Page 21 of Bearly Taken

I just crossed the room and leaned over the crib to run my fingers through his hair slowly. He didn’t flinch or move,sleeping straight through it. I would’ve bent over to kiss him, but the crib was just too deep.

Placing my hand on his chest, I stayed where I was for a solid two minutes, simply feeling him breathe.

He was perfect.

Flawless.

And I still hated knowing I was going to be away from him, even just for a few hours.

A thought occurred to me—one that made my heart skip a beat.

What if Reed left again, and took Parker with him?

What if I couldn’t get him back?

The fear that coursed through me felt like fire.

I couldn’t lose him. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t survive it.

And though I knew Reed well enough to trust him with our son for a few hours, I didn’t trust him to stay.

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to breathe through the fear.

My mind went back to the way he’d sat in the bathroom while I showered, just to make sure I knew he wasn’t going anywhere. To the way he’d woken up to make breakfast for me. To the way he’d gone to work with me the morning before.

I didn’t trust him to stay… but he was obviously trying. And that effort had to count for something, didn’t it?

Even if it didn’t, pushing him away wasn’t a good answer. If I did that, it would only give him a reason to fight harder. Whichcould lead to me spending less time with my son, as he was split between our two homes.

I finally forced myself to leave Parker’s room. My stomach was twisted with nerves, but I couldn’t show them.

Reed was putting tinfoil over the bowl he’d filled for me when I made it back into the kitchen.

“I was thinking,” he said, glancing back at me. “I want you to be comfortable leaving me with Parker, so what if you take the keys to both of our vehicles when you go? I’ve got two sets of truck keys—if you take them both, it might make you feel better about leaving him with me.”

Surprise lifted my eyebrows. “How did you know I was worried about that?”

“I know you, remember? We spent a lot of time together before I screwed everything up.”

My chest warmed with the blunt way he labeled his leaving me. That made me feel better, too.

“Alright,” I agreed. “I’ll take the keys, and stop by to pick Parker up before I go to the bookstore.”

“I’ll go with you. I’d like to help you out, whether by watching him or working at the store.”

“We’ll see.”

He chuckled, crossing the kitchen to put the warm bowl of food in my hand. A fork was balanced on top. He grabbed two sets of keys off the counter and put them in my other hand, then leaned in and kissed my cheek.

My heart pounded with the gentle brush of his lips on my skin.

He stepped back without pushing for anything more.

Turning, I forced myself to walk to the front door before I could do something ridiculous—like throw myself into his arms or kiss him back.

He followed me there, his hand brushing my lower back as he opened the door before I could.

Following me to my car, he opened that too.

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