Page 11 of Wild Reckoning

And the truth was Stewart liked it. He liked the attention, the way Killian made him feel seen, made him feel like he mattered. But at the same time, it scared him. He had been down this road before, had let someone in, only to be hurt, to be broken. He wasn’t ready to risk that again.

“You know,” Killian said, his voice breaking through Stewart’s thoughts, “I think we make a pretty good shopping team. What do you think, Ethan?”

Ethan looked up from the box of animal crackers he had been examining and grinned. “Uncuh Kill funny!”

Killian laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked at Stewart. “See? The cub approves.”

“Uncle Kill?” Stewart was stunned. He wasn’t sure he liked that Killian had asked Ethan to call him uncle. The familiarity of it caught him off guard, and he was uncertain how to feel about it.

“He can’t say my full name.” Apology thickened Killian’s words. “I didn’t mean to cross a line, Stewart.”

“Look…” Stewart sighed, feeling the tension tightening his shoulders. “I just gained custody of my nephew two weeks ago, and I don’t want him getting confused about uncles. I’m not trying to be a shithead after everything you’ve done for us, but—”

“Shithead,” Ethan said a little too loudly, his voice ringing out with perfect clarity.

“It figures you can pronounce that word flawlessly,” Stewart groaned, palming his face. “As you can see, I’m not doing a great job at this uncle thing.”

“You’ve only had him for two weeks?”

Stewart nodded.

“How often did you interact with him before then?”

Dropping his hand, Stewart glanced at Ethan and hoped he wasn’t corrupting the kid’s little mind. “So infrequently that you might as well say never. Aside from patients, I don’t have a lot of experience with kids.”

“Then you need to cut yourself some slack,” Killian said as they strolled slowly down the aisle, the rubber wheels of the cart squeaking softly. “No parent gets it one hundred percent right. You can only hope they’re born with common sense and use the wisdom you’ve imparted on them.”

“For someone who hasn’t had much interaction with kids, you’ve got a lot of wisdom about them.” Stewart tossed a few colorful boxes of sugary cereal into the cart. They were unhealthy, but Ethan would like it. He balanced out the sugary cereal with plenty of fruits and vegetables, though he hadn’t had success thus far in getting his nephew to eat any of his veggies.

“My wisdom comes from my father raising me. I’m surprised he survived my juvenile years.” Killian chuckled, the sound deep and resonant, almost comforting.

Stewart wanted to ask about Killian’s mom, but it was none of his business. Still, he felt a closeness with the guy that baffled him. They’d met just a few hours ago, yet Killian felt more like an old friend. The air around them seemed lighter whenever Killian spoke, the tension easing from Stewart’s muscles.

“Another classic.” Killian opened the freezer door and pulled out a bag of chicken nuggets. “What do you think, buddy? Chicken?”

Ethan kicked his legs and nodded quickly, his eyes wide with excitement.

“Score another for the cub’s seal of approval.” Killian pumped his arm while biting into his bottom lip and scrunching his nose.

Stewart rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the smile that tugged at his lips. “Yeah, well, he’s easily impressed.”

Leaning a little closer, Killian’s voice dropped to a playful whisper, his breath warm against Stewart’s ear. “What about you? Are you easily impressed?”

Sweet lord. A shiver ran through Stewart as his breath caught. He looked away, focusing on the freezer doors in front of him like they were the most interesting thing in the world. “I think I…”

A rush of emotions flooded Stewart. His attraction toward Killian was intense, but… God, I’m a hot mess. He wasn’t sure if he was coming or going when it came to Killian. The man was sweet, gorgeous, and he’d done nothing but look out for Stewart and Ethan. And he was great with Stewart’s nephew, which was a plus.

But Clive’s physical, emotional, and verbal abuse made it hard for Stewart to open up to anyone. He never wanted to be that vulnerable again. And poor Ethan had witnessed the abuse until Stewart had gotten them out of there.

“I really like you, Killian, but…” Stewart ran his hand through his hair. “Can we talk about this later?”

Killian’s smile softened, and he nodded, as if somehow understanding his hesitancy. “Fair enough,” he said quietly, dropping the bag of nuggets into the cart.

They continued through the store, picking up the essentials like bread, milk, and cheese. As Stewart reached for a carton of eggs, he thought about how different this was from the life he had left behind. Clive had always been reckless with money, spending it on things they didn’t need, things that left Stewart struggling to make ends meet. The thought of how he was going to pay for the car repairs weighed heavily on his mind, a constant reminder of the uncertainty of his situation.

But as he looked at Killian, at the way he was making Ethan laugh, at the way he was helping without expecting anything in return, Stewart felt a glimmer of hope that he’d chosen the right town to move to.

“Hey.” Killian nudged Stewart gently with his elbow. “Where’d you go? You look like you’re a million miles away.”

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