“I just wanted to help you.” Jagger’s explanation was muffled as I cupped the back of his head, pressing his face into my shoulder. “You were worried you’d be late for work, so when you got dressed, I ran down to talk to Dax.”
A boulder settled in my stomach. My kid was once again running to my rescue. God, what type of parent was I? “That was nice of you to do, but you still can’t leave without me,” I reminded him, every bit of anger seeping out of my body. I wanted to be pissed at hell with him for what he did, but he wouldn’t understand that it was only because he’d scared me so damn much.
“We had a talk on the way back down here,” Dax told me. “Now, if what the kid says is right, you need to get your butt to work. He and I have big plans tonight, and you’d just be the third wheel.”
It may not have been his intention, but that cut deep. I hated knowing that I was getting ready to go deal with a bunch of drunks for the night while he stayed and took care of my son. Again, my job, not his.
Sensing the drastic drop in my mood, Dax reached out a hand to help me up from the floor. “Hey, you know I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said softly once Jagger ran off to start pulling blocks out of the bins in the living room. “I know you’d rather be here with him, but that’s not possible. And kids don’t like changes in their routines, so I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure he has a good night. Plus, he told me he’s worried about your mom. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, she’s got a fever and a nasty cough. It’s probably nothing, but my dad wants to take her in to get checked,” I told him, even though I was still struggling to convince myself that it wasn’t anything serious. Somewhere along the way, I’d lost the ability to think rationally and I’d become convinced that everyone I dared to care about would leave me eventually. “Are you sure you don’t mind staying with him tonight? I know you already gave up most of your day for us.”
“Yeah, you’re pulling me away from a thrilling evening of power washing the shutters so they’re ready for paint,” he scoffed. “If it’s cool with you, I was thinking I might see if Jagger wanted to come down and help me. You know, give him another project to work on. If your mom is still under the weather tomorrow, I can come and grab him so you can take a nap and I’ll watch him when you go to work.”
“Wow, you have this all figured out, don’t you?” I stopped myself before telling Dax what a savior he was. That I didn’t know what I’d do, whatwe’ddo without him. But that’d be weird.
Dax simply shrugged. “I know you and your parents are pretty solid, so I figured it must be a big deal for them to call so close to when you needed to go to work.” He glanced down at his watch. I was surprised that he wore one at all, but it was big and clunky and fit perfectly with the bad boy image that hid his caring side. It was becoming clear to me that his clothes were a protective armor to keep people at arm’s length.
“You need to get out of here, but is it cool with you if we head down to my place?”
“You do realize what a handful he is, right? You might not get much work done,” I warned him. Dax laughed and his pale eyes grew wide, as if to ask if I’d really just asked him if he knew Jagger was a little shit sometimes. “Okay, stupid question. You’ve pretty much made it your mission in life to rescue him every time he runs away from me. Yeah, it’s cool. And thank you. I’m not sure you know how much I appreciate this.”
“Don’t mention it. But just so you know, I’m keeping track of how many times I save your ass, and payback isn’t going to be cheap.” I frowned and he winked to show me he was kidding. Mostly. And I’ll be damned if my heart didn’t flutter just a bit at the playful gesture. “Now, get out of here.”
Rather than sit around and try to talk him out of saving my ass—again—I quickly scribbled my cell number and the main number for the bar on the back of an envelope, told Jagger to behave, and let Dax know I’d be home by three. With any luck, the other bartender tonight would take pity on me and let me duck out early.
