Page 23 of Defended By Bam
He walked over to the table and started pulling things from the bags. “Want a beer?” he asked.
“Sure, but why don’t you let me put these away?”
“You’re a guest.” He opened the top of the bottle and handed it to me. “Here, you can put these in the bathroom.”
He pushed a bag across the table. I opened it and giggled. “You have good taste in hygiene products.” There was shampoo, conditioner, razors, shave gel, body wash, and plain bar soap.
“I called my sister. I didn’t ask you before I left what you liked, so she helped me grab a few things. There was another bag for Sadie,” he said, looking through the bags. “Here ya go. She said kids may not like adult hair stuff. Burns their eyes.”
I looked in that bag and there was children’s shampoo, spray detangler, and children’s body wash. There was even kid’s toothpaste.
“This is for us? I have a little cash I’d been saving so I can pay you back.”
He grabbed two more bags and pushed them toward me. “These are gifts. Do you like steak? I got some chicken tenders in case she doesn’t, but figured I’d grill later.”
The bags were stuffed with clothes for both of us. “Holy shit. I can’t believe you did all this.”
My body wanted to rush to him and squeeze him tightly, but my brain instructed my feet to stay put.
“Can I get up now?” Sadie called from the couch.
“Yes, sweet girl. Come see what Bama did.”
Sadie ran over, and her eyes lit up as I pulled different items from the bags. “These are for me? I love them!” Her brain didn’t stop her from running to him and hugging his leg.
He smiled, patting the top of her head. “I’m glad. Oh, I forgot just a couple of things in the truck.”
He put his beer down and walked outside. I found the bags with food and took them to the kitchen, putting cold things in the fridge. I hadn’t even moved on to the third bag when I heard a squeal from Sadie.
I left the bag on the counter and poked my head around. She held up sneakers and banged them together. “Look, Mommy! They light up!”
“Oh my. How cool.”
“And this!” she shouted as she picked up a stuffed bunny.
“I got you sneakers and flip flops. She has flip flops, too, but they’re not as cool as those I guess,” he said.
Biting the side of my lip that wasn’t busted, I held my breath before I finally asked, “Why did you do all this?”
He shrugged. “You needed help. I can help. Plus, no kid deserves to have just a couple outfits. I see you started putting the rest away.” He grabbed his beer. “I’m gonna get to work on this bed so I still have some light to grill.”
He walked away and I stared down at Sadie, playing with her bunny and sitting in a pile of new clothes.
“Hey, sweet girl,” I said, crouching down to talk to her. “I’m gonna go see if he needs help. You stay in here and watch TV, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy. He’s so nice.”
I stood up and looked down the hall. “Yeah. He is.”
Chapter 13
Bama
Two hours and some laughter later, the day bed was finally together. “Shit. I think they had AI make these instructions because they made no fucking sense.”
Brooklyn laughed. “I’m impressed you even tried to look at them. Most men just toss them away then rant when nothing makes sense.”
I stretched my back. “Well, if we’re talking motors or something I don’t need instructions. But I’ve never put a bed with hearts on it together and didn’t want to sleep on the couch again.” I may have gone overboard, but Brooklyn assured me Sadie would love it after she got over her laughing fit.
