Needing You {Chicago Book 2} ON HOLD

six

CHAPTER SIX - Ryker Young

It's almost dinner time by the time I finally pull into my driveway after taking Henry to the hospital and back to his before dropping Brody off. I even had to decline a cup of coffee from Hailey as I was just desperate to get home, relax, and see Ben.

I grab my training kit out of the back seat and make my way into the house, voices coming from the kitchen. "Aw, yes, dude!" Kasey exclaims about something as I throw my things on the bottom of the stairs.

"What's going on in here then?" I grin, stepping into the kitchen.

A flour-covered Ben turns around and smiles at me, filling me with happiness like every time he smiles at me. "Daddy! Look! We make cookies!"

"No way!" I exclaim as he grabs my hand and pulls me over to the counter where Kasey is currently putting the mixture onto a baking tray. "They look amazing."

Kasey smiles at me. "As long as you don't mind a little three-year-old germs in them, they should be good. They're Mom's recipe."

A million memories suddenly hit me like a bus. We used to eat these cookies all the time. Her mom would make them every Friday and we'd always sneak a plate of them up to her room to eat whilst watching a movie.

I used to live for those Friday nights.

"I put the chocolate!" Ben says, pulling me out of my thoughts and back into the room. "And the, um, wot it?" He asks Kasey, cocking his head slightly in confusion, his dark hair falling to one side. Never mind getting myself a haircut, I think he needs one.

"The flour," she replies, finishing off the batch. "Now, they just need ten minutes in the oven and they'll be perfect for after your dinner!"

Before I can even think about what I'm saying, the words come out my mouth. "Stay for dinner."

She looks up at me, a little surprised. "Really? I don't want to intrude on your time with Ben."

I shake my head. "You're really not. He loves you and I really want to get to know you again. We've missed out on a lot with each other and it would be amazing to try and get at least a little bit of that time back."

She pauses for a moment as Ben runs out of the room. I don't even bother that he's covered in shit. My mind is way too occupied with the fact that I want to get to know Kasey again. I just really hope that she says yes to staying for dinner. And then a drink once Ben's gone to bed. And then-

No, Ryker. Stop.

"Yeah, okay," she smiles at me. "Let me just text Mom and let her know I won't be back for food."

"Perfect," I reply, leaving her to it and going to find Ben so I can clean him up a little. Thankfully, he hasn't gone too far as I find him in the living room, clambering all over the couches.

Silently, I thank my mom who insisted that leather couches were the way to go with a toddler running around the house. She was right, as most Moms normally are because at least all it will take to clean the floury mess is a baby wipe.

"Ben, c'mon. Let's get you changed before dinner time," I say to him, picking him up and taking him upstairs to his room.

Honestly, his room is my favorite in the whole house. It's space-themed with dark blue walls and glow in the dark stars and it's pretty damn cool. Brody and Hailey got it done for his third birthday.