“She loved you more than anything, kiddo.”

“You, too. Mommy said family is the most ’portant thing in the world.”

He smiled at how she said ‘important.’ “It is. You okay?”

Jessie nodded. Wes leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good night, Jess.”

He got all the way to the door before her voice stopped him. “Is Braden a stranger?”

Wes squeezed the doorknob. “No...not really.”

“He’s your friend, though. He was at Aunt Lydia’s for Mommy’s funeral.”

He let the question roll around in his head. She had enough going on in her life; he didn’t want her to be confused about Braden, too. “Yeah, yeah, he’s a friend. We have lots of friends, though. The people in your preschool class, and Noah and Cooper. You remember them?”

Jessie nodded. “I’m glad he’s our friend. I like him. I didn’t want to have to karate-chop him.”

Wes laughed, some of the tension in his chest dropping off with it. But then he thought of Braden’s last words to him. Jessie didn’t have to worry about karate-chopping him, because Wes would probably kill the man first.

Maybe that would take his kissable lips, and his rough, skilled hands out of Wes’s mind. Because as much as he didn’t want to admit it, they’d been there since the night he’d walked out on Braden.

Chapter Three

The next morning Braden kicked back in his recliner and dialed his phone. There was a second where he wondered if maybe he shouldn’t do it, but hesitation wasn’t really how he worked. What did you ever gain by holding back? He had something to say, and he damn sure planned to say it.

Wes, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t agree with him.

Braden grinned when Wes answered on the third ring. “What do you want?”

“You answered.”

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do when someone calls?”

Huh. That reply hadn’t been one he expected. “You’ve ignored my calls before.”

“Would you rather I hang up? I can do that. It’s not like I don’t have other things to do.” The tone of Wes’s voice had that edge of sexy seriousness it always did. It drove Braden wild, which he didn’t get at all. He usually didn’t go for serious.

“No, don’t hang up. You’re not going to want to miss this.” Braden flipped the button closing his recliner before heading to the kitchen. “I’m calling to apologize. I hope you realize how rare an occasion this is. In fact, I can hold on if you want to record it or dictate the conversation or something.”

Silence greeted him.

“Ah fuck. I didn’t make you pass out, did I?”

A husky chuckle came through the phone, making Braden smile. That might be the first time he’d heard Wes laugh.

“You’re crazy.”

Braden leaned against his kitchen counter and crossed his arms. “Does that mean I’m forgiven?” When Wes didn’t reply right away, he added, “I’m only apologizing for what I said at the end of the service. It’s true, but my timing was wrong. And also for the grocery store yesterday. My doctor is still trying to come up with a cure for my ‘open mouth, insert foot’ disorder.”

He listened for a minute to the sound of Wes breathing through the phone before the man finally answered. “If we’re being honest, let’s admit that you have no real reason to apologize. I do, though. Things have just been...”

Braden waited for him to continue but he didn’t. And it didn’t surprise Braden, either. He didn’t know much about Wes, but it was obvious he kept most things to himself. That had never bothered Braden about anyone before, yet even though he understood it, it still felt like that annoying itch he couldn’t scratch. What did Wes have against talking to him? “It’s cool, man. You’re going through a lot. I get it. We can be friends. I know how to only be friends, ya know.”

Wes gave another of his signature pauses. While he waited, Braden thought about telling Wes he liked the new facial hair he had at the store yesterday. Not a full goatee, but dark hair on his chin that added to his sexiness. Luckily, he found it in himself to keep quiet.

“Listen, I better go. I need to pick Jessie up from preschool in a little while, and I have some things to take care of first,” Wes finally said.

A deep breath pushed from Braden’s lungs. There was his answer, he guessed. “Alright. Have a good one.”

He pulled the phone from his ear, about to hit end, when Wes’s voice stopped him. “Thanks...thanks for calling.”