Page 14 of Forged

“Would you like me to take her?” his mum asked as he hugged Macy closer, patting her back and trying to soothe her. Kids picked up on the feelings of their parents, though, and since Nick wasn’t feeling very soothed, he definitely didn’t expect a miracle.

“No, I’ve got her,” he said, rocking Macy gently in his arms. He sent Bax a glance, then looked at his mum again and said, “We were just about finished here. We should get a wiggle on, pay for all this, and get the kids back home as soon as possible.”

His mum just hummed in answer, like she didn’t think he was capable of managing his own kids. “Anytime you need help,” she said, leaving the offer open-ended.

“I can take Jordan back,” Bax said, moving in for the handoff.

For a second, Nick was convinced his mum wouldn’t let Jordan go. She narrowed her eyes at Bax defensively and only let the boy go because he reached for Bax.

Nick was relieved. If Jordan hadn’t wanted Bax to carry him, he had a feeling his mum would have opened a whole other can of worms.

“It was nice to meet you again, Mrs. Turner,” Bax told his mum with a smile as Jordan threw his arms around his neck. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

“Yes, I suppose we will,” Nick’s mum said, then turned to Nick. “Call me when you have a chance, dear. There are some things I’d like to discuss with you.”

Dread filled Nick’s stomach, but he kept smiling, kissed his mum on the cheek again, and as soon as she pushed her buggy on into the wine section, he blew out a breath and widened his eyes at Bax in a sign of relief.

“Come on,” Bax laughed, taking hold of the buggy’s handle and pushing it on. “Let’s get you lot home.”

Nick managed a small laugh. He didn’t mind it when Bax tried to take care of him. In fact, strange though it was, he felt like he could definitely get used to it.

FIVE

Bax couldn’t rememberthe last time he’d been so exhausted, and that was before they’d left the store. It wasn’t just that the kids were squirmy, although he’d had no idea that two small humans under the age of four could squirm, wiggle, wail, and run as much as Jordan and Macy did. It gave him an entirely new respect and sympathy for the beleaguered mums whose kids acted up in public places.

The kids were only half the reason Bax was almost panting with exhaustion by the time they paid for their groceries and loaded everything into Nick’s car to head home.

“Your mum is…charming,” he said once he was secure in the passenger’s seat and Nick was backing out of the parking place.

Nick only laughed humorlessly, then concentrated on getting them out of the parking lot.

Bax wasn’t certain he should bring up the subject again. Nick’s tension was glaringly obvious, but offering help and advice where someone else’s family was concerned wasn’t exactly a way to endear oneself to them.

And Bax desperately wanted to endear himself to Nick.

Nick was stressed, that much was clear to him. It was hard to tell why. There were so many things that could have been getting Nick down, from Raina’s passing to the upcoming sculpture competition that Bax knew he wasn’t ready for. If there was one thing that the time the two of them had spent together over the last week had taught him, though, it was that Nick was doing an astounding job of holding it together under trying circumstances.

He deserved a break. He deserved to be treated with kindness and comfort. He didn’t deserve to have his mum try to set him up in the middle of a grocery store while side-eyeing his company.

Mrs. Turner had definitely been side-eyeing him. It matched the disapproval he’d felt from the woman on their first meeting. Bax couldn’t figure out what she disapproved of, though. Nick was surrounded by people who loved him and supported him. The Hawthornes had taken Nick in as one of their own.

“Mum is incredibly traditional,” Nick said almost out of the blue once they were on the main road heading out to Hawthorne House. “She likes things a certain way. She always has. She’s a good person and an excellent granny, though.”

“I don’t doubt that she is,” Bax said, glancing over his shoulder to where both kids were quickly falling asleep in their car seats. What he did doubt was what Nick’s mum’s definition of being a good person was.

“She’s been so worried about me since Raina died,” Nick went on with a shrug before making a turn, eyes pinned to the road. “When I was younger, she’d tell me she was giving up all hope of having grandchildren. She said I was too shy and awkward to ever attract a wife.”

Bax frowned, mostly at the way Nick didn’t seem to find anything wrong with that statement. He stopped himself just short of saying that maybe Nick would have found himselfa husband, though. He didn’t want to end up fishing for information about someone’s sexuality the same way Mrs. Turner had fished with him.

“Don’t you have a sister?” he asked instead.

Nick smiled. “Two, actually. Joann still lives at home with Mum. She’s a primary school teacher, actually. I also have an older sister, Candice, who married a Canadian and moved to Halifax a few years ago.”

“Oh. That’s nice.” It was a silly thing to say, but the vibe in the car was suddenly awkward, and Bax didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

He could practically feel Nick thinking as they drove on. Judging by the frown he wore, those thoughts weren’t great. Bax wanted to reach out and rest his hand on Nick’s massive thigh, squeezing it to let him know everything would be alright. He wanted to reassure Nick that he had a friend and that he would do whatever Nick needed him to do to help him deal with, well, life.

Granted, the fantasy of a hot and sweaty Nick covered in soot from the forge definitely hadn’t gone away, but if all Nick needed was a friend right now, Bax wanted to be that friend.

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