Page 46 of Heart of a Hero

“Do you want us to see you home?” Forrest asked. “We walked downtown, but I can get my car and follow you to make sure you’re okay.”

“No. We’ll be fine. My car is half a block away, but I appreciate the offer.” She took Bethany by the hand and left the restaurant.

“Daddy,” Lizzie said, climbing on his lap. “Can we go home and watch movies?”

“Yes. We definitely can.” He hugged her, and Lizzie leaned against his chest.

“Is that man going to try to get me?” she asked.

“No, absolutely not,” Conrad answered. “He’s going to be in jail, and he isn’t going to be able to hurt you or Bethany either. So you don’t have to worry about him.” He lightly rubbed her back. “I promise.”

“But Bethany said he was her dad,” Lizzie said.

“He needs help, and hopefully he’ll get it,” Conrad told her. He thanked the restaurant owner and left a good tip for the server before leaving the restaurant. Conrad carried Lizzie home, and once they were safe inside the house, got her out of her winter gear and settled on the sofa under a blanket with her movie list playing.

“God, that was something else. I knew Lester had some issues, but he seems to have completely lost it,” he said softly enough so that Lizzie couldn’t hear.

“Yeah. But he’ll be away for a while, given his behavior and the way he tried to take Bethany. Law enforcement does not take lightly to attempted kidnapping.” Forrest was right, though he wished he could get that anxiety and fear to go away. No one had been after Lizzie, but he could feel Linda’s fear, and it hung over him. “It’s Christmas,” Forrest said. “Lizzie is going to pick up on your feelings and worry, so try not to let it bother you. Let’s go in there and watch some cartoons. It will feel normal and help her process what she saw.”

He knew Forrest was right, but first, he pressed Forrest against the wall, out of sight of the other room, and kissed him hard. Forrest grabbed his backside and deepened the kiss, adding heat and energy until Conrad could barely breathe or think straight. Then he pulled back, smiled, and went into the living room.

“Bastard,” Conrad said under his breath and took deep breaths until he settled down and his arousal was not so pronounced. Then he got some drinks and went into the living room, sat in the chair with his feet up, and watched the shows,

Everything was going to be okay. Lester had been caught and he was going to be in custody for a while. He, Forrest, and Lizzie could have a nice Christmas… and the rest would take care of itself.

Chapter 17

THE FOLLOWING morning, Lizzie must have decided to sleep in, because Forrest woke up alone next to Conrad. He slipped out of bed and dressed before going downstairs. He found things for breakfast and figured bacon would probably wake both Lizzie and Conrad… and he was right.

“Bacons…,” Lizzie said as she climbed into a chair, bright-eyed and expectant.

“Yes.” He made a piece of toast and got the eggs going. “I’ll give you some in a few minutes when it’s done.” Conrad joined them with his phone to his ear, talking to someone about something work-related. He was giving instructions and sounded frustrated but held up two fingers.

“That’s it. Just make that change and you should be good to go.” He waited a few minutes and smiled. “Excellent. Let me know if there are more issues, but you should be good.” He ended the call and sat down next to Lizzie.

Forrest finished the bacon and got Lizzie a few slices, then worked on more toast. It almost felt as though they were a family. With his parents busy schedules, he had felt a little on his own for the past few years, and their deciding on a cruise over Christmas only made that more acute. But Lizzie and Conrad made that disappear, and he was excited for the holiday. He dished up plates for himself and Conrad and brought them to the table.

“What are the plans for today?”

“Lizzie is going to Gramma’s for a while because you and I have Christmas stuff to do,” Conrad said. Forrest wondered what he meant, but he ate his eggs and figured it was best if he went along with it.

Lizzie seemed happy enough, and after breakfast, Conrad got Lizzie dressed for outside and walked her over to his mom’s. By the time he returned, Forrest had the dishes done and turned to Conrad expectantly.

“I thought you and I could try to finish our work in the basement. Our submissions are due in January, so I figured we could see about getting it completed.”

“Sounds good.” Life in general seemed to have gotten in the way of their project. Well, that and the fact that their new relationship had shifted what time they had to other, more intimate things. “I’ve had some ideas that I thought we could try.”

“All right.” He took Forrest by the hand. “Let’s get started.” Energy flowed off Conrad, and Forrest was drawn to that like a magnet. He followed him down the stairs to their model, which now stood on the floor. The legs, hips, and torso were done. Forrest had completed the desert reeds and plants that would allow the steadying connection from the hips to the base to blend in. Those parts sat on another table, along with the rest of the accessory pieces they had finished. “I have a few design ideas for the head, but I wanted to get your thoughts. He’s depicted in a number of ways, and I thought this one was the most interesting.”

“I like it too, especially with the headpiece. It adds a lot of drama, but it’s going to add weight.”

“Yeah. So I was thinking, remember how we built that central column up the body for stability? We can use that to support the headdress. We’ll extend that to the top of the head. It will funnel the stress of the headpiece right to the base. Do you want to work on that while I finish the head?”

“Sure.” He got the bricks they’d need and built the support up to the base of the neck while Conrad put finishing touches on the crocodile head. A couple of times they checked that everything was going to mesh up, and once Conrad was ready, they placed the head on the figure. Then the two of them worked together to build the headdress, which extended to the shoulders and down the back, adding additional stability.

It looked danged cool and pretty intense. The crocodile head was a deep green, which stood out against the black body. Once they were done, they both stood back and Conrad gave Forrest a kiss, followed by a huge grin. “This is awesome. It’s grand in scale and it looks right, especially with how we handled the head. The headdress covers the change in color, so it looks perfect.”

“Yeah, it’s great. Now for the arms,” Forrest said with a groan. “They are going to be tough.”