Page 34 of Forbidden Dreams
“Go sleep,” I urge him, walking back to the mixer and turning it off. “I’ll wake you before I leave.” He nods and bends to kiss my neck, then slowly looks into my eyes when he kisses my lips.
“Okay, baby.” He gives my hip a squeeze before walking away from me. I watch his back until he turns the corner.
“I could get used to waking up to that,” I mumble before pouring the cake batter in the pan, smiling.
I work on a new peach pecan cream cheesecake, testing it out by making two loaves, one for Brady and one for Autumn. I pack up the cakes and tiptoe back upstairs. Brady is lying there on his side, sleeping. I go to Wyatt’s room to grab clean clothes from the bag I brought over last night. I just threw a bunch of shit in the bag in my haste, grabbing a pair of yoga tights and a T-shirt before walking out of the room. His snore fills the room as I close the door behind me and head to the bathroom.
When I walk back out, I think about leaving without telling Brady, but I know he would not be happy. So I walk to the side of the bed and think about how to play this. Should I bend and kiss his cheek, or should I tap his arm? I sit on the side of the bed. “Hey,” I whisper, and he turns to my voice before rolling on his side, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him.
“Hey,” he mumbles, forcing his eyes open.
“I’m going to go. Wyatt is still sleeping,” I tell him, and he nods.
“Okay, baby.” The softness of his voice makes me shiver. “Give me a kiss.” I can’t help but smile as I lean down and kiss him. “How long does it usually take you?”
“About thirty minutes.” He nods before tossing the covers off him and standing.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I’m not letting you go outside alone when he could be lurking, and you’re taking my truck.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I tell him, and he just looks at me.
“If he’s not out there waiting for you”—he puts his hands on his hips—“he might be waiting for you to leave. He might be okay with fucking with you, but he won’t fuck with you if you’re in my truck.”
“But,” I start to say, “Ms. Maddie will see me in your truck.”
“Yeah,” he retorts, like so what, “you’re living with me now. She’s going to know. Lots of people are going to be talking.”
“Living with you,” I repeat, not sure what he’s saying.
“You have to go.” He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room and downstairs. “Fuck, it smells good.” He walks over to the box and picks it up, then makes his way to the front door. “Grab my keys.” He motions with his head toward the table where his keys are sitting beside the front door. I pick up the keys and follow him down the steps as he looks around to make sure no one is out there waiting for me. He opens the passenger door and puts the boxes on the back seat of the truck, before walking over to me and opening the driver’s door. “See you soon, baby.” He kisses my lips as if we’ve always done this… always.
I get into the truck and pull out, making sure I drive properly in his brand-new truck. My eyes are looking around to make sure Winston is not waiting for me. When I pull up to the back of the bakery, Ms. Maddie is getting there at the same time. I jump out of the truck. “Do I want to know?” she asks, looking at the truck.
“Winston showed up last night,” I start telling her the story, which I’ve said often enough, “and this time, it got physical.” Her eyes go big and then razor sharp. “Brady came in and forced me to stay at his house.” The razor-sharp look changes.
“Isn’t that something,” she ponders, grabbing the boxes from me quickly. “Get out of here.”
“I might have a new cake next week,” I tell her, and she nods as she closes the back door. I make my way back to the house, seeing there are lights on in the kitchen and I’m sure I would have turned them off before I left. Parking, I get out and walk up the steps, opening the door softly but stopping when I hear voices.
"How many do you want?" I hear Brady ask, and I walk slowly to the kitchen, stopping in my tracks.
Wyatt sits on the stool facing Brady’s back, who is at the stove. “Hey, Momma,” he greets with a smile. “Brady is making me pancakes.” Speechless—that is the only thing I am. Actually, after I hear what comes out of his mouth next, I know I’ll never have words again. “And after that, he is taking me fishing.”
CHAPTER 21
Brady
I stand at the stove with the spatula in one hand and my coffee cup in the other, looking at Harmony standing there with a pale face. Maybe, perhaps I should have spoken to her about making plans. “I’m sorry, what?” she asks, as I put down my coffee cup and walk over to grab her a mug.
“Wyatt,” I start to say, pouring her a cup of coffee and placing it on the counter right next to the orange juice Wyatt asked for, “said he’s never been fishing before.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t move from the spot she’s in, and I have to think about how to play this. I could go to her and grab her face in my hands and kiss her, but that will be after Wyatt gets used to me being in their lives.
“I thought you could sleep,” I explain, wondering if I’ll have to carry her over to the stool, “so I’ll take Wyatt out, and we can go fish a bit.”
“Um,” she says, but I turn to flip the pancakes over, “you don’t have to do that.”