bottom line is, I need to go gentle with this. She needs to trust me before she gives it.”
“She won’t give it. And you going gentle with Addy is the wrong thing to do.”
Just like last night, my muscles clenched and I felt like I was walking through a minefield.
“Mom tried gentle, Dad tried it, I did, Jason did, and gentle doesn’t work with Addy. Besides, she’s been treated gently her whole life, being the youngest. God love my brother, but someone needs to find the Protect my Sisters gene and cut his in half. He loves us all, but Addy’s his favorite. I was young but I still remember if Mom was feeding or changing Hadley, Jason had Addy. I don’t know how to explain it beyond when the twins were born, Jason being the eldest kicked in a lot, and he formed a bond with Adalynn that cannot be denied, and because of that, he is crazy-protective over her. And the unfortunate side effect is, he babys her. She loved it when she was little. Didn’t like it when she was a teenager, but hates it as an adult.”
Well, that explained some of why Jason was being over the top.
Please don’t do this to me.
That morning’s argument rushed back and I understood. I hadn’t meant to, but I had done exactly what she’d accused. I was being gentle, not wanting to set her off or make her feel trapped. I was big, and while I wouldn’t call Addy tiny, she was damn smaller than me.
“Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Gentle’s not gonna work.”
“No,” she softly agreed.
“Fuck.”
I’d been so caught up thinking about what Jasper had said about wanting his girl to have easy, I was hellbent to give it to her, and inadvertently, I’d done the very thing she told me she hated and treated her like she needed to be coddled and shielded. When she absolutely didn’t.
I’d forgotten how strong she was.
“Fuck.”
“Thank you.” Quinn smiled.
It wasn’t her pretty eyes, it wasn’t her shiny black hair, or her drama that had hooked Brice deep. It was that smile.
Goddamn, Walker women.
Lethal.
Every last one of them.
Twenty minutes later, I went in search of Jason. Bass had texted that he was taking Addy to lunch then he’d bring her back.
Had yesterday’s conversation with Bass gone any other way, the thought of him having lunch with my woman would’ve sent me zero to sixty. I was not a man prone to jealousy, then again I’d never had a woman who I cared enough about to contemplate the emotion. Since my feelings for Addy ran deeper than care, and straight to where she’d be the mother of my children, I figured I could cut myself some slack on my need to be possessive.
But Bass got who Addy was to me, admitted he knew he was never going to break through, and didn’t want to lose the friendship. He was also fully on board with having Addy’s back should the need arise. So I knew she was in good hands and wouldn’t be back for at least an hour.
Hopefully what I had to say to Jason wouldn’t take an hour.
I found him in his office. Blueprints to the new building opened, taking up the surface of his desk. His head came up when I entered but other than that, he gave me nothing.
“I know you’re busy. But I’d appreciate it if you’d give me some time.”
Jason folded the blueprints and dipped his chin toward the chair in front of his desk. Not the most welcoming invitation, but I’d take it.
“How’s Mercy?” I started.
“Feeling better.”
“Good. Addy said she called to check on her and Mercy reported feeling fat, human, and hungry. Never been around a pregnant woman so I didn’t know, but Addy says that means she’s feeling good. Glad that’s the case.”
Jason’s lips twitched and he said, “Yeah, few days ago, it’s like a switch flipped and she stopped throwing up. Thought that shit was supposed to end sooner. I’m just happy we’ve moved on to the hungry part. That I can handle. Waking up in the middle of the night to make her a cheeseburger is a helluva lot better than waking up to carry her to the bathroom.”
I wasn’t there to discuss Mercy’s pregnancy cravings though I did file that away for future use. Middle of the night cheeseburgers did indeed sound better than puke.
“Happy for you but happier for Mercy,” I told him, then instead of wasting a bunch of time with small talk, I