Page 26 of Kent's Honor
“You don’t mind watching Nicky for a couple of minutes?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Of course not.”
“I won’t be long.” She shot past him like a lightning bolt, scurrying down the hallway, clutching her purse in one hand, a piece of paper flying in the other.
“Can we go play with the blocks?” Nicky kicked his feet.
“Where did you see toys?”
Nicky pointed to a room not far from the nurses’ station.
“Sounds good to me.” Kent glanced over his shoulder once, but Dixie had already disappeared down the hall. He ran hispalm down the side of his cheek, the stubble scratching his calloused skin.
He got down on the ground, sitting cross-legged as he helped Nicky stack the blocks on top of each other. “So, what have you and your mom been doing this morning?” God, he was pathetic. Resorting to grilling a toddler to find out where Dixie had been.
“Mommy did laundry because Elle got sick on everything.” Nicky glanced up with a scrunched face as if he’d eaten something sour. “And it smelled worse than poop.”
Kent chuckled. “I bet. Did you do anything else?”
“I made a picture for Elle of her and me playing in the sandbox.”
“She’ll love that.” Kent held a block between his fingers. He studied the rounded edges, contemplating his next question. It’s not like Dixie could have done anything, except maybe sit with him, but he supposed having a toddler hanging around a hospital probably wasn’t the best plan.
“Did Mommy say anything about me?” Did he really just ask a three-year-old that question?
Nicky lifted a block and pretended to fly it through the air, making engine noises. “She said a bad word.”
“Sometimes mommies do that.” Kent tried to pull his pride out of his ass, but he’d gone so far down the rabbit hole, there was no coming back. They’d barely shared two kisses and attraction doesn’t make for good companionship, a lesson he’d learned the hard way. He had a kid and a career, and she had a life to get back on track. Neither one of them had any time to even explore any kind of feelings they might have for one another. He patted Nicky on the head, giving his hair a good ruffle. The longer he stuck around, the more he’d end up hurting this little boy, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
He was going to have to ease himself out of Nicky’s life. Maybe not completely, since he’d told Jackie it was fine with himif she babysat him and his daughter, but still, there was no point in entertaining this train of thought anymore.
The smell of sweet citrus filled his nostrils right before Dixie strolled into the family waiting area.
“Thanks for watching him.” She stood with her hands on her hips.
“Not a problem.” Kent jumped to his feet. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to get going. My aunt called, and she’s coming home tomorrow, so I need to run a few errands and clean up the house.”
He tilted his head. “Why are you mad? If anyone should be mad, it’s me.”
“You’re kidding, right?” She narrowed her eyes.
“No. I’m not. It’s been a long morning, and I can’t imagine what I’ve done to deserve the cold shoulder.”
She narrowed her eyes into tiny slits. Her lips pulled tight. “You really don’t know?”
“Enlighten me.”
“I don’t have the time for this,” she said, her gaze shifting to Nicky. “Put the blocks down, buddy. It’s time to go.”
“Wait a second.” He coiled his fingers around her biceps.
She jerked her arm away.
Holding his hands to his sides, he said, “I just want to hold true to the promise I made to Nicky about fishing. I don’t want to be just another asshole who disappoints him.”
She huffed out a breath. “I appreciate that. Just let me know when it works for you, and if it’s okay with you, I’d like to come visit Elle tomorrow after Jackie lands.”
