Page 141 of Mr. Broody

She laughs. “You do it by being here when he arrives from the airport. You do it by showing up for him and Bodhi, over and over. After a while, those fears will diminish and eventually dissolve.”

“Hey, you two.” Reed peeks his head out of the room. “Bodhi wants you, Jade.”

Mom nods at me as if telling me now is the time.

“Thanks,” I say.

I stand, and she does too. We hug one another.

“You’re going to be great. You had a great role model.” She laughs and runs her hand down my back.

“I did. I really did. Thank you, Mom.”

“It was an honor to see you get here.” She pulls back and runs her hand over my cheek. “Grandma would be so happy to see you and Henry where you’re at.”

The mention of my grandma almost makes me burst into tears again, but I manage to keep it together. “Thanks.”

“Now go cuddle that boy.”

I smile and walk back into the room. Bodhi’s arm is in a sling, and they changed him into a hospital gown while I was talking to my mom.

“Hey, sweetie.”

“I’m tired, but I can’t get comfortable.” He shifts right and left in the hospital bed.

“Here.” I crawl into the bed and put my arm behind him, careful of his arm on the other side. He nuzzles into me and rests his head by my upper arm and chest. “Better?”

“Yeah,” he says, his voice growing heavy with sleepiness.

My eyelids shut, but I don’t want to sleep because I want to cherish this moment. The first time Bodhi has really and truly felt like mine.

Sixty-One

Henry

“What are you doing?” I ask the guys as they follow me into my Uber.

“Going with you,” Conor says as if it’s obvious.

Tweetie slides into the front seat. “You don’t mind, right?” he asks the driver.

The driver shakes his head even though it looks like a clown car with all of us piled in this tiny thing.

“Bodhi’s having surgery. We’re all going to be there for him.” Rowan pats my shoulder, sliding in next to me.

Once again, this group of guys is showing up for me. I have no words to express my gratitude.

The drive to the hospital feels as if it lasts forever even though we’re fortunate there’s hardly any traffic since it’s so late. I pull up to the emergency entrance and rush inside.

After I show my ID, the guys hang back as the nurse escorts me through the doors and winds me through what feels like the maze of an emergency room.

“Right through there,” she says and signals to a door.

I open the sliding door and stop, my bag slipping off my shoulder. Bodhi is curled into Jade’s body, and she has her arm wrapped protectively around him, her cheek on the top of his head. They’re both asleep.

Reed is in a chair in the corner, and his eyes spring open, so I must have woken him. He stands and signals for us to leave the room when I really just want to crawl into that bed with them. Hug Bodhi tight and kiss Jade, telling them I’m here and everything will be okay.

“Come on a walk with me,” Reed says in a low voice.

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