Page 56 of Down & Dirty

“The press ate us up, Sky. We started the ball rolling tonight in a big way. If we can keep it going, my entire image will be reset and I won’t just be able to keep my old endorsements, I’ll be able to land new ones.”

Even as I said the words, I knew they were a half-truth at best. I could find the upside for myself in this, sure. But that wasn’t why I wanted it. It was the thought of being able to help Sky, of keeping her closer for longer, that settled something that was rattling in my chest. Marriages were just another type of contract. A business deal with a fancy bow on top. And since I’d never planned on getting hitched anyway, this would be the closest I’d ever get to matrimonial bliss.

And if it helped her and Micah, that was worth it to me.

She just stared at me. Silently. As if unable to find words. Which was okay, she needed to think about it. I could wait.

We were almost at the hospital, and I could feel Sky’s nerves ratcheting up. I probably shouldn’t have sprung that on her until after she’d seen her son, but timing had never been my strong suit.

“Here,” I said, tugging my jacket off as we jogged toward the ER entrance. We paused long enough for me to hold it open and her to slip her arms inside.

“Thank you,” she whispered hastily, taking off again in her heels.

We found Elle standing outside Micah’s room, a look of exhaustion on her face that made it easy to imagine how rough the night had been. Micah was asleep, but Sky slipped in to check on him before coming back out to hug her friend and thank her. When she recounted the story of what had happened, Sky pulled her in for another hug. It sounded terrifying, and I’d been in more ambulances and ERs than I could count. It was just different when it was a kid.

When I insisted Sky let me take them back to her place, she sent Elle home and filled out the paperwork for Micah to be discharged. I was waiting, sitting silently in the corner of his room watching him sleep in his little frog pajamas, when she came back.

“You ready?” I whispered.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

I rose quietly out of the chair and came to stand behind her as she looked down at her son. “Of course I don’t mind, Sky.” I slipped my arms around her waist, hesitantly, pulling her back against my chest and setting my chin on her shoulder. It was like I had to touch her, for her and for me. I wanted to be someplace she could lean into. “Are you okay?”

A shot of something warm and heavy slipped through my veins when she eased back into me, letting me take her weight. Her arms overlapped mine and she cinched me tighter to her.

“I think so. Seeing him in this place is never easy, but I know he’s okay. I just.. .”

“Wish you’d been there?” My guilt washed through me again.

She shook her head. “No. Elle was with him, and he loves her. I just wish there was a way to help him understand how to not be so afraid when the attack starts. The doctors said that was what made this one so much worse than the others. He couldn’t calm down. He was lost to his fear.”

My grip on her tightened, a hot poker of recognition stabbing into me. I knew what that felt like, and Micah was only five. Rationalizing with him was probably impossible in the midst of all that fear.

I touched my lips to the curve of her shoulder, taking a deep breath of her scent.

“You’ll find a way. Some trick to reach him when he’s freaking out that helps him come back down. If anyone can, it’s you.”

She sighed, giving my hold on her another squeeze. “Let’s take him home.”

As she peeled the blanket back, I stepped beside her, my voice barely a whisper. “Can I?”

Her startled expression quickly eased into a grateful smile and she nodded, making my chest burn with some fresh sort of pride I’d never felt before. When I scooped him up in my arms he barely stirred. The kid was out.

Sky chuckled a little under her breath. “Just like his mom,” she said, brushing a curl from his forehead as I went for the door.

“Heavy sleeper huh?” I winked as she held it open.

“No. He’s just like me; getting you to carry him around.”

It was true. I’d carried Sky like this on two occasions. Neither time was under particularly pleasant circumstances, nor was this for Micah.

I had a deep, demanding urge to fix that trend.

“Twice so far for you. Third times a charm,” I whispered to her, and she rolled her eyes.

CHAPTER 20

SKYLAR

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