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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 . |
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