The ER's Newest Dad

His skin crawled every time he caught her looking at him with her big sad eyes. He wanted her eyes smiling, her lips laughing, her world a better place because he was in her life. What he didn’t want was to cause her stress and grief.

But he was going to be a part of Justice’s daily life.

He’d missed five years of his son’s life. He wouldn’t miss any more. He missed that kid.

He missed Brielle.

He glanced at where she was talking to the nurse who’d just returned from helping transport Mr. Cook. Brielle looked tired, stressed, as if she hadn’t been sleeping well, and he knew he was to blame.

He wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her he wanted to come home.

Home? Was that how he thought of her quaint little house? Home was where the heart was.

His heart was wherever Brielle and Justice were.

Yes, he wanted to go home.

Which meant he and Brielle needed to talk. No coercion or threats on his part regarding custody of Justice, though. He wanted her to invite him to come back. For her to tell him she’d missed him as much as he’d missed her.

He wanted her to love him as much as he loved her.

As much as she had loved him once upon a time.

If she’d loved him once, he’d win her love again. He knew Brielle. She wasn’t the kind to love lightly. She’d given him her heart and he was going to stake his future happiness on the fact that she’d never gotten it back completely, otherwise she wouldn’t have made love with him.

They had made love. Yes, the chemistry between them was phenomenal, but their connection went way beyond physical.

Love really was the most powerful thing in the world.

Why question himself?

He knew what he wanted.

The time apart had cleared that up for him and he had no doubts about the direction he wanted his future to take.

He glanced at his watch. Their shift was almost over. Thank God. Today had been a killer day. Or maybe it had been the tension between him and Brielle that had made him feel that way.

He’d known that at the end of their shift he’d talk to her, get down on his knees and beg her to open her heart to him.

Somehow he would convince her that he deserved a second chance, deserved her love, deserved the opportunity to love and cherish her and their son for the rest of their lives.

He put his hand in his scrub pocket. His fingers traced over a velvet box. Why had he brought the trinket with him? It wasn’t as if he’d do anything with it at the hospital, yet he zhadn’t wanted to leave it at the apartment he’d returned to late last night either.

Brielle came over to the station where he sat and picked up a clipboard.

“I’d like to see Justice tonight.”

“Fine.”

Ross cringed. He really didn’t like that word.

“Could I take you both to dinner?”

She hesitated only a second. “No, but you are welcome to spend time with Justice, either taking him to dinner or playing with him at my house.”

“But I’m not welcome to spend time with you?”

She shook her head. “The less time we spend together, the better for Justice’s sake.”