“Yep.” Shane moved his gaze toward the door, but his feet stayed rooted next to Brandt.
“Not gonna fight you on it.” Stretching, Brandt faked a yawn. He meant more than the order of the showers. He wasn’t gonna fight to make Shane feel something he didn’t.
“Good. You get some rest.” And then Shane went and undid every last one of Brandt’s resolutions when he brushed a kiss over Brandt’s forehead. Just that one moment of tenderness, that little gesture, was enough to have Brandt wanting with fierceness he wasn’t sure he’d ever had before.
“You too,” he managed, eyes burning as Shane pressed another kiss to his mouth. His heart might not have enough padding for this fling of theirs, yet no way was he stopping before Shane did, before he got to experience every possible moment.
Chapter Fifteen
“What the heck are you up to?” Shane pulled up short at the sight of Brandt at the dining table with a sewing machine in front of him and fabric and scissors strewn over the tabletop. He’d already been in a good mood from band practice, and it showed in his light tone.
“Sewing.” Brandt continued to feed fabric through the machine. They’d had a fast baby handoff when Brandt had come in from work and Shane had needed to leave, but clearly he’d been busy in Shane’s absence.
“I see that.” Still in a teasing mood, he offered Brandt a grin. “Since when do you sew?”
Shane walked over to where the baby was in her swing, doing her new trick of holding on to a little soft toy and watching whatever Brandt was doing with wide eyes. She might have Brandt’s birthmark, but she had Shelby’s cheeks and her long thin fingers, which made Shane’s chest tight when he thought too hard about it.
“How do you think our gear gets repaired?” Brandt made a dismissive gesture before he turned the fabric with the ease of someone who did this often. His competence was weirdly sexy, the way he effortlessly juggled talking with Shane, working the foot pedal, and guiding the fabric. “Hell, yes I can sew. But I could do that before smoke jumping too.”
“Oh?” Lifting Jewel out of the swing, Shane took a seat on the floor with her near Brandt’s chair at the table.
“Yeah. One of the foster homes I was in had a mom who liked to quilt. She showed me some of the basics of hand sewing and how machines operate. Nice place. Had to move on when she got pregnant with twins, but the sewing lessons stuck with me.”
“I’m glad you had that for a while.” Shane’s jaw flexed. The image of young Brandt, moving on yet again, made a melancholy tune roll through Shane’s head. He tried to match Brandt’s casual tone, but it was tough when he wanted to rail at the system that had let Brandt down over and over. “What are you making now?”
“Well, I like the sling we got for holding the diva at the resale place, but it pulls at my shoulder and is almost too short for either of our torsos. I had the idea that some of the industrial material we use for packs would make a better sling, so I deconstructed the first one and am having a go at it.”
“Go you. Super dad.” He meant it too because not only had Brandt coped with Shane being out of the house for a few hours, but he’d managed to craft for the kid. Damn impressive.
“Huh. I guess I am. The dad I mean.” Brandt sounded slightly amazed at this turn of events.
“Yeah, you are.” Shane was more and more able to see Brandt in that role. He was damn good with Jewel, never leaving her entirely to Shane when he was home and always attentive to her needs. “Just wait until she starts talking. And now you’re going to be the only dad on the playground with a parachute-worthy sling.”
“Talking? Playground? I’m over here trying to take it one day at a time.” Stopping sewing for a moment, Brandt glanced down at Shane and the baby, lopsided grin but worry in his eyes. “There’s still no guarantee that your sister is going to stay gone. And beyond that, I don’t want to think too far down the road.”
“Me either. And I tried Shelby’s phone again,” Shane admitted. It hadn’t been because he was overwhelmed or because Brandt was doing a bad job. He was concerned about her, and Jewel learning new tricks only underscored how long she’d been gone. “Texted her the pic of Jewel smiling. And then later, I tried calling. No reply.”
“That’s worrisome.” Brandt’s frown mirrored the weight on Shane’s soul whenever he thought about Shelby. “I’m still concerned this could be some sort of post-baby depression. I wish there was some way to know if she was safe.”