Page 62 of Embracing the Change

“Chloe—”

“Judge, honey, I want you to go with your dad, now, so you can be back fast.”

Jamie watched helplessly as his son put up an epic struggle to beat back every instinct seizing his body, a feeling Jamie knew all too well.

He won when Chloe whispered, “Please.”

Judge nodded, bent and pressed a hard kiss on Chloe’s mouth.

He straightened directly, looked to Jamie and grunted, “Let’s go.”

Judge then moved. Fast.

Jamie glanced at Chloe, who nodded to him, to Nora, who gave him an across-the-room air kiss, and he hustled after his boy.

Judge didn’t speak all the way to his and Chloe’s townhouse, but he drove like they had a trunk full of loot and the police were in hot pursuit.

Jamie didn’t speak because he needed his son to concentrate on driving and not killing them.

But when they got upstairs to the kitchen from the garage, and Judge was jogging to the next flight of stairs, completely ignoring their two dogs, Zeke and Montana, who were jumping around him, Jamie followed into the living room and stopped him by calling his name.

Judge turned on him. “Not now, Dad.”

“Now, Judge. You need to get this shit out before you go back to your family.”

“I don’t have any shit,” Judge lied. “I need to shower, get Chloe her donut, and get back to her.”

“Judge—”

“Not now!” Judge roared.

Jamie didn’t flinch.

But he did ask, “What happened?”

For a second, Judge just stood there.

Then he bellowed, “Fuck!”

Jamie could tell he needed to let the dogs out, but he didn’t move. He just kept his focus on his boy.

“God, I get it. Christ, I get it,” Judge said as he started pacing.

Both dogs followed him.

He stopped abruptly and swung to Jamie. “I should never have gone along with pulling that shit with you and Nora on that boat.”

“We’re fine. Better than fine,” Jamie assured. “We can talk about that later. Now, tell me what happened yesterday.”

“Everything’s been perfect. Minimal morning sickness at the beginning. She’s had great energy. Fucking glowing since the fucking beginning.”

Jamie nodded. “I know, son.”

Judge threw both of his hands up in agitation. “So how the fuck did that happen?”

“I don’t know.”

His voice was tortured when Judge shared, “They pushed me out of the delivery room.”

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