Page 132 of His Boys to Protect

At least he knew the route by heart now. No more need for guided navigation on those trips. And it was worth it, really. Getting to spend any time with the boys was a blessing. And Skylar was so much more at-ease when Charlie was with them.

Ward eyed Skylar. The boy sat stiff and quiet in the passenger seat. They were finally heading to San Jose for the surgery, and the closer they got, the more tense Skylar looked.

“Sky?” Ward reached over and gave the boy's arm a quick squeeze, then put his hand right back on the wheel. “It's gonna be okay.”

Skylar was silent for a long moment. “I keep seeing the freeway signs.'San Francisco,'and so many miles. Then again,with fewer miles. Then fewer still.” Skylar stuffed his hands between his knees.

“We're not going back,” Ward murmured. “I promise.” Ward started to reach for him again, then stopped and inwardly cursed. “Put your hand on me, kitten. Hang onto Daddy, okay?”

Skylar shifted as far to the left as his seat would allow, then draped his arm across the center console and put his hand on Ward's leg.

“That's it.” Ward eyed the freeway signs. “Daddy's right here. I'm not going anywhere.” He paused when the guided navigation prepared him to exit the freeway. “See? We're almost there.” He took the exit, then had to slow to a stop at a traffic light. “We'll get to the hotel and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow morning, we'll get you to the center. And while you're under, I'm going to drive up to get Charlie and bring him back with me.” He gave Skylar's hand a squeeze. “We'll both be there when you wake up.”

“Promise?” Skylar whispered.

“I promise.” Ward let go of his hand and followed the navigation onto the next street. “A couple days, and we'll all be back home. And Charlie's staying for a month this time. Maybe longer.” Ward couldn't help smiling about that. Not just because it would mean a break from all the back-and-forth, but because it would be a bigger taste of what it could be like, all three of them living together. A week at a time simply wasn't enough.

Ward wanted more. So much more.

“And just think,” he went on. “You'll be fully healed before the holidays. We can go all-out for Christmas. Get a tree and everything. Charlie can pick out more decorations. Maybe we can even get pajamas just for the holidays.” Ward chuckled. “We used to do that when I was a kid.”

“Charlie's family did, too,” Skylar said. “They stopped after Sabrina died.”

Ward winced. “Oh. Probably not a good idea, then.”

“No! I think he'd like it, actually. Wouldn't hurt to ask, anyway. CharlielovesChristmas. Well, you saw it. I'd bet he'd love to get back into simple little rituals like that. Holiday pajamas and Christmas movie marathons and all of it.”

Ward grinned. “Okay. Then that's what we'll do.”

Skylar looked away, but not before Ward caught the bittersweet smile on his face. “I love that you want to make him happy,” he murmured.

Ward was about to say that he wanted to make Skylar happy, too, but the guided navigation interrupted him, announcing that they were approaching their destination. He followed the directions in silence and spotted their hotel up ahead. Ward pulled up to the entrance, went inside to get them checked in, then gathered up their luggage and led Skylar to the room.

“Shit,” Skylar gasped as soon as they stepped inside. “What if Charlie can't stay here? What–”

“Sky,” Ward interrupted him. “It's okay. I made sure we got a room where the bed points east.”

Skylar winced. “They must have thought you were crazy.”

“So be it,” Ward said with a shrug. “As long as you boys are comfortable.” He gestured out the window. “See? Sun's setting that way.”

Skylar let out a sigh of relief. “Okay.”

“Hey.” Ward bent down and rubbed Skylar's arms, feeling the boy tremble. “You don't need to worry about a thing. Daddy's here. All you have to do is try to relax. Can you do that for me?”

Skylar hesitantly nodded.

“That's my good boy.” He gave Skylar a soft, lingering kiss. “Now, I'm going to get us unpacked, and then we'll get you something light to eat for dinner. In the meantime, I want you to sit down and watch TV or read a book or something. Okay?”

Skylar fidgeted.

“Sky,” Ward gently warned. “I see you worrying.” He paused. “Do you want me to see if Charlie wants to come down now? I can get there and back in a couple hours.”

“No,” Skylar insisted, shaking his head. “No, he's expecting you tomorrow, and he hates changing plans. And you've already done so much. And you're going to have to do so much more and I'm worried it's too much and–”

“Sky, stop.” Ward grabbed his hands. “I'm fine. I want this for you. I want you to be happy. We're gonna get through this together, okay? You and me and Charlie.”

Skylar opened his mouth, looking like he was about to argue. Whether it was about paying Ward back for the hotel or taking care of Charlie's needs once they were back home, Ward wasn't sure. They'd had plenty of discussions about both things—and more—over the past several weeks. But Skylar kept silent in the end, giving Ward a smile before he pulled out his phone and sat down to read.

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