She dozed off between burps, so Brogan went back to his long to-do list.
He filled out all the information Erin needed and returned it to her. It was important to ensure that Shayna would have love and care if anything ever happened to him. After Connie’s sudden death, he knew tomorrow was never guaranteed.
But now, with Pixie in his life, he wanted all the tomorrows he could get.
Lastly, he researched everything he could about his father’s situation, both medical and financial. From what Erin could uncover, neither Brian nor Ruth had worked for some time. Brian had lost his business ten years ago. Connie had covered some of that in her papers, citing alcoholism as a major problem, but also a tendency to try to cheat others. More than once, Brian had been beaten for swindling the wrong person.
Brogan came to a few conclusions and had already discussed them with Erin.
The thing was, he wanted to discuss them with Pixie, too.
If things went the way he hoped, they’d be together from now on. Not that he wanted to rush her. She had to come into the relationship at her own pace. Just because he knew his own feelings, that didn’t mean she felt the same.
With her job, her son, and her friends, Pixie had a lot on the line. She didn’t know that Brogan had job prospects in security, that he had a healthy bank account, or that he planned to buy a permanent residence nearby. And neither of them knew when Ruth might roll up to cause more strife.
He was just about to start the dinner prep, but his phone buzzed. Taking it from his pocket, he glanced at the screen and saw it was Cort. With a swipe of his thumb, he answered. “Hey, Cort.”
“You’re home, right?”
Home. He glanced around at the beautiful cottage Pixie lived in—a cottage owned by Cort. “I’m at Pixie’s place.”
“That’s exactly what I meant,” Cort said, sounding amused at Brogan’s careful wording. “Any chance I could get a helping hand?”
“Sure.” Whatever it was, he was glad to help any way he could. “What is it?”
“I think you’ve met Wade, Gloria, and Bobbi, right?”
“Pixie introduced me to Gloria and Bobbi. I haven’t met Wade, yet.”
“Their home isn’t far from you. I’m headed there now. Apparently, one of their largest trees was damaged in that last storm. An hour or so ago, the damn thing fell on the house.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“Thankfully, no, but it was close. I know you have Shayna with you, but they’ve babysat Andy before, and it’s not like we’ll be far away. Just in the yard and on the roof. What do you say? Pixie told me she’d head that way as soon as she got off work. Marlow still has a few hours to put in.”
Gloria had been the woman watching Andy the night Brogan arrived—the first time he’d met Pixie. He figured if she trusted the siblings, he should, too. “I’ll need to get some things together for Shayna, but I should be able to head out within ten minutes. Why don’t you text me the address?”
“Perfect, thanks. I have my chain saw, and Wade has another one, but we’ll need to board up two windows, too.”
“They don’t have insurance?”
“They do. An adjuster is coming out tomorrow, but they need the place secured now. See you soon.”
Within the ten minutes promised, Brogan was out the door with a sleepy Shayna buckled into her car seat. He hated disturbing her nap, but there would always be times when it couldn’t be helped.
When he got to the address and saw the damage, he considered it a miracle no one had been injured. There didn’t appear to be structural damage to the main house, but the overhang on the front porch was crushed, with two windows shattered and the front door knocked in. The branches of the large oak half-covered the roof and the driveway. Clearing away the mess would take some time. It was the type of physical activity he needed, and a good distraction from the many decisions he had to make.
Pixie peered out the window at the darkened sky. The sun had still been bright when she’d first arrived a few hours ago, but it had since set behind the trees. Cort and Brogan had been working nearly nonstop, only taking one break to eat sandwiches. Because they wanted to finish up today, they were now using outdoor security lights.
At first, Wade had tried to help out, but neither of the younger men wanted him on the roof at his age. They’d put him to work clearing away some of the smaller branches, but they keptchecking on him, too. They were both relieved when he gave up and came inside. As large, capable men, Brogan and Cort worked well together.
They were both remarkable.
Gloria was currently feeding Andy, and Bobbi was rocking Shayna. The kids had been great, but it was past time to get them home. After she’d declined Brogan’s offer this morning, would he agree to her taking them home with her? Doubtful. That was something they’d need to work out, because there would always be times when one of them needed to take over with both kids. Plenty of parents did it, so she was certain they could handle it, too.
With fireflies twinkling around the yard, Pixie wondered how much longer the men would be.
They’d already secured the front door and boarded up the two broken windows. The driveway was cleared so Wade could get his truck out of the garage. The car that Gloria and Bobbi shared was parked at the curb.
