Keeping Her 18+ (Her Series book three)

Alex

"Alright you three. Get out of here and take that baby to the park before he explodes." Ann demands, with her hands on her hips, even as she looks at us with an unreadably soft emotion on her face.

What the H-E-double hockey sticks just happened? Wilder places his palm along my lower back as he ushers us out the diner door and towards a large silver truck in the parking lot.

I never expected to see him again. A part of me always hoped it would happen, but after the years passed, I learned to just accept things for what they were. I was alone.

Learning that Wilder was actually talking about me that night on the phone makes my head pound as regret washes through me. I should have just confronted him that night about what I heard. If what he says is the truth, then all of the heartache and struggling could have been avoided.

I'm trying my best to remain cool and calm on the outside, for William, but on the inside I'm freaking right the heck out. When I first saw him sitting there with William, all I wanted to do was pick my baby up and bolt right out the door and get as far away from Wilder as possible.

In the many scenarios that plagued my unsettled mind when thoughts of Wilder would sneak through, I never predicted the outcome to be him telling me he was talking about me that night. I have no idea what this means for mine and Williams futures.

Wilder seems to be thrilled to find out he has a son. The look on his face when he was holding William and learned he was named after him was heartbreaking. I didn't expect to see Wilder ever again, but he still helped create William's life. It felt so right when I gave him Wilder's name as a middle name, and seeing the pride on Wilder's face just reaffirms my choice.

"Oh, wait! I need to grab the car seat from Ann's car." I tell Wilder as we approach his truck, but he just grabs my hand and holds it tightly, sending little zings up my arm from where our hands connect.

"It's already in there, Goldie."

"What? How?" I ask as he opens the back driver's door and sits William in his car seat before looking at the buckles in confusion. I watch him struggle to figure it out for a minute before I use my hip to bump him out the way.

"Here. Like this." I laugh as I show him how the buckles work. I get it, car seat buckles are confusing as heck when you've never had to use them before.

I look over at Wilder when I'm finished and see him standing there awkwardly as he rubs the back of his neck. My chest cracks at the look of uncertainty on his face.

"Hey." I say softly. "I had to watch a bunch of YouTube videos to figure it out for the first time." I shrug my shoulders and mentally pat myself on the back when the look of uncertainty is replaced with a soft smile.

"You're so perfect." He says softly, before answering my earlier question. "Ann put it in my truck for me when she got here." I stare at him in confusion. How did Ann know I would be going anywhere with him?

"Park! Mommy, park." The demanding voice from an impatient toddler interrupts the stare off Wilder and I were just in. I turn and kiss William's little nose as I laugh at his enthusiasm.

After we arrived at the little park in town, Wilder unclipped William's seat buckles and let him sit on top of his shoulders as we walked through the gate into the playground area. The uninhibited laughter and gleeful smile on William's face made my heart melt. William has always been a happy child, I did my best to not let our struggles affect him, but this is something else entirely.

As soon as Wilder set him down, he took off as fast as his little legs could carry him. For the first fifteen minutes Wilder pushed him on the swings with a bright smile on his face as he listened to William's excited chatter. Most of the words William says are hard to understand, but Wilder just went along with it like he understood every word. Like a seasoned parent.