Page 26 of Baby Boy

“Oh!” Avery blushed.

Jace slid from his chair and knelt beside Avery. “None of that,” he said. “Watching you enjoy dinner with your special cup and plate was the best meal I’ve ever shared with anyone. You’re making me so proud of you.”

“Promise?” Avery whispered.

“Promise.” He quickly stood and moved to the sink. Once he had a washcloth wet with warm water, he went over and wiped Avery’s face and every finger.

Avery giggled and squirmed but allowed Jace to clean him.

“There, now my boy is all clean, so he can play.”

“Yeah!” Avery clapped.

“Grab Jared so we can go upstairs,” Jace said.

Avery nodded before jumping up. He bounced waiting for Jace.What a good boy.Instead of running ahead, Avery waited for his Daddy.

Jace led the boy back up the stairs as excitement radiated from Avery. Once they reached the nursery, Avery seemed to freeze.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Jace asked quietly.

“I don’t know what to do,” Avery confessed.

“It’s a lot, huh?”

“So much,” Avery admitted.

“How about I help you decide?” Jace offered.

“Please.”

Jace led his boy to the bookcase and motioned for him to sit. “How about playing cars?” He took down the container and handed it to Avery.

Avery peered between him and the container before nodding.

Jace sat next to his boy on the floor, leaning back against the bookcase. Avery stayed pressed to his side as he carefully removed a couple of cars from the container. For some reason, Jace had expected Avery to just dump out the toys and play with them. But no, his boy was more cautious than that.

Avery played for a few moments quietly, Jared, the giraffe between his legs, until suddenly he dropped down onto his stomach with his feet in the air. Then Jace heard the first sound from his boy. A softvoom voomcame from Avery.

After that Avery seemed to relax right before Jace’s eyes.

Jace waited until Avery had been playing for a solid ten minutes before he leaned over Avery’s back. “You keep playing, baby boy. Daddy is going downstairs to clean up the kitchen and get you a drink. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Avery replied, kicking his feet and not stopping his play.

He shook his head, delighted by Avery’s antics. Just like the boy Jace had pictured him as. This was what Jace had been wanting to see for months. His boy was finally where he needed to be. Happy and safe.

Jace strolled through the house until he reached the kitchen. He’d done a good job of washing up as he cooked so it didn’t take him long to set the kitchen to rights. Before long, he was standing at the sink with Avery’s sippy cup. He glanced toward the cabinet that hid the bottles. He shook his head. He didn’t think the bottle would send Avery over the edge into being uncomfortable, but the night had been so good he didn’t want to press his luck.

He rinsed out the cup before filling it with milk. Juice had too much sugar and wouldn’t be good before bed. Jace turned off the lights downstairs and made sure the house was locked up before he strode back up the stairs.

Avery was still lying on the carpet, but he had his arms stretched out in front of him and was resting his head down. He still had a car in his other hand he was rolling over Jared.

“Tired, baby boy?” Jace asked, crouching over him.

Avery nodded.

Jace wasn’t surprised. It had been a long day—hell, a long week for his boy. “How about you we sit in the chair and I read to you?”

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