Free Her Lucky Love by Carrie Ann Ryan Page B

room. “I’m going to let Lacy show me what toys she brought with her. You two go do what you need to. We’ll hold down the fort.”
    He walked away with Lacy in his arms, Aiden trailing behind him.
    “Okay, who was that man?” Jordan asked.
    Brayden laughed. “Jacks isn’t that bad, you know.”
    “Oh, I do,” Allison said. “But, this doesn’t seem like him.”
    “Tell me about it. When he offered to come with me today, Matt nearly passed out.”
    They laughed, and Allison couldn’t help noticing Brayden’s arm was still around her, even though she didn’t need the support…well, at least physically. His warmth felt damn good on her, not that she’d say that out loud.
    “Okay, you two go off and talk to Tyler. We’ll be here if you need us.”
    Jordan followed Jackson and the kids and left Allison standing in the foyer alone with Brayden. Allison held up her hand and ran behind them, making sure she said goodbye to her children before she left.
    “With Jordan here with her magic, that you know and trust, the kids should be safe,” Brayden said as he bundled her up, his fingers dancing along her neck as he helped with her jacket.
    Shivers ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Allison ignored them, and they piled in his truck, her hands shaking.
    “I know she’ll take care of them. I’m just worried like a normal mom. I have a list though of what we need so that shouldn’t take long. I’m just not in the mood to have to relive everything that happened last night when we talk with Tyler.”
    Brayden pulled out of the garage and held her hand. “I won’t let you be alone.”
    She warmed at his words but shook them off.
    “Don’t do that,” she said.
    “What?”
    “Don’t treat me like this. Bray. I know I kissed you back today, but I shouldn’t have. We can’t be together. Don’t you get that? I need to make sure my children are safe. I don’t have time to worry about myself. I can’t be selfish. And yes, I know in my heart that you’re not Greg. I trust you Brayden, even with the magic thing that I just don’t know about. But it’s change. You know? I can’t deal with all of this and take care of my children.”
    He squeezed her hand but didn’t say anything for a while as they drove toward the station.
    God, she’d ruined it. She’d only meant to protect herself and her children, and she’d hurt Brayden…and herself, in the process. She didn’t deserve him.
    “Don’t count me out yet, Ally. I won’t stand in your way of being the best mom you can be, but at some point, you need to realize it’s all right to be a woman too.”
    “I can’t, Bray.”
    “No, you can, but you aren’t. You won’t. That’s the difference. You’re scared, and I know you have a right to be. But I want you to take a chance. I’ve been standing on the sidelines for ten years because I thought that was what I had to do and I was wrong. I’m not going to let you through my fingers again. I’m not losing you. I came to close to it before and I’m not letting that happen.”
    “Bray…”
    “No, don’t say anything. Let’s talk to Tyler and get it over with. Then we can talk about us.”
    “There is no us.”
    “There will be.”
    “Brayden…”
    “I’m lucky, remember? It’s time I use my lucky talisman for something other than myself.”
    They got out of the car and headed into the station. The cop on duty in the front of house let them go straight back to Tyler’s office, though Allison could feel the stares of the people in the room as Brayden put his hand on the small of her back.
    She could only imagine the rumor mill at this point, considering she and her children were living with the man.
    Tyler opened his arms, and she went in for a quick hug when she walked into his office. She’d always hugged the Coopers like they were her family and hadn’t thought anything of it until she heard that growl come from Brayden again. It’d never been a problem. But of