Past His Defenses by Andrew Grey

Author:Andrew Grey [Grey, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 9781644059449
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2022-01-10T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 7

DIXIE DIDN’T let his guard down for a second the rest of the time they were out. It probably sucked for Henri, but the boy’s game of hide-and-seek had shaken Dixie to the core. He’d always thought he’d struck a decent balance between Henri’s safety and letting him have a life, but now he was reevaluating everything.

“Stop it,” Robert said gently once Henri was in bed and Dixie had returned to the living room. “I know how you feel, and it wasn’t your fault.”

“You know, I could say the exact same thing to you,” Dixie challenged.

“I know. I got a message a few minutes ago from my captain. Grace’s infection is going away, she’s apparently up and moving around, and her mother says that she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. So things worked out for her.”

Dixie nodded. “True, but I bet Grace’s mother wishes she had taken more steps to watch her daughter and prevent what happened in the first place. I have that chance with Henri, and I’m not going to allow him to be harmed.” He sat down, eyes a little glazed over. Robert took his hand and held it, tracing the backs of his fingers. Dixie closed his eyes and just enjoyed the simple touch, the comfort, while it was offered.

“You can’t wrap him in bubble wrap.” He smiled. “Well, you could, but the school and the neighbors are going to look at you funny, and he’d pop every time he moved. No kid wants that.” Dixie scowled at him without even a twitch of a smile. “Come on, I was kidding. The least you can do is smile.” Robert scowled back, and finally Dixie huffed a little but let his lips tick upward. He appreciated that Robert was trying to lighten the mood, but he wasn’t sure he could do that right now.

“I have to keep Henri safe,” Dixie whispered. That was all that really mattered. His son was his family—he was the center of his life, and the thought of losing him nearly made him sick. But he knew if anyone could help, it was Robert.

“I know you do.” Robert turned on the sofa so he was facing Dixie. “And I’ll help you. You know that.” He leaned closer, sliding his hand around the back of Dixie’s neck. It was an intimate gesture, and Dixie thought of resisting but didn’t have the energy. It felt good to have someone who seemed to know what he needed. “You’re a father, his papa, and I know you worry. You can’t help it. I can’t either.” Dixie knew Robert understood—Holly’s death and the fallout it had created for his entire family life pretty well guaranteed that. Robert was probably the only person he knew who fully got his mind-numbing fear.

“This is such a mess.” It would be easy on his ego to say that this was his problem, one of his own making due to his work, and he needed to be the one to handle it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.