Page 20 of To Have and To Hold
Reese laughed, rolling away so he could head for the shower. “I’ll think about it.”
“While you think, I’ll start coffee.”
Reese didn’t waste time. He brushed his teeth, shaved, and showered in the time it took for the coffee to brew. When he walked into the kitchen, he found Tesha chowing down on breakfast, her hair damp. Evidently, she’d gone outside, and based on the towel on the counter, Brantley had dried her off.
A moment later, Brantley strolled into the kitchen. He was clad in only a pair of black boxer briefs—which were sexy as fuck on his impressively built body—drying his head with a towel.
“I figured I’d get the shower outta the way. No way I’m runnin’ in that.”
“Sit,” Reese told him. “I’ll get the coffee. You want an omelet?”
“Provided it’s full of ham and bacon and nothing colorful, sure.”
“Or you want pancakes?”
Brantley’s eyes lit up like a teenager who had just been offered a brand-new car.
“Pancakes it is,” he told him.
Reese poured their coffee, and when he turned to pass Brantley’s to him, he noticed he was looking at his phone, his forehead creased.
“What’s wrong?”
Brantley looked up as though he hadn’t realized Reese was there. “What?”
Reese nodded his chin at the phone. “Somethin’ wrong?”
“No.” Brantley pushed his phone away and took the mug from Reese. “Bryn messaged me again last night. She’s really worried about Travis.”
This was a rabbit hole Reese knew they shouldn’t go down, but he feared if they tried to shove it aside, even for the time being, it was only going to plague Brantley until he was too distracted to do anything else.
Speaking of distraction… Reese’s cell phone buzzed with a text message. He picked up his phone to see it was from Atticus.
He couldn’t help himself. He smiled.
“Who’s that?” Brantley asked, sipping coffee.
“Atticus.”
“Should I be worried that he’s put a smile on your face?”
Reese laughed, tapping out a quick response, ensuring Atticus knew to come to HQ first thing. “No. He’s on his way back. Should be here shortly.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t miss that kid.”
A smile played on Brantley’s lips. “Maybe a little.”
“Z says he’s a natural.”
“I can see that.”
Reese set down his phone and picked up his coffee. “Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll take the day to get our workload in order, bring Atticus back into the fold, and get him settled. We agreed not to take any new cases next week, so we’ve got some extra time. You can call Travis. Check in with him. If you’re still concerned after talking to him, we’ll visit him on Monday when we’re back. Okay?”
Brantley nodded, that far-away look returning in his eyes. “Yeah.”
“But first breakfast.”
