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He wanted nothing more than to put her to bed with wet hair, but if Chelle said she couldn’t, he wouldn’t do that. She’d taken good care of him, and he would do the same thing for her daughter.

“Go in the bathroom and wait for me, okay? I’m going to get the blow dryer.”

Jessie skipped to the bathroom, not realizing how close to a heart attack he was. He took a deep breath and just did it. Walked to the other side of the house, opened her door, went straight to the bathroom, ripped the cabinets opened, pulled out the black blow dryer, and then was back out. Had he even taken a breath the whole time he was in there?

There was a distinct scent when someone was dying. He smelled it often at the hospital he used to work at, but had never considered having it in his home. In Chelle’s room. It would be gone by now, but he still didn’t think he could ever breathe in there again.

It didn’t take long to dry her hair. He told her to go to the bathroom again, and waited in her pink bedroom for her to come back. Her hair flew every which way, and he didn’t even try to tie it back. He’d almost taken out an eye when he tried this morning.

When Jessie lay under the blankets, Wes sat on the edge of her bed. “Remember earlier, when we were talking with Braden at the store? You were talking about what your mom said.”

Jessie nodded.

His heart felt like someone threw it in a blender and turned it on. “I just wanted to see if you want to talk about her. We always can, you know? That’s a good way to remember her.” The speed on the blender kicked up. “It’s good to talk about her to keep her memory alive. You remember she’s not coming back, right?”

He reached out to lay a hand on Jessie’s arm, but his fucking hand was shaking.
Hold it together, man. It’s your job to hold it together for this little girl.

Jessie nodded. No words, just a nod.

“It’s okay to miss her.”

“Do you miss her?” Jessie asked.

He closed his eyes and focused on trying to slow his heartbeat. “I do.”

“Me, too.” She turned on her side, and this time he kept his hand steady as he pushed her hair away from her face.

“She loved you more than anything, kiddo.”

“You, too. Mommy said family is the most ’portant thing in the world.”

He smiled at how she said ‘important.’ “It is. You okay?”

Jessie nodded. Wes leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good night, Jess.”

He got all the way to the door before her voice stopped him. “Is Braden a stranger?”

Wes squeezed the doorknob. “No...not really.”

“He’s your friend, though. He was at Aunt Lydia’s for Mommy’s funeral.”

He let the question roll around in his head. She had enough going on in her life; he didn’t want her to be confused about Braden, too. “Yeah, yeah, he’s a friend. We have lots of friends, though. The people in your preschool class, and Noah and Cooper. You remember them?”

Jessie nodded. “I’m glad he’s our friend. I like him. I didn’t want to have to karate-chop him.”

Wes laughed, some of the tension in his chest dropping off with it. But then he thought of Braden’s last words to him. Jessie didn’t have to worry about karate-chopping him, because Wes would probably kill the man first.

Maybe that would take his kissable lips, and his rough, skilled hands out of Wes’s mind. Because as much as he didn’t want to admit it, they’d been there since the night he’d walked out on Braden.

––––––––

T
he next morning Braden kicked back in his recliner and dialed his phone. There was a second where he wondered if maybe he shouldn’t do it, but hesitation wasn’t really how he worked. What did you ever gain by holding back? He had something to say, and he damn sure planned to say it.

Wes, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t agree with him.

Braden grinned when Wes answered on the third ring. “What do you want?”

“You answered.”

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do when someone calls?”

Huh. That reply hadn’t been one he expected. “You’ve ignored my calls before.”

“Would you rather I hang up? I can do that. It’s not like I don’t have other things to do.” The tone of Wes’s voice had that edge of sexy seriousness it always did. It drove Braden wild, which he didn’t get at all. He usually didn’t go for serious.

“No, don’t hang up. You’re not going to want to miss this.” Braden flipped the button closing his recliner before heading to the kitchen. “I’m calling to apologize. I hope you realize how rare an occasion this is. In fact, I can hold on if you want to record it or dictate the conversation or something.”

Silence greeted him.

“Ah fuck. I didn’t make you pass out, did I?”

A husky chuckle came through the phone, making Braden smile. That might be the first time he’d heard Wes laugh.

“You’re crazy.”

Braden leaned against his kitchen counter and crossed his arms. “Does that mean I’m forgiven?” When Wes didn’t reply right away, he added, “I’m only apologizing for what I said at the end of the service. It’s true, but my timing was wrong. And also for the grocery store yesterday. My doctor is still trying to come up with a cure for my ‘open mouth, insert foot’ disorder.”

He listened for a minute to the sound of Wes breathing through the phone before the man finally answered. “If we’re being honest, let’s admit that you have no real reason to apologize. I do, though. Things have just been...”

Braden waited for him to continue but he didn’t. And it didn’t surprise Braden, either. He didn’t know much about Wes, but it was obvious he kept most things to himself. That had never bothered Braden about anyone before, yet even though he understood it, it still felt like that annoying itch he couldn’t scratch. What did Wes have against talking to him? “It’s cool, man. You’re going through a lot. I get it. We can be friends. I know how to only be friends, ya know.”

Wes gave another of his signature pauses. While he waited, Braden thought about telling Wes he liked the new facial hair he had at the store yesterday. Not a full goatee, but dark hair on his chin that added to his sexiness. Luckily, he found it in himself to keep quiet.

“Listen, I better go. I need to pick Jessie up from preschool in a little while, and I have some things to take care of first,” Wes finally said.

A deep breath pushed from Braden’s lungs. There was his answer, he guessed. “Alright. Have a good one.”

He pulled the phone from his ear, about to hit end, when Wes’s voice stopped him. “Thanks...thanks for calling.”

Before Braden could reply, the man hung up. Damned if Braden wasn’t smiling again. He wasn’t sure why Wes’s words made him feel so good.

A couple days later, Braden jumped into his truck and headed over to Cooper’s house. Braden had the day off and he was bored as hell. Since Noah worked today, and Coop wasn’t back to the firehouse yet, they’d decided to hang out.

His buddy answered the door quickly. “Where’s the sling?” Braden asked.

“Fuck off,” was Coop’s reply, and Braden couldn’t help but laugh.

“Bet you wear it when Noah’s around.” Noah was a good guy, and obviously crazy in love with Cooper. Braden didn’t know him too well, but he did know that if the doc still wanted Coop in that sling, Noah would make damn sure he had it on while around.

“Again, fuck off. It’s driving me batty. I’m starting rehab on my arm this week. If I can handle that, I can handle not wearing the thing for a few hours.”

Braden laughed at Coop’s surly voice as he followed him into the living room. Cooper sat in the chair and Braden the couch. “It’s driving you bat-shit crazy not being at work, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah, I miss it. I need to get my ass back out there. I’m driving Noah crazy, too.”

Braden nodded, because he got it. He always needed to keep busy. If he wasn’t working, he needed to be doing something. He played on a local soccer team, worked out a lot, and
went
out a lot, too.

As a kid his mom always used to say he spent all his time looking for the next best thing. That wasn’t really what it boiled down to, though. He just hadn’t found anything that held his attention for long. Wasn’t his fault. “I’m sure you’re not driving Noah crazy.”

Cooper cocked a brow at him. “What about you? Are you driving Wes crazy?”

“Not even close to the same thing, man.” Braden still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the fascination with Wes really was. There was something about him that made Braden curious, though—made him wonder about the distance Wes had in his eyes, despite the big heart he obviously had. Braden saw it when he looked at Jessie, saw it when he helped Noah and Cooper out, yet when it came to himself, he always pulled back.

There was that part of him that just wanted to push the more Wes tried to pull, though. His mom would give him hell for that. His parents were still happily married after almost forty years. His siblings were all happily hitched, but again, he’d never met someone who held his interest, despite how much his mom wanted him to.

He’d never had a relationship that lasted longer than a couple months, and even then he’d only had two. The longest lasting had been Gavin. They dated when he was eighteen, but were much better as friends.

He was twenty-nine years old, and since he moved from home at eighteen, he’d lived in four different states. He just hadn’t found anything that made him want to stick.

Cooper grinned. “That doesn’t mean you’re not driving him crazy.”

Shaking his head, Braden replied, “Fuck off. What’s the point if it’s not the kind of crazy that leaves us both sweaty in bed together?”

“So move on.”

Move on? What the hell did he mean by that? “It’s not like I’m stuck on him. I’m not waiting around for him, either. Just because you went and fell in love, don’t start looking for it everywhere else.”

Cooper laughed. “I’m giving you shit. But you have to admit you haven’t been going out as much.”

Picking up a magazine from the table beside him, Braden threw it at Cooper. “That’s because my dumbass friend nearly got himself killed, and then I was trying to be a friend to Wes. He lost his sister and gained a kid. Gotta be tough.” He’d talked to Wes one other time since he apologized, having called him up to check in. He wasn’t kidding when he said that’s how his mama raised him. You were there for your friends; at least, Braden was.

“Now can we shut the hell up and turn some sports on or something? You need to get your ass back to work to keep yourself busy. You’re turning into a damn gossip.”

Coop laughed and hit the power button on the remote.

“And just so you know, I’m going out tonight.” Cooper was right. He hadn’t been out in too long. It was time to change that.

***

“W
hat am I supposed to do, Lydia? I have an interview in an hour. I need to get a job. We have bills to pay.” Wes paced the living room, his heart dangerously close to breaking through his rib cage.

“Don’t get an attitude with me. I didn’t know you had an interview today, and it’s no one’s fault she’s sick. I can talk to my boss and see if I can get off. We’re shorthanded today, though. You might have to reschedule.”

Because rescheduling a job interview was a great idea. It wasn’t as though Blackcreek and the surrounding areas had a plethora of hospitals for him to choose from. “Dammit. Why did she have to get sick today? I did everything right. I scheduled the appointment when she’d be in preschool!” He’d wanted to do this without help. He could have tried for the afternoon when Lydia would be off work and could watch Jessie, but Chelle had left Jessie to him, not Lydia. He wanted to do right by her, and the first time he tried, things got fucked up.

Wes fell into the chair, elbows on his knees, leaning his head into his hands.

“These things happen. I know it’s tough, but it’s part of being a parent. Let me talk to my boss. I’ll see if I can leave early. You’re doing a good job, Wes.”

Yeah, he wasn’t so sure of that. “No. It’s not fair for you to have to figure this out. I’ll...I’ll take care of it.”

Wes ended the call, rolling his cell around in his hand. A low cough came from the bedroom and he jogged over, peeking in to see Jessie still sleeping. Maybe he should cancel the interview. What if she needed to go to the doctor? What if she was
really
sick?

He shook those thoughts from his head. Her fever was only one hundred point four when he’d given her medicine. Lydia would have told him if he needed to take her in.

That didn’t help him with the interview, though.

Wes went back down the hall. Fuck the job. Jessie was more important. If they didn’t understand, then he probably wouldn’t do well working for them anyway.

Though he guessed he could ask Noah. He trusted him with Jessie. Jess did well with just about anyone. Noah was really the only person he knew well enough to want to leave Jessie with. They didn’t come more responsible than him.

He tried Noah’s cell first but he didn’t answer. Their home phone rang for times before, “Cooper and Noah’s love shack.”

“You dumbass!” Cooper yelled as Wes said, “Braden?”

“Aw, miss me did, ya? Calling all around town looking for me?” Braden asked, his voice a mixture of sex and humor.

“I don’t have time to play games. Is Noah around?”

“He’s at work. What’s wrong?” Braden spoke much more seriously that time.

“I have a job interview in forty-five minutes. It’s a thirty-minute drive. Jessie’s sick, Lydia’s working, and now Noah is, too. Fuck!” He’d only been at this a few weeks and he already didn’t know what to do. Wes leaned against the wall, dropping his head back to rest on it.

“Gimme ten and I’ll be there.”

At Braden’s words, he jerked his eyes open. “You just answered the phone ‘Noah and Cooper’s love shack’ and now you want to babysit my sick niece?”

“Actually, I said Cooper and Noah, but yeah. And too bad for you, you don’t have time to argue.” The line went dead.

Wes squeezed the cell in his palm, almost throwing it across the room. Couldn’t one fucking thing go right?

He shoved his feet into his shoes and went to the bathroom to fix his tie, hoping the distraction would help him forget that he had no choice but to leave Jessie with Braden Roth.