He hugged him close.
Pressed his nose into his hair.
Inhaled him as if he were meeting him for the first time.
Benjamin didn’t reject him or hesitate. He wrapped his scrawny arms around that fierce, strong neck, and hugged him back.
Emotion raced my throat, thick and sticky, and my hands started trembling, unsure of what to do as I knelt there on the floor as he hugged the child that I’d fought for. The child who’d caused me so much pain and so much relief.
A thousand sleepless nights and a whole, beating heart.
Maxon stood the rest of the way up and helped Benjamin adjust his forearm crutches, the man standing next to him as if he were meant to be his protector. As if he were the one fighting for him, too.
I was a fumbling mess when I climbed to my feet and swung Dillon into my arms in the hope that this whole thing might seem halfway normal.
Who was I kidding?
There was no chance of that.
Not when Dillon was uncharacteristically quiet as we started out of the kitchen.
I caught my mama’s eye as we went, her expression wistful.
Maxon followed right behind, his hand on Benjamin’s shoulder, standing guard over him the whole way up the stairs.
“Brush your teeth.”
I set Dillon down at the bathroom door. Benjamin sent me a confused, heartbreaking glance when he passed.
The child sensing the disorder.
The reality that our lives were coming up on a change.
A big, big change.
They brushed their teeth and got ready for bed, and Maxon followed us around as if he wanted to be a part of the process but had no idea how he fit.
The man lurked in the shadows.
Watching.
Too intent.
So much for him being nothing more than a friend who had come over for dinner.
The whole time, I struggled not to break down. Not to drop to my knees and cry with the weight of it all. To issue up a thousand prayers that I wasn’t makin’ a horrible mistake.
That I wasn’t putting my children in the line of fire.
Leaving their hearts unguarded.
Benjamin climbed onto his bed across the room, and I scooted Dillon toward his on the opposite wall. He scampered up. “Here we go,” I said, dragging his covers to his chin and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Goodnight. No more troublemaking for tonight,” I whispered softly.
He grinned a sleepy smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll save some for tomorrow.”
“I’m sure you will.”
I pushed to standing, crossed the room, kissed the top of Benjamin’s head, brushed my thumb over his cheek.
“Goodnight, brave boy.”
Shyness bled into his cheeks. “Night, Mmmmom.”
I turned, unprepared to take in the sight of Maxon standing in the doorway. So gorgeous. Stunning. Completely broken down.
Our eyes met in a tangle of questions, and I slowly stepped back and gave him the permission he clearly was seeking.
He edged in, big body taking up the space, filling it full. I gulped around the force of it, shivers raking my flesh.
He inched by, and he made his way over to Dillon. He towered over his bed. Tension curled through the muscles on his arms.
Cautiously, he leaned down and ran a hand over the top of Dillon’s head, pressing a kiss to the same spot on his forehead where my lips just had been. “Good night, Lil’ Dill. Thanks for letting me hang out with you tonight. It was the best night I’ve had in a long, long time.”
His voice was grit. Rough and choppy. Overflowing with all the things he couldn’t say.
“Will you come again?” Dillon asked.
“I hope so.”
“Tomorrow?”
A soft smile tugged at one side of Maxon’s mouth, that dimple peeking out for a beat because I just needed one more thing to make me weak. “I’m not sure about that, but I’ll talk to your mom and see what I can do. How’s that sound?”
“Deal,” Dillon said, sticking out his hand. Maxon shook it, then he brought it to his mouth and pressed a kiss to his palm.
Oh, my stupid heart.
My stupid, wayward heart that was beating wild. Getting way out there where it shouldn’t be.
It only got worse when he straightened, and he moved with slow, measured steps over to Benjamin who was sitting up on his bed.
His gangly legs hugged to his chest, his body thin and his teeth as crooked as his grin.
Maxon sank down onto his knees in front of him and reached out and took him by both shoulders.
Emotion crashed.
I wasn’t sure I was gonna make it.
“I’m going to be thinking about you all day tomorrow. I know you’re scared to start something new, but you have this. I know you do.”
Benjamin’s brow furrowed in a sweet, curious way. “But you dddon’t even know me.”
No doubt, my smart boy knew this wasn’t a random encounter. That all of this meant something, even though none of us had any idea where it was going to lead.