Page 113 of Healed Hearts

I grin. She’ll figure it out eventually. “Okay. Fiveteen it is.” I glance at Julian to see what he thinks about the adorable counting, but his face shows nothing. Not a twitch to his lips, not a frown or smile or anything. There’s justnothing.I wish there was something I could do, but right now, I can’t. Hopefully, afterthe transfusion is over, I can take them home and get him taken care of.

I turn my attention back to Wren. “Is that all, or can you go higher?”

“That’s all.”

I drop a kiss to the top of her head. “You did real good. Want to play some more?”

She doesn’t answer with words. Instead, she nods, turning back to the phone in her hand. She’s still counting along with the game when there’s a knock on the door and Ro walks in holding a bag in his hand. “Hey, guys. I come bearing hair care gifts.”

Wren drops the phone and looks up at him. “Hi, Unka Ro.”

He offers her a soft smile. “Well, hello there. You doing okay?”

She nods. “Playing counting on Holden’s phone.”

Ro glances at Julian. “Hey, Julian. How’s it going, man?”

Julian drags his eyes slowly to Roman, like he’s just noticed that he’s here. “It’s fine.”

Roman watches him, knowing damn well it’s not fine. He bites his lower lip, likely trying to decide if he should say something or not. I clear my throat to get his attention. He looks back at me with a frown, his eyes darting quickly to Julian before settling on me again. He raises an eyebrow, his unspoken question clear on his face. I give a subtle shake of my head.

He sighs, then plasters a smile on his face. “I picked up a couple extra things. I know you said just elastics and a comb, but then I watched a YouTube video and got some extra stuff.”

He sits down on the edge of the bed, pulling out a comb, some detangling spray, curl cream, and the elastics. After spreading everything out on the bed between us, he pulls some pink nail polish out. “I figured you could do with some pretty nails too.”

Wren giggles, taking the nail polish from his hand. “Thanks, Unka Ro.” It’s impossible to miss the excitement in her voice.

Ro laughs. “Do you want to paint my nails while Hold does your hair?”

She turns back to me as if to ask if it’s okay, so I smile at her. “That’d be fun, huh? Painting Uncle Ro’s nails?”

She nods. “Yeah, and Daddy too?”

My smile falters a bit. I glance at him. “What do you think, Daddy? Can Wren paint your nails after she’s done with Uncle Ro’s?”

His lips part on a shaky inhale, but he nods. It’s not much, but I’ll take it.

Turning my attention back to Wren, I settle her on the bed in front of me. Ro helps her open the bottle of nail polish, laying his hand on his thigh so she can start working on his nails as I spritz her hair with the detangling spray. I work the comb gently through her knotted curls, careful not to hurt her. She doesn’t flinch, so I must be doing a good job. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this. Not since I did all the girls’ hair in Sunday school with my parents about a year before I got kicked out, honestly.

Wren cautiously paints Roman’s nails, getting more on his skin than his actual nail, while I start sectioning off her hair and working the cream through the strands. She’s calm while I start braiding. I don’t want to be overzealous since I’m so out of practice, but my fingers seem to remember what to do because by the time she’s finished Roman’s nails, I’ve got half her braids done.

“All done,” she declares.

Roman holds his hands up, inspecting the work. “Wow. You did a good job. They look amazing. Uncle Beck is going to be so jealous.”

He gives her an indulgent grin that has her giggling, then she turns to look at Julian. “Daddy! Your turn.”

Roman gets up, offering his spot to Julian. After a brief hesitation, he takes it. Ro clears his throat. “Well, I’m going to head down and say hi to Beck, then I’m gonna head home.”

“Tell him I said hey.” I know I should probably tell him I’m moving out and into Julian’s, but it doesn’t seem like the best time, so I bite my tongue. There will be plenty of time to tell him later.

Roman smiles, his worried eyes shooting back to Julian. “If you guys need anything at all, please call me. I’ll be here.”

My eyes find Julian. He’s not looking at me. He’s glancing down at the hand that Wren is currently covering in hot pink nail polish. “Thanks, Ro. We will. Love you.”

“Love you too, Hold.” Then he’s walking out the door.

With another glance at Julian, I go back to Wren’s hair. I ended up doing a more intricate style than I thought I would, the braids zigzagging across the top of her head. She looks adorable, and her hair is off her face. Plus, she should be able to get at least a week out of them, so it’ll be a bonus that I can do it when she’s in the hospital for her transplant. Not that her hair is ever a mess. Julian takes great care of her curls. Whether he learned that from Maya or he just figured it out on his own, I’m not sure.

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