Page 14 of Hartley

Jordan nodded. I could see the wheels turning of all the ways this could be a setup or if Xaiden was genuine. Jordan rocked back on his heels. “That’s kind of you. The choice willbe up to Ava. You’re welcome in my home with her, as is your partner, Corbin. As for Val?—”

Xaiden put up his hand. “I know. He stays home.”

Jordan hummed. “He caused problems for Malik.”

“I think the problems were on Malik’s end, but I’m not here to discuss that.”

“Smart man,” I heard Jordan mutter.

I cleared my throat. Loudly. Although, it didn’t fool Xaiden. His eyes narrowed.

“We’ve got a few busy weekends coming up. How about we get together once it calms down?” I asked, needing to get back on track. Xaiden came here when he didn’t have to. To a place he knew Jordan could be.

“I’d like that. I meant it when I said we’re here for the three of you and Ava. If it’s anything like Livy went through, it won’t be an easy road. With love and support, she’ll get through it.”

“We’re keeping her in the same school, so she has her friends, but I’m not sure how feasible that will be for the next school year. We’ll have to see how everything goes.”

“You’ll figure it out. Just be there for her. Listen or keep your space. She’ll let you know what she needs. It will feel like the world is falling down sometimes, but others you’ll get these moments that solidify you’re in the right place at the right time. Bringing a child into your lives is a magical thing, whether or not you expected them.”

“Thank you, Xaiden,” Jordan said before I could. I glanced at him, seeing the sincerity on his face. He really surprised me sometimes.

“You’re welcome. Well, I should go before Val drives down here and starts threatening lives. He told me if I didn’t check in at the ten-minute mark, he was leaving work.”

I chuckled. “You shouldn’t have told him you were coming.”

“Yeah? How easy is it for you to keep things from your men?”

“Fair. I can’t at all. But I also don’t try.” I grinned.

Jordan’s hand lightly gripped the back of my neck in a possessive way that had me nearly melting onto the floor. “Hartley knows I find out everything.”

“That’s because you always have Rory on my ass and if not him, Sheldon, or one of the others.”

“And what a fun day this turned into,” Sheldon quipped from somewhere behind me.

“Please,” Forest scoffed. “Like your job is hard.”

That had Jordan turning and cocking an eyebrow. Only his eyebrow didn’t work well on my brother.

“You think it’s easy doing what I do?” Sheldon asked, a sliver of anger slipping into his voice. I almost gasped. “Did you forget what I did to get your ass out of a dangerous situation? Remember being in the SUV with Vail?”

“Okay, you have a point. I was just thinking about how you stand around while you’re with my brother.”

“That’s exactly what I do.” Sheldon rolled his eyes. “I stand around. I’ll get back to it. The next asshole who shoots at us, I’ll let them through since I’ll just be standing here.” Sheldon stalked off to the front of the store, where he pushed the door open to step onto the sidewalk.

“All right then,” Xaiden said. “I’ll go now.”

“Thank you for coming,” I told him and waved.

Jordan and I stayed where we were until Xaiden was gone. That was when I turned and found my brother watching the front of the store. Not after Xaiden. No, his eyes were on Sheldon.

“I fucked up,” Forest muttered.

“You think?” I asked. “Jesus, For, what were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t.”

“You should apologize.”

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