Page 127 of Broken
He leaned over, kissed her. “I’m good with my hands.”
She bit back a smile. “You’re okay, but you can practice on me if you want to get better.”
As she returned her attention to Ethan and Loki, she pressed her hand on his thigh. That one act said it all. She had this incredible power to lift him from the depths of hell with her touch.
Ethan shrieked, “No!”
The tot was running around the yard, Loki was chasing him and nipping at his hand.
Pushing out of the chair, Jack yelled, “Loki, no! Ethan, stop running.”
In seconds, she was by Ethan’s side, pulling him in for a hug. When Loki crashed into her, she lost her balance and fell on her butt.
Her laughter was a godsend. Ethan calmed down.
With one arm around Ethan, she stroked Loki, who was panting so hard, his entire body shook. “Easy, Loki,” she said before turning to Ethan. “Are you okay?”
“I was scared.”
She smiled. “Did he bite you?”
Ethan showed her his fingers. “Uh-huh.”
Prescott joined them while Jack examined his small hand, then she kissed his finger. “No blood. Does it hurt?”
“I’m okay.”
“He likes playing with you, but I have to teach him not to bite. I’m sorry I didn’t do a good job making sure Loki didn’t hurt you.”
“He’s a baby, so we have to teach him!”
She smiled at him. “You’re right, Ethan. Do you want to help me bring in his water bowl?”
With Loki in her arms, they walked around to the front, stopping at the SUV. This was Prescott’s chance to transition her from Z’s condo to his house, so he collected everything.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Saving myself another trip.”
Though she hitched a brow, she didn’t object.
Nice and easy.
Into the house, they went. He put the doggie bed in the corner of the family room and set the bags on the kitchen table.
“We’ll put his water bowl in the laundry room.” He led her down the hall and into his combined mudroom-laundry room.
“This is larger than my kitchen,” she said as he filled the water bowl and placed it on the floor.
She set Loki down and he started lapping up the water.
Ethan stood too close to Loki, so she gently moved him away. Back in the kitchen, she pulled out a toy from one of the bags.
“I should have bought a gate.” She offered Loki a toy, then she ran a gentle hand over Ethan’s head. “Ethan, if you take Loki’s toy, he might bite you, so we have to teach him about sharing too.”
“Okay,” Ethan said before he followed Loki into the family room.
She turned to Prescott. “This is too much.”
