Page 39 of Forsaking All Others

I tear my gaze away from his mom to focus my attention on him. Another thing about kids, they adapt. Once the anesthesia wore off, Theo came around. He stared at me with a perplexed expression on his face, then asked for Colt. Holly quickly intervened and told him he was working.

The bastard still hadn’t returned any of her calls and she gave up on trying to get in touch with him. On top of that, I still hadn’t heard from King and as the fucking clock on the wall ticked, I became more and more concerned that my club was on the cusp of a war.

But I managed to keep myself in check and when Theo turned back to me, a smile similar to his mother’s filling his face, something tugged inside of me. It wasn’t a foreign feeling, it happened every time Tara or Shep smiled at me and gave me their trusting eyes. I started blowing up rubber gloves to keep Theo’s smile in place. Ten gloves later, I’m low on hot air but I’m not about to deny his request.

Ripping another latex glove from the box, I bring it to my lips and start to blow into it. Once all the fingers are inflated, I tie a knot in the end and send it flying toward Theo. He inches up from the mattress and catches it, smacking it between his chubby palms.

We pass it back and forth a couple of times and a memory of Shepard flashes before me.

“Hey,” I call to Theo, forcing those trusting eyes back to me. “This reminds me of a time your brother and I made a fort out of cardboard boxes.”

“Oh my God, I remember that,” Holly murmurs. “It was right after Christmas, there were toys all over the living room and he was more excited about the boxes.”

I laugh at that, smacking the glove back to Theo.

“I’m surprised you let us keep that fort up,” I say.

Her forehead creases as her brows pinch together.

“Why wouldn’t I? He loved it,” she whispers. “If I recall correctly, so did you.”

Yeah, I did. I loved playing with the kids when they were little. Regretfully I didn’t get to do it all that much.

“I want to make a fort too!”

I bring my eyes back to Theo and wink at him.

“We’ll make one after we take you home and you and your mom get some rest,” I promise, my gaze flitting to Holly. “You got any boxes or should I pick some up from the clubhouse?”

She doesn’t respond right away and after a moment, she worries her lower lip between her teeth. A sigh escapes me as I lean forward, propping my elbows on my knees. I search her eyes.

There’s work to be done.

Things that need to be discussed.

Like Tara’s concern and Colt’s accusations.

The perilous fire burning between us can’t be ignored anymore. An old wound has been ripped open and fixing it with a band-aid, pretending like it’s gonna magically heal itself ain’t working no more. If I’ve learned anything in the last twenty-four hours, it’s that the only people we seem to be fooling is each other.

I don’t know if I’m successful in silently communicating those thoughts to her, but she suddenly releases her lip.

“I’ve probably got a couple of boxes in the garage,” she replies, her tone soft.

Hell, everything about her is soft, from the look in her eyes to the faint smile on her lips. I miss that, I miss that so fucking much.

My phone rings inside my pocket, pulling me out of my trance. I hand the glove back to Theo before standing and reaching into my kutte to retrieve the device. I glance down at the screen, spying King’s name and lift my gaze back to Holly.

“I have to take this.”

Pressing her lips to Theo’s forehead she gives me a slight nod.

“I’ll be back, buddy, hang tight to that glove.”

I might give myself a heart attack if I blow another one up.

I clear my throat and swipe my thumb across the screen, accepting the call. Fully aware of the bustling hallway and the crowded nurse’s station, I step out of the room and turn the corner. I’m about to rip him a new asshole when he starts to speak.

“We got him.”

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