Page 15 of Forged

Being Nick’s friend included doing things he never in a million years would have imagined himself doing.

“Undo the fastenings carefully,” Nick whispered as the two of them stood in the open doors on either side of the car, leaning into the back seat where the kids were sleeping. “He’ll be out for a while after the morning he’s had.” He gestured to the straps holding Jordan into his seat.

“He’s not going to kick up a fuss if he wakes up and we’re not in the car anymore?” Bax asked, following Nick’s lead and freeing Jordan from his seat.

Nick shook his head. “Kids go to sleep in one place and wake up in another all the time.”

“I can’t decide if that would be exciting or unnerving,” Bax said, grinning across the cramped and messy back seat of the car at Nick.

Nick glanced up at him and smiled when their eyes met. The car suddenly felt warm to Bax, and he was afraid that his excitement in that moment of connection between the two of them would wake Jordan up.

Jordan stirred but didn’t wake as Bax pulled him up and settled him in his arms. He wasn’t sure he was holding the boy right. Sleeping toddlers were entirely different beasts than awake and running ones. Everything Bax knew about kids could be written on a single sticky-note, but if it meant he could spend more time with Nick, then he’d learn.

“There you are,” Aunt Janice greeted the two of them as they brought the kids into the house. “Had a bit of an outing, did we?” she asked as she fell into step with the two of them as they carried the kids upstairs.

“Just to Sainsbury’s,” Nick said quietly as their footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

“A date with the kids to Sainsbury’s, eh?” Janice asked, peeking sideways at Bax.

Bax flushed hot, which surprised him. He wasn’t at all the sort to shy away from innuendo. He was the one flinging innuendo all over the place most of the time. But the look in his Aunt Janice’s eyes as they reached the upstairs hallway made him feel like he’d been caught being naughty.

“We ran into Bax just as we were leaving,” Nick said calmly, like he hadn’t caught the hint at all. “He was on his way to the same place, so we went together.”

The thing about Nick that Bax was beginning to see was that he was smarter than anyone gave him credit for. He was cleverer than he gave himself credit for. There was a fair chance that heknew exactly what Aunt Janice was implying but had ignored it on purpose so he didn’t give himself or his feelings away.

“Well, if you’d like, I can keep an eye on these two while you carry the groceries up,” Aunt Janice said as they approached Nick’s door.

“That would be lovely, Aunt Janice,” Bax said, giving her cheek a kiss as they paused and waited for Nick to shuffle a sleeping Macy around so he could unlock his door.

It struck him as funny that he did the same thing with Aunt Janice that Nick had done with his mum in Sainsbury’s. But as soon as they were in Nick’s flat, Aunt Janice proved just how different she was from Mrs. Turner.

“Look at that sweet face,” she cooed as she took Jordan from Bax’s arms. “Isn’t he just a perfect angel?”

“He’s a hellion and a thorn in my side,” Nick said with a broad grin as he carried Macy straight into the flat’s second bedroom, which was set up as a nursery.

“Yes, but even angels can be naughty little boys sometimes,” Aunt Janice said.

She grinned at Nick as he spoke, though Nick was too busy with Macy, then glanced over her shoulder at Bax.

Bax leaned against the doorframe, shook his head, and rolled his eyes. His Aunt Janice was a troublemaker.

Unless she knew something about Nick that Bax didn’t.

That thought buzzed around Bax’s insides as he and Nick made another trip down to the car to fetch all the groceries. Unsurprisingly, Nick was able to bring everything up at once by looping a dozen heavy bags over his massive arms. On the one hand, it put Bax to shame as he carried up his measly two bags. On the other, it made him weak in the knees to see that sort of display of Nick’s strength.

They parted ways so that Bax could take his groceries to his own kitchen. He raced through putting everything away, andwithin five minutes was back at the door to Nick’s place. The door that had been left open, though whether by accident or because someone was playing Cupid, Bax didn’t know.

He had a pretty good idea which of those two things it was when Aunt Janice announced, “I have some free time this afternoon. Why don’t the two of you take these sandwiches I’ve just made down to the forge so you can work on your sculpture for a while, Nick? Bax can help you. Don’t worry about the kids. I can’t wait to play with them when they wake up.”

“Thanks, Janice,” Nick said with a grateful sigh, going to inspect the cool bag on the kitchen counter. “I should probably be here to play with the kids myself when they wake up, but I do need to work on the sculpture.”

“That’s why you should take Bax with you,” Aunt Janice said, feigning innocence. “I’m sure he’d be helpful with your tools.”

Bax crossed his arms and sent his aunt a pretend scolding stare, shaking his head as he did. She was as much of a troublemaker as…as the entire Hawthorne family. No wonder Uncle Robert had fallen for her all those years ago.

“Take a few of those beers in the fridge with you,” Aunt Janice told Nick as he finished putting away the last of his groceries. “They’re wedged way back in the bottom of the fridge, which tells me you haven’t had any for ages, which also tells me you haven’t loosened up in ages. Eat, drink, and be loose.”

Bax laughed out loud. If that wasn’t the motto of the Hawthorne family, he didn’t know what was.

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