Page 49 of Breached

I rubbed his back and kissed his head as he held on tight. I soaked up the moment, loving how amazing it felt. No wonder Nicole looked so happy when she held him this way. I rocked him for a moment, then I leaned down to give him to Olivia, but he protested again.

“What should I do? Maybe Mom?” she asked.

If he was that clingy, I suspected there was only one person who could help, and that person was the one person who seemed determined to pull away. “It’s okay, thanks, Olivia. I think I know who he needs.” I turned to Keith. “Sorry, man, give me ten. I’ll meet you in the SUV.”

“No problem, I get it.” He headed for the door, and I made my way into the kitchen where Nicole talked to Ivy.

“Excuse me.” I interrupted their conversation. “Sorry, but I have to go meet the supply truck in town, and Chase apparently wants to stay attached to me. Nicole, do you mind taking him?” I knew it was a lot to ask, given our current situation. Chase reached out and played with a piece of Nicole’s hair but stayed in my arms.

“I’ll be right back.” Ivy slipped away, leaving us alone.

Nicole hesitated but stroked his cheek tenderly. “I’m not sure if I should.”

“Why?”

“Paul.” She looked away, and I gently lifted her chin with my fingers.

“Hey, Chase has nothing to do with what’s going on between us. He loves you, and right now, I have no one else he’s willing to go to. Liv already tried. I get it’s a lot for me to ask,” I paused, “but could you please help me?”

She drew in a long breath and reached for him, and he perked up and dove into her arms willingly. I leaned down and kissed his head then did the same to her cheek before she had the chance to pull away. “Thank you.”

“Mouth!” I heard Chase yell, and I chuckled as I raced off.

I hurried to meet Keith at the SUV, and thoughts of Chase and his sudden affection for me put me in a happy mood. I chatted it up with Keith on our way to Zack’s all about kids. He shared some stories of his two, and we talked about how much Brandon had improved since Lexi’s death.

When Keith turned onto the street where we were to meet the truck, we both fell silent. I wondered how long the pain from that terrible day would live inside us. Most likely forever. The scorch marks in the parking lot were still there—I knew Zack had plans to repave it in the summer. Those scars in the tarmac from our fallen would be forever burned into the city of Redstone even under a new coat of asphalt. They, along with the scars we carried inside, could never be erased.

A group of runners wearing numbered bibs crossed the road while we waited to turn in. The town often hosted marathons to keep Redstone moving at an otherwise inactive time of year. The tourists were scarce as the ski hills had slowed because the snow was high and sparse, and it was still too cold for most to camp along the lakes. So some of the town residents came up with the idea to host events like marathons, bike tours, three-day hikes, and other activities.

Once the street was clear, we headed into the parking lot and backed up close to the supply truck so we could run a ladder between the two vehicles to make it easier to load up our SUV. It was our mid-month top-off for food for Shadows. Sometimes, we’d run out of something, but for the most part, we never lacked anything. God forbid we ran out of flour for Mark’s cookies. It was a working wheel that helped out everyone, including Zack, whenever he got low on something because he miscalculated how well one of his specials did.

Keith and I hopped out and shook hands with our friends and made small talk as we loaded up, knowing Mark and Cole would be on their way shortly. We had to be careful not to draw too much attention to ourselves as we loaded up. It was why we didn’t all arrive together or in larger trucks.

“Is that you, Mr. Keith?” An attractive thirty-something woman in running shorts stopped and smiled at us. I recognized her as Jenny Baker—Brandon’s math teacher—at least until Savi had pulled him out of school. She turned her smile on me. “Paul, right?”

I nodded and shifted the box in my hand. “Yes, Miss Baker, right?”

“Yes, but please call me Jenny.” She bent down slightly to catch her breath. “I’m not in a marathon, just on a run.” She smiled and took a sip from a small water bottle.

I nodded politely and urged Keith with a side glance to set his box down and speak with her. It didn’t take anyone more than half a second to see that she was interested in him.

Keith dropped his box heavily on top of mine, and I nearly lost the whole thing. I caught his glare and gave him an evil grin.

“Yes, hello, Miss Baker. Nice to see you.” Keith shook her hand awkwardly.

Anyone with eyes could see Jenny Baker was pretty—shit, just ask Brandon—he was taken with her. He might be young, but the boy wasn’t blind. Jenny resembled Jennifer Lopez right down to the youthful voice. I remembered Mark saying she was divorced, with one daughter, Olivia’s age, and she was very much single.

“Please call me Jenny,” she repeated and laughed. It was a sexy laugh, I noticed.

“I’d say call me Brandon, because that’s my first name, same as my son. Well, he’s Brandon Jr., but everyone calls me Keith.” He tripped over his words, and I shook my head with pity—the guy was so out of practice. He’d only ever had eyes for his late wife Lexi, until he met Liza. We all liked Liza too, and she was in our world, working at Camp Green, and there was something to be said for that, but this woman definitely had eyes for Keith as well. Nothing wrong with a little competition. I tucked that away for later when the guys would be around to give Keith a hard time about it.

I continued stacking the boxes, letting the two of them talk about how much she missed Brandon being in her class, and how she hoped he was doing okay after all that had happened. I could tell she wasn’t sold on the idea of him being homeschooled and away from his friends, but Keith assured her he kept in touch online.

A blur of movement made Keith and me whirl as someone quickly came up on us. “There you are, Jenny!” It was Liza. She had popped out of nowhere and was totally out of breath. “Geeze, girl, when you told me you could run, you failed to mention you could outrun a cheetah.” She laughed while she sucked in a breath and smiled at Keith. “Oh, hey, what are you guys up to?”

“Just picking up a few things,” Keith answered. “So, are you both in training?”

“Maybe. Nothing better to do this time of year.” Liza shrugged. “Although I’m second-guessing my life choices standing next to her right now. Do you even sweat?” Keith chuckled as I moved to join them.