AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll take him, and you can get some coffee.” He cradled Charlie.
I fell on my mug with unbridled enthusiasm, glancing over at Arlo, his back to me, and Charlie peeking over his shoulder. Where was my camera? Or my phone?
He was in a cut-off T-shirt, white, and the way he looked at Charlie, then up at me.
It was everything.
“I’ll fix breakfast when you’re fully caffeinated,” Arlo interrupted my thoughts on whether I should tell him he smelled so good or try to kiss him. “See, Charlie, your Uncle Jax is a grumpy bear before he’s had caffeine.”
I stared at him. “I’m not the bear in this,” I said before I could stop myself, and his mouth fell open. Too on the nose, right? Yes, he probably fit the definition of a bear, but we’d never talked about it, and wasn’t that yet another step in me messing up?
He ignored me, lifting Charlie, bussing his cheeks, and he chuckled when Charlie batted him away. “As I was saying, your uncle is Grumpy McGrumperson, but it won’t be long, and he’ll be all smiles,” he kissed Charlie’s nose again, which was impossibly sweet, “same as usual,” he added, and winked at me. Ass.
“I’ll have you know I’m all sunshine and rainbows, even before coffee,” I lied.
Arlo did his usual skeptical lift of an eyebrow. I loved that he was here, that he was teasing me, and talking to Charlie. I elbowed him gently, and he leaned into me and smiled. With a sudden clarity, everything I wanted to say was right there, and my mouth overtook my brain.
“Arlo, we should probably talk, and?—”
“Bah!” Charlie exclaimed, and that was the perfect excuse for Arlo to ignore my segue into talking.
Given how little coffee I’d had, it was probably a good idea.
ChapterEight
Arlo
Jax calledLeo from the kitchen while I held Charlie. I could have taken him into the sunroom, but I got the feeling Jax wanted the reassurance of company, and when he sent me a grateful smile, I knew I had been right to stay.
He wanted to talk to me, and if the way he looked at me when we’d met on the landing was any indication, it was going to be an awkward chat.
I shouldn’t have walked out half naked.; I shouldn’t have flexed or met his steady stare with any kind of challenge. I was sending out all these signals, and if he wasn’t interested, then my job could be finished. Being friends was one thing, but us crossing the line was something else altogether. He put the call on speaker, and slumped onto a stool, nursing his coffee. I’d hoped he might go for his parents first, but when he explained that he needed a test subject, and he had an idea about Leo’s doctor friend coming with him, I had to concede it was right for him to put Leo at the top of the list.
“Jax-Man, what’s up?” Leo sounded out of breath, and his voice echoed.
“I need you to visit,” Jax demanded without preamble, catching my gaze, and staring on me as if he needed something to focus on.
“Sure, this weekend? I need?—”
“No. Now? Can you come now? This morning. Like now. And bring your friend Sean? Is he working?”
Sean was the doctor friend, and he and Leo had once shared a house. I’d met him a couple of times at various Byrne family events, the last was at Papa Byrne’s sixtieth birthday only a few weeks ago. We didn’t talk much, but he’d been with his partner and their daughter Mia, so he clearly knew his way around children’s health. Right?
“Huh?” Leo sounded confused. Jax rubbed his eyes, and when no one said anything, I jumped in.
“Doctor Sean,” I interrupted.
Leo snorted a laugh. “Oh, hey, Arlo.”
“Hey, Leo, I?—”
“Leo, can you get Sean here?” Jax interrupted.
“Why do you need me to… wait… is everything okay? Hang on, I’m taking you into the break room…” We could hear movement and rustling. “I’m back; we were just beating down the B shift at the hoops.”
“In your dreams, Byrne!” someone shouted.
The noise was loud enough to startle Charlie. I began to pace the kitchen in case he started to cry.
