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I scrubbed my hand down my face just as Chase sat up beside me. “What’s going on?” he asked, his voice thick.
“Jackson’s—”
“Mom!”
I threw off my covers and Chase did the same. He jumped up and pulled on his boxer shorts. “He probably just had a bad dream,” I assured him. “I’ll go.” I tossed on my long t-shirt and scurried across the hall to the bedroom I was supposed to be in and saw Jackson sitting upright in bed, breathing hard.
“I’m here, honey,” I said, swooping into the room.
“Mama!” He reached for me and I gathered him into my arms.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” I smoothed away his hair and realized his forehead was soaked with sweat. “Did you have a nightmare?”
He nodded and I could see the outline of his chin quivering in the soft glow from the night light on the far wall. I pulled him back against me and he dug his fingers into my arms like I was a life preserver and he was cast out to sea. I planted a kiss to his brow. “I’m here, baby. I’m so sorry you were scared.”
“Where were you?” he asked, his voice tiny.
I winced, mentally kicking myself for being so careless. Chase and I had fallen asleep together in his bed on a few occasions but I’d always woken up and gone to my own bed before Jackson woke up. I made a note to myself that next time I needed to set some kind of alarm on Chase’s phone. I still didn’t want Jackson to know Chase and I were together. With the news of my pregnancy I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret forever, but for the time being I wanted to preserve the small comfort of a normal life. Or at least as normal as it could be.
I knew if I told him about me and Chase, I’d have to explain that his dad and I were no longer together. That alone would open an entire set of questions and concerns for him. Pretty soon though, the evidence of his future brother or sister would make it impossible to ignore completely. But as I held my trembling son, that was a concern for another day.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He sat back and his breathing slowed to a normal pace. “Do you want to tell me about the dream?”
He shrugged his little shoulders. “I don’t remember it. But it was scary.” Another flash of guilt spread throughout my system at the thought that his nightmare had probably stemmed from the chaotic night in Cabo where we’d been forced to wake him from a dead sleep so we could race across the beach in the dark of night to escape from Henry’s men.
I cringed at the memory of the terrible night. Just as I’d tucked him away in bed a massive explosion and resulting fire on the boat beside ours had shattered any remaining hope for peace. He still didn’t know what had happened, but there was probably some part of his subconscious that was holding onto the danger.
“Knock knock.” Jackson and I both looked up at the sound of Chase entering the room. He was already dressed in a pair of black athletic shorts and a plain white t-shirt. He looked sexy as hell and I wished we could have enjoyed the morning together in bed.
He smiled at Jackson and then shifted his eyes to mine. “Is everything okay in here?”
I looked down at Jackson for the answer and he nodded. I noticed that whenever Chase was around, he recovered from things quicker than if it was just the two of us. His desire to please, and perhaps even impress, Chase shone through his actions as well as his words. He adored Chase and the two of them had quickly become best buddies.
“I think we’re all good now,” I said, smoothing Jackson’s hair back again.
“I had a bad dream,” Jackson said in a bolder voice as he met Chase’s eyes.
Chase took a few more steps into the room and stood at the foot of the full size bed. “You know what buddy, sometimes I have bad dreams too.”
“You do?” Jackson asked, his expression doubtful. He couldn’t imagine his new hero being scared of anything.
“Sure do. It happens to everyone.” Chase smiled down at Jackson. “Luckily, I have something super cool planned for today that should help take your mind off of those bad dreams!”
Jackson’s eyes went bright and big as he squirmed with excitement. “What is it? Is it a surprise?”
Chase and I chuckled at his enthusiasm. I glanced at Chase from the corner of my eye. I had no idea what his surprise plan was—or whether he’d just pulled something out of a hat to cheer Jackson up. Either way—it was appreciated. Since I found out about the pregnancy, I hadn’t been my normal self, and I worried Jackson might have been feeling even more abandoned as I worked through my own feelings. However, there was no need to worry since Chase was more than willing to fill the gap.
