As Taschen reversed the SUV, Brick turned around and passed her the bag of clothes and other items she’d packed for their son.“How’s he doing?”
She settled Bray on her lap.He looked around curiously as she buckled her seatbelt while hanging on to him.“Okay, I think.”
She removed an outfit from the bag.“Want to change, honey?”
His lip trembled.“Pants wet.”
“Yeah, that’s okay,” she murmured.“I brought dry clothes from home.”She carefully peeled off his shirt.The stench of cigarette smoke, mustiness, and bodily fluids hit her.Her eyes stung, but she fought to keep her emotions in check.
Bray looked at her, and she forced a smile.His brown eyes studied her face with precision, and she was extra grateful she’d made the effort to shower and clean herself up.She fit over his head a long-sleeved shirt with his favorite superhero on the front, then reached for the extra pair of underwear and pants.
A minute later, he was fully dressed and his cheeks were clean thanks to the wipes she’d packed.She tucked the dirty clothes in the bag.Taschen parked in front of the side door of the apartment building.
Brick leaned over the seat with a water bottle and a protein bar.“You hungry, buddy?”
Bray looked at Natalie, and for a heart-stopping moment she was thrown through a washing machine of pain and regret.Seeing Bray face-to-face with his father was like receiving a punch to the solar plexus.She’d cheated both of them.
It’d been easy to dissuade herself from doing the right thing when Brick was nothing but a distant memory.But all she’d done was hurt the person she loved most in the world—she’d kept one of the biggest pieces of himself a secret.
It was criminal.
Pain spread through her chest.She’d do anything to turn back time and change what’d already been done.To give these two a life together.
She shifted her gaze to Brick, and his expression held knowing the size of a football field.“Is that okay?”
She nodded.“Yes, of course.”She accepted the protein bar, and Brick popped open the water bottle then passed it over the seat.
Bray took it greedily and gulped.Rivulets of water ran down his chin.Fear impaled her in the stomach, and she looked at Brick with alarm.
“It’s okay,” he said soothingly.“He’s drinking now.We’ll get lots of fluids and good food into him.Actually, I just got a notification that our grocery order arrived.”
She sniffed.“I completely forgot.”Bray lowered the water, and Natalie passed it back to Brick so he could screw on the lid.Then she peeled open the protein bar.Bray eagerly chomped into the snack.
The front passenger door opened and Zain plopped inside.“Go,” he barked.
Taschen roared out of the parking lot and onto the road.Tension thickened the air in the vehicle, but she paid no attention.The guys up front talked quietly, but Brick kept his focus on Bray and her.
“I didn’t know what he liked, so I got lots of veggies, yogurt, fruit, things like that.Nothing too sugary.”
Moisture clung to her eyelashes.Dammit, she’d never stop crying watching these two.Brick had fallen into the role of daddy as quickly as he’d swooped in to take care of her.Bray hadn’t yet shown a response to his father, but he hadn’t been fearful when Brick was carrying him.
She’d do everything in her power to bring them together.No matter what.If that meant moving to Seattle—if Brick still lived there—she’d do it in a heartbeat.Even if it meant leaving Ellie.
Shit.“I have to text Ellie.”She grappled for her phone, but it wasn’t beside her.
Brick passed it over the seat.“You left it in the front.”
“Thank you,” she said, accepting the device.She typed a quick message.
We’ve got him!
After sending it, she leaned into Bray and kissed his plump cheek.He chewed contentedly.“Aunt Ellie said to give you a squeeze,” she told him.
“Auntie,” Bray said with a smile.Her heart fluttered.The more he spoke and the more his little personality returned, the greater her relief.There was no doubt he’d been traumatized, but with extra love and reassurance, he’d come to understand he was safe again.
CHAPTER 12
Brick unpacked thegroceries and listened to the splashes and giggles coming from the bathtub down the hall.Seeing Natalie tear across the parking lot with her heart in her eyes had melted him on the spot.
