Book 1 - Back of the Shadows

Chapter Eight

"Hey, Morning Gunnar. Wait," Ben says curiously. "What do you mean by screwed?"

"You are married and you are a little too close to my mom!" Gunnar says sternly.

"I am getting a divorce and I have not been with my "wife" for five years," Ben responds.

"So this right here," Gunnar says as he waves his hands in a circular motion around them. "This is not a quick fun time?"

"No, I absolutely love her, and I'll tell you again. I'll have your back and take care of her. I want to be that anchor for her." Ben says proudly.

"We will see. But we need to have this serious talk, come on let's make her breakfast." Gunnar says.

Ben leans down and kisses the top of her head to gently move her off of him. He hears her mumbling and he smiles down at her.

"Shh, baby. Go back to sleep, we will get you breakfast, okay," Ben says.

Sadie just turns over and goes back to sleep. Ben follows Gunnar into the kitchen.

"What do you fancy this morning?" Ben asks.

"French toast." Says Gunnar.

Quietly they gather the ingredients and Gunnar starts to cook some bacon. The easiest thing he could do with one arm. As Ben is soaking the bread in the egg mixture Gunnar starts in on the interrogation. He is surprised at the way the conversation starts.

"I talked with Hudson the other night. Actually we talk almost every night." Gunnar says.

"You do?" Ben responds. Shocked at the fact he didn't know they talked often.

"Yeah, he and Everett know you and Brittany were not happy. We talked about how the past couple of years you have been in this cold awful mood. Brittany mostly wanted them to be poster kids for the business. It's a lot of pressure for them. Gunnar says.

"Wow, I thought we were protecting them better than that." Ben sadly says.

"For smart people, you guys can be pretty oblivious," Gunnar says light-heartedly. "Past couple weeks though they said you seem happier. At about the same time, you started to hang out with my mom. They said that you are spending some more time with them. Kind of freaked them out."

"Well, what do I do?" Ben asks.

"I told them to enjoy any good parts because, in the future, those good memories are what they can hold onto," Gunnar says.

"You are an incredible kid you know," he says.

"Yeah, I know," says Gunnar. "Now this thing with my mom. If you don't plan on staying, do not promise anything. Understand."

Ben nods his head in understanding. They finish up cooking breakfast and when they take it to the living room, Sadie is still sleeping like an angel. Not wanting to let any more time go by, Ben decides to talk to Brittany about what happened at the hospital. Needing clarification. Ben leans down and kisses Sadie's cheek. Sweetly waking her up.

"Honey, you need to wake up, we made you breakfast," he says.

"Hmmm... oh, it smells wonderful. French toast? How perfect." Sadie says.

"Morning Mom," Gunnar says as he barrels through the living room.

"Hey, How are you feeling?" Sadie asks.

"I'm ok, Thankful we are all ok. Last night was scary," Gunnar said. "Would it be ok if I went to check on Victoria? I'd call or text but I feel this needs to be in person."