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“We’ll try to eat something later tonight,” he told her. I gently maneuvered her so it was easy for him to lift her into his arms. “I think you and I need a nap. Christian has some work to do, and then he’ll join us.”
I brushed my lips with hers once I stood up from the floor. “I’ll join later, and I’ll bring some soup and saltine crackers with me. Sound good?”
“Yeah,” she murmured as she rested her head on Caiden’s shoulder. “Thank you for always taking care of me.”
I smiled at her. “Always, my moon.”
Julian was washing dishes when I walked into the kitchen. Meghan was breastfeeding the baby, and Axel was sitting in the rocking chair, gently rocking Holden to sleep.
“She okay?” Julian asked me.
I nodded at him. “Yeah; she’ll be fine. Peas didn’t agree with the baby,” I informed him.
He rolled his shoulders like they were bothering him. “How is she feeling about being pregnant? I haven’t had much of a chance to actually talk to her after that fucking incident.”
I smiled as I began to help clean up the kitchen by putting leftover food into Tupperware containers. “She’s handling it well,” I told him honestly. “I think Dr. Gresham helped put some things into perspective for her during one of their sessions. She loves the baby—her words.”
“Good,” he said with a single nod of his head. “She’s going to make an incredible mom. She’s good with kids—loves Holden and Lana with every single fiber of her being. And you and Caiden? You guys are good for her.” He set a plate on the drying rack on the counter. “You hold her together; you’re her source of comfort on her really dark days. Caiden? I can tell he’s not all that good at speaking sense into her in a soothing manner like you do. He’s more rough edges and bluntness, which she needs in her life as well. Because Ally loses herself in her darkness too much.”
“I’m good at coaxing her out of it,” I told him.
He nodded. “I agree. And your brother? He puts a fire in her eyes that hasn’t been there since she was a kid.”
I nodded in agreement. “I’ve seen it since day one. He gets on her nerves on purpose. It makes her fight back. I think Caiden has known from the very beginning that she was different.”
“He knows he can’t just walk away from her, right?” Julian asked me. He looked over at me. “Ally won’t survive that shit. It took her a long time to come to terms with the fact that she was no longer Axel’s first priority. In fact, she became a fucking monster because Meghan became more important to him.”
“He knows,” I assured him. “He’s already said she’s it for him.”
Julian nodded once. “Good. I’m sure he knows what the fuck he’s got coming for him if he breaks her heart. I might have done a hell of a lot of changing for Meghan, but I’m still the asshole that I’ve always been. That won’t change. And I’ll fuck someone up for hurting Ally. She’s my little sister. I’ve known her for her entire life.”
“Julian, if I hurt her, dig me a grave,” Caiden said as he sauntered into the kitchen wearing only a pair of sweatpants—no shirt on. The scar on his side was on prominent display, drawing my eyes to it for a moment. “Because the only way I’m hurting her that badly is by fucking dying, you got me?”
Julian smirked. “I knew there was a reason I always liked you, Caiden.”
Caiden grunted but didn’t respond. I rolled my eyes. “Why’d you leave her?” I asked him.
He opened the fridge, cutting his dark eyes to me. “She wants a cold bottle of water and some crackers. Stop being such a fucking worrier, Christian. I’m capable of taking care of her.”
I sighed. “I’m always going to worry about her, Caiden.”
He clapped a hand to my shoulder after grabbing the water and closing the fridge door. “Christian, bro, she’s in good hands with me. Trust me.”
I nodded once, but he and I both knew that I wouldn’t stop worrying so much about her.
Not until that shine was permanently back in her eyes.
Caiden left the kitchen after grabbing the saltine crackers. Julian gripped my shoulder, letting his blue eyes meet mine. “I know how you’re feeling, Christian,” he told me. “It gets better; she will get better. Just give her time and stand by her side.”
“How much time, though, Julian? She was doing good; she was fucking finally happy and shining again, and now I’m back at square one with her. I feel lost and helpless.”
“You be her strength while she’s lost. And you wait for her at the end of that dark tunnel. She’ll come back to you—to both of you. Just give her time.”
