Bridgette

 

“So what now?” Kyle asked after a while. He turned his head toward her, fixing her with his cool gaze. There was no expectation or challenge there. He was asking her a simple question, and his even demeanor seemed to be his way of showing her that he would accept her answer.

 

Bridgette sighed and cuddled closer to him. “I suppose I should pick up Gabby, especially since I don’t have to worry about being seen out with her anymore. I don’t, right?”

 

“No,” Kyle reassured her. “Even if Martin’s guys pick up on what went down—and I’m guessing they won’t, since we have one of the guys who was there with Martin telling everyone that everything is fine—even if someone catches on, their priority is going to be settling their score with the Raging Reapers, not coming after you.” Kyle hesitated for a moment. “You want me to run you to your car?”

 

“In a bit,” Bridgette murmured. “I’m not quite ready to go over there just yet.”

 

Another short silence stretched between them. Then Kyle asked casually, his words almost too calm, “So I take it you’re going to head back to your place with Gabby.”

 

“Yeah,” Bridgette said. “She needs fresh clothes, and I’m sure she’s missed her room.”

 

Kyle looked like he wanted to say more, but he seemed to swallow those words and instead turned his head back the other way so she could no longer see his expression. “Well, I’ll be around,” he said noncommittally. “I’ll keep you updated on how things are going—”

 

“Are you going to be staying here still? Didn’t you say this was one of the guys’ places?”

 

“Just until I can find a place of my own to stay. I’m planning on sticking around for a while.”

 

It was Bridgette’s turn to hesitate. She knew by now that he wanted to be in her life. But what she was about to say stuck in her throat all the same. Because she wanted him in her life, too, and if she’d somehow screwed things up between them by telling him she needed space, she’d never forgive herself. “Well, I was kind of thinking…maybe you could just stay with me.” The words tumbled out of her mouth quickly. “I mean, just until we get things figured out. I mean, until you get things figured out.”

 

Kyle’s head pivoted back to her, a look of surprise in his eyes. “You mean you want me to come stay with you and Gabby? But I thought—“

 

“I never should have kept her from you,” Bridgette told him. “You were right. You had every right to know. I thought I was protecting her, but that didn’t mean I should have kept her hidden from you. Even when I thought that you’d just up and left me, you still deserved to know you’re a father. It was selfish of me—“

 

“No, Bridge,” Kyle cut her off, crushing her against his side. “You were just trying to do what was best for her. I mean, hell, I know I’m not exactly anyone’s top pick for a father. You said it yourself—you were almost shot today because of what I got myself involved in.”

 

“What you got yourself involved in—the Raging Reapers—they’re the whole reason we’re alive. It was never you, Kyle, only shit luck that almost ruined our lives. The first time you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this time it was me. I just happened to pick the wrong spot to start a business.”

 

Bridgette shook her head softly to herself. “If you hadn’t happened across Martin that day…God, I keep trying to imagine what we could have had. Things still would have been tight, and I know we would have struggled, but Gabby would have had a father around. We could have made it work, really work.”

 

Kyle turned onto his side and draped an arm across her body, pulling her in farther against him, molding her stomach and hips into him. “That’s life,” he told her. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, nuzzling into her red curls. “You can’t get hung up on what was. It pisses me off that I missed so much of Gabby’s life. I wish I could have been there. I wish I could have known her from the moment she was born. But there’s nothing I can do to change that now.”

 

“But you can get to know her now,” Bridgette murmured. “That’s what I mean, Kyle. I think we should take this slow, but I want this. I want us. And I want you to be a part of Gabby’s life.”

 

Kyle’s lips broke into a small smile. “I’m glad,” he told her. “This isn’t about me. It’s about doing what’s best for her however I can. If that means we have to back off and take this slow, I’ll back right off. I’d rather die than hurt her.”

 

Bridgette smiled back at him. She shifted her attention his stomach and the slow rise and fall of his diaphragm. Starting at his navel, she began walking her two fingers slowly up his chest, stealing a few playful glances as she did so. “I know,” she told him confidently.

 

Kyle watched her fingers playing across his chest for a few more moments. Then he began tentatively, “What made you change your mind? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy. I missed you so damned much, and after this week I don’t know how well I’d handle being away from you again. But before, fuck, you sounded as if you didn’t want me within ten miles of you and Gabby.”

 

Bridgette let her hand drop lightly onto his chest. She pressed her palm against his warm skin and felt the regularity of his heartbeat; the sensation was strangely soothing. “I was upset and I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’ve had some time now to reassess and get my priorities straight.” She paused, casting a smirk up at him, and added, “It might also have something to do with you acting as a human shield during a shootout. But I can’t be sure.”

 

Kyle rolled his eyes dramatically. “Well, if that was all it took….”