Chapter 15 #2
After breakfast, Brogan took the kids for a walk while she showered and got ready for work. It was so much easier with Andy occupied. She’d love to work out a routine with Brogan—for the long term. She loved him, she knew he cared for her, and they each cherished the kids.
Pixie couldn’t imagine anything more perfect … unless it was that special commitment, the one she hadn’t dared to hope for after all her disappointment with Dylan.
She finished with minutes to spare and was back at the table, messaging with Marlow and sharing her thoughts, when Brogan returned.
When he’d left, he’d had Shayna in her carrier and Andy in the stroller, but now Shayna was in the stroller and Andy was helping to push her.
Pixie grinned at her son’s proud face. “Are you helping?”
He squinted his eyes shut and gave her a huge grin. “Wokin’ my baby.”
“Yes, you are.” She laughed and scooped him up so Brogan could lift Shayna out. “That had to be some tricky maneuvering.”
“Little bit,” Brogan said. “He’s a determined kid. Once he decided he wanted a turn pushing the stroller, there was no talking him out of it. Fortunately, Shayna didn’t mind. Andy also showed her his nose, one of his eyes, and a foot.”
As she laughed again, Andy touched his own face and announced, “Noz, noz, noz.”
“Yes! Where are your teeth?”
He touched his fingers to them, then wanted to touch hers, too. And then Brogan’s.
Brogan dried Andy’s fingers first, then dutifully opened his mouth so Andy could say, “Tif.”
“Such a smart little boy,” he praised. “Seriously, dude, you’re like genius level. I had no idea.”
Pixie laughed at that. “It’s something he’s only recently learned, and still gets parts mixed up sometimes.”
“Kids learn at different levels, I know, but I can’t help thinking he’s ahead of the pack.”
As a proud mom, Pixie wouldn’t disagree.
“One thing,” Brogan said, his tone joking. “I had to explain that he couldn’t poke Shayna’s eye—after he poked mine.”
Since he said it with a grin, Pixie wasn’t too worried. “Did he hurt her?”
“Nope. He means to be gentle …”
“But he’s still a toddler.” She gave Brogan a hug. “Thank you for being patient with him. He’ll learn, but until then, we need to watch them closely when they’re together.”
“He’s Shayna’s brother,” Brogan said simply. “He’ll be a better brother than I was, and that’s because of you.” He kissed her. “You don’t know how much this”—he gestured at the kids—“means to me.”
“I do, because it means a lot to me, too.” She wanted to interact like this forever.
When his phone dinged, they reluctantly stepped apart.
Brogan glanced at the screen and said, “It’s Erin.”
Pixie took Shayna from him so he could answer. Together, they all went to the living room. Pixie got out toys for the kids while Brogan sat on the sofa.
She listened to his side of the conversation and knew from his expression that it wasn’t a pleasant call. Not hostile, but maybe not great news. She hoped Ruthie hadn’t caused more problems, but then she heard Brogan repeat the name of a hospital as he wrote down notes.
In ten minutes, she’d need to leave for work, but first she wanted to know what had happened.
Finally, he disconnected.
Cautiously, Pixie asked, “Bad news?”
He let out a long breath. “Not great. Erin found out from a caretaker that Brian is in the ICU with liver failure.”
Pixie’s first thought was disbelief that Ruthie was here, hassling Brogan, instead of staying with her husband.
“They think he’ll survive,” Brogan said, “but the next few days will be critical. He has a lot of complications that are going to make daily life rough, especially if he doesn’t stop drinking.”
Pixie moved to sit beside him, wishing for a way to ease the conflicting emotions he had to be feeling.
With Connie gone and Ruthie playing the part of a badger in Bramble, Brian was left utterly alone. He’d never been a dad to Brogan, and now he might die without ever once reaching out to his son. “I’m so sorry.”
Brogan shook his head. “Thanks. I know I should care, but I don’t. Not like a son should care for his father. It’s more … I don’t know. Pity for a man I barely know and usually resented.”
“With good reason,” she said, unwilling to let him feel a single moment of guilt. “What will you do?”
His gaze moved to the kids. Andy was babbling to Shayna again.
The funny part was the way he pretended Shayna understood him.
She’d grin and he’d nod his head and then show her something as if she’d asked to see it—one of his stuffed animals, a chunky truck that he rolled closer to her, even his hand.
Oh, they had a fine conversation about his hand. It was so silly, and so sweet.
“Despite anything else that’s going on, they make me happy,” Brogan said.
“And so do you.” After leaning over to kiss her, he said, “I’d call the hospital myself, but Erin advised against it.
For one thing, they won’t give out Brian’s info to someone just because they claim to be related; and for another, she said I could get caught up in his debt without meaning to if I identified myself as his son.
One thing is certain, I need to figure out where Ruth is. ”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I’ll talk to Officer Flynn, see if he has any ideas.” The smile he gave her lacked his usual energy. “I’ll figure it out. You need to get going or you’ll be late.”
This was one of the few mornings Pixie didn’t want to go to work. “Right.” She told Andy it was time to go.
He must have been in a similar mood, because he ran to Brogan. Assuming he wanted a hug, Brogan picked him up, but Andy wrapped his arms around the big man like a little monkey and didn’t want to let go.
Judging by the way Brogan closed his eyes to savor the hug, he didn’t want to let go, either.
“Would you and Shayna like to come to the shop with us?”
Brogan huffed a short laugh. “We’d be in the way, but thank you.” He gave her suggestion a quick thought, then said, “You know, I wouldn’t mind watching this one, though.”
Pixie blinked at him. “You want to keep both kids?”
“Bad idea? I get it. You’re almost never away from Andy.”
“It’s not that.” Accepting that she’d be a few minutes late, Pixie moved close again. “I trust you, so please don’t think that’s it.”
He nodded. “Right. I’m still fumbling along with Shayna. Two kids might be a bit much.”
“For a regular guy, maybe,” she quipped right back. “For you? I don’t have a single doubt you could handle it—just as I would handle it, if necessary. But it’s not necessary, not right now, especially with so much up in the air.”
“You mean Ruth?”
“Can you imagine if she showed up and you had both kids to protect?”
His mouth twisted to the side. “You have a point.”
“Brogan?” Pixie put her hand to his jaw. He hadn’t taken time yet to shave, and he took her breath away. “Even in the worst of circumstances, I know both Shayna and Andy would be safe with you.”
Those piercing gray eyes of his searched her gaze, and he finally nodded. “Thank you.” He dropped a kiss on Andy’s head and then pried him loose. “Listen, buddy, go on with Mam, and when you get back, we’ll take another walk, okay?”
“Wok!” He tried to wiggle down.
“Andy Nolan,” Pixie said, lifting him into her arms. “When we get home, you can walk. For now, let’s go see Renee.”
Stubbornly, he pointed at Shayna. “My baby.”
“You’ll see her when we get home.” Home—with Brogan and Shayna, because they were now family. “Let’s go so you don’t make Mam late.”
“Oh, oh,” Andy said, and excitedly pointed at Shayna again. She did a baby feat of rolling twice and coming up against the playpen.
“Wow,” Brogan said, hurrying over to pick her up. “That’s impressive, Sugar.” He turned toward the door and picked up Andy’s diaper bag. “We’ll walk you out.”
Once there, Brogan kissed her again, helped Shayna to wave goodbye to Andy, and then promised Pixie he’d have dinner ready when she got home.
To Pixie, it felt like an eventful start to their new relationship, and possibly a beginning to the “forever” she wanted.
Pixie would be home in a few hours. Brogan had made good use of his time by making a list of available job positions that were both in his field and near enough for him to continue a relationship with Pixie.
He’d also checked out various ads for homes or property in the area.
Nothing on the lake—Bramble was strict about letting in strangers—but there were a few listings near Marlow’s Whimsy.
When Shayna wasn’t napping, he was playing with her, helping her to sit up, though of course she wasn’t able to do that without support. Still, her every milestone filled him with pride. As he approached her with a bottle, she recognized it and got excited.
“Little glutton,” he teased. Holding her was still a great pleasure for him. He knew one day she’d be using a sippy cup like Andy, but for now, this was their time, with her in the crook of his arm, usually one of her tiny hands gripping his finger.
She dozed off between burps, so Brogan went back to his long to-do list.
He filled out all the information Erin needed and returned it to her. It was important to ensure that Shayna would have love and care if anything ever happened to him. After Connie’s sudden death, he knew tomorrow was never guaranteed.
But now, with Pixie in his life, he wanted all the tomorrows he could get.
Lastly, he researched everything he could about his father’s situation, both medical and financial.
From what Erin could uncover, neither Brian nor Ruth had worked for some time.
Brian had lost his business ten years ago.
Connie had covered some of that in her papers, citing alcoholism as a major problem, but also a tendency to try to cheat others.
More than once, Brian had been beaten for swindling the wrong person.
Brogan came to a few conclusions and had already discussed them with Erin.
The thing was, he wanted to discuss them with Pixie, too.