Page 28 of Forged

Macy didn’t like her dad and brother leaving. She was tired and fussy by that point anyhow, and she burst into wails while reaching for Nick from Bax’s arms.

Mrs. Turnertskedand stepped forward to take Macy away from Bax. “You shouldn’t be holding her like that,” she said.

Bax’s patience evaporated in an instant, and instead of letting Mrs. Turner take Macy from him, he stepped back and turned partly to the side, pretending to soothe Macy when he was straight-up blocking Mrs. Turner from having her.

“We’re just a bit tired, aren’t we?” he cooed to Macy, bouncing her in his arms.

By some miracle, Macy curled into Bax, flopping her head on his shoulder and throwing her arms around his neck like she was ready to give up and fall asleep. All while still crying, though.

Nick returned with a whining Jordan in his arms just in time to see the near exchange. “Mum, Macy is fine with Bax,” he said offhandedly.

“Doggie,” Jordan continued to whine, reaching for the terrier, whose owner now had it on a leash.

“We’ll go look at doggies later,” Nick tried to soothe him.

“Wow, you’re so good with children,” Kate commented, batting her eyes at Nick.

“Yes, well, I am their father,” Nick said.

Bax caught the irritation Nick was trying to hide. He couldn’t help but grin. Nick saw the expression and instantly relaxed, grinning back.

“Why don’t we walk with you for a while?” Mrs. Turner said, as if she’d just had the best idea ever. “There’s so much for the children to see here.”

Translation, Nick and Kate should walk around together, fall in love, get married, and have more babies.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Kate said, boldly stepping forward and focusing on Jordan. “Would you like to go for a walk with me, Jordan?”

Bax tried to keep his smirk to himself. Miss Kate must have been primed with all the important information about Nick, including his kids’ names.

“Er, we’ve been walking around for a while,” Nick said, glancing from Kate to his mum and sister to Bax. “I was just about to suggest that we take the kids home for a nap.”

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Turner said. “Children are far more resilient than you think they are. A walk would be lovely.”

Bax nodded slightly to Nick, letting him know it was alright. In fact, the part of him that liked an occasional bit of drama was desperate to see how the set-up would pan out. Obviously, Nick wasn’t going to go for Kate, but it would be interesting to see how he handled it.

They walked on, and exactly as Bax predicted, within a minute, Nick and Kate were walking together in front of their group, and as they moved on, Mrs. Turner and Joann slowed down, putting more distance between them.

“You really should let me carry the baby,” Mrs. Turner said, dropping all pretense of friendliness.

“No, we’re alright,” Bax said, keeping his tone light. He still found carrying a baby around to be awkward and unnatural for him, but it was much easier when Macy was exhausted. Without really being able to see her, he was fairly certain she’d already fallen asleep on him.

“How does Nick know you?” Joann asked like she was a police investigator and Bax was a prime murder suspect.

“I’m one of the nefarious Hawthornes,” Bax said, grinning at her as he patted Macy’s back awkwardly. “We met ages ago through the family.”

“Oh, so you’re an artist,” Joann said, wrinkling her nose.

“I’m an accountant, actually,” Bax said. “I’m currently auditing the arts center’s books.” Although he was just about done with that and would soon need to figure out an excuse to stay at Hawthorne House longer.

That thought had him watching Nick’s back as he and Kate moved slowly farther away from the rest of them. Uncle Robertwould absolutely let him stay at Hawthorne House as long as he liked, no questions asked. But would it make Nick feel awkward to know Bax was staying for him?

“Does Nick approve of you holding his daughter?” Joann asked on.

Bax pulled himself out of his thoughts and his eyes off of Nick’s backside to stare at her. “Yes,” he answered, no idea why it was even a question.

“But you’re gay, aren’t you?” Joann went on.

The question was so ridiculous Bax nearly laughed. “Yes. Strangely enough, gay men were granted the right to hold babies by the Rights of the Person Act of twenty-fifteen,” he said, making something up with a straight face.

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