Page 10 of Mine to Keep

“I was injured on the job.” He rubbed his shoulder. “I’ve been in physical therapy for the last two weeks, though I’ve finally been cleared to go back to work next week.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

“It wasn’t anything. Just dislocated this sucker.” He held her cell in his hands. “So, care to unlock this for me so I can give you my contact information and I can get yours?”

“For all I know, you could be a firefighter by day and a serial killer by night.”

He laughed. “I’ll just give you my phone number, and you can ask the nurses and doctors about me.” He waved her cell under her nose.

Quickly, she unlocked it and handed it back. “Fair enough.”

Zadie let out a killer scream.

“I’d better leave you two ladies alone. I’ll make sure you get a phone charger before the end of the day. You’ve got my number. Call me if there’s anything else you need. I really don’t mind.” He curled his fingers around her forearm and squeezed. “Take care of yourself, Bryn.”

“Thanks for everything. I’ll never be able to—”

“That cry is repayment enough.” He smiled before turning on his heels and disappearing out into the hallway.

Bryn reached into the bassinet and lifted her daughter into her arms. “I want to believe that’s the kind of man you should find when you grow up, but your father destroyed my faith in all men.”

Jamison satin his father’s backyard and rubbed his sore shoulder. He’d gone right from the hospital to physical therapy, where a girl who didn’t look as if she were older than twenty tortured him for over an hour. She’d at least given him the thumbs-up to go back to work.

That was all he cared about.

That and making sure Bryn and Zadie came home to a nice, clean house and had everything they needed. Bryn’s story broke his heart, and it gave him something else to focus on other than his problems—which, right now, seemed like nothing compared to what had happened to Bryn. She was a brave woman to move to a new town and start her life over from scratch, alone.

“What has you so deep in thought?” Seth asked. He handed Jamison a fresh beer before settling into the chair across the table. Seth was Jamison’s eldest brother and a lawyer—a profession he shared with their father. He was married to Farrah, and they had three beautiful children. Jeremy and Kyle were twelve and nine. And Ally was five. The boys were currently out on a fishing boat with friends and their parents, while Ally was with her grandmother, giving her parents a night alone.

Jamison regretted that his niece and nephews weren’t present, but he understood that tonight was about Lanie, and he wanted to get to know the woman who had his father’s heart. If the youngsters were around, all his attention would be focused on them, not his dad and Lanie.

Though he didn’t want to spend much alone time with any of his brothers. He wasn’t ready to open himself and let them in just yet.

“I was thinking about Bryn and her baby,” Jamison said truthfully. He could carry on a conversation, as long as he kept it about anything but their mother and Steve.

“You made the evening news,” Seth said. “Though there wasn’t much about Bryn, nor were there any pictures of her and the baby.”

“She didn’t want to be interviewed, and she didn’t want to have her image or her baby’s plastered all over the place. I can’t blame her. That’s not how I’d want the first few photographs of my child shared.” Not that he would ever have any. He tapped the center of his chest. His life hadn’t quite turned out as he’d planned; however, that didn’t mean he couldn’t find happiness.

“You have a valid point.” Seth tilted his beer, raising it in the air as if toasting. His brothers all seemed to be backing off a little and respecting Jamison’s wishes.

That was progress, and Jamison had to give them credit for trying. In return, he could honor the promise he’d made to his dad and do the same.

“I certainly would have wanted some privacy for my wife if that had been any of my kids. However, Bryn’s family has to be grateful for what you did.” Seth had been the first to ask Jamison to accept Steve into his life. To forgive their parents for their actions and let it all go. Seth had told Jamison that it wasn’t worth being upset over.

That had hurt Jamison’s heart and soul. He’d hoped that at least one of his brothers would understand his need to take a step back and process how it’d changed the way Jamison felt about himself and his identity.

But, instead, Seth and the rest of his family only wanted to put the past in a bubble and move forward.

It wasn’t that simple.

“It’s not that big of a deal, and we don’t need to keep talking about it.” Jamison wasn’t about to tell anyone Bryn’s business. It wasn’t his story to tell. Besides, he did what anyone in his family would have done if they had been driving by—including Seth. He might not be a cop or a firefighter, but he would have done whatever he could to help Bryn and her daughter.

Not because he had to but because he was human, and it was the right thing to do.

“I know you’re being all humble and shit, but, seriously, what you did was nothing short of a miracle,” Seth said.

“No. It wasn’t. And this conversation stops here.” Jamison hadn’t meant for his tone to come out so harsh. It was hard to be with Seth and not remember the last time they’d been in the same space.

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