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“I know what’s right for her, just like I know what’s right for you.” I pulled the covers over her body and rose onto my elbow.
“That’s patriarchal,” she murmured, and closed her eyes.
“If I don’t take care of my girls, then who will?”
A cautious smile crept up the corner of her face. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure.”
“I’m not used to people taking care of me.”
“Why not? You care for people all the time.”
“That’s different. It’s my job to keep people safe.”
“What if I kept you safe? Both you and Ozzy.”
She stilled in my hold. I watched in the moonlight as she blinked rapidly.
“Me and Ozzy?” she whispered.
“Yeah. Both of you. Where is Ozzy?”
“He’s with the sitter.” She yawned through a giggle. “I swear you sucked the life out of me.”
“Lie down and relax, Laura. I’m thinking we should delay your first day of work.”
“Don’t. It’s fine. I’ll be fine. I’ll likely have paperwork and human resources training the first week. That’s desk work, so I won’t strain anything. And Allie’s coming back.”
She pouted, and I relaxed behind her.
“All right, but I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Thunder rolled far in the distance. She snuggled into my side and murmured, “I’m hoping you will.”
It was supposed to be this easy, wasn’t it? Having a woman in my arms who synched with me to the second. Laura was a breath of fresh air and the partner I’d missed in Tiffany: someone I could trust and count on.
She drifted off to sleep in my arms within minutes. I covered her with the comforter, dressed, and walked past what appeared to be Ozzy’s room. The wood-themed room filled with fox toys, a fox wallpaper border, stuffed foxes, fox sheets, and a fox nightlight took me aback. I remembered him in a fox costume at the park. Laura had a thing for foxes.
But were foxes Ozzy’s obsession or Laura’s? Was she into foxes because of me? Was I reading too much into this?
On my way downstairs, I bumped my head into a picture frame on the sidewall. I clicked the flashlight on my phone and straightened the frame. In the picture, Ozzy was sitting dressed as Robin Hood in a forest- and animal-themed setting. The cute boy couldn’t have been much over one. I stepped down the stairs to see the age progression in the next frame. He was a pumpkin on a farm in that one. The ones lower were a fireman, a doctor, and a police officer. But the last picture of him dressed in a checkered shirt and a bow tie completely held me in my tracks, and I couldn’t stop staring. His dark hair was brushed to the side, and his bright blue eyes shone like two little gems. He was a beautiful child, and definitely took after his beautiful mother.
CHAPTER 9
LAURA
Three weeks had passed since the liver transplant, and today marked my third official day at work. Teresa picked up Foxy in the mornings before James arrived in his Bentley like a knight in shining armor. We drove to Silver Securities in Manhattan every day, listening to eighties and nineties stations. The surprise for Allie last week went without a hitch, and our human-trafficking department was off to a great start. I helped a girl off the street and secured her a job at a café. After her, the calls started coming in one after another.
As I’d predicted, James stacked enough work on my desk to keep me at the office and off the street for months. We’d re-organized the department heads, assigned cases based on priority, and enjoyed lunches in the downstairs kids’ lounge. James assured me Ozzy could join the daycare, but Teresa had trouble letting go of her grandson.
My best friend sat at her desk opposite mine and stared at the screen. I scrunched up a piece of paper and tossed it at Allie’s head. “What’s got you looking so pale?”
She looked up. “Cribs, bouncers, and diapers. Tristan’s hiding something, and I don’t know what it is.”
“You’re hiding a pregnancy from him.”
“Shh, lower your voice. I’ll tell him at the fundraiser this weekend. You’re coming, right?”
