Every Way (Brush of Love 4)

“Said what a little too seriously?”

“The son comment. Did you? Are we ...?”

I cupped Bryan’s cheeks in my hands and planted a kiss on his nose. I could feel how hot his skin was and how riled up he was inside. Something serious had happened this morning, but I wasn’t sure what it was. It was obvious someone had gotten hurt, but a minor injury wouldn’t have kicked Bryan up like this. He had worked in construction far too long for stuff like that to worry him any more.

Why wouldn’t he just tell me what happened?

“I don’t know the gender of our child,” I said. “I didn’t go find out without you or anything like that. I just know. I know it’s a boy.”

“Well, someone’s got to root for the girl. So that’s me,” Bryan said.

“And that’s one of the reasons I love you,” I said. “You always root for the underdog.”

“My brother was an underdog. I’ll never not root for them.”

I placed a soft kiss on his lips before Bryan sat down on the couch beside me.

“What do you think of Aiden?” I asked.

“Aiden?” Bryan asked. “No, thanks. And besides, I thought we would name him John if it turned out this child was a boy. I’m not entertaining any boy names until the child is born.”

“Why? Because I don’t like any of your suggestions?” I asked as I grabbed a bag of chips.

“Nope. I think we’ll know. When we see him or her for the first time, I think we’ll know exactly what fits. Even if it isn’t the name ‘John’,” he said.

“I can get behind that,” I said.

I was munching on chips as Bryan surfed through the channels on television. He was trying to find our first movie of the day to watch, and it gave my mind enough time to rush back to that man from the gallery with his beady little eyes, the dirt caked around his fingernails, and the way he was so eager to destroy a vital piece of artwork. I thought about how easy it had been for him to threaten a pregnant woman. I felt my mood slowly slipping as I continued to mindlessly eat chips, the channels on the television providing the perfect mind-numbing atmosphere for me to lose myself in my worries.

“Do you think John would’ve enjoyed being an uncle?” I asked.

“I think he would be thrilled,” Bryan said. “Why?”

“I just wonder sometimes. If he would’ve approved of us.”

“I think he gave his ultimate show of approval for you, don’t you think?”

I grimaced at his statement as I fe

lt Bryan slip his arm around my waist.

“I’m only saying it was obvious John liked you. He was always pestering me about dating, about finding a girl who could treat me right. Even in his hazy states, he was always looking out for the well-being of those he allowed himself to care about. He looked out for me, and he looked out for you. I think he would’ve been thrilled that we found each other,” Bryan said.

I nodded my head in agreement as guilt filled my chest.

“Besides, with all you did for him, I think he would’ve wanted to be a good uncle to this child. John was always talking about repaying people for what he did, for all the mistakes he’d made and trying to right his wrongs. I think being a wonderful uncle to our child would’ve been how he would’ve tried to repay you for all the things you gave him.”

“But I didn’t give him anything,” I said.

“You gave him everything, Hailey. You gave him hope and a way to express his emotions. You gave him an outlet that helped him through his withdrawals. You gave him the ability to see a future for himself, a future he couldn’t see on the streets while he was drawing when you found him. Hailey, you gave him his life back. That’s everything in my book.”

I nodded in agreement, but I kept thinking about that man in my gallery. About his threat to come back soon and how I needed to have the money ready for him. What would happen if I didn’t? What would happen if I called the police? I still hadn’t installed a security camera system in the gallery, and I was kicking myself for it. I couldn’t prove any of the shit that had gone down, and it made me sick to my stomach. What was I supposed to do? Just drain one of our accounts and pay this bastard off?

I could feel Bryan still studying me. I needed another distraction.

“The shopping day with Anna went well yesterday,” I said.

“You already told me about it. And if you hadn’t, there are plenty of bags in the nursery to prove it went well,” Bryan said.