Page 41 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

“If the army is something you want, then you’ll make it.” Braxton eased forward and patted the boy’s bent knee. “Don’t let your dad continue to control you. He’s not around and Zach and Sophie have worked their asses off to help you. They’ll support your decision.”

Brock gave a half shrug. “Maybe.”

The boy would learn trust, eventually. Man, weren’t they a skeptical bunch? In some form or another, each one of them, and he was lumping in Cora with this, had issues with giving any control over to someone else. In trusting another person, you were, in a sense, letting them control a portion of your heart.

Braxton would work on Brock and Cora. They both needed love, and they both had problems that he technically knew nothing about. He had a feeling about both of them, but he wanted them to open up before he said anything.

“Let me see what you have down,” Braxton stated, nodding to Brock’s paper.

Brock shoved the notebook toward Braxton. After several minutes of checking the work, Braxton knew how to approach this frustrating topic. After an hour had passed, Brock didn’t look like he was ready to give up completely.

“Understand that better now?” Braxton asked.

When Brock nodded with a half smile, Braxton knew the boy would be fine with his upcoming test.

When Braxton came to his feet and moved to the door, he turned back. “Two more things. Talk to Zach. He’s more understanding than you think and he’d be all for you joining the army if that’s what you want.”

“What’s the other thing?”

Braxton smiled. “Call me when you know your grade on that test. If you get below a ninety, you have to hang the porch swings at the new cottages.”

Brock laughed. “And if I get above a ninety?”

“Then I’ll do them. A little motivation for you to try your hardest. Those hangers are a bitch to get in sometimes.”

“Deal.”

Braxton loved the wide smile on the young boy’s face. It was only months ago that he’d been a runaway, hiding in the basement of the abandoned home and discovered during the renovations.

As Braxton headed back downstairs, he felt he’d made headway with the boy. It would be a day at a time, just like anything else worth working on. Eventually Brock would see this family was it for him. That they would have his back and support him, that they would be there for him no matter what he feared or worried about.

Braxton found himself wanting to see Cora, but he couldn’t push her any more than he had. She’d come around too. He just had to be patient, let her call the shots and stay in charge of her emotions. Pushing someone like Cora would only backfire and explode in his face.

Braxton had learned patience the hard way . . . at the hands of his biological father. He could handle whatever life threw at him. He may not like it, but there was a feeling deep in his gut that told him Cora would be worth whatever he had to face and whatever obstacle he had to battle.

* * *

“You could at least hand me the damn drill instead of sitting there looking smug.”

Braxton stood on his ladder and stared down to Brock, who had aced his algebra exam. This was one bet Braxton didn’t mind losing. He was proud of the boy and Zach and Sophie were beyond thrilled he’d brought his D-minus up to an A-minus this school year.

Brock leaned against the newly installed post and shrugged as he popped another chip into his mouth. “Don’t be a sore loser. I’m the supervisor.”

“Supervisor my ass,” Braxton muttered as he climbed down to get the drill from his tool bag. “You know, you may have to put down that bag and help lift the other end of the swing when I’m ready.”

“If nobody else stops by I will. I was sort of holding out that I’d only be lifting this bag of chips.” He crunched on another chip as crumbs rained down all over his tee. “Zach said he’d be by. He was taking Milly to get her stitches out.”

Braxton managed to get both hooks screwed into the wood above the porch, without any help from Brock. The teen continued to litter the new porch floor with crumbs, but Braxton wasn’t going to say a word. The world Brock came from had been dark and ugly. If he wanted to eat chips without a care in the world, he’d more than earned that right.

“Well, looks like you and me.” Braxton climbed down from the ladder and glanced toward the edge of the porch. “I’ll grab this other ladder and you can get one end and I’ll get the other. We’ll have this baby up in no time.”

Brock grumbled as he came to his feet and brushed the crumbs from his shirt. “There better be some hot chicks that come here.”

Setting up the other ladder by the edge of the porch, Braxton laughed. “Well, you’ll be in school and I doubt many teenagers will be coming through. But when you’re older maybe you can enjoy the scenery.”

Braxton grabbed the chain for the swing and waited until Brock had his end before he started up the ladder. “Count five links down. That should be the right height.”

Sophie’s car pulled up the drive. Braxton glanced that way, then back to Brock’s work. Once the swing was set, Braxton stared at how it was positioned.

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