Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
No. I was thinking happy thoughts. The baby in that photo was the happiest thought I’d had in a very long time. I hadn’t expected to feel the joy that hit me today at the sight of him. It surprised me. As I’d watched him, it had sunk in that I loved him, and no matter what I had to do, I’d protect him. He would never feel alone or unwanted. I would love him so much that he never questioned his self-worth.
“Knock, knock,” a deep voice said.
I turned to see Than standing in the doorway. “Hey.”
“You never came to the game room,” he said to me. “Thought you might be hungry.”
“I’m good, but thank you, and thanks for bringing up all my things.”
He shrugged and walked into the room. “I was happy to. So, how’d the appointment go?”
I pointed at the frame, and he came closer, then took a seat beside me on the bed. He stared at it silently for several moments. Then, he sucked in a deep breath.
“The blue means it’s a him?” he asked, his voice a raspy whisper.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Whew. Damn,” he said, then chuckled softly. “I need a minute.” He rubbed at his face and sighed, then sniffled a little before looking back at the photo, then at me. “I know moms hate to hear this, but your kid looks like his dad.”
I laughed. “I don’t mind. I thought his dad was beautiful.”
“We could have saved the trouble of a paternity test and just had the fucking ultrasound,” he joked. “That baby has Cash written all over it. I bet Grissele was a mess when she saw this. I mean, a happy mess.”
I nodded. “She cried and laughed a lot.”
“Yeah,” he said, looking at the photo. “You showed Bane.”
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway.
“That’s why he’s been MIA. I guess I hadn’t thought of it as being real yet, and seeing him and seeing Crosby in him, that’s … intense. Bane, he’s not an emotional guy. Most assholes lack that ability, but the past two months, he’s had emotions rip him open. This picture … ” He blew out a breath. “If it shook me, I know it was a hard slam in the chest for him.” He held up his hands. “Not bad. I mean, good. It’s … it’s like he’s not completely gone. If that makes sense.”
When he talked about all Bane had been through and the pain he’d suffered, it was difficult to hate him for holding a knife at my throat and firing off a gun so close to the side of my head. He had a tortured soul, and when all the reasons were peeled back, it came down to me. Crosby would be alive if he had never met me. Bane had every right to hate me.
Than slapped his hands on the tops of his thighs. “Okay, that’s enough of that. Come downstairs and eat. Everyone is gone. They headed to Locke and Gathe’s. We’ve got pizza, hot wings, and cheesy bread left over.”
His expression was so hopeful as he stood up and held out a hand to me that I didn’t want to tell him no. I laid my hand in his, and he tugged me up.
“You can keep me company. How do you feel about horror films?”
“Um …” I replied, not sure that was good for me and my nightmares, but I did have the sleep aid that the doctor had given me. “Scary-dolls horror or psychos?” I asked him.
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Neither. Aliens.”
I thought for a minute, and that seemed unrealistic. “The old one?” I’d seen that one, and I hadn’t thought it was that scary.
“New. Alien: Romulus.”
Aliens were not going to bother me. “I think I’ll manage.”
He beamed before heading down the stairs. “Come on, little momma. Let’s go have us a movie night.”
I paused. “What did you just call me?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Little momma. It fits. Don’t be difficult.”
I laughed, and he continued down the stairs. That felt good. Laughing. I understood why this was Crosby’s best friend. He was easy to be around and impossible not to like.
I pulled back the covers on my bed, then brushed my fingers along the silky edge of my new sleep shorts. They were a pretty pale blue and felt amazing. I’d never owned a pair of actual pajamas. I had always slept in Ares’s old shirts or a tank top and a pair of panties. These felt so luxurious; I understood the reason people wanted to wear them to sleep.
There was a knock on my door, and I straightened, looking at the door, confused. Who was that? No one had been here when the movie ended, and I’d told Than good night before coming up here.
“Come in?” I said, although it sounded a little like a question.