Datasets:

bookcorpus

like 233

usually , he would be tearing around the living room , playing with his toys .

but just one look at a minion sent him practically catatonic .

that had been megan 's plan when she got him dressed earlier .

he 'd seen the movie almost by mistake , considering he was a little young for the pg cartoon , but with older cousins , along with her brothers , mason was often exposed to things that were older .

she liked to think being surrounded by adults and older kids was one reason why he was a such a good talker for his age .

`` are n't you being a good boy ? ''

she said .

mason barely acknowledged her .

instead , his baby blues remained focused on the television .

since the movie was almost over , megan knew she better slip into the bedroom and finish getting ready .

each time she looked into mason 's face , she was grateful that he looked nothing like his father .

his platinum blond hair and blue eyes were completely hers .

it was only his build that he was taking after his father .

where megan was a diminutive 5'3 '' , davis was 6'1 '' and two hundred pounds .

mason was already registering off the charts in height and weight according to his pediatrician .

davis had seen mason only twice in his lifetime-the day he had been born and the day he came home from the hospital .

after that , he had n't been interested in any of the pictures and emails megan sent .

with his professional football career on the rise , davis had n't wanted to be shackled with the responsibilities of a baby .

instead , he wanted to spend his time off the field partying until all hours of the night .

he only paid child support when megan threatened to have his wages garnished .

she dreaded the day when mason was old enough to ask about his father .

she never wanted anything in the world to hurt him , and she knew that being rejected by his father would .

with a sigh , she stepped into the dress and slid it over her hips .

wrestling around to get the zipper all the way up caused her to huff and puff .

standing back from the mirror , she turned to and fro to take in her appearance .

she 'd always loved how the dress made her feel sexy , but at the same time was very respectable .

while it boasted a sweetheart neckline , the hemline fell just below her knees .

she put on her pearls-a high school graduation gift from her uncle aidan , or `` ankle '' , as she often called him .

aidan was her mother 's baby brother and only son of the family .

when she was born , he was only eight and a half .

as the first grandchild , megan spent a lot of time with her grandparents , and that in turn , meant she spent a lot of time with aidan .

he had devoted hours to holding her and spoiling her rotten .

when it came time for her to talk , she just could n't seem to get `` uncle aidan '' out .

instead , she called him `` ankle . ''

it was a nickname that had stuck with him even now that he was thirty-four and married .

while it had been no question that she wanted him as godfather for mason , she had been extremely honored when he and his wife , emma , had asked her to be their son , noah 's , godmother .

she loved her newest cousin very much and planned to be the best godmother she could for him .

as she stepped out of the bedroom , she found that mason had yet to move .

`` okay buddy , time to go . ''

when he started to whine , she shook her head .

`` we have such a fun day ahead of us .

it 's noah 's baptism , and then there 's a party at uncle aidan and aunt emma 's house . ''

`` beau ? ''

he asked .

she laughed .

`` yes , you 'll get to see and play with beau , too . ''

as she went to the couch and picked him up , she could n't help finding it amusing that out of everyone he was going to see today , he was most excited about being with aidan and emma 's black lab , beau .

one day when they had their own place again , she would get him a dog .

he loved them too much to be denied .

`` oomph , '' she muttered , as they started up the basement stairs .

`` heawy ? ''

he asked .

`` yes , you 're getting to be such a big , heavy boy . ''

when they made it to the kitchen , megan paused to catch her breath .

she only had a second before her mother breezed in with sean , and her youngest brother , gavin .

`` ready ? ''

she asked .

megan nodded .

feeling like she was once again a teenager , she filed behind her parents as they headed into the garage .

`` i want to drive , '' gavin said .

with a smirk , sean replied , `` like i 'm gon na let you drive my car . ''

he then slid into the driver 's seat as gavin reluctantly walked around to the passenger 's side .

`` we 'll see you there in just a few , '' her mother called .

sean acknowledged her with a two finger salute before cranking up and pulling down the driveway .

megan worked to get mason into the car seat in her parents ' land rover .

once he was safely strapped and buckled in , she hopped in beside him .

her parents rattled along to each other as they made their way through the tree-lined suburbs where megan had grown up .

while some might look on her as having a mark against her character being an unwed mother , she had lived a relatively non-rebellious life .

even though she 'd been a cheerleader and ran with the popular crowd in school , she rarely partied to excess .

instead , she had focused on getting good grades .

at that time , she had her heart set on going to medical school and becoming a doctor .

from the time she was a little girl , she had wanted nothing more than to help people .

she was always mending birds with broken wings or trying to resuscitate squirrels who had been hit by cars .

she ditched playing princess for playing `` hospital . ''

her desire to become a doctor was why she needed the best scores and best activities and why she generally shunned any temptations to lead her off the right path .

she had even managed to bypass the usual freshman craziness when she went off to the university of georgia .

it was n't until she fell in love for the first time in her life that she threw everything away .

sadly , she could n't say that her first love was davis , mason 's father .

instead , it was another football player , this time a running back at uga , who captured and later broke her heart a year later .

carsyn ran with the fast crowd , and when she was with him , she partied and drank too much .

he was controlling and possessive , and he wanted all of her time .

when she was with him , she had little time for studying .

with her grades already in the toilet , she was unprepared for the emotional breakdown she experienced when carsyn broke up with her .

devastated , she stopped going to class and ended up flunking the semester .

by the time she got back on track with her grades , she had abandoned any hope of medical school .

instead , she decided that she would become a nurse , which would fulfill her need to care for sick people .

of course , her relationship with davis ended up derailing shortly before graduation when she got pregnant unexpectedly .

she had to take several semesters off after mason was born .

she was a few years off from when she had originally planned on graduating , but she was excited after everything had that had happened , she was finally finishing .

her mother 's voice brought megan out of her thoughts .

`` here we are , '' she said pleasantly .

leaning forward in her seat , megan eyed the clock on the dashboard .

she was n't surprised to see they had arrived half an hour before the baptism started .

one thing her mother prided herself on was being on time and lending a hand .

as they started into the church , her mother reached for mason .

`` we 'll take him so you can go see if emma needs any help . ''

megan bent over to kiss mason 's cheek .

`` see you in a little while , sweetie . ''

he grinned and then happily dodged her mother 's arms for her father 's instead , which made megan smile .

he was such a man 's man already .