Page 44 of Painting Together a Family
“I bet she could kick a lot of butt.” She was a pint-sized karate champ. “Where do you think the boys and I should sleep? We’re going to be here for a little while.” He had no clue how long, really. It would depend on what happened with Grant and his charges.
“We have two guest rooms, and they have a connecting door. This is a big, big place. So I’m going to put you in there. It’s clean and nice, and there’s a bathroom.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful. Thank you so much.” He grabbed the duffel bags and Marley grabbed the boys’ backpacks, leading the way to the two connecting rooms at the end of the hallway. The rooms were a nice size and both boasted king-sized beds, which meant he could easily put both boys in the same bed. “This is awesome.” Hell, the two rooms with the ensuite were almost as big as his entire place.
“Good deal. I’m so glad it works.” Marley teared up, wringing her hands.
“Hey, hey.” He put down the duffels in favor of tugging her close and holding her. “It’s okay. I’m here now and your daddy is going to be home soon.” She didn’t need to keep being strong.
“I’m so glad you’re safe. Now we need Daddy home.” She began to cry, gasping when the house phone rang.
“I’ve got it, honey.” He went out to the hall and grabbed it. “Hello?”
“Hey. Can you open the door? I don’t have my keys or my phone or my wallet. The hospital got me a cab, but…”
“Dev! Good to hear your voice! Hey, Marley—your dad is home. He needs to be let in,” he called out.
“Okay. Tell him to come on.” She headed for the door.
“Your girl is getting the door for you. She is so glad you’re home. Me, too. Come on in.” He hung up and headed after Marley, eager to give Dev a hand.
Marley threw open the door in time for them to see Dev handing the security guy his phone back. “Thank you.”
The security guy nodded. “Anything you need, sir, just say the word.” Yeah, Bryan bet they had some serious sucking up to do after letting Grant in like that.
Dev had a bright blue cast, and he looked exhausted.
“Jesus. Let’s get you sitting. Or do you want to go straight to bed?” he asked as he slipped under Dev’s good arm, helping to keep him upright.
“I’m starving. Is there any food?”
Bryan glanced at Marley, who nodded.
“There were leftovers.”
“Can you put a few into the microwave for your dad and me?” Because now that food had been mentioned, his stomach was reminding him that he’d only had a single taco, and that had been hours ago.
Marley took off for the kitchen, and he led Dev to the living room where Juni and the boys were still dozing in front of the TV.
“Oh, sweet babies. Look at them.” Dev sat hard in the big La-Z-Boy next to the couches.
Bryan grabbed a cushion and carefully tucked it on the arm of the chair, under Dev’s bad hand.
“Yeah. I only got home a bit ago. Marley was showing me the guest suite—it’ll be perfect for us. Thanks again for letting us stay.” He was so relieved, knowing that Grant couldn’t get up here again. His home was way easier to invade.
“Thank you for coming up. There’s room, and the boys should have tons of space.”
“Yeah. I’ll carry ’em to bed in a bit. I’ll just make sure you get fed and comfortable first. Did they give you pain meds?” He could hear Marley working the microwave in the kitchen, so he knew food wouldn’t be much longer.
“They did, but they want me to stay awake until midnight. Then I can take them.”
He checked his watch—a bit over an hour. They could do this. “Okay. Midnight it is. I’ll help you stay up, get all the kids into bed. All that stuff.”
Marley came in holding two plates with tacos on them. She’d even put the sauces on the side for them to dip into it.
“You rock,” Bryan told her. “Thank you so much.”
“Great job, sweetheart. You were so brave.” Dev looked like he was trying not to cry, and Bryan knew how he felt. They were all a little fragile right now, emotionally if not physically.
