Page 42 of The Finding Series: Vol. 1

“Jax,” he began.

“Safety’s off so keep it pointed at the ground unless you hear or see anything. I’ll call out when I’m coming back in.”

“Jax, I’m sure it’s nothing-”

“You really want to take that chance after what went down today?”

Dane paled and shook his head as his fingers finally tightened on the butt of the gun.

“Keys are in the car. Things go bad, you get Emma out of here, you hear?”

Dane nodded and Jax gave him a reassuring squeeze before leaving the kitchen and beginning his sweep of the house.

ChapterTwo

Dane retreated until his back hit the counter, his eyes on the doorway that Jax had disappeared through nearly two minutes ago. The gun felt foreign in his hand and he kept his finger away from the trigger, afraid that his jittering would accidentally cause the gun to go off. Between the events of the day and the fear that was burning through him at the possibility that someone had been in his house, he was at the end of his rope. He clutched Emma closer to him and was glad when she stayed quiet and kept sucking on her bottle.

“Coming in,” he heard Jax call just before he entered the kitchen. Dane tried to push away the relief that flooded through him at the sight of the other man. He tried to convince himself it was because Jax returning meant there was no one else in the house, but that thought flew out the window when Jax removed the gun from his shaky hand, his brief touch singeing Dane’s fingers. God, he absolutely could not be attracted to this man. He was blunt, cocky and dangerous and the exact opposite of what Dane was looking for. Not that he was actually looking for anything at this point in his life. He wasn’t even sure if the man was gay.

“It’s all clear, but I want you to walk through the house with me and tell me if anything looks out of place or disturbed in any way.”

Dane nodded numbly as he followed Jax out of the kitchen. They went room by room but Dane didn’t see anything unusual. By the time they reached his bedroom, Emma had finished her bottle and was out cold in his arms which were turning numb from the combination of stress and fatigue.

“Anything?” Jax asked.

Dane shook his head as he sank down on the bed. “I probably just misplaced the bill. Maybe it fell between the desk and the wall or something,” he said tiredly. He felt the bed sag as Jax sat next to him.

“You look dead on your feet, Doc,” the other man said. “Why don’t you let me take her for a bit?”

Dane shook his head. Letting go of his child was the last thing he wanted to do and having her out of his sight was out of the question.

“She can’t sleep in the bed with you, right?” Jax said gently.

There was no way in hell Dane was going to try and explain how messed up he was right now so he kept his mouth shut. He was glad when Jax got off the bed and disappeared from the room. But then there was some commotion outside of the door and he was surprised to see Jax dragging Emma’s crib into the room. So the guy was more observant than Dane had thought.

Jax put the crib right up next to Dane’s bed but made no move to take Emma from him. “Whenever you’re ready, Doc. I’ll lock up,” he said as he turned to go.

“Isaac used to call me that,” Dane heard himself saying, though he had no clue why. To his horror, he felt tears sting his eyes. A few escaped as he closed his eyes and tightened his hold on his daughter. “It was the last thing he said as he lay dying in my arms. Love you, Doc.”

Fingers brushed through his hair and then a big palm settled on his damp cheek. “Get some rest, Dane.”

And then his bedroom door was closing and Dane let the tears fall.

* * *

“Okay baby girl, new day, better day,” Dane said as he finished dressing Emma. A goofy smile spread across her tiny lips and he leaned down to blow a raspberry against her neck like she liked. She grabbed at his face and he gave her a couple more before pulling her up into his arms and heading out of her room. As exhausted as he was, mornings like this would always be his favorite. And after the hellish day yesterday, he would have even welcomed dealing with an irritable baby.

He made faces at Emma as he made his way to the kitchen and prepared a bottle. Emma bounced excitedly in his arms and let out a little gurgle as she opened to take in the nipple. Dane used his free hand to search out a coffee mug, then said a mental thank you when he saw the coffee pot already full. Not only had Jax managed to read him like a book last night during his emotional breakdown, the man had been thoughtful enough to get the coffee ready before he took off.

Dane dropped into a kitchen chair and sipped at the coffee. God, he’d actually cried in front of the other man. Dane shook his head. All the shit he’d been through since Isaac’s death and he had to choose last night to get weepy and pathetic. It was just another reason to be grateful that the confounding man had left. Feeling that strong, comforting hand on his skin last night had been too tempting.

Dane closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair as Emma’s sucking started to slow. The pounding in his head kept growing and he got up to search out the aspirin in the kitchen cabinet. It was then that he realized that the pounding wasn’t in his head at all. It was coming from outside and his gut seized instantly at the realization of who the culprit likely was.

He quickly removed the bottle from between Emma’s lax lips and settled her in her car seat. She was completely out cold by the time he had her out the door and not even the sound of a sledgehammer striking wood over and over jarred her from her sleep. Dane trotted down the stairs and came to stop when his suspicions were confirmed. Jaxon Reid was in the process of tearing down the rest of his barn. And if that wasn’t enough, he was doing it shirtless.

Dane’s mouth went dry at the same time that his cock stood to attention. Jax was turned away from him so Dane got a nice, long look at the numerous arcs and waves tattooed in some mysterious pattern over Jax’s upper left arm, across his shoulder blade and halfway down his back. Sweat glistened over a ripped body that would put most men – himself included – to shame and tight jeans clung lovingly to a perfect ass. Dane could actually picture the muscles in each globe clenching as Jax thrust into him over and over. He chose to ignore the sight of the gun protruding from the waistband of the man’s pants.

“Hey!” Dane yelled as loudly as he dared as he hurried across the driveway to the growing pile of rubble. Jax heard him and turned, the sledgehammer dangling in his hand and Dane had to force himself to keep moving at the sight of the wide chest and six pack abs that greeted him.

---