Page 56 of Between Us

I run my hand down the side of his head and do my best to not let my own tears be heard in my voice. “It’s okay, buddy,” I whisper. “Adrian—”

Not doing a very good job of composing my emotions, Adrian cuts me off, “Blake? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, Blake.” Mikey drops next to me. “It was supposed to be funny. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.” He hiccups, growing more emotional by the second too.

“You’re hurt? Where are you?” Adrian demands.

“I’m okay,” I tell Mikey then I add in a louder voice to Adrian, “I’m okay. I fell down and I twisted my ankle… really bad.” More tears slip down my cheeks as the pain grows, but it makes all three of the boys start to cry in earnest too. “I need your help.Please.”

“Send me the address, and don’t move.”

BythetimeAdrianfinds the four of us in the shed, it’s probably one of the most pathetic sights he’s ever seen.

After we all sobbed for about five minutes, Mikey pulled himself together well enough to run into the house to grab a bag of ice, and a couple of water bottles. Shawn is across from me, doing his best to sit still while my ankle rests on his knee and he holds the ice for me. Luke is still crying hard enough to warrant him sitting in my lap, even though it fucking hurts every time he moves. And as a five-year-old, that’s about every twenty seconds.

But it’s the helpless look I give Adrian as his eyes find mine, that really completes the scene. I’m sure my face is puffy and pink from crying, and I haven’t even attempted to fix my hair. I felt it snag on the skeleton’s fingers on my tumble down, but it’s been the least of my worries. Until now.

“Hi,” I quietly squeak.

“Hey, pretty girl.” My heart melts, not truly realizing how comforting his endearments are until now. Crouching down, he quickly introduces himself to the kids and gently extracts Luke from my lap. “What happened?”

My eyes cut to Mikey, who visibly gulps and shrinks down. “It doesn’t matter how, but I fell down.” I watch his gaze move to the giant skeleton still lunging forward behind me. His eyebrows tick up and a small smile plays at his lips.

Apparently that’s all the encouragement Mikey needs, because he leans forward and adds, “I pranked her.”

“Mikey,” I scold. “And what had I said just a minute before I walked into this shed?”

“You said I better not have anything ‘sticky, or dangerous, or just plain stupid’ planned. You didn’t say anything about somethingscary.”

Adrian snorts. Throwing a quick scowl his way, I turn back to Mikey and gesture toward my ankle. “What do you call that?”

He looks me up and down with a judgmental expression. “Being clumsy.”

Adrian doesn’t try to stop the laugh that falls from his lips. He’s fully and shamelessly enjoying the show between me and the little pain in my ass. Which reminds me…

“Did I ever mention who the Paulson boys’ grandma is?” I ask Adrian dryly.

Luke perks up at the mention of the woman who spoils them rotten. “Grandma Polly! Let’s call her.”

“No.” I shut that down as soon as possible and ignore his bottom lip sticking out.

“Polly?” Adrian asks slowly. “As in…”

He trails off as I nod slowly. This time, he actually falls back on his butt from laughing so hard. It’s that deep, rumbly sound that sends a rush of warmth through me every time. “The one and only.”

“Polly Paulson?” he laughs.

Shaking my head, I tell him, “Polly Livingston. Their maternal grandmother.”

“I’m starting to understand why people love the whole small-town thing.” The ever-present hint of amusement twinkles in his eyes adding another layer of comfort to this moment. “What do you say we get you out of here?”

Nodding, I gently pull my foot from Shawn’s knee and offer him an appreciative smile.

“Can you stand?” Adrian asks gently. The three boys peering over his shoulder look hopeful, but Adrian’s expression says he knows the answer. He is only asking to be polite.

I know the answer too.

Though I attempt anyway. Offering him a hand, I brace the other on the ground and try to keep my right foot in the air as I pull myself up. Hissing out a pained breath, I drop back to the ground and rub at my wet cheeks.

---