Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 142214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 711(@200wpm)___ 569(@250wpm)___ 474(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 711(@200wpm)___ 569(@250wpm)___ 474(@300wpm)
“Uh-huh.” He took her arm and towed her toward the house. Once inside, he took her coat, gloves, and hat. Then stilled when a small squawk of despair screeched from the bedroom.
“Shit. I left Rat in bed.” He darted to the back of the house.
“You’re letting him sleep with you?”
A moment later, Greyson reappeared, nuzzling the kitten’s tiny face with his chin. “Of course. Where else would he sleep?”
Stunned, she shrugged. “In a box.”
“That’s not how we treat family, Wren. Besides, the little rodent’s growing on me. He goes everywhere I go.”
She watched him nuzzle the kitten with a mixture of pride and envy.
Greyson warmed some formula as the kitten scaled his shoulder like Spidey-cat. Never once did he complain or appear bothered by the demanding fluffball.
“He’s getting attached to you.”
“We have a symbiotic relationship. I feed him and show him the town. He protects me from pickpockets and other threats.”
The way he cradled the little kitten undid something inside her, triggering an unexpected maternal longing, a deep ache she hadn’t realized existed. Her anger softened around the edges, melting like snow under warm sunlight.
“There you go,” he said softly, nudging the tiny bottle into the kitten’s mouth with his seemingly giant hands.
The little guy seemed ravenous for its late-night feeding. “Maybe he’s ready for solids.”
“Probably. He burns a lot of calories hunting when we’re not on the road.” Greyson’s usually deep voice shifted into a gruff coo. “Just like your daddy does.” He looked back at Wren and smiled. “Today he caught a string, massacred a fleet of dust bunnies, and spent a good ten minutes stalking his tail. He hasn’t realized it’s attached yet.”
She couldn’t watch anymore. The sight of him all gentle and nurturing was too damn irresistible. She shouldn’t have come here.
“Don’t go,” he said, sensing her urge to bolt. “Please.”
She sighed, noting the creases of exhaustion surrounding his eyes like worry lines etched in stone. “I don’t want to fight.”
He frowned. “Who’s fighting?”
Wren shrugged. “I guess no one.”
“Let me get Rat situated and then I’ll make some tea. I have the kind you like.”
Uncertain, she nodded and made herself cozy under a blanket on the couch. Greyson filled a tea kettle and set up a mug with a teabag and honey, all while holding the kitten in one arm and propping the formula bottle against his chest. When the cat fell asleep, he set it in the basket of blankets on the floor.
Turning his attention to the stove, he casually confessed, “My dad’s in the hospital.”
Wren immediately sat up, her heart clenching. “Oh my gosh, is he okay?”
“He will be. For now.”
Magnus had been sick for some time, and the doctors weren’t optimistic. They told the boys he only had a few months left, but their relationship with their father was so strained, none of them seemed to be taking his prognosis seriously. At least not outwardly.
She wondered if this served as the wake-up call they needed. “What happened?”
He sighed and turned to face her, the strain of his concern evident in his tired posture. “He wasn’t feeling well. Monica, his maid, tried to get him to call the doctor, but he refused. It took three of us to force him into the car. Once they got some fluids into him at the hospital and ran some labs, they figured out the issue.”
“What was it?”
“Pneumonia. They’re treating him with antibiotics and keeping him for a few days.”
The kettle whistled, and he removed it from the burner, pouring water into the mug to steep. He carried it to the coffee table and tossed another log on the fire. Rather than turn on the lights, he lit the candles on the mantle, then sat beside her.
The flames cast shadows across his features, softening the harsh lines of exhaustion and painting everything in an intimate golden glow. He settled beside her, the amber light making his eyes appear almost molten.
“That’s why I wasn’t there last night. I know I should have called, but I wasn’t thinking.”
She sighed, guilt washing over her. “I don’t know what to say.” He had a valid excuse. Why had she not considered an emergency with his father? “I’m sorry, Grey. I can’t imagine how hard that was for you.”
He took her hand. “What do you say we stop apologizing to each other and start over?”
That sounded like a fair plan. “Okay.” When he leaned in to kiss her, she drew back. “That doesn’t mean I want to be more than friends.”
His brow creased, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he pulled her feet to his lap. “I promised a foot rub.”
She didn’t stop him, because no one gave a foot rub better than Greyson Hawthorne. “My dad had an episode yesterday, too.”
His fingers already worked their magic, but momentarily stilled. “How bad?”
“We’ve had worse episodes. It took a while for me to get him inside. I had to skip my yoga class.”