Page 184 of Broken
“That’s so sad,” Leslie said. “Poor little boy. Where’s his dad?”
“Also gone,” Prescott replied.
“Gone where?” Leslie asked.
“Gone, as in deceased,” Prescott ground out.
“So, are you putting him in foster care, or what?” Artemis asked.
He glanced over at Jack. She and Ethan were examining a toddler bed.
“No, Ethan’s living with me.” Then, he shifted his gaze from his uncle to Leslie. “How’s the marketing project coming along?”
“I finished it and gave it back to Artemis,” Leslie proclaimed.
Prescott fought the urge to laugh. Rebranding a product line took months. Focus groups were brought in. Products were trialed in different-sized markets before rolling the brand out to the entire country. It wasnotsomething that could be completed in a month.
Prescott slid his gaze to his uncle, whose tanned cheeks had turned a bright orange.
What the hell are you up to?
He didn’t have another second to waste on this shit show. “I’m taking off.”
“Greatseeing you,” Leslie said.
Prescott regarded his uncle, before heading toward the children’s section.
I’ll deal with him later.
He scooped Ethan into his arms and soared him around like an airplane. Ethan started giggling.
“Look at you, Ethan,” Jack said. “That looks so fun.”
When Prescott set Ethan down, he showed Prescott the furniture Nana and Papa purchased for him. Jack caressed Prescott’s back while they examined the other bedroom sets. Her soothing touch helped calm his mounting agitation.
“Ethan, what do you think of this one?” Jack eased down on a different toddler bed.
Ethan climbed on beside her.
“This is good, don’t you think?” she asked.
“Uh-huh,” he replied. “It’s good!”
“Let’s go pay for it, bud,” Prescott said.
They stopped at a nearby sales desk to place their order. While Prescott was paying, Ethan asked how they were going to fit everything into the truck. Jacqueline explained that the furniture had to stay there, and that he was getting a brand-new bedroom set delivered to the house.
Ethan started crying. “I want to sleep in my new big-boy bed,” he choked out between sobs.
“What about a slumber party in the family room tonight? We can play games and color, have a snack and watch a fun movie.”
He stopped crying. “Loki too?”
She wiped his tears away. “Absolutely.”
The sales associate said, “You’re such a good mom. So patient.”
To his surprise, Jack beamed. “Thank you.”
