“See here?” Garrett pointed at the paper Chris was bent over. “This is where you went wrong. Remember in class how we talked about variables?”
Chris let out a frustrated breath. “Yeah…”
“Well, you missed one completely. Look again,” Garrett urged.
Chris nibbled on the end of his pencil, eyebrows furrowed. Garrett waited patiently, the picture perfect example of a loving father—except he wasn’t his father. Hell, she wasn’t even his mother.
Chris had adjusted to having Garrett around quite quickly. It became obvious to her that Chris had hungered for a father figure more than he’d let on. Garrett had given Chris what she hadn’t even known Chris had been missing. Yet another thing for her to admire about him. The list kept getting longer and longer.
She sat down on the other side of Chris and studied the problem he worked on.
Yep, gibberish.
“Wait, I think I see it,” Chris said, pointing at the paper and then glancing at Garrett. “Here, right? It should be a six.”
“Excellent,” Garrett said, slapping Chris on the back. “Great job.”
Chris didn’t even crack a smile. “Yeah. I get it now. You can go back to whatever you were doing before. I’m done now, I think.”
“I’ll be over here doing the dishes if you see anything else wrong.”
“All right.” Chris finished the problem and leaned back in his chair, shooting both of them an oddly adult-like look. “So, do I get to call you Garrett at school now? Since you’re basically my stepdad?”
“No.” Garrett grinned. “But nice try.”
“Why don’t you two share a room? Or become a real couple? I mean, you must’ve liked each other enough to, well, ya know.” His lips pursed. “I don’t get it. Why lie?”
Kiersten almost fell off the stool. Hello, subject change. “Uh…”
“We’re not that kind of couple,” Garrett said. “That’s all. We’re better off as friends.”
“But why? You’re having a baby. Living here. But in different rooms?” Chris studied them both, his nose crinkled up. “It’s even weirder than Modern Family. What will my friends say if they found out? What if they come over and see you two in different rooms? It’s weird.”
Kiersten looked at Garrett with a sense of panic creeping up her spine. “It might be weird, but it’s who we are now.”
“I won’t be shocked if you at least share a room. I am thirteen, you know,” Chris said. “I’d prefer normal to…this.”
“Well, we’re not together, so we can’t,” Kiersten explained, smoothing her hair. It was the first time she had seen her commitment issues through Chris’s eye, and the experience was unsettling. “We’re going to live together and raise the baby together, but we’re not a couple.”
Garrett nodded. “We’re excellent friends, so we’re making it work this way.”
“Well, that sounds dumb,” Chris said, looking first at Kiersten, and then at Garrett. “Why can’t you just be a couple like normal people? Or he can live somewhere else, if you can’t do that.”
Kiersten paled, her heart wrenching at his oh-so-simple, yet painful, request. Lately, she’d been wondering the same thing. Why couldn’t she let him into her life as more than a friend? “I—we…you see, we’re just not there.”
And probably never would be because of her.
Garrett looked away from her, his jaw tight. “Sometimes, no matter how much you care about someone, it just doesn’t work.”
“If you say so.” Chris nodded, but looked at them both with doubt clear in his eyes. “So are you two going to date other people, or what?”
Man, the kid was full of questions tonight. Questions she had been doing her best to avoid. “Maybe,” Kiersten said.
“No,” Garrett replied at the same time.
Chris shook his head. “You two are confusing. I’m gonna go watch How I Met Your Mother, and then take a shower.” He motioned between them with his finger. “You two need to get your act together.”
Kiersten choked on a laugh. “I feel like I’m the kid here.”
“You’re acting like it,” Chris said, sounding way too old for his years. “But anyway, are you coming?”
She swallowed hard. “Yeah. Pause it for me so I don’t miss it, okay?”
“Sure,” Chris agreed. Turning to Garrett, he hesitated. “Do you like that show?”
“Yeah, I love it. Barney reminds me of your Uncle Mike.”
Chris gave a small laugh. “Yeah, I can see that. If he’s Barney, then you’re Ted.”
Kiersten tried not to crack up—but failed. Yeah, if Garrett matched anyone’s personality on that show…it would definitely be Ted. Always the optimistic man, looking for love and happiness.
Garrett arched a brow. “And what would that make your mom? Lilly?”
“No,” Chris said. “Definitely Robin. She doesn’t like love and relationships any more than Robin does.”
Kiersten looked away. She had known she wasn’t the easiest person to get close to but she never thought how that might make her appear to Chris. He headed into the living room and Kiersten stood with her back to Garrett.
He came up behind her, close enough she could feel him but not touching. “What’s wrong?”
“My nephew thinks I’m an emotionally scarred failure,” she said. She turned around and came face to face with his chest. He was that close. She fought the urge to back away from him again. “And he’s right. I’m Robin.”
Garrett grunted. “Oh, honey, you can’t get upset over him calling you Robin. You’re a loving, smart, magnificent woman who I…” He broke off, clamping his jaw. “…I admire. And when we—”
Kiersten pressed a finger to his mouth. “Don’t say anything else. Just meet me in my room later tonight, after he goes to bed. We need to talk about some stuff in private.”
Chris was right. She needed to step up and stop being so damn scared. She needed to put herself out there again, and trust in Garrett enough to believe he wouldn’t hurt her like Pete had. It couldn’t be that hard…could it?
“Okay.” Garrett pressed his lips together, stepping away from her. She immediately missed his warmth. She could tell he was nervous about what she had to say to him. With reason, since she usually pushed him away. For once, she was determined to pull him closer. Chris deserved better from her—and so did Garrett. “Ready to go watch the show?”