Henry (The Beck Brothers) (14 page)

Claire moved into the
office and went over to Ethan to feel his diaper. "Oh yeah, he definitely
needs a change. Come on Ethan."

“
Henwee do it,
”
Ethan said and patted Henry
’
s arm a few times.

“
Oh no, Ethan. Henry does
not
want to change your diaper.
”
Claire snorted.

“
Henwee. Do.
”
Ethan demanded, banging his
little fist on Henry
’
s desk
to emphasize each word.

“
Ethan,
”
Claire scolded.

“
I want Henwee do it!
”
Ethan screamed angrily.

Henry
’
s eyes widened at Ethan. Claire
wanted to laugh so badly but she knew she really shouldn
’
t. Henry
’
s
face was classic, and oh how she would love to make him change Ethan
’
s diaper; she was sure Asher
would get a kick out of it. She just didn
’
t
have it in her to be that mean.

“
Listen dude, we
’
re cool and all, but I think you
should let your mom change your diaper,
”
Henry said calmly.

Ethan stared up at
Henry for a moment, seemingly contemplating what Henry had just said to him. It
must have worked because the little bugger turned, put down his crayon, and held
out his arms for Claire. Claire shot Henry a dirty look before lifting him up
and grabbing a diaper out of the bag. Henry gave her a
“
Sorry
”
smile. Claire just rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile, and took Ethan
into Henry's private bathroom to change Ethan
’
s
diaper. Once she was finished, Ethan went running back to Henry. Claire shook
her head as Henry plopped Ethan back down in the chair.
 

"You're okay with
him Henry?
”
Claire asked as
she headed for the door, knowing the answer already.

“
We
’
re
fine,
”
Henry replied,
already back to coloring.

Claire chuckled and
went about her work for the next two hours. Then Claire had to take Ethan
because Henry had a meeting to go to, and Ethan needed a nap anyway. She set up
Ethan's sleeping bag on the floor in the darker corner of her office; she laid
him down with his turtle pillow pet and Mr. Henry Monkey. He fell asleep almost
immediately. Claire used the time to go through Henry's voicemails and emails.

After Ethan's nap, he
went back to Henry where they pretty much played the rest of the day. The
office was buzzing with gossip about Claire and her relationship with Henry.
People had been shocked when she walked in with Ethan. She heard a rumor going
around that Claire had slept with Henry a couple years ago, Ethan was really
Henry's son, and Claire was hiding that fact from him. The same rumor was also
apparently the reason Henry treated her so differently. People were ridiculous
sometimes. Claire rolled her eyes more times today than in her entire life.

At the end of the day,
Claire headed to Henry's office to get Ethan. When she walked in, they were
sitting on the floor rolling a ball back and forth. Claire smiled. God, they
were so cute together.

"I hate to break
up the fun, but it's time to go home Ethan,
”
Claire said.

"No!
”
Ethan cried, his bottom lip
trembling.

Shit, this was going
to be a fight. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but we have to go home. Henry has to
go home, too."

"I go Henwee,
”
Ethan whined, his eyes filling
with tears.

Claire's heart broke
for her son. She knew he really loved Henry if he wanted to go home with him.
"Ethan, you can't go home with Henry,
”
she said, using her gentle but firm tone, letting him know that it really
wasn't going to happen, no matter how much he cried.

"I go Henwee!
”
he screamed and kicked his
feet.

Henry watched him, his
expression was one of torture; he obviously didn't want Ethan so upset. Henry
glanced at her and opened his mouth to speak, but Claire shook her head. She
knew he wanted to suggest they come to his house, but she didn't want to go
back on what she decided; it would only cause more problems later with Ethan.
Henry snapped him mouth shut and got to his feet.

Ethan cried and
screamed for a good five minutes on the floor before getting up and running to
Henry. Ethan held his arms up, crying Henry's name. Henry looked at Claire,
silently asking permission. Claire gave him a nod. Henry blew out a breath he
had apparently been holding and picked Ethan up. Ethan wrapped his arms around
Henry's neck and clung to him for dear life. Henry rubbed his back, frown
firmly in place.

"How do you deal
with this all the time?
”
Henry murmured.

Claire shrugged.
"It's part of being a mother."

"It's
heartbreaking,
”
Henry
croaked.

Claire nodded.
"I'm used to it, but I understand."

"What should I
do?
”
Henry asked, still
rubbing Ethan's back, swaying side to side to try and soothe the little boy in
his arms.

Ethan had already
started to quiet down, which would be good for Henry. "When he's done
crying, just explain to him that you'll see him another day."

Henry nodded, his
expression telling Claire that he was struggling to deal with this. Claire knew
that Henry really hadn't been around many kids, so he had no idea what they
were really like. But it was okay, Henry was doing a fantastic job, and it was
mostly due to the fact that he loved Ethan.

A few minutes later,
Ethan was done with his fit. Henry took him over to his desk chair and sat down
with Ethan on his lap. He grabbed a tissue and had Ethan blow his nose. Then he
lifted Ethan and sat him on the desk so that they were eye level. Claire was
shocked by Henry's natural fathering ability.

“
Did you have fun today Ethan?
”
Henry asked.

Ethan nodded, frowning
around the finger in his mouth.

Henry smiled warmly.
“
Good, so did I, but it's time
for you to go home with your mom, okay? But don't worry, I'll see you soon and
we'll play, alright?"

Ethan nodded again.

“
Good boy, give me a high five,
”
Henry said, holding up his
hand.

Ethan smacked it.
Henry yelped and pretended that it hurt, making Ethan giggle and Claire smile.
Henry lifted Ethan as he stood and brought him over to Claire. She took Ethan
from Henry and gazed up into Henry's green eyes. Damn, he was gorgeous. She
reached up and cupped his jaw before giving him a light lingering kiss on the
corner of his sexy mouth. Henry sucked in a sharp breath, causing Claire's
heart to flutter wildly.

Claire pulled back,
her eyes locked on Henry's heavy lidded gaze which was now ablaze with desire.
“
Thank you for today Henry."

“
You
’
re welcome,
”
he replied hoarsely.

“
See you in the morning,
”
she said softly.

Henry swallowed hard
and nodded.

Claire gathered up all
of Ethan's stuff and headed out the door, her body thrumming. God, she wanted
that man. She hadn't had sex in two years, hadn't really wanted it. She was
fine just taking care of herself when the urge became too much. But now, now
she wanted Henry. Badly. It was all she thought about whenever she looked at
him. Her days in the office were becoming more like torture than work.

Chapter 9

Claire was startled
awake by her cell phone ringing. She glanced at the clock, 12:30 am. Shit.
She'd only been asleep for an hour. It'd been almost two months now since she
spent that week taking care of Henry, when he had the flu, and when he had to
take care of her when she had accidentally taken ecstasy. Their relationship
had definitely changed. They were more at ease with each other, definitely
closer and more informal. They had even been getting together at least one day
of the weekend so that Henry could see Ethan. And Claire was completely head
over heels in love with the man. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and
looked at the screen. Speak of the devil.

"Hello?
”
Claire answered, her voice
raspy from sleeping.

“
Hey, Claire, did I wake you?
”
Henry asked.

"Yeah, what's
going on?
”
Claire asked,
her head falling back onto her pillow.

"I just wanted to
tell you that I'm flying out to Chicago tonight and won't be back until
Wednesday, I have to meet with one of our major clients,
”
Henry sighed, sounding tired.

"Oh, okay, is
everything okay?
”
Claire
asked.

"Eh, I don't
know, he's one of my more irritating clients, and he likes to meet in person;
he didn't say anything was wrong, but he didn't sound happy. I have a 2:00 am
flight so I can meet with him at 9:00 am."

"That sucks,
”
Claire snorted.

Henry groaned, "I
know. I'll let you get back to sleep; I'll give you a call sometime
tomorrow."

"Okay, have a
good flight Henry,
”
Claire
murmured, hating that she was going to have to go two days without seeing him.

"Thanks, Darlin'.
Talk to you later,
”
Henry
said softly.
           

They said goodbye and
Claire hung up. A knot formed in her stomach. An odd feeling started, like
something bad was going to happen. Claire shrugged it off and told herself that
she was being silly. She placed her phone back on the nightstand and went back
to sleep.

Claire woke up with
that horrible feeling in her gut still. She went about her morning routine, got
Ethan dressed, and left for work after her father arrived. As she walked into
the office, she felt the tension from everyone. She felt everyone looking at
her as she walked towards her office, which was weird, but she brushed it off.
She had just put her purse in her drawer when an upset looking Asher appeared
in her doorway.

"Hey, Asher, you
okay?
”
Claire asked, her
heart racing.

"Have you seen
the news?
”
Asher asked, his
voice tight.

"No, why?
”
Claire asked, feeling her panic
rise. What the fuck is going on?

"There was a
horrible plane crash early this morning, around 2:30 am. A small personal jet
barely made it out of the airport before coming down in the Delaware River,
”
Asher said, his voice
trembling.

Claire stared at him.
"So?
”
she asked, a bit
breathlessly.

"They think it
was Henry's plane,
”
Asher
rasped.

Claire started shaking
her head and whispering "no" over and over.

Asher came forward,
grabbing her and pulling her into his arms. "They haven't confirmed it,
and they haven't said if there were any survivors."

Claire clung to Asher.
A sob escaped her. Her knees felt suddenly weak. Asher's arms wound tighter,
holding her upright. Her knuckles gripped Asher's shirt so tightly that her
knuckles were turning white.

"Shit Claire, I'm
sorry,
”
Asher breathed.

They both knew odds
were not good in favor of someone being alive, let alone it being Henry. And
now Claire understood why she had been having a bad feeling since hanging up
with Henry. Somewhere deep down, she knew, she knew something would happen to him.

How could she go on
without him? He had become her best friend. Oh God, how was she going to tell
Ethan? Claire sobbed again. The pain in her heart radiated through her whole
body. She hadn't even had the chance to tell Henry that she loved him. He couldn't
be gone. He just couldn't.

Claire sat at her desk
just staring at nothing. Asher had left her about half an hour ago and she
hadn't moved since. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to think.
He said nothing had been confirmed but she was afraid to hope. Because if he
was gone, and she had had some kind of hope that he was alive, then she'd be
devastated all over again.

Claire's cell phone
rang. She started then scrambled to pull it out of her purse. She answered it
without looking at the screen. "Hello?
”
she answered, her voice breathless.