Page 28 of Bossy Baby

This was all new to Mac. He’d never had the opportunity to just relax and be normal. Normal, what was normal anyway? He hadn’t even been normal before he’d been trained to kill. Even as a child, Mac had been different.

No, he wasn’t going to think about those days. Being alone and afraid all the time. Only happiness was allowed in the same space as Hayley. Mac just needed to focus on Hayley. Focusing on his boy would keep Mac’s demons at bay.

Mac lifted Hayley up before sliding out from under him.

Hayley was trying to wake up, so Mac left to give him a few minutes. The soup was still warming in the crockpot. Mac pulled down a bowl from his cabinet next to the sink. He had a special bowl for Hayley but chose a plain normal bowl this time. He’d have to bring up becoming Hayley’s Daddy eventually. Fuck, he wanted to show Hayley the special room. It was the only room in the house that Mac had done on his own. No one but him had even set foot inside.

Mac spooned soup into the bowl before going to the fridge to grab two bottles of water. He also picked up Hayley’s meds from the counter where he’d put them earlier. It took some juggling to carry everything. He needed a tray or something. Mac really hadn’t been prepared for Hayley so soon. He was happy that he didn’t have to wait, but there was so much more he needed to properly care for his boy.

Walking back in the living room, Mac almost tripped over his own feet.

That was just what they needed. Both of them with a broken arm. He averted his gaze so he wasn’t distracted by all the sexy skin on display.

Hayley standing next to the couch with his arms over his head, cast and all, was just too much temptation.

He cleared his throat. “I brought you some soup,” Mac told him.

“It smells so good,” Hayley praised. He reached back down to the couch and grabbed the blanket before he wrapped it around his waist once again.

Now that Hayley’s sexy tiny briefs were hidden, Mac continued walking to the couch. He set everything on the coffee table before motioning for Hayley to sit. But something else had grabbed Hayley’s attention.

“Hayley?”

“Uh, Mac.”

“What’s wrong?” Mac reached around to the back of his waistband before mentally cursing. Of course he didn’t have his gun on him. They were supposed to be safe in his house.

“Mac!”

He was by Hayley’s side in a few strides. Mac placed his hand on Hayley’s shoulder. “What is it?”

“We’re being stared at,” Hayley whispered.

That was impossible. All the blinds had been pulled down. There was no way that someone had gotten inside without him knowing either.

“And it’s the cutest thing ever!” Hayley dropped to his knees as he squealed.

“What the f—” Mac caught himself. “What?”

Ignoring him, Hayley crawled awkwardly across the carpet, the blanket around his waist forgotten and falling off. Well, damn, Mac hadn’t thought about how Hayley’s arm would affect every aspect of his life. Even crawling seemed difficult.

“Oh! There’s another one!”

Shaking his head, Mac sat back on the couch. Now that he knew what Hayley had found, he settled in to watch. Hayley already had both the calico kitten and the small gray-striped kitten on his lap. There was no sign of the littlest one, which didn’t Mac. Socks, his black-and-white kitten, didn’t like when they had visitors. The workers he’d hired for remodeling and the decorating team had been the only other ones in his house. However, Socks hadn’t been a fan.

“You didn’t tell me about these two little sweeties,” Hayley accused.

“Three.”

“Three?” Hayley asked.

“Three little sweeties. The calico’s name is Cookie, because he steals the kitten cookies from the others. The grey one is Tyson after one of my best buddies from the service.” Mac paused. He didn’t want to explain Tyson to Hayley yet. “And the baby that’s hiding is Socks.”

“Socks?” Hayley grinned. “You named one of your kittens Socks?”

Mac grunted. It was a fitting name. He’d never had to name pets before. “She’s all black with white only on her paws. Like socks.”

Struggling to stand while still holding on to the cats, Hayley nodded. “That makes perfect sense.”

---