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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 .