Jake took a moment to zoom Mad through the air before he brought him back down so they were face to face. “Let’s go see Uncle Ry and Auntie Maz.”
Putting Maddox on his hip, Jake headed through their suite, stepped back over the gate, and made his way to the door to the garage. He opened it just as Ry pulled his SUV to a stop. The second Mad saw the car, he started babbling and wiggling to get down.
Jake knew why he was wriggling. His boy loved his uncle and aunt. There had been a bond between them from the night Ry had kept Mad from going into temporary care. If it wasn’t for Ry’s connection to Detective Grant Malone, and therefore the Sunnyville PD, Jake knew Maddox would have been temporarily placed in a foster home. He was thankful every day that his friend had made sure that hadn’t happened.
He would never be able to repay his best friend for that night. Or for putting up with Renee long enough for the police to arrive.
The SUV’s engine cutting out followed by the crank and grind of the door motor snapped Jake out of his thoughts.
He’d done it again.
Why he kept sinking into memories of the past confused him. Moving to Sunnyville was supposed to be a clear slate. He should be rememberingthat.
He also needed to remember Renee couldn’t hurt any of them anymore.
“Ry, Ry, Ry,” Mad sang while beating Jake on the chest. He gripped a little wrist and held Mad tighter against his side.
Mad wasn’t the only one excited. He had to admit he was as excited as his son except while Maddox was all about his favorite uncle, Jake wanted to see the baby. He’d only ever dealt with Mad and his son hadn’t been a newborn by the time he’d found out about him.
Now that Ry had shut off the SUV and the garage door had begun to lower, it would be okay to put Maddox down, although Jake waited.
“You ready to meet Zane?” he asked his squirming toddler. “All right, hold on. As soon as the big door closes you can go see Uncle Ry,” he told Mad. Not that his words stopped the squirming. Or the babbling.
The driver’s door popped open and Ry’s tired, smiling face greeted them. “Hey, how’s it going, Madman? Want to see who’s here?”
Jake wasn’t sure what Mad would make of a baby. Like Jake, he’d never had contact with one. And other than Zane, and any other children Ry and Maz might have, it was unlikely there would be any in their future.
Ry reached them and held out his arms. “Come see who Auntie Maz has.”
Jake handed over his son then followed them to the other side of the SUV where Maz had the rear door open and was unlocking what Jake knew—because he’d researched child seats and helped Ry fit this one—was a special seat that could move between the car and a stroller.
The tiny bundle held within that carrier blew his mind. He was so small. Had Mad ever been that little?
Jake had seen Mad’s birth measurements but he’d never been able to reconcile them with the six-month-old he’d been handed.
Now, looking at Zane all snug in his carrier, Jake could finally picture how small his own boy would have been.
He’d missed it.
Missed all of the changes and firsts that occurred in those six months.
There were no photos, no records of growth, nothing. Renee hadn’t bothered with any of it.
Then again, she hadn’t really bothered with her son at all.
A teeny-tiny mewling sound reminiscent of a kitten slipped through Zane’s little red lips. “Is he okay?” Jake asked leaning closer.
“Yeah, he’s probably getting hungry though, so we should get inside before he really starts to protest,” Maz said before thrusting the carrier toward Jake. “Here, take him into the living room and I’ll grab my bag.”
“What? No. I can’t.” He backed up a step.
“Of course you can.” Maz nudged the carrier into his belly. “I’m right behind you and you’ve dealt with Maddox for nearly two years, you can handle Zane for two minutes.”
Left with no choice, Jake wrapped his arms around the plastic base of the seat and held on tight. “What if he cries?”
Maz arched a brow at him. “Really?”
Behind him Ry laughed. “C’mon, let’s get the boys inside.”
