Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
“But I climbed you like a tree. And now I’m sitting on your lap.”
“Which is exactly where you should be when you’re upset or panicking or just need a cuddle.”
“Should I need a cuddle, though? It’s not very manly.”
“So I’m not manly for needing a cuddle?”
Brody’s eyes widened. “You need a cuddle?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Then . . . I guess . . .” He straightened. “I’ll give you a cuddle whenever you need it.”
“Good boy.”
Joy filled Brody’s face and he relaxed more.
“Come here. Cuddle in close, baby.”
Brody buried his face in the Fox’s neck and he found himself settling as he held his boy.
“That’s my good baby boy. You’re being so good for Papa, aren’t you?”
Brody stiffened, then relaxed. “I’m always a good boy, Papa.”
“Course you are. Now, look at me.”
His Pup drew his face back, staring up at him. “Do you think I would ever allow anything to harm you?”
Wonder filled Brody’s face. “No, Papa.”
The Fox ran his fingers through his boy’s messy hair. “That’s right. Never. You’re mine to take care of, to protect. Just like our girl. And whatever you need, I want to provide. Understand?”
“Yes, Papa.”
He lightly kissed him. “Good boy. Would you like to go spend some time in the playroom before Bunny wakes up? We can do whatever you want to do.”
“Really?” Brody climbed off him, and they climbed down the ladder.
“Yes.”
They both headed back into the den. The Fox took his hand, leading him to the spare bedroom. “I actually bought you some clothes too, Pup. But I put them in here. We can move them into my bedroom later.” He opened a drawer, pulling out a T-shirt that had Brody’s eyes lighting up.
“A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle T-shirt! I still can’t find my other one. Can I wear it now, Papa?”
“Sure.” He handed it over, watching him indulgently as he hastily pulled it on.
Brody wrapped his arms around him. “Thanks, Papa. This is awesome.”
“There are other T-shirts and hoodies in here. As well as some sweatpants.” He drew open the bottom drawer.
“They’re all gray, Papa.”
“They sure are,” he said with satisfaction. “Come on, let’s go to the playroom. What do you want to do?”
“Will you play Rocky with me, Papa? Ooh, maybe we could play with those light sabers first? And I want to look at all those figurines, some of them could be worth a lot of money!”
“Sure, my boy,” he told him. “Anything you want.”
“Yay, Papa! This is going to be so much fun!”
Autumn held onto the Fox’s hand as he led her up some stairs. Where were they going? It was after dinner, which he’d insisted on feeding to her when he’d decided she wasn’t eating enough.
She couldn’t believe she’d napped for as long as she had. She’d woken up in a bit of a panic, but the Fox had come running into her room when she’d started calling out. Things had seemed different between him and Brody.
Easier. Or like they were closer.
Which she was glad for. Brody needed to know that he could let go and be himself.
Now, the Fox had something else to show her.
“Daddy, you don’t need to get me anything else. I’ve gotten so much already.”
“You’ll like this,” Brody told her.
They stepped outside and she breathed in some fresh air. She already liked this. Then they moved to a wooden ladder. She glanced up at the platform above them.
“It’s a treehouse?”
“Yep,” Fox said. “Follow me. Brody, come up behind her.”
It was a simple structure. A wide platform built into the branches with some wooden slats on the side and open above. But there were outdoor bean bag chairs on the floor and fairy lights in the branches as well as so many blankets.
She wanted to run and jump on the bean bag chairs. Instead, she turned to the Fox and Brody. “You guys did this for me?”
“Most of it was the Fox,” Brody said.
“Thank you! Thank you!” She threw herself at the Fox and he caught her, holding her tight.
“Thought you could come up here when you needed some space, to breathe.”
“I can. It’s perfect.”
33
Autumn cut a peach in half and pulled out the stone.
She’d decided to make lunch.
Peach tacos.
She was cutting up each peach, then carving out most of the inside flesh to make room for the taco fixings.
Genius.
And not only would it be delicious, but it was keeping her from worrying too much over being separated from the Fox. He’d been working so hard these past few days trying to find out who Mr. A was. It was always a bit weird seeing him leave looking different. But he was always the Fox to her.
Maybe she should have gone and found Brody, but he was busy in the middle of a game. He already did so much for her that she should let him have his downtime.