Page 186 of Make Me Trust Again
“See? Youarehurting! You need to get some rest.” Rose glares at me in warning. “And don’t you dare say those two words again.”
“You’re beautiful when you’re angry,” I whisper tenderly, but she doesn’t seem to find it amusing; instead, she shoots me that stern mom look she has reserved for Kyle when he’s in trouble. “You can’t sweet-talk your way out of this, Chase Williams.”
“Okay,” I sigh. “I’m getting out.”
I try to slip from under Kyle, but even in his sleep, he’s not budging.
“Let me?—”
“I’ve got him.”
Giving up trying to disentangle myself from Kyle, I circle my good arm around him, pulling him into my side as I turn us around. Kyle’s head is nestled in the crook of my neck, his warm breath tickling my skin.
“Chase, you shouldn’t carry him,” Rose chastises. “You’ve been hurting even before you were shot!”
“I’m pretty sure I still have it in me to carry a seven-year-old boy. I’ll be fine.”
The muscle in her cheek twitches at my words, making me chuckle as I push upright. I bite back the groan as pain courses through me and rearrange my hold on Kyle, so I don’t drop him before I take a step forward, Shadow jumping out and following next to me.
“Go open the door,” I grit out.
Thankfully, Rose doesn’t fight me any further, but I’m pretty sure I hear her mutter something about stubborn, infuriating men. By the time I make it into the cottage, she has a small light turned on and is holding back an excited Teddy.
I move past them and toward Kyle’s room. Rose walks in front of me, pulling back the covers so that I can put him into his bed, just barely. Sitting next to him, I gently brush his hair away as I try to catch my breath, while Rose pulls off his shoes, but gives up on the rest, pulling the comforter over him instead.
He shifts slightly, his eyes blinking open, blurry with sleep.“Chase?”
“I’m here, buddy. We’re home.”
“You came for me.”
My stomach knots at his words, his faith in me, when he’s been so close to getting hurt in the process. Because of me. If Rose and I weren’t together, none of this would have happened.
I swallow the knot in my throat, my voice coming out raspy, “I’ll always come for you, Kyle.”
“I know. I knew you’d find me and protect me.”
I blink, unsure if I saw it correctly, but then he does it again.
“You always protect me, Chase.”
He’s lying down, so his signing isn’t really as clear as it always is, but it’s the same sign. Forearms crossed over his chest, palms flat as he extended them toward me. Protect. Just like the sign name he gave me all those weeks ago.
“Like Levi’s dad protects him.”His soft voice snaps me out of my mind, his eyelids heavy.“I wish you were my dad.”
A smile lingers on his lips as the tiredness wins and pulls him back into slumber. Completely at peace, while my world feels like it’s been turned upside down. My heart is beating wildly inside my chest as I just stare at his sleeping face, the events from earlier tonight playing in my mind.
John holding onto Kyle. The feeling of adrenaline pumping through my veins as I was waiting for an opening. Grabbing the gun. The mix of surprise and anger shining in John’s eyes as he tried to get the gun from me. Knowing it was going to be okay because Kyle was safe. The sound of the gunshot piercingthrough the ringing in my ears. Kyle’s panicked voice as he called out ‘Dad’. I thought I imagined it. Or if I didn’t, I figured he was calling for John. His real dad.
I wish you were my dad.
Rose comes into my view; her fingers linger on the bruises that are on his arm from where John squeezed him. Finally, she leans down and kisses his forehead before turning to face me. Even in the dim light, I can see tears shimmer in her eyes.
“He called me Dad,” I whisper, still unable to wrap my head around it.
Me.
Dad.
