Chapter 9 #2
An emotion he couldn’t quite identify pinged in the region of his heart. “Definitely, buddy, I’ll keep you safe too.”
“Good.” He seemed satisfied with Brodie’s response and turned his attention back to Jaidon who was encouraging the bird to spread its wings so everyone could see its wingspan.
“Truly a majestic bird, isn’t it?” Cerise asked, leaning more into him than before. And damn if another wave of emotion, this time only stronger than his reaction to Finn’s look of trust, didn’t ping in his chest.
Again, he welcomed it and the level of intensity of the emotion toward Cerise didn’t scare him at all.
An hour later they were seated at one of the picnic tables, an amazing spread of food in front of him.
He’d asked Jean to put together a picnic lunch for him, Cerise and Finn.
He hadn’t planned on eating with Jaidon, but his wife and their daughter, Louise, arrived so they joined them after Jaidon extended an invitation.
Brodie couldn’t help noticing that Jaidon always touched Bridget.
Either an arm around her shoulder, a brush of his fingers across her hand or a quick peck on the cheek.
Each time he touched her, his wife smiled and leaned a little into him, all the while keeping an eye on their daughter.
Finn had taken to the little girl immediately, which was surprising, considering the age difference.
“Mitch tells me you’ve only been working at the ranch for a couple of months, but that you’re also a volunteer firefighter for Hunt.”
Brodie swallowed his mouthful of chicken salad before answering.
“Yep. I really love working on the ranch. Getting up on a horse every day and riding around the land. I was a paramedic before I found out that I preferred being a cowboy, so I like that being on the Hunt VFD keeps my medical skills on point.”
While he was talking he noticed that Bridget tensed with each word he spoke. Damn, he should’ve remembered what this place would remind her of, not to mention the fact he was part of the department that had saved her life. Then again, it wasn’t like he’d brought the subject up. Her husband had.
“A paramedic, huh? What made you decide to go down that road?” Jaidon asked, seemingly not concerned with how tense his wife seemed to be getting.
Brodie took a deep breath. This was going to be tricky, answering the question without giving away who he was and what he’d done prior to arriving in San Antonio.
When the truth came out about his past, he wanted to be the one to tell Cerise, not have it come up in a conversation like this and have it totally blindside her.
“A little bit of this and that. But I’m more than happy with what I’m doing now. ”
“Do you think you’ll want your own ranch one day?” Cerise asked.
The thought had crossed his mind, and he certainly had the means to be able to buy one if he wanted to.
Or buy some land and start his own, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted all the stress that came with running his own ranch.
But that was today. Next year he may decide he was ready for the challenge.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve only been doing this for a short while.
I have a lot more to learn before I decide to go down that road. ”
The four adults continued to eat their lunch leisurely. Finn had wolfed down his food and was now joking around with Louise, eliciting cute giggles from her.
“The kid’s got the makings of being a perfect older brother.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Like always, whenever she talked about Finn, Cerise’s voice softened and filled with love.
“He’s your foster son, right, Cerise? I think that’s what Mitch told me when he phoned,” Jaidon asked.
“Yep, he is, but I’m hoping I can adopt him.”
Brodie was surprised she’d brought it up, considering Finn wasn’t too far away and she’d only just met Jaidon and Bridget.
“Good for you. He certainly seems happy with the both of you. I think you’ll be great parents to the boy.
” Bridget glanced over to watch her daughter so she didn’t see the way Cerise stiffened beside him.
He only knew because he’d been watching her out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t seem to stop watching her.
It looked like she was about to correct the woman, but Brodie laid his hand on her thigh, giving it quick squeeze. Jaidon’s eyebrow rose in question but he didn’t say anything.
“Thanks,” Cerise commented and then shoved a forkful of pulled pork in her mouth. He figured she was doing it so she wouldn’t say anything else. Her reaction stung a little. Did she not like the idea of them parenting together?
Yes, it was presumptuous of Bridget to make the comment, but why wouldn’t she?
They’d arrived together and had shown all signs of being parents to Finn.
He hadn’t given much thought to walking down the parent trail before he’d met Cerise and Finn, but now, he could see himself as a dad. And the vision didn’t freak him out.
The rest of lunch passed without any drama and when the Patiences went to leave, Finn gave Louise a big hug. The boy almost looked like he didn’t want to let her go. Brodie went over and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe we can all get together another time. What do you think?”
“Could we? That would be awesome. Louise’s a lot of fun,” Finn said enthusiastically.
Cerise came up and she pulled Finn into a hug. “It looked like you guys were having fun.”
“I’m sure we can organize something in the future.” Bridget scooped her daughter up and the little girl laid her head on her mom’s shoulder. “Thanks for playing with her, Finn.”
“It’s okay. One day I’d like a little sister, although by the time she’s old enough to play with, I’m probably going to be in high school.
But that doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore her.
My dad said mom was going to have another baby.
I was so excited, but then they died.” He hung his head and studied the ground as if it were crawling with the spiders he’d wanted to see.
Cerise gasped. Clearly Finn’s declaration was news to her. “Thanks again for today, Jaidon.” Brodie held out his hand toward the other man. Jaidon took it and they shook briefly.
“Pleasure. And if you and Finn want to come out and camp here, let me know, and I’ll make sure you get looked after. It’s pretty primitive, but fun.”
“Oh, can we, Brodie?” Finn asked, his brief sadness about his parents dying disappearing at the prospect of camping.
“We’ll see. You’ll have to ask Cerise.” He slung his arm around her shoulders. “How about it, Sparkles? You up for some camping in the bush?”
“Umm, no thanks, but sure, you and Finn can. But not today,” she cautioned when it looked like Finn was about to ask if they could.
“Darn.” He scuffed his toe on the ground and stuck his hands in the pockets of his shorts.
Everyone laughed. “Well, on that note, we’ll see you around,” Jaidon lifted his hand. “Drive carefully.”
Once the other couple disappeared into the parking lot, Brodie turned to Cerise and Finn. “You guys ready to head back to the ranch?”
“Yep.” Finn nodded although he looked sad that the adventure was over. Immediately Brodie was overcome with the need to bring his smile back. “How about we take the horses out for a ride when we get back? I’ll phone ahead and get them saddled up.”
“Yessss.” Finn fist pumped the air. At least there was one person enthusiastic about a horse ride.
“How about it, Sparkles? You up for another ride?”
“Sure.”
Together they walked to the car and Brodie couldn’t help wishing they were the family Bridget had assumed them to be.