Page 121 of Rescued by the Single Dad

A second later, the front door opened, and his gaze met hers instantly. Her nauseating terror mirrored what she saw on his face. And because he always seemed to know exactly what she needed, he held out his arms. Her limbs thawed enough that she was able to bound down the steps and fling herself into him.

“It’s okay,” he said as he shushed her, running his hand over the back of her head. “I’m going to go talk to them.”

No tears fell from her eyes. She was still in too much shock.

Shock that manifested into involuntary trembling the more what just happened sunk in.

Still quivering, she loosened her hold on Clint, and he did the same with her. She wasn’t ready to let go completely. His touch grounded her, but she pivoted to face Rocco.

He was on his phone, his face ashen as his fingers flew across the screen.

“They’ve already posted about it, haven’t they?” Clint asked.

Rocco nodded. “I just had to search for a hashtag about Brooke being alive, and it all popped up.”

“Fuck,” Clint murmured. “What was that? Like ten seconds?”

“God damn Gen Z, man. They’re fast on their phones, and some of them are stupid.” Rocco growled as his eyes remained focused on the phone screen and his finger scrolled.

The kids had all entered the living room at some point between when Rocco opened the door and Clint arrived. Six confused faces stared up at Brooke.

“Are those people telling other people that Brooke is alive?” Talia asked.

“Yes,” Brooke croaked, her throat tight. “Yes, sweetie, they are.”

Talia’s entire demeanor shrunk. All the kids seemed to deflate. They’d been such troopers keeping the secret, and now someone else had gone and ruined everything.

“I’m so sorry,” Rocco said, “I—”

“It’s not your fault.” Brooke reached for her brother’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t blame you.”

Clint pressed a kiss to the side of her head and pulled her tighter into his body. “I’m going to go explain things to them down there and check on their gas.”

“Explaining things isn’t going to change anything,” Brooke said. “The whole world knows now. Or it will by morning. You know how viral things can get in a matter of hours.”

They all nodded. News of her “death” had spread like wildfire. So news of her “no longer being dead” would run rampant, like an airborne disease.

Clint and Rocco exchanged looks, then Rocco took over comforting Brooke while Clint headed back out the door.

“Now what?” Talia asked.

Rocco led Brooke over to the couch, and she sat down. The kids flocked to her, forcing Rocco to take a seat on the adjacent love seat, an amused smile threatening his lips. Talia sat on one side of Brooke, Emme on the other, while Silas, Jake and Griffin sat on the floor at her feet and Aya just climbed into her lap. She was draped in children, and it was exactly what she needed.

They steadied her breathing better than any deep pressure or hug ever could. They made her smile despite the chaos whipping into a froth inside her. They were all the goodness in the world, reminding her that things could be so much worse. She could have really died in the sound and never gotten the opportunity to meet these wonderful little people. Never gotten the opportunity to meet Clint.

“It’ll be okay,” Talia said, rubbing Brooke’s back like Brooke had for her just a couple of days ago. “My dad won’t let anything happen to you.”

“None of our dads will,” Silas echoed.

The rest of the kids nodded in agreement.

“You’re safe here,” Emme reiterated. “Our dads used to fight in wars. They can handle this.”

Aya cupped Brooke’s cheek, so she was forced to look directly into the little girl’s eyes. “You can hide under my bed from the bad guys if you need to. I won’t tell them you’re there.”

That brought forth a sting of tears, and Brooke looped her arms around Emme and Talia, pulling them in closer, while Aya snuggled in, resting her cheek against Brooke’s chest.

Brooke snagged Rocco’s eyes, and his smile was small but sweet.

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