Page 21 of Edge of Danger

This was exactly the sort of home she’d always wanted. It was like living in a happy dream. Waking up, caring for her son, loving him openly.

And Brax. He was great too.

Not that she loved him. Not even close. But being around him was wonderful. There was somebody to look forward to seeing at the end of the day. To say good-night to before heading to bed. Somebody to share Walker’s latest superhuman achievement with.

Because they’d agreed early on that Walker was the smartest and most talented child who had ever existed in the history of the world.

The thought made her smile as she fixed herself breakfast. Brax had left earlier than usual—she liked to at least have coffee with him in the morning to go over Walker’s schedule. When she should expect him home, whether he should pick up anything at the store along the way.

The simplest, most mundane conversations. Yet they meant the world to her.

“I was lonely for a long time, buddy.” She glanced over at Walker, who was in the process of trying to eat his fist. “I didn’t know how lonely until now, since I’m not lonely anymore. Now I can see.”

She could also see why it had been so easy for Robert to get her into bed. He’d probably spotted a big old target in the middle of her forehead when they’d met. No challenge whatsoever.

It had been that way since the accident. Losing one parent would have been rough enough, she guessed, but both at once? At the age of twenty? She’d been thrust into a new life overnight.

No more comfortable house. No more family dinners. No more security. No more love.

Walker banged his fists on his tray, happy with himself. The noise shook her from dark thoughts. “You’re into making noise lately, aren’t you?”

He banged on the tray again like he was answering her. “You know, your timing is uncanny sometimes.”

The phone rang after lunch. Brax’s landline, so old-fashioned in a way, but helpful since she’d broken her phone. He checked in at least once a day to see if everything was okay.

She realized on answering that she had even come to look forward to these little calls.

“Hi.” There was no wiping away her goofy smile. Good thing he couldn’t see her.

“Hey.” His deep, rich voice held a touch of laughter in it. He was almost always in a good mood. Charming, funny. Pretty much the polar opposite of Robert. “How’s it going there?”

“The usual. Plenty of peace and quiet now that Super Walker is down for a nap. He’ll be an excellent drummer someday, I think. Great rhythm when he’s banging things together.”

“Remind me to never pick up a drum set.”

She giggled. “Pots and pans. Wooden spoons. You do the math.”

“I was never much good at math.” They shared a laugh. “Hey, I meant to tell you. I took your phone over to a guy who runs a shop a few blocks from here. He said it should be fine in a couple of days.”

“He’ll fix it for me?”

“Well, for me,” he chuckled. “We’ve done a little security work for him in the past. He said he sees phones like that all the time and can almost always fix them up.”

“Wow. It was so sweet of you to go to the trouble.”

“No trouble at all. Just think, you’ll be able to take some time away from the house now since you’ll have a phone you can use to get in touch if you need anything.”

Right. Because that was her excuse to stick close to Walker. Not having a car was one thing—Brax had already offered to lend her his car if she wanted it.

Not having a phone was another. There weren’t pay phones on every block like there’d been in the old days.

Brax, being the protective man he was, hated the idea of her going out without a way to call if the car broke down or some catastrophe occurred.

Being the absolute sweetheart he was, he thought about her comfort and happiness all the time. As if they truly mattered. And he was dead set on her taking time for herself, not knowing she had nowhere to go and no one to see.

“Thanks,” she said, though her heart wasn’t quite in it. The fact that she was afraid to be out of Walker’s presence for even a little while didn’t lessen the kind gesture, so she injected a little sunshine into her voice. “I’ll owe you a special dinner tonight to make up for it.”

He groaned. “You’re speaking my language, though I don’t see how you have the energy after taking care of the baby and the house.”

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