Page 41 of Her Righteous Protector

“Why? Max asked with suspicion.

“You know damn good and well why. I’m going to do a background check on her.”

Max sighed. “You’re such a suspicious fuck.”

“But you love me.”

Max shrugged. “Do the check. But even if there are red flags, I can’t separate them; it would psychologically damage him.”

“Whoa there. Before you get to that bridge, you’ve got other steps. There’s the DNA testing, there’s the paperwork. Where are you staying?”

“I’m with Hannah and Zephyr. Hannah has me in a guest room.”

Kane gave a soft whistle. “I have to admit, she sounds solid. How are you getting along with her? I know it was Meghan who decided not to tell you in the beginning, but how is this woman treating you?”

“She’d been trying to get Meggie to tell me about Zephyr from the start. Hannah had no idea who the father was, so today was the first day she heard about me. To my mind, she’s been incredibly gracious.”

Max looked up the staircase. This time instead of picturing Zephyr, he was picturing Hannah and all of the kind smiles and support she had gifted him with today.

“I’m going to see what I can do to get you into a lab that will fast-track a DNA test for you. You need to get this show on the road,” Kane said.

“How long do these things usually take?”

“Fuck if I know, let’s just make sure this is fast.” Kane paused. “A.J.’s calling through. I’ll call you first thing tomorrow and let you know where you’re doing your DNA testing at.”

“Sounds good,” Max said, but the line was already dead so he wasn’t sure if Kane had heard him.

He let out a big sigh. Now. Now, he felt like he could get some sleep.

* * *

“Is he still here?” Max heard Zephyr ask quietly.

“Yes, he’s still here this morning, and you’re going to be a kind and nice little boy. All of his friends are a long ways away, so it’s up to us to make him feel at home.”

Max liked the way Hannah tried to explain and coach Zephyr. She’d explained to him last night that the boy had been acting out and being really rude, which was not the Zephyr she was used to. She was hoping that Max would work with her to curb Zephyr’s rude behavior and not encourage it. As soon as she’d explained things, he realized he’d have to stop calling the kid ‘Big Guy.’

“Where are all of his friends?” Zephyr asked as they started down the stairs.

“He took a plane here from Virginia. We can look on a map and see how far away that is, would that be fun?”

Zephyr jumped over the last step to reach the ground floor.

“Maybe,” he answered Hannah. He caught sight of Max. “Hello.”

“Good morning, Zephyr,” Max said easily.

“What would you two like to eat for breakfast?” Hannah asked.

“Cornbread!” Zephyr said.

“You can have that if you also eat some fruit and yogurt. But you’ll have to eat all of your fruit, is it a deal?”

Zephyr scrambled up onto the chair that was clearly his spot at the dining room table. “It’s a deal.” He turned to Max. “How far away do you live?”

“I live in Virginia. There are three states between Illinois and Virginia,” Max said as he went to the fridge. “What can I get the two of you to drink for breakfast?”

“Do you have friends in Ginia?” Zephyr asked.