Trudy frowned, her entire face scrunching up. “Tyler and Rose have a daddy. Why can’t I have one?”
Gemma’s heart took the hit and she barely kept from wincing. That was a fair question. “Honey, it’s just you and me, but we have good friends like Jethro who love you.” She sucked at this. What were the right words?
Trudy tilted her head again. “Tyler said his mommy and daddy sleep in the same bed. You and Jet-ro sleep inthe same bed.”
Oliver coughed. Ian looked like he was about to bust his stitches but keptfrom laughing.
Heat blew into Gemma’s face. They’d only slept together one night, and yet apparently she hadn’t hidden that fact from her daughter. “That doesn’t make him your daddy,” she said softly. “He’s your friend and he’s my friend andhe loves you.”
The girl lowered her chin. “Does he love you?”
Oliver’s shoulders started to shake, but at least he laughed silently. He’d be lucky if he got any more icecream from her.
“Jethro and I are friends, Trudy,” Gemma said. More than friends, but they hadn’t known each other for long. Though did time matter? She’d been with Monty for months and never truly knew him or what monsters lived inside him. With Jethro, she felt she did know him. More than enough to trust him,which she did.
Trudy’s little lips pursed. “Huh.” Then she turned and ran to the sofa, plopping herself between the two wounded warriors. “Canna have ice cream?” She settled her blanket over her legs and looked at first Oliver and then Ian. “They need blankies.” She looked at her mother. “The purple one and the pink one. Please?”
Anything to get the girl to stop thinking about Gemma sleeping with Jethro. She hurried into Trudy’s room, willing her face to stop burning with the embarrassing blush. She fetched the purple and pink throws that matched the Cinderella bedding and returned to the living room, tossing pink at Ian and purple at Oliver.
The men couldn’t have lookedmore confused.
Trudy sighed. “Over your legs.” She looked at her mother and rolled her eyes.
Gemma bit her lip. No doubt the two were as dangerous as Jethro, and based on the many scars she could see on their bodies, they’d seen their share of fights. Would they have any idea how to deal with a toddler? Maybe she should talk Trudy into watching television in the master bedroom for now; it was the only otherroom with a TV.
Ian flipped the pink knit blanket over his muscled legs, covering the hospital scrubs. “Like this?”
Trudy nodded and looked at Oliver, who followed suit. She then turned her full attention on Ian, staring pointedly at the remote control in his hand.
One of his darkeyebrows rose.
Trudy’s chin lowered. “Larry the Tective Lizard is on after nap time.”
“Detective,” Gemma said, hiding her smile this time. Apparently Trudy had the situation well in hand. “It’s Larry the Detective Lizard, and he’s on channeltwenty-three.”
Ian looked at Oliver, then at Trudy, and then back to the television. Shrugging, he changed from the sports to thekids’ channel.
Trudy reached over and patted his hand.
Roscoe surveyed the crew on the plush sofa, walked back and forth, and then leaped up between Trudy and Oliver, flopping his big head in her lap. She petted him, sighing with contentment.
Oliver pushed his tail out of the way. “Roscoe,knock it off.”
Trudy turned toward him. “I wannatalk like you.”
Oliver smiled and settled his head back on the wall above the sofa. “I like the way you talk now.It’s perfect.”
Trudy thought about it and then smiled. She reached over and patted his arm as she had Ian’s. “Mama? Ice cream?”
Oliver’s eyes flew back open. “Yeah. Ice cream sounds good.” He grinned.
Ian eyed his empty bowl. “I could do with a bit more.”
Oh, forgoodness’ sake.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jethro found himself sitting once again in an HDD interrogation room with Scott on one side of him and Angus Force holding up the wall on the other.
