Page 60 of Rectify

Aedan felta bit foolish standing on the doorstep with a teddy bear in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other—like a scene from one of his cheesier movies. Only he’d never been this nervous when he was acting.

That was just pretend. This was all too real.

“Who is it?” she called out.

“It’s me, Natalya. Aedan.”

There was a long pause, and he wondered if she wasn’t going to let him in. He heard the sound of a deadbolt being flicked back and sighed with relief. Then another deadbolt was flicked and another.What the hell?

The door swung open, and his smile faded as he studied Natalya closely.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, alarmed. “Are you ill? Is it Mateo? Is he sick?”

She looked like hell. There was no nice way to put it. Her hair was a mess. Her clothes, which hung on her too-thin frame, were stained, and her face was pinched and pale.

“Aedan?” Her gaze widened. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check up on you.” Why the fuck hadn’t Rogan warned him? Well, he guessed he sort of had. “May I come in?” He didn’t wait for an invitation but just stepped inside the apartment, which was awash with toys. Building blocks lay strewn across the floor, there was a train set in the corner, and piles of books were spread over the sofa.

Mateo glanced up as Aedan walked in, panic growing on his little face. “Mama!”

“Here, baby.” Natalya slipped past Aedan and gathered Mateo close, ignoring his sticky, paint-covered hands.

Aedan checked the door. Just as he’d suspected, Natalya had already set the deadbolts. He counted them. Six.

Okay then. Aedan placed the teddy bear and flowers on the only open surface he could find, the kitchen counter. The apartment was an open plan with a U-shaped kitchen that ended in a breakfast bar. Large windows let in plenty of light, making the apartment seem larger than it actually was.

Aedan crouched down and smiled at Mateo, who was staring at him with mistrust. “I can see I didn’t need to bring any toys.”

“Rogan and the others went a bit crazy.” Natalya smiled.

Others? He pushed down the surge of jealousy.

“Oh?” He tried for nonchalance. “What others?”

“Cillian and his little boy brought over some of his old toys and clothes for Mateo, didn’t he, baby?” She flicked her hand through the boy’s dark hair, pushing it out of his eyes.

“Tex come and play?” Mateo asked.

“Not today. But I think he’s coming over next weekend for a few hours.”

“Playground?” Mateo asked hopefully.

Natalya shook her head and his shoulders slumped.

“Why can’t he go to the playground?” Aedan asked. “Is it too far to walk?” He should have arranged a driver for her. She didn’t need to be taking the bus. There were probably all sorts ofcrazies that used public transport. And germs. He bet there were a lot of germs. You’d have to be careful of that with a kid, right?

Damned if he knew.

“Oh no, the park is only two blocks over,” she explained.

“Can he not walk that far?” Did she need a stroller or something? He’d add that to the list of things she required. Like a cleaning service. Natalya had always been a little untidy, but nothing like this. The apartment was in a real state.

“He’s got plenty of energy. He can walk that far.”

Okay, what wasn’t he getting here? He wished he knew more about children. Was there a course or something he could take? He’d have to look into it, maybe get a tutor. He was a fast learner.

“This is an awesome train set, Mateo. I wish I’d had one of these as a kid.” He eyed Mateo, who was watching him with suspicion. Aedan could already feel himself sweating.

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