A heavy weight made Braden’s gut sink. Here he’d been trying to play around and hide with her and Wes hadn’t known where she was.

“I’m sorry. I was bored.” Jessie stepped away.

“It’s okay.” There was a slight waver to Wes’s voice as he tried to smooth her hair down, which just popped back up again.

“Do you got a dog?” Jessie asked Braden, pointing to the dog food in his cart. Wes stood from his kneeling position, unease rolling off him as though he just noticed Braden was standing here.

Braden nodded at him. “I saw her standing here and stopped.”

“Thanks...thanks for waiting with her until I found her.”

Ummm, or not. He hadn’t thought of waiting with her. “No problem.” He looked down at Jessie. “I do. He’s a chocolate lab, and about as crazy and wild as they come.”

“Oooh! I want a puppy. Can we get one, Uncle Wes?” And then to Braden, she asked, “What’s his name? Mommy says a name has to mean something.”

Wes paled. He briefly closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. Jessie didn’t seem to notice, but Braden did. Jessie had said Mommy says, not said. His chest ached for the man.

Wes ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes again, obviously wishing he could disappear.

“His name is Jock.” Braden bent down to look Jessie in the eyes, hoping to give Wes a minute.

“What does it mean?”

That he has a fascination with jockstraps... “I’m not creative enough to come up with a name that means something. If I ever get another dog, you can name him. What would you pick?”

She spoke without hesitation. “Uncle Wes.”

Above him, he heard Wes chuckle at that. “You can’t name a dog after me.”

“Why not?” Braden asked at the same time Jessie said, “How come?”

Braden stood. “Personally, I like the name.”

Wes crossed his arms. “Nobody asked you.”

Jessie pulled on Wes’s T-shirt. “That wasn’t very nice.”

Braden crossed his as well, cocking a brow. He could see the fire in Wes’s hazel eyes. He’d seen the same fire the night they’d spent together.

“Yeah, that wasn’t very nice.” Braden grinned, and Wes’s fire blazed even fiercer.

“Mommy says you have to say sorry when you do something that’s not very nice.” Jessie’s big, chestnut eyes looked up at Wes, and Braden knew the man was so incredibly screwed. How would he ever be able to say no to the little girl? And he had to admit, this was a little fun.

What made it better was the small smile threatening to break free across Wes’s face. He fought it, that much was obvious, but it wanted to be there. Braden wondered when the last time he smiled was. The night they’d spent together, the only ones he’d shown was when he gave Cooper a hard time about Noah, and he wondered how real those had been.

So this time, he didn’t even try and find his filter. Who the hell needed one, anyway? “Apologies go a long way, Uncle Wes. I’ve been nothing but nice to you.” More than once that night, before Wes had bailed on him.

***

Jessie standing next to him was the only thing that kept Wes from strangling Braden. He didn’t even care that they were in public. The jail time would be worth wiping that cocky smile from his full lips. Not that his lips were any concern to Wes.

“You’re right, Jess. That wasn’t very nice of me.” His eyes met Braden’s, the words much harder to push from his mouth when he did. “I apologize.” I’m going to kill you.

“I forgot what you said? Why are you sorry?” Braden smirked. Was everything a game to the man?

Wes bit down, trying not to tell Braden what he really felt. The prick. “I apologize for being rude.”

Jessie’s thin arms wrapped around his waist. “Good job, Uncle Wes.”

His heart thudded, suddenly the fake apology becoming worth it. “Thanks, kiddo.”

Braden’s forehead wrinkled slightly, but then he found his ground. “Yeah, Uncle Wes. Good job. And I forgive you. What are friends for?”

“Stop calling me that. Please.” He added the last part so Jessie wouldn’t give him hell. She was just as strong and opinionated as her mom had been.

“Oh, can I pick some fruit snacks?” Jessie pointed to the aisle behind them. Wes turned so he could keep an eye on her and nodded. Two seconds later she already ran over, scanning the five million shapes of the same thing.

“You’re right.” Braden stepped closer to him. Wes stood his ground, not moving backward. That didn’t stop Braden from leaning forward, his mouth close to Wes’s ear, and whispering, “Considering I’ve been inside you, that’s probably not the best thing to call you.”