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Fuck, I hated Dallas.
Using my phone, I disarmed the alarm and unlocked the door with the pad of my thumb, closing, locking, and rearming it behind me.
The house was utterly silent except for my footfalls as I moved farther into the house.
My first stop was Forest’s room, where I checked on him to make sure that he was okay.
He was fast asleep in the footed pajamas from earlier.
He had a bear that I hadn’t seen before now tucked into his chest, and his fingers were clutching… my shirt.
I closed my eyes as a wave of rightness washed over me.
This was my child.
Why did it feel so right?
It felt as if he’d always been there in my heart, taking up space.
It took considerable effort to pull myself out of the room.
It took even more effort not to stop by Pepper’s on my way to my own.
I crawled into the bed fully clothed, fell face first into the pillow that still smelled like Pepper, and fell asleep.
It felt like seconds later when I was awoken by my phone vibrating in my pocket.
I rolled over, still in the same exact spot from when I’d collapsed and pulled my phone out of my pocket.
“Hello?” I grumbled.
“Your girl was right,” Garrett said. “She walked in here, pockets full of drugs, got the key card from a cleaning lady, and was heading for the employee elevators when I walked up. Boss immediately alerted, and I called in backup. She was arrested, in full uniform, fifteen minutes ago.”
A wave of disgust rocketed through me.
“Dad know?” I asked.
“He was my first call,” he answered, sounding distracted. “I gotta go. Better head to the station.”
I quickly washed my face, brushed my teeth, and used the restroom.
After washing my hands, I changed my clothes, then headed back out to the kitchen.
When I got there, it was empty.
I glanced at the time on my watch and found it to be a few minutes shy of seven in the morning.
I headed down the hall toward Forest’s room and found him still in his footed pajamas, this time wide awake and staring at the door with the saddest look in his eyes.
“Hey, bud,” I said. “Why didn’t you come wake me up?”
If my calculations were correct, Pepper had been gone for a solid three hours by now.
How long had he been awake?
“No wake,” he said.
“Yes wake,” I said. “Anytime you wake up, you can wake me up. Just come down to my room.”
