Chapter 5 #3
“I promise,” Oz said, making a cross over his chest as he said it. “On my honor as a soldier, I will not hit you. No matter what.”
Then his nephew’s lip began to quiver again. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he told Riley, right before he burst into tears.
Riley had moved around Oz before he could get off the ground. She wrapped her arms around the little boy and rocked him back and forth. “I know you didn’t. I apparently just stink at baseball. If we ever go to a game, you’ll have to make sure to watch out for foul balls so they don’t hit me.”
Logan nodded against her.
Oz came up beside Riley and reached for her face. He gently ran his thumb over her red and slightly puffy cheek. The mark looked way too much like she’d been punched in the face, and it made him extremely uncomfortable.
“Logan? We need to get Riley back and get some ice on her face.”
His nephew looked up at him and nodded. He took a step away from Riley and wiped the tears from his cheeks as he regained his composure.
“Will you go grab the ball and her mitt before we go?” Oz asked.
Logan nodded again and jogged toward the baseball, behind where Riley had been standing while they’d been playing catch.
Knowing he only had seconds before Logan would be back, Oz said, “The same goes for you. I might be bigger and stronger, but I won’t hit you either, Riley. I won’t scream insults at you or belittle you. I admire you way too much to do anything that would hurt you.”
“I know,” she said.
Their gazes stayed locked, and Oz swore he saw more than friendship in her eyes. But then Logan was back, interrupting the moment. Without thought, he held out his hand to his nephew.
When Logan looked down at his hand and hesitated, Oz mentally kicked himself.
Too soon, he told himself. Dropping his hand, he said, “Come on, let’s get home.
I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.
I’ve been out in the sun all day and could use some junk food.
” That was a lie. Oz never ate junk, but for his nephew, he’d do just about anything.
“You do stink a little,” Logan said.
Oz was about to respond…when he felt a small hand slip into his own.
His heart swelling, Oz smiled down at his nephew. “Yeah, well, you spend all day crawling around in the dirt and see if you smell like roses afterward.”
“Do you like it?” Logan asked.
Oz couldn’t stop himself from reaching for Riley’s hand.
She’d scared the hell out of him when she’d fallen to her knees, and he needed that connection with her.
She’d gotten hurt because she’d been playing with his nephew.
Then she’d been right there at his back, trying to console Logan, make him feel safe.
Nothing felt more right than standing between the two of them, their hands connected, as they walked back toward his apartment.
“I don’t like it, I love it,” Oz responded to Logan’s question.
He hadn’t known his nephew long, but he could barely imagine a time when this kid wasn’t in his life.
And every day, they seemed to get more comfortable with each other.
Every day, Logan asked more questions, opened up about his likes and dislikes.
It was exciting and scary at the same time.
“I hope when you get older, you can find something to do that you absolutely love. That you’re passionate about. ”
They chatted about bugs, dirt, and what they thought the worst smells in the world were as they headed back to Oz’s apartment. When they reached the door, Oz dropped Logan’s and Riley’s hands as he reached for his key.
“I’ll just head back to my place,” Riley said.
Oz turned to stare at her. “What?”
“I’m gonna go home,” she repeated, indicating her door with her thumb.
“No,” Oz said resolutely, pushing open his door and reaching for Riley’s arm.
She let him pull her into his apartment but as soon as the door was shut, she said, “Porter, I—”
He cut her off by turning to Logan. “Will you go to my bathroom and grab the blue bottle of pain reliever in the cabinet next to the sink?”
Without a word, Logan ran toward his uncle’s bedroom.
“Seriously, I’m fine, Porter. You guys need some time.”
“Wrong. We need to take care of you. Make sure you’re okay. Logan needs to do it because he’s the one who hurt you. I need to do it because the thought of you being next door and hurting tears me up inside.”
She blinked. “I…I’m just your neighbor.”
Riley didn’t sound as if she was one hundred percent sure about that, which he liked.
A lot. “Wrong,” Oz told her without hesitation.
“You’re so much more than just my neighbor.
I know things are a little weird because you’re helping me with Logan, but let me be clear.
I want to go out with you, Riley. I want to take you out to dinner, flirt with you, see if you taste as good as you smell, and show you in every way I can think of that I’m interested in you not because of what you’ve done for me and Logan, but because of who you are as a person. ”
“Oh…um…okay,” she stammered.
“Okay?” he asked. “You’ll go out with me?”
She gave him a shy smile and nodded.
“And you’ll let me pamper you a bit tonight?
I hate that you got hurt. The fact that you were totally out of your element throwing that ball with Logan, but did it anyway to try to make him happy, means the world to me.
But maybe no more baseball throwing with him for a while, at least until I teach you how to catch.
I’ll do a better job of taking him outside and playing with him. ”
“I don’t need to be pampered.”
“Fine. I’ll just play doctor with you then,” Oz teased.
She blushed and gave him another small grin.
“Besides, if I have to eat this crap tonight, you do too.”
She chuckled. “You might find you like it.”
“Doubt it.”
“Famous last words.”
“Here it is!” Logan said as he ran up to them with the small bottle in his hands.
“Thanks, Slugger. Let’s get Riley settled on the couch, and we’ll put together an ice pack for her and get her something to drink so she can swallow the pills. Then you can help me get dinner ready.”
“Chicken nuggets. Yum!” Logan said with a wide grin.
“Oh, yeah, yum,” Oz said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. He heard Riley snicker quietly. He put his arm around her and pulled her against his side. He enjoyed hearing her laugh turn to an inhale as he touched her.
She was soft in all the right places, and he loved how she fit against him.
He helped her to the couch—not that she really needed help; it was just a blessing to be able to touch her and have his arm around her for once.
When she was settled, he put a hand on Logan’s shoulder and led him to the kitchen.
“Let’s see what damage two guys can do in here, shall we? ” he asked his nephew.
The smile on the little boy’s face reminded him so much of his sister’s, Oz had to close his eyes for a second.
He would treasure every minute he had with this kid because he knew all too soon, Logan would grow up and move out on his own. He’d missed the first ten years, but he’d do whatever it took to make his nephew feel safe, loved, and protected for the rest of his life.