang in Tasha’s ears and she felt herself slide down the SUV, her vision filling with dark spots and finally complete darkness.
****