GRUFF
“Stay in the car, I’ll come and help you out.” I’m pretty sure that I could hear her eyes roll when I moved across the front end of my truck to help Camila out of the passenger seat, but I didn’t care. She had been through so much and was still in recovery. She may have been released from the hospital, but physically she was still not 100%. Emotionally, well that was going to take way longer than her week-long hospital stay.
With Jasper coming home yesterday, we were officially all back together. Neither of them would be running any marathons soon, but they were out of the hospital and on their way to recovery, and that good for now. Rather than go to the apartment, I drove Camila straight to my parent’s place. They stayed here last night while I spent the night at the hospital and everybody was going to be here as a welcome home kind of get-together.
I open the door on her side and slowly guide her body sideways. “Wrap your arms around my neck.”
“I’m fine, Gruff, I just need to take it slow.”
“Or you could wrap your arms around my neck and I can lift you down comfortably.”
She huffs, “First you help me out of here, and then you’ll insist on carrying me inside.”
I snicker and press my lips against the hand of hers that I’m holding, “I am not against carrying you into the house, but I swear I won’t do that. I’ll let you walk. The doctors said that you need to be using your muscles anyway.”
She looks at me suspiciously for a few moments and then must be satisfied with my response because she wraps her arms around my neck. Once she does that, I slide my hand under the back of her knees and lift her from the truck seat. I pivot and then set her down on her feet, but she doesn’t release her hold around my neck. I take advantage of the close contact and press a kiss against her cheek. Camila’s cheeks turn a soft shade of pink, which is a more flattering color than the fading bruise color and returns the favor, kissing me on my cheek as well.
“Thank you, Gruff.”
“Always, baby...always.”
She reaches for my hand and I lace my fingers with hers. She’s not able to walk that quickly, so we take it just one step at a time. Right as we step up to the front sidewalk, the door swings open and Anna and Nico come running towards us. They both stop short of their mom, knowing they can’t be too hard on her still.
“Mommy! You have to come inside EVERYBODY is here!” Anna grabs her mom’s other hand and hops up and down in excitement.
“Okay, okay. Show me EVERYBODY that is here.” Camila lets go of my hand and walks inside with her daughter.
I put my arm around Nico and pull him against my side. “How are you doing today, buddy?” he just shrugs his shoulders. It is clear that Nico is still dealing with some issues after his father had them kidnapped. He went to his first therapy session a couple of days ago, but the therapist said she’ll only share information they talk about if she feels like it needs to be addressed. As much as I think that is great for the privacy of the kids, I really wish I knew what was going on in his head so I could help him.
“You know that you can talk to me about whatever you want, right? I won’t push you, but I want you to trust me.”
“Do you think tomorrow I could go work in the shop with you?”
“I don’t have any plans, but Tate is going to be putting a new fender on Mr. Johnson’s car, do you want to ask him if you can help?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
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Hard Brake (Wilkins Brothers Book 2)
العاطفيةGriffin "Gruff" Wilkins was a man of few words, a trait he learned at a young age. He was the oldest in his family and learned real quick that if he opened his mouth, it was often shut with a fist or a belt. Therefore, he became a quiet protector ra...
