Page 68 of Hell or High Water

“Lemme go,” he told him. “I not do it!”

“I saw you do it,” Halo said as she rounded the corner.

Than looked down at his captive. “What did you do this time?”

Hawkins shook his head. “I not do it!” he repeated.

Halo had on a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a tank top with her hair piled up on top of her head. Although she appeared tired, she was still gorgeous. “Hawkins Crosby Cash, I watched you doing it!” she said as she put a hand on her hip and frowned at him.

Hawkins continued to squirm in Than’s arms. “Not do it,” he chanted. “I not do it.”

Halo sighed, then looked at me and smiled. “Hello, Montana.”

“Hi,” I replied.

She shook her head and laughed lightly. “It’s been a day. Sorry for the wildness. He’s teething, and sleeping isn’t happening. Not even a nap today. But I’m glad Than brought you over. If I can get this little heathen to take a nap, we can go out to the patio and have a drink.”

Than blew on the boy’s belly, and he kicked and laughed loudly.

“I think you need to take a nap with him, little momma,” Than told her, lifting his eyes from her son’s to hers.

She shrugged. “That sounds good in theory. But I doubt either of us gets a nap.”

A dark shadow appeared behind her before the man it belonged to did. He was tall with brown hair, hazel eyes, a chiseled jaw that could be made out, even under the short beard. The arms that wrapped around Halo, pulling her back to his chest, had tattoos. Realizing I was staring at the way he was holding her to him, I snapped my eyes up to see her looking up at him as he gazed down at her.

Envy was an evil thing that taunted us all. In this moment, I was experiencing a large dose of it. Not because I wanted the man who was holding Halo. But from the adoration on his face as he looked at her. It was powerful and so foreign to me that I didn’t want to look away. Yet I felt like I was a voyeur in their moment.

“I got him. You go get some sleep.” His deep voice had a rasp to it.

She smiled softly. “Did you get enough? It was your turn to sleep.”

He bent his head and kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose before placing a lingering one on her lips. Yep, I shouldn’t be watching this. But I was. Soaking it up because this was most likely as close to that kind of love as I’d ever get.

“I did,” he replied.

“I not do it!” Hawkins shouted again, and Than held him out under his armpits toward the other man.

Bane. That was who Halo had said she was married to.

“Take him. He’s feral,” Than said.

Bane smirked and released his wife, then moved around her to take his son.

“Dada, I not do it!” he told him.

“Sure you did,” Bane replied. “Whatever it was, you apologize to your momma.”

Hawkins frowned at his dad, then crossed his arms over his chest before looking at Halo. “I sowwy.”

Halo stepped over to him and rubbed the tip of her nose against his. “You’re forgiven.”

“What did he do this time?” Bane asked.

Halo winced and glanced over at Than apologetically. “It’s Than he should be apologizing to. He…well, I left him playing in his bedroom while I ran to use the bathroom. And in under the five minutes it took me, he went into your bedroom and found your, uh, stash of protection. He opened several of them and was filling one up with water in your bathtub. He took off running when I caught him. I’ve not cleaned it up yet, but I am headed to do that now.”

Bane threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter.

“That’s okay,” Than replied with a chuckle. “I’ll get it. You go take a nap. It’s my fault for not locking my door while I was gone.”

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