Free Undeniable by C. A. Harms Page B

scary, and unpredictable. I just wish there was something I could offer.” I shrugged.
    “You are,” Quinn said. I looked over and met her gaze. “You’re there for them. The kids adore you and Jude.” She smiled. “That man loves you, and you being there helps more than you give it credit for.”
    I was just terrified of what losing Katelynn would do to all of us. I had grown so close to her, and losing her would not only shatter the kids and Jude, it would break me too.
    As Harper set up the room for our massage, a thought occurred to me, and I wiped away the tear that had escaped and rolled down my cheek. I shifted in my chair and looked over at her.
    “Hey, Harp,” I said, and the crack in my voice immediately caught her attention.
    “Yeah?” Her full focus was now on me.
    “What would you think about moving the spa day to Jude’s apartment? I mean, it’s small, and we probably couldn’t fit a massage table in there, but I would be willing to give mine up if I could see a genuine smile from Katelynn.” The tears I had been trying to hold back fell heavy, and I no longer attempted to hold them at bay. “I just think a little bit of pampering for Katelynn may give her that smile. I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more than she does.”
    Harper rarely got emotional, but in that moment she too was fighting back tears. “I couldn’t agree more.”
    So it was settled. Our spa day had just changed location, and the loss of my massage and facial didn’t faze me a bit. I would give up a lifetime of pampering if it meant I could give Katelynn the joy she deserved.
    I picked up my phone and quickly dialed Jude. I wanted to let him know our plans.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Sixteen
     
     
    Jude
     
    “But I wanted to stay at home. I was playing with my trucks,” Matthew pouted from the backseat. His little arms were crossed defiantly over his chest, and his lips were pressed tightly together in a scowl. “Girls are mean.”
    That comment caused me to chuckle. One day he would change his mind.
    To say I was shocked when Callie called would be an understatement, and when she began to explain her plans, I felt myself falling even harder for the woman I knew I already loved. She was so selfless. She had explained that she, Quinn, and Harper were on their way over to bring their biweekly spa day to my place. Zoey was equally excited at the idea of spending a day with the girls and was smiling almost as brightly as Katelynn was as Harper and the others began to unload the cases of hair shit.
    I threw a grumpy Matthew over my shoulder and offered Callie a wink before leaving them to enjoy their day.
    First I thought I could tame the tiny beast by offering him ice cream, but that only lasted for about ten minutes before he began to complain once again. Then I attempted to take him to the park, but he got bored when there was no one there to play with. My big-ass body wouldn’t fit in the jungle gym, so my idea of being his play buddy went downhill fast.
    We stopped by Jett’s for about an hour, where Jett and I locked him in the office with us and let him run wild. When he found the bathroom tucked in the back corner, I should have known it was a disaster in the making, but I got distracted talking to Jett. When Jett’s eyes grew wide in amusement as he stared over my shoulder, I knew it couldn’t be a good sign.
    I slowly turned in my chair and took in my nephew, who was now soaked from his neck to his knees. He shrugged at me like there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. “What?” he asked with a questioning arch of his eyebrow. The kid was a cocky teenager trapped in a toddler’s body.
    Jett chuckled, and I looked back over my shoulder at him. “Why the hell are you laughing?” I asked. “If he looks like that, I’d hate to imagine what your bathroom looks like.” Jett’s laughter stopped, and his face morphed into a look of horror, which in turn only made me laugh.