Page 95 of The Locksmith's Promise

And my infraction was so much worse than his own.

I closed my eyes and vowed to do better. “I love you, Bax.”

With a final kiss, he pushed himself up. “Stay put. I’ll be right back.”

I could not have moved if I tried.

I blinked languidly.

Marveling at this new beginning.

After a moment, he came bounding back into the room and crawled up the bed.

I let out a curse as his cold, wet hands wrapped around my hips.

Rolling me over, he slapped me on the ass and pulled my hips up.

“Oh, my goodness,” I exclaimed with a bark of laughter. “What are you doing?”

He chuckled darkly and dropped a kiss on my pudgy butt. “Round Two.”

23

Apple Meet Tree

Baxter

Clear skies and sunshine greeted the morning of the fall festival. Rolling out of bed, I wasted no time getting ready.

Between teaching and helping her mom with her duties for the festival, I’d barely seen Maggie for the past week. On the upside, I spent lots of time with our son and got to know him on a wholly different level.

He had a wry sense of humour that he did not hesitate to express, and an open, curious outlook on life I wanted to protect at any cost.

He asked questions and made observations without a single ounce of self-preservation. It impressed the hell out of me.

The ghost of my father laughed in my ear at the thought of how easily I could mess him up with just one misstep.

And while things had been progressing well between the three of us, I desperately wanted to take us to the next level: living together as a family.

And for that, we needed a home.

I had ideas, but nothing solid. I had toyed with the idea of selling my father’s house, but it was less than worthless. I’d have to pay to have the house torn down to sell the land. And it wasn’t like there was a booming real estate market up here in Moose Lake.

The idea of renovating it and moving in was not an option; I couldn’t live in that house.

A knock at my door whipped my attention away from the past.

Jogging lightly across the room, I pulled it open to find Corwin bouncing on his toes on the other side.

My brain lit up as a wide smile bloomed across my face. “Hey, bud,” I greeted him, swinging the door wide. “What are you doing?”

Cor walked through the door like he owned the place, and it turned the cold and lonely places in my heart rosy.

He passed through the kitchen, fingers tapping out a drum solo on the countertop. “Mom said I’m driving her crazy. She sent me over here to give her some peace and quiet to get ready.”

I followed behind him with a grin, marveling at the fact he didn’t once look back to track my movements or assess my mood.

It was good, but how the actual fuck was I supposed to partner with Maggie to parent him when I didn’t have the first clue what he needed?

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