Ripe: A Stepbrother Pregnancy Romance (5 page)

“Almost seven,” Deanna said, speaking with the kind of admiration a mother would have for her child.

“He reminds me of myself at that age…only smarter. I can tell that much just by looking at him. He reminds me a lot of…”

“Elise,” Deanna finished for him with a nod. “That he does.”

There was a fleeting moment of silence between them as Jesse pondered broaching the topic of Elise even further, but he knew Deanna wouldn’t be comfortable with that.

“Does she pay you?” he questioned, keeping the conversation within the boundaries of decency. “For watching Isaiah, I mean.”

“She does,” Deanna said. “Elise isn’t the type of person to take hand outs, not even from me.”

“That’s what I figured,” Jesse said. “Which was why I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind letting me pitch in. You can tell Elise that you’re cutting the rate in half or something.”

Deanna was impressed but she knew it wouldn’t fly. “She wouldn’t go for it, trust me. She’d be suspicious and would ask why.”

A fleeting look of defeat passed over Jesse’s expression. He didn’t seem anything like the deadbeat Elise had described, but then again, her description had belonged to a much younger man.

Jesse grew quiet and turned his attention back to Isaiah. He was standing in the water instructing a group of children on how to hold their breath longer.

“He’s stubborn like she is,” Jesse said with a smile, but it quickly dissipated. “Or was, I suppose.”

“Oh no, you were right the first time,” Deanna corrected. “She’s as stubborn as ever these days. You’re different than I expected, though.”

Jesse glanced at Deanna, returning her smirk with one of his own. “Elise must have painted a pretty bad picture, huh?”

“Actually, she’s barely ever told me anything about you. What painted the bad picture was watching her bend over backwards to give her son a decent life. Elise has always been responsible, but she’s too selfless. She never does anything for herself. Watching her struggle kills me, but like I said…she refuses to take handouts.”

“She’s struggling?”

“Oh, come on.” Deanna sucked her teeth and shook her head. “I’m not sure what planet you’re living on, but raising a child all on your own isn’t cheap.”

Jesse grew silent and studied his hands. “I know,” he said after awhile. “That’s why I tried to talk her out of it.”

Deanna shot Jesse an appalled look, but he was quick to correct himself.

“I don’t mean
that
. I’m talking about adoption. It was what we agreed on. We were too young, and if that wasn’t bad enough, we were stepsiblings too. It just…it wasn’t right. She agreed that it wasn’t. Then all of a sudden, she started to show, and just like that she changed her mind. There wasn’t even any room for a debate. She told me she was keeping him, and that was that.” He shook his head and cleared his throat. “It scared the shit out of me. I mean…it still does, but I’m not a kid anymore. I can’t keep burying my head in the sand and acting like he doesn’t exist.”

At that moment, Isaiah raised his voice and the two adults turned to look at him. He and the little girl from the other day were laughing and chasing each other around in the water.

“Elise had it right,” Deanna said. “She knew what she’d be giving up was too precious.”

Jesse knew what Deanna was trying to say, but his decision to leave wasn’t weighted in not wanting to know his son. He was just really fucking scared. It was why he refused to go to he ultrasound appointments, or check out any of the pregnancy books Elise shoved his way. He thought that if he distanced himself, she’d get scared and do the same, but she couldn’t. Not after she decided on his name.

“Aunt Deanna!” Isaiah called out in a tone that gave way to his urgency, running up to her and dripping water into the sand. “I have to go potty.”

“Hi, Isaiah,” Jesse said, taking the opportunity to speak to his son. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know who he was.

“Hi,” Isaiah said without looking at him. He pulled at the fabric of Deanna’s dress. “Potty!”

“Okay honey.” Deanna glanced at the time on her cell phone. It was about time for his nap anyway. “We have to get going,” she said to Jesse. “I guess we’ll be seeing you?”

“Right,” Jesse said, keeping his eyes steadied on Isaiah. “Sounds good.”

“Isaiah, tell the nice man bye.”

“Bye!” Isaiah called out as he ran off towards the boardwalk.

Deanna gathered her things and quickened her pace to catch up with him, glancing over her shoulder in the process. It came as no surprise to her that Jesse was still watching them intently.

Chapter Nine

Elise pulled into Deanna’s driveway and parked. She knocked on the door and Deanna opened immediately. It was almost as if she’d been standing guard.

“Did you have a good day?” Deanna questioned.

“I did, thanks.” When Elise noticed that none of Isaiah’s belongings had been gathered for her to take home, she glanced over at her friend. “What about Isaiah? He didn’t give you any trouble did he?”

“Of course not,” Deanna answered just a little too quickly. “He’s a great kid. He never gives me any trouble.

Elise wasn’t buying it. Deanna was wringing her hands in the way she only ever did when she was really anxious about something. “Is something wrong?”

Deanna’s entire demeanor crumbled before her. “Actually…yes,” she admitted, looking at Elise with an expression that gave way to her guilt.

A heavy lump of dread rose into the pit of Elise’s throat. Her gut reaction was that Deanna was about to tell her that she couldn’t watch Isaiah anymore. It would certainly explain how weird she’d been acting lately.

“What’s going on?” Elise questioned, trying her best to stay calm as she looked around the house for her son. “Where’s Isaiah?”

“Oh, he’s in the back playing in the sandbox. I told him I needed to talk to you when you got here. Would you just—just do me a favor and sit down for a minute would you?”

Elise walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. She kept her eyes on Deanna, hoping she’d pull of the Band-Aid fast so that she could figure out what to do next.

“Something happened,” Deanna finally spoke up. “I got myself entangled in a really messy situation, and I don’t think you’re going to be very happy with me.”

“What is it?” Elise pressed, taking note of the remorse in her friend’s expression. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I am. It’s just…I—I met someone…”

“Deanna, that’s amazing!” Elise exclaimed, but her joy didn’t last for very long before it was replaced by confusion. “But I don’t get it. What’s the problem? Why do you look like someone just died?”

“You don’t get it.” Deanna shook her head and swallowed hard. “I didn’t meet just
anyone.
I met Jesse.”

It took Elise a few seconds to grasp hold of the full weight of what Deanna was telling her. When it finally clicked, she sat up in her chair and shook her head in disbelief. “
MY
Jesse? As in Isaiah’s father,
JESSE?
”

“Yes.”

“What?” Elise stared at her friend in shock. “How did you meet him? Oh my god. Did you let Isaiah talk to—”

“No,” Deanna interrupted. She slid the business card Jesse had given her over to Elise. “I didn’t, but he gave that to me and he asked me to give it to you.”

Elise simply stared at it in disbelief, refusing to touch it. “Why?” she questioned after awhile, speaking slowly in order to remain calm. “Why is he here? Why now? I don’t get it.”

“He said he wanted to see Isaiah,” Deanna said, noticing that not only had Elise’s demeanor changed, but her voice had changed as well.

“Well you didn’t let him near him, did you?”

Deanna hesitated. She couldn’t lie to her and she knew it. “He saw us a couple times when we were out running errands, but no, it’s not like I let him in the house or something.”

“But how did he even know who you were? How’d he know who Isaiah was? He’s never even seen a picture of him.” Elise rambled on and on for a good minute without taking a breath.

“He has eyes, Elise. Anyone who sees him and Isaiah together would be able to know they’re father and son. Look, I know you’re probably upset...”

“You’re damn right I’m upset! Do you think I would have moved us here if I thought there was any chance we’d run into him? Last I heard he was still living in San Francisco! I don’t want anything to do with him, Deanna, and I don’t want Isaiah to have anything to do with him either.”

“Elise, come on, you can’t keep Isaiah from him. He’s his son. I know you hate him, but he has a right to him.”

“Yeah,
his son
who he had no interest in for over half a decade! Trust me, Deanna. I know Jesse. He wants something, that’s the only reason he’s here, and I have no intention on finding out what it is.”

“He said he’s been trying to find you for years...”

Elise laughed and stared Deanna down long and hard. “He waltzed in here, told you some sweet little story, and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker didn’t you? Well I'm not buying it. Jesse isn't a nice guy, or an honest guy, or a dependable guy—and he certainly doesn’t give a shit about redemption. I want nothing to do with him, and from now on, he better stay away from Isaiah.”

“Okay,” Deanna said, taking note of the clarity in Elise’s tone. There was no denying how serious she was about this.

Elise stood up and pushed her chair in. She walked towards the door to fetch Isaiah, but something stopped her in her tracks.

“You know...now it makes sense why Isaiah has been asking so many questions about his father lately.”

“He doesn’t know,” Deanna promised. “I didn’t tell him, I swear. He doesn’t have a clue.”

“Yeah, but did Jesse?”

“No...he hasn’t even spoken to him,” Deanna said, recoiling under Elise’s gaze. “Well okay, he has, but only once and it was really brief.”

Elise was quiet for a few seconds as she considered her friend's words. “I can’t believe you did this behind my back,” she finally said. “How could you, Deanna? You're supposed to be my best friend. Last I checked…you don’t even like guys, yet all Jesse had to do was be a little nice for you to suddenly be under the impression that I’m the one in the wrong!”

“Elise, that’s not fair!” Deanna exclaimed. “Of course you’re not the one in the wrong. I’m just saying…maybe you should at least hear him out. He might surprise you.”

“Oh please, not that again!” Elise shook her head in exasperation. “Just so we’re perfectly clear, I don’t want Jesse near my son from here on out. Is that going to be a problem for you? Because if it is, I can find someone else to watch him.”

“Elise, come on…”

“No, don’t tell me to come on! I need your word on this, Deanna. I’ve known Jesse since I was twelve and even I don’t know what he’s capable of. All I know is who he was the last time I ever saw him, and that person is no one I want my son spending time with.”

Isaiah stepped inside from the backyard right at that moment, frowning when he took note of his mother’s heated tone. As soon as Elise saw him, she stopped talking and began moving around the house like a tornado, grabbing up his things along the way.

Once outside, Elise buckled Isaiah into his car seat and feigned interest as he told her about his day. She was so enraged by her discussion with Deanna that she could hardly even think straight. Just when she started to regain her composure and was about to put her key in the ignition, a shiny black SUV pulled into the driveway behind her, stopping her in her tracks.