Page 16 of Bearly Taken

I jerked my head toward him, eyebrows lifting. “Youwhat?”

“I asked them about you. I know you were puking daily through your pregnancy. That you opened the bookstore all of the women in town are obsessed with—and I’m proud of you for that, by theway. It fucking kills me that I wasn’t here to help you, but I’m here now. Just give me a chance.”

I followed him into the house, breathing in deeply and barely suppressing a groan. “You made pot roast?”

“Your favorite,” he agreed, flashing me a grin. “I didn’t need to ask anyone to know that. But I also heard that you don’t have time for cooking these days, and refuse to ask your mom and mine for any more help than they’re already giving.”

“I hate this town,” I said, walking to the kitchen quickly.

He laughed, carrying Parker’s car seat to the kitchen and setting it on the floor. The little guy was babbling and fighting against the restraints—I could hear him from where I was already pulling the lid off the crockpot.

“I can get Parker out while you eat, if you’re okay with it,” Reed said.

He would push my personal boundaries as much as he could without crossing a line, but he respected them when it came to my son. And I appreciated that, tremendously.

“Yep. Just put him down when you do—he’ll want to explore. Make sure you follow him closely. He doesn’t put everything in his mouth anymore, but sometimes the curiosity is too strong.”

I dished up a plate for myself and headed over to Parker’s high chair, cutting everything into little chunks and leaving it there to cool. It would be cold by the time he finally gave up on checking on the house, but he wouldn’t care.

Sitting down at the table, I watched as Reed sat on the floor next to Parker, who was babbling about his car and his ball. He’dfound his toy bins on a shelf that used to hold books, beneath Reed’s TV.

My throat swelled as I watched them interact.

Parker babbled, not even slightly grumpy, despite my expectations.

Reed figured out he was sayingballandcar, mashed up intoballcar. He asked Parker questions about the car and ball before they ended up playing a game of catch. Parker couldn’t catch at all—and kept his favorite car in his hand when he tried—but the little guy laughed and laughed as they threw the ball back and forth.

And the grin on Reed’s face?

It was devastating.

So ridiculously gorgeous.

It really wasn’t fair how pretty he was. How was I supposed to stop myself from being attracted to him when I watched him play catch with our toddler like that?

I didn’t even think it was possible.

Their game finally wound down twenty minutes later, and I told Parker it was time to eat. He took Reed’s hand insistently, and tugged him into the kitchen with him.

Adorable.

Freakin’ adorable.

I buckled Parker into his high chair, and he immediately started shoving the food into his mouth. The little guy was always hungry.

Watching him devour food always made me want another kid. As difficult as he was sometimes, and as awful as the pregnancy was, I would be willing to suffer for another baby. My son would love to have a little brother, and I’d have a blast watching them play together.

It wasn’t in the cards for me, of course.

Not if I had to do everything alone.

But with Reed there…

Well, if he stayed long enough, maybe I could think about bringing it up.

Reed couldn’t hide the grin on his face or the emotion in his eyes as he watched Parker eat.

“I should’ve been here,” he said.

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