“I’d like to think after today, I earned a better title than a great guy.”
“Is that why you did it? Brownie points?” I asked, my hackles coming out.
He shook his head. “Calm down, Mama bear. I did it because, well.” He heaved a sigh and stroked my thumb with his. A hard swallow made his Adam’s apple bob. “I’ve got it bad for you. For both of you. I’d do anything you need, because I care so much about you.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly feeling like shit. Then what he said hit. The butterflies in my stomach kicked back into action, and I took my bottom lip between my teeth. “Well, you’re not so bad yourself.”
“Not so bad? I think that’s a backslide from a great guy.”
“Keep talking, and I’ll demote you to lackey.” I stepped forward and leaned in to press my lips against his chest, right over his heart. “I’m falling for you, too.”
He pulled me close and let out a sigh, his body relaxing into mine. “About time.”
The next morning I once again woke to giggling in the other room, and I bolted up when I saw the time—it was almost noon.
Thane was on the floor with Kinsey, playing with her, and she was giggling away.
“You’re missing work?” I asked as I pulled my robe on.
“It can wait. You needed me.”
Warmth spread through my chest. I’d never had a boyfriend take such care of me. “Why didn’t you wake me?” I asked.
“You’re sick, baby. You needed rest.”
My brow furrowed as I looked over to the couch. He’d spent the night, slept on the couch. Did Kinsey wake up in the night? “I probably got you sick.”
“I can take your cooties.”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked as I curled up on the couch.
He nodded. “Iron immune system. I haven’t been sick since 2015.”
“There’s a toddler in the house; just you wait. She’s going to bring home all sorts of wonderful things.” I smiled as I said it, then my expression dropped when I realized what I implied. “I mean—”
“Stop,” he cut in, his eyes narrowed on me. “Don’t you dare take those beautiful words back, or I’ll kidnap you both and make them a full-time reality.”
The butterflies in my stomach really liked that idea, but I tried to brush it off and stood back up.
“I should probably get her diaper changed before there’s poo all over the place. Right, baby boo?”
“Already done,” Thane said.
I turned to him with wide eyes. “You changed her diaper?”
He nodded. “It was a stinky one, wasn’t it?” he said to Kinsey, who was chomping on one of her blocks. “And then we had breakfast.”
“You fed her, too?”
He nodded. “It’s not hard to figure out when it’s something you want to do.”
My heart felt like it was going to burst.
“Don’t forget, I was almost eleven when Wyatt was born. I’ve changed a good number of shitty diapers,” he said with a chuckle.
He was making it almost impossible not to fall for him. He was amazing and perfect.
“Are you hungry?” he asked before getting up and filling a glass of water.
I looked up at him as he handed it to me. “Thank you, and I could eat.”
“What are you feeling? There isn’t a lot in the fridge or freezer. I think I saw some toaster pastries, or there is toast. Maybe pasta? Or we can order in?”
I shrugged. When was the last time I ate anything? I couldn’t remember. “Is there any chicken-flavored rice in the cabinet?”
He turned and opened the one cabinet that I used as a pantry. It wasn’t very big, so I didn’t keep much extra stuff in it.
“Hmm, doesn’t look like there’s anything but some white rice.” He turned to me. “I can go get some, or we can order some. There’s fried rice, Mexican rice…”
The last one hit me, and my stomach grumbled thinking about a cheesy enchilada. “Let’s order.”
An hour later I was popping the last of my enchilada meal into my mouth. It was amazing how much better I felt with some food in me. I still didn’t feel the greatest, but I felt like I could hold myself up again.
Later that afternoon, there was a knock on the door. Thane went to answer it while I stayed snuggled on the couch. The officers that had come weeks before stepped in.
They had information. While one of the men had been arrested, my sister was being detained while they figured out her involvement, and they were searching for the other two. I didn’t know what there was to figure out, since she let them in, but maybe they thought she was coerced. Either way, they never should have been here. That was definitely Ryn’s idea.
It did settle a deep emotion in me to find out she was okay, though I really hoped she’d be given jail time. That was the only thing I could think of that would get her off the drugs.
“We were able to get this back,” one of them said as he held out a familiar gold and leather watch.
I took hold of it, tears brimming in my eyes as I flipped it around—M.C.P.
Malcolm Christopher Pierce.
“They tried to pawn it. Owner spotted it for what it was and called us.”
A sob left me, and I looked up at them with tears streaming down my face and a smile on my lips. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, ma’am.”
With that, they left. Thane sat down next to me and held me in his arms as I cried, happy to have my precious reminder of my father returned.
Fall was definitely upon us, but while the air held a crisp edge to it, the sun kept us warm. Roe was better, and we spent all the following week trying to make up for taking time off. It was totally worth it to be able to help her, to show her I was there for her. To see the distrust fade in her eyes as something entirely new took up residence. She said she was falling for me… and I couldn’t wait until I could claim her forever. To earn that privilege was worth the time it took to prove myself.
And I would prove myself.
We could finally relax and decided to take a stroll around the park. It was something I didn’t do that often, and considering how close we were, it surprised me. Then again, until Roe, I was all work.
Roe definitely was a walker. The nine blocks just to the entrance was more than I usually walked, but to her that was life. You wanted to go somewhere, you walked or took public transportation.
While it was a great advantage to city life, I preferred to drive most places.
“It’s just easier sometimes. Ride a bus for a mile with ten stops in between, or walk?” she said as we walked. “Every time I visit Lizzie and James, I walk. It’s not that far.”
By car I knew it took a while, but walking? Maybe it was just the city traffic that made it feel like a long time. “What do you do when it rains or there is snow?”
“That’s what rain boots and snow boots and umbrellas are for. Plus, a long puffer coat for the winter. They aren’t the most stylish, but I don’t care because it keeps me nice and toasty. And I’ve got a rain cover and a cozy cover for the stroller.”
It was a beautiful day, and there were a lot of people out enjoying the crisp weather.