Page 114 of Push

He took a deep breath but didn’t look up. “I should’ve done something sooner.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

Later that night, when the bedroom was dark and my legs were tangled in the sheets, Toby whispered a silly new chapter in his never-ending bedtime story,The Adventures of Gwen. The murmur of his deep voice dulled the whirring in my brain. And when my eyes closed, the familiar nuzzle of his nose into my temple was almost too good to be true.

“I wish you’d love me again,” he whispered as if he truly was making a wish. “Like you used to. Before we had to grow up.”

Toby had impossible dreams.

That night, I had none. No nightmares. No tossing and turning or needing the white noise of my phone to fall back asleep after I’d woken up for the hundredth time. I slept all night.

I only lifted one eye when a tiny hand patted my cheek. I blinked. A sliver of sunlight and a gummy smile beamed into my blurry eyes. Noah squealed and patted my cheek again.

I wrinkled my nose. “His hands smell like bananas.”

“He ate one for first breakfast.” Toby flopped on the bed beside us. “I let you sleep in as long as I could. NoBo was turning feral. He wanted his mama.” He tickled Noah’s side until a shriek of laughter rang out. “He’s looking good. No fever. No more drippy nose.”

I fluffed my pillows and scooted against the headboard, ready for the chubby baby to tug his way up my T-shirt. “So, Noah can go to daycare?” I smacked a kiss on his cheek. “Today’s the day?”

“Yep. Today’stheday. The laundry’s on. The dishwasher’s on. Your car’s packed and ready to go. All we have to do is shower, get you all dolled up for work, and skedaddle.”

My jaw dropped.

Toby’s smile turned shy. “Sorry. I feel…” He shrugged, and his gaze fell to the spot where his finger traced the stitching on the edge of the pillowcase. “Last night was…” He searched for the right word. “Good. No. More than good. Amazeballs.”

I laughed.Classic Toby. “It was,” I agreed.

He beamed.

All morning, he had a new bounce in his step, and he barely stopped talking long enough to take a breath on the drive across town to Noah’s daycare. He chatted about catching up with Zach, meeting with the lawyer about the clinic, and his plans to reorganize the garage with a complicated shelving system that would keep him busy for a millennium.

“We’ll be able to store enough laundry detergent for ten families in there!” he proudly declared.

Words finally failed Toby when he hesitated at the doors of the North Shore Police Command. I didn’t stop. I caught his hand as I headed inside, and he stumbled through the door, two steps behind me, his eyes wide as they took in every detail of the busy police station.

“Gwen!”

Wayne sauntered over. His blond hair was shorn closer to his scalp than the last time I’d seen him. A fading sunburn across his nose darkened from the smile stretching wider across his face as he closed the distance between us.

“Wayne,” I said. “Good to see you.” I stuck out my hand.

“What’s that? A handshake?” He laughed. “Nah.” He wrapped me in a polite hug and stepped back. “Just couldn’t stay away, huh?”

“Something like that.” I pointed to Toby. He barely paid attention. He was too busy gawking in awe at everything. “Wayne, this is my—”

“Yeah, I know who he is.” The detective folded his arms. No hugs or handshakes for Toby. “Hard to forget the incident that blew up on the internet. What brings you down here?”

“We—Toby—” I bit my lip. I’d never been nervous in a police station in my life. “He needs to report…something.” Evasive. Unhelpful. Why was I acting like this?

“Does he now?” Wayne cocked his head. “You sure you wouldn’t prefer me to take him on a tour of the holding cells?”

Toby didn’t get the memo. The hidden meaning that Wayne’s tour would involve conveniently forgotten keys for a night or two went right over his head. “Youhavethose?” Toby’s mouth fell open.“Here?”

A smile tugged at my lips, but I was quick to hide it. He was so adorably clueless. “He needs to make a statement,” I told Wayne.

“Alright.” Frowning, he gave Toby another once-over, but he didn’t press further. “Let’s go find an interview room.”

With Wayne marching ahead down the corridor, Toby bent his head closer to my ear.

“This is nothing like the cop shows on TV,” he whispered. “It’s kinda disappointing.”

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