Whispers of a Broken Halo by Abbi Glines

I didn’t reply. I went to my bedroom to get on a pair of cutoff sweats and a T-shirt before joining them in the kitchen. He would be leaving soon enough to handle the problem Tory might have left behind. I just hoped he was right and could fix things like he seemed to think he could. I only had two weeks off work, and then I would go back, and Cullen would have to get into a new routine.

Thankfully, I had more money in savings than I’d thought I would see in this lifetime, but I didn’t know if Tory had some debt in the drug world that I was going to have to pay. I also wanted to keep that money in savings and not use it to live on. It was the first time in my life I had some security, and I wanted to keep it that way.

Going back to work and taking Henley up on the babysitting wasn’t going to be an option for me though. Rio would not be okay with that, and I couldn’t ask that of her even if I paid her. Besides, I didn’t know what went on at the house Henley lived in. She was nice, but there could be parties and guys over there, drinking with her boyfriend. I would protect Cullen the way I hadn’t been protected.

Figuring out how to go back to work was something I had less than two weeks to work out.





Chapter Nineteen

Rio

This was fate’s way of laughing at me and telling me to fuck myself. Or at least, it felt that way. No woman should look that damn good after just waking up, especially when she’d had an interrupted night’s sleep and then spent the rest of the night on a twin bed with a kid.

Damn, damn, fucking hell! I didn’t want this image in my head. I was dealing with enough shit.

Then, she smiled at me. It wasn’t a flirty smile or even a happy to see you smile. It was more of a good morning , oh, you’re still here , and I don’t know what to say smile. But dammit, she made even that look good.

I nodded my head in greeting, unsure about speaking just yet.

“Are you gonna make Rio waffles too?” Cullen asked.

Bryn yawned, covering her mouth, and, Jesus, why was that sexy! Then, she nodded her head and gave the kid a genuine smile. It was a good thing she hadn’t given me one of those. My head was too mixed up this morning to handle that. I would have forgiven her anything if she’d smiled at me like that. I was pretty damn sure I would have forgiven her even if she had set my Jeep on fire.

It was the lack of sleep. That was all this was. Sleep deprivation was making me stupid.

“If Rio wants waffles, I will happily make him some,” she told the kid, then shifted her gaze to mine only briefly before turning to get a cup from the cabinet. The T-shirt she was wearing lifted with her arms, and there was a small flash of skin just above the waist of her shorts.

Why was that so damn sexy when I had seen the woman practically naked? It was the sleep deprivation. That, and I needed to get laid. Tonight, I would fix that. It had been weeks since I’d fucked. That had to be part of this.

“I need to get going. I’ve got things to handle before going into work,” I said, wanting to get away from Bryn as quickly as possible.

I wasn’t sure how much longer my good sense would hold out. My attraction to her wasn’t something I ever intended to act on. Seeing her last night, alone, taking care of Cullen the way his mom should have been, that had done something to my head. My good sense was gone for a moment. She’d almost won me over, and then I remembered all the reasons she was bad news.

I had been wrong about one thing, and after my brief stay here, I was willing to admit it even if only to myself. Bryn was a good aunt. Hell, she was a good mom. She was the mom we never had. The kid wasn’t suffering because of her. Tory was a piece of shit, but Bryn made up for it. She sacrificed for him, and it was clear he loved her. Working at a fucking strip club wasn’t the answer, but she wasn’t my business. If that was what she wanted to do, then fine.

“Okay, uh, thank you for that and last night,” Bryn replied with a soft smile that was as genuine as I was going to get, and that was a good thing.

“No problem,” I replied. I shifted my gaze from her to the kid. “See you around,” I told him.

He didn’t smile at me this time but nodded his head. His shoulders were slumped, as if my leaving was letting him down. Damn, this wasn’t something I had been prepared for either.

“Cullen, I need a little help, washing the berries. Can you get a chair and do that for me?” Bryn asked.

Just like that, his face brightened, and he rushed over to grab a kitchen chair.

She smirked when I looked back at her and shrugged. “He’ll be fine,” she assured me.

I knew he would be. I had witnessed how fine he was with my own eyes. I started to turn for the door when I paused and looked back at her. She was watching me.

“I forgive you for bashing the Jeep,” I told her. “It’s forgotten. Whatever made you do it, I don’t care.” If nothing else, I needed to let that go.

I didn’t wait for a response before heading for the door this time. She hadn’t expected my forgiveness, and I knew she probably didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t require one. I’d just needed to get that out. Then, maybe I could put her behind me. Move on from what I had witnessed here and forget her.

“Aunt Bryn didn’t bash your Jeep,” Cullen called out, and I paused with my hand on the doorknob.

“Cullen,” Bryn said his name, but I turned back around and looked directly at her.