Page 114 of Nanny for the Firefighter

“I know, hun. I do. I think…I don’t want you going back to your mom’s. Okay? Jai could find you there, and your mother?—”

“She can’t be around if Jai’s there. I…no, I agree. I’ll stay here. But I don’t like the idea of leaving her alone. I could call Hudson, but I don’t…I don’t want him to panic about all this.”

“We won’t leave her alone. Umm…I’ll call Easton. Fuck, I never did because I got distracted by that damn rose and forgot. I’ll call him now and have him go over there. He’ll be able to ensure your mom is safe. He’s a bodyguard, after all.”

I nod, the knot in my stomach over her safety backing off a bit. “Okay. Yeah. Do that.”

Mason turns to the side, pulling his phone out of his pocket, and I give him space to call Easton. As he chats with his friend, I lean over the kitchen island, my thoughts spinning around like a dizzying merry-go-round.

I can’t believe I led Jai right to Mason’s doorstep. I brought this on him. On Mia.

My throat is tight, and I try to force myself to swallow down the dread that seems ever-present. Mia is an innocent child, and I know that Jai won’t care about that.

He was never kind or understanding around the children in our friends' lives. That chance was taken away from me when we were together because he absolutely wouldnothave children.

Mia is so important to me, and if something happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself.

Mason looks over as he talks with Easton. I meet his eyes, but I don’t bother hiding the worry I’m feeling.

“Yeah, I’ll want you with Bridget, too, but for now, can you keep an eye on her mom? She’ll stay here with me tonight, but we don’t want Bev alone.”

I can’t hear the other half of the conversation, but Mason nods and offers a small smile. After a moment, he says, “Yes, perfect. Okay. Thank you. Talk later.”

With that, he hangs up, and I pull myself off the counter to get right back in Mason’s arms.

“He’s going to head over now and send us regular updates. He’s also happy to help keep an eye on things if you’d be comfortable bringing your mom here.”

I raise my brows. “Oh, that’s actually not a terrible idea. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. We’ll get through tonight, and I’ll be right by your side the entire time, okay? I’m not going to let anything happen.”

Burying myself in his arms, I squeeze Mason tightly as I pinch my eyes closed.

“Okay.” My voice is muffled and quiet. “Okay.”

“We’ll get through this, Bridget. We will. We’ll give what we have to the police, and I’ll get everything I can from Easton to be sure they take us seriously. I won’t let him ruin your life for another moment.”

The air hangs tense, and I can feel the words just out of reach in Mason’s heart. I want to say them, too, but nowdoesseem like the wrong time.

We have to get through this. I need this life with Mason. I want it. I…I love him.

THIRTY-SIX

Bridget

We get Mia settled into bed that evening, and knowing that Easton is over at my mother’s house to keep an eye on things helps me to feel slightly better.

There’s still everything else, but Mason is doing everything he can to help me feel better. The alarm is also set, and more than anything, knowing that a break-in will be treated with a loud ass siren makes it possible for me to not be in a constant state of panic.

I really just wish my mother had one.

“Hey, do you want to go upstairs and take a bath? I can give you a foot rub, maybe?”

I smile over at Mason, tilting my head as I regard him.God, this man is so damn incredible.

We’ve had dinner, distracting ourselves with a silly movie from our childhood, and it helped to focus on something else, especially when that something was pure nostalgia.

“Yeah, thank you. That’d be great.”

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