Hold On (The 'Burg #6)(119)

Garrett interrupted her. “You want me to take Ethan and his bud to the game.”

“Jessie can watch him,” she told him quickly instead of confirming. “But she’s declared she’s not goin’ to a high school football game unless she’s got at least one of her girl posse with her and no one is available. And Ethan might spontaneously combust if he misses a ’dogs home game. So, yes…”

She paused and he knew she was pulling up the courage to go on, something unusual for her, when he heard the hesitancy in her tone as she finished.

“I know this is a lot and it’s early with us, with you and Ethan. I probably shouldn’t even ask. But I like to give my boy as much as I can give him. And—”

He cut her off again, saying quietly, “Cherie, I can take Ethan and his friend to the game.”

There was another pause before, “Are you sure? You can say no. You can be honest. Anytime. With anything. I can talk to Ethan and—”

Again, Garrett interrupted her. “Cher?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

She surprised him again and did as told.

“Gonna stop by J&J’s, get your keys,” he told her. “You need me to pick him up from school too?”

Now Cher was talking quietly. “Yeah, honey, if you can. I was gonna get him and make him sit in the office here, but you lookin’ after him would be a lot better. When he has to sit in the office, he doesn’t bitch, but I can tell he’s not a big fan of being cooped up there. Is that gonna be a problem with work?”

“No, but he’s gonna have to hang with me and Mike in the bullpen for a couple of hours.”

Another pause, then, “Prepare to be freaked, but you do that, he’ll love you forever. And I mean forever. He might demand his best man mention you during his wedding reception speech, with the possibility of you being that best man, that kind of forever.”

Garrett grinned again at his desk. “And that’s supposed to freak me, why?”

“If you don’t know, not gonna tell you,” she muttered, then louder, “After I get off work, I’ll meet you guys at the game.”

Garrett felt his brows draw together. “Do you wanna go to the game after a shift at the bar?”

“It won’t be long. And anyway, I wanna relieve you from duty. I also gotta get into my house and you’ll have my keys,” she answered.

“Watchin’ the Bulldogs play ball is hardly ‘duty,’ brown eyes,” he informed her. “Go home. Put your feet up.”

“Merry—”

He rolled back from his desk, leaned down, elbows to his knees, eyes to the floor, focus now entirely on his girl so he could reassure that girl.

“Guys’ night out,” Garrett said softly. “I got Ethan. We’ll talk man shit and I’ll feed him and make sure he and his bud are good. I’ll get them home. You finish your shift, go home, relax, unwind, prepare, ’cause I want my girl rested and ready for our Saturday.”

Cher said nothing.

When this went on too long, he called, “Baby?”

He heard her clear her throat before she told him, “I have a spare set of keys in my junk drawer in the kitchen. Ethan can show you. Could you drop them by J&J’s sometime before the game so I can get in while you guys are out?”

“Absolutely.”

She again didn’t reply.

So he asked, “You okay?”

“No.”

It was a whisper and his focus sharpened.

“No?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “Ethan’s gonna love this. Guy time. Man talk. Showin’ you off to Teddy. And I love it, knowin’ I don’t gotta say he can’t have somethin’ he wants because I gotta work and I can’t find anyone to give it to him. So no, Merry, I’m not okay. This is not an okay feeling. This feelin’ is me bein’ f*cking happy.”

His throat closed, his chest tightened, and his first reaction was to disconnect the call. But at the same time, his gut had warmed because it felt so damned good just giving Cher that emotion and also doing it knowing she hadn’t had a lot of it in her life.

He powered past his first reaction and told her, “I’ll walk down to the bar in a few to get the keys, babe. Yeah?”

“Yeah, gorgeous. See you then.”

“Later, Cher.”

“Later, Merry…and thanks, honey.”

“No problem.”

He disconnected, straightened in his chair, and rolled back to his desk. He felt Mike’s gaze, so he lifted his to his friend’s.

“Take it we got a ten-year-old for ride-along this afternoon,” he remarked.

“If that’s gonna be a problem for you—” Garrett started.

Mike shook his head. “Ethan’s a good kid. We’re in doin’ paperwork, so he’s not stopping us from doin’ shit we need to do. And not like he hasn’t hung with the guys before.”

That was true. It hadn’t happened often, but on occasion over the years when Cher needed him because there was no one else to help, Colt had brought Ethan in.

Garrett looked across the room.

Colt was sitting at his desk, grinning at something Sully was saying, Sully sitting across from him.