Everlasting (Unrestrained 6)

How could he feel anything but abandoned?

There were only a few things I knew in life with complete and utter certainty: I loved Kate and Sophie with all my heart. Another thing I also knew.

I wouldn't abandon Liam.

I'd fight to the bitter end to get joint custody so he could live with me.

I pulled Kate and Sophie closer to me and tried to sleep, but it evaded me and I drifted in and out of consciousness, images of Liam's smiling face interspersed with Nathan's battered little body haunting my dreams.

Chapter 9

KATE

I woke early to find Sophie sitting up in the bed, playing with a toy we'd brought in with us when I went to get her at around 2:30 a.m. Drake wasn't in bed, but I could tell he had been because his pillow was propped up the way he always left it and his dirty scrubs hung out of the laundry hamper just outside our en-suite bathroom.

He must have woken up early. Then I caught a whiff of bacon cooking and realized he'd got up to make breakfast. I smiled and turned to Sophie.

"Daddy's up and made us bacon," I said to her. She smiled at me around her pacifier and shook her toy – one of the minions from Despicable Me – Stuart. The toy Liam had given her that first time they met. It was Sophie's favorite and I had to wash it repeatedly so she could keep it in her crib.

I got up and quickly pulled on a sundress, then I took her and Stuart to her bedroom for a quick diaper change. When we were done, we went to the kitchen where Drake stood at the stove, dressed only in his boxer briefs, his hair still wet from his shower.

"Good morning, early bird," I said to him, going up behind him with Sophie in my arms.

He turned and smiled at us, then leaned down, kissing me and then Sophie.

"Good morning, my two girls," he said and stroked my cheek and then Sophie's. "What a nice way to start the day."

"You should be sleeping," I scolded while I put Sophie in her chair. "You worked last night."

"I couldn't sleep in," Drake said, his voice sounding weary. "Had a bad night."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said and went over to him after I had her secured in her chair and some Cheerios on her tray. I put my arms around his waist and hugged him from behind. "What happened? Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head and didn’t say anything, so I knew he was really upset. It must have been bad, whatever it was and my heart clenched for him. Drake was always so positive and quick with a smile and laugh. To find him like this meant something had really upset him.

"Okay," I said softly, hugging him harder. He squeezed my hands, which were clasped around his waist. "If you want to talk about it, you know you always can with me."

"I know," he managed, his voice low.

I let him cook away without trying to make small talk, because I could tell his mind was elsewhere. Instead, I busied myself getting Sophie's breakfast ready and after pouring myself a cup of coffee, I sat beside her and fed her. Drake would talk when he felt up to it. I had to give him the space to do so.

"How do you want your eggs?" he said after a while. "Fried or scrambled?"

"Scrambled," I said and he nodded. I watched him whip the eggs in the bowl before cooking them, while I fed Sophie, the silence broken by the sound of news on the television in the family room beside the kitchen. He was efficient in the kitchen, moving from the frying pan where the eggs cooked, to the toaster and the pan with the bacon like an old short order cook.

He plated our breakfasts and then placed them on the island countertop in front of me.

"There you are, Mrs. Morgan. Just the way you like them."

He smiled at me, and I could see that he recovered by the way his eyes crinkled at the corners the way I loved.

"Thank you, Doctor Morgan," I said with a smile. "Or should I say, Chef Morgan?"

"Ha!" he replied and came around to where I sat, pulling out the stool and sitting beside me. "Not likely. More like Grill Cook Drake."

He bent over and kissed me and together, we dug into our plates.

"Sadly, I have to go in again tonight, but I switched shifts on Friday so I'll have two days off in a row."