10. Ethan

Chapter 10

Ethan

I hated that Brayden didn’t feel like he could call me when he got hurt, but if he valued his independence and wasn’t looking for a Daddy to rush to his rescue at every turn, I respected that.

I wanted to be what he needed me to be, because I already knew that he was exactly what I needed from him. Sweet and trusting and fucking adorable. That’s all I needed.

If he wanted to negotiate the level of control he gave or kept, I was fine with that. We’d get there in time.

The drugstore was on my way, so I bought three different types of gauze and pads that were specific for burns, some aloe vera just to make myself feel better, and a giant lollipop to distract him and then headed straight for his house.

When I was about two minutes away from his place, I texted Brayden, and he immediately responded back that the front door was open and I should let myself in.

I didn’t love that he left the door unlocked, but I was close enough that I didn’t scold him for it. There might be some other scolding that needed to happen later, and I wanted to pick my battles. One thing I remembered very clearly about Brayden was that he was stubborn. And if I went down a path he didn’t agree with, he would very likely dig in his heels, and that was not what either of us needed today.

Today, I just needed to see that he was okay and hold him in my arms. I hoped that was what he needed too.

I jogged up to his front door and then knocked twice before turning the knob and cracking it open just an inch. “Brayden, it’s Ethan.”

“Come in.”

I stepped inside and kicked off my shoes. Brayden was sitting on the couch quite contrite with his legs crossed on the cushion in front of him and his right hand cradled above his left.

The amount of gauze around his whole hand was terrifying. I immediately went to kneel in front of him. “You said this wasn’t too serious. Maybe we need to get you to urgent care.”

Brayden’s upper lip was pinned between his teeth and his lower lip began to tremble. “They’ll just put ointment and gauze on it too. I promise, it’s okay.”

That wasn’t good enough for me. I carefully lifted his forearm and rested it in my palm. “Can we at least unwrap it so I can take a look?”

“Okay.”

I pulled out the lollipop and held out it for him. “Will this help?”

Brayden smiled and nodded faster. “Yes, please.”

I unwrapped the candy before I turned my attention to his hand. It had been a few years since I’d taken a CPR and first-aid class, but I had to take them annually when I was teaching. I was prepared for the worst while I hoped for the best. As a woodshop teacher, I was always one immature kid who was trying to impress someone and ended up chopping off a finger away from needing these skills, so I took a deep breath and kept my face as stoic as possible as I carefully unwrapped the bandage.

Brayden did a good job of cleaning his wound, and he was right, it did look like second-degree. The blistering and redness made me cringe on the inside, and he had to look away as it was fully revealed. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“I know, sweet boy. Accidents happen, but you can’t forget to pay attention when you’re working with heat and fire and dangerous things in the kitchen.”

He nodded as a single tear dripped down his cheek. “I know.”

“But you did a great job of getting this cleaned up. In fact, I’ll put an extra layer of ointment on the new pad, but it’s not really necessary. After we get you wrapped up again, it’ll just be a matter of keeping it clean and dry for a while until it fully heals.”

Brayden watched me work, slightly more relaxed now. “I’ll be careful at work so it doesn’t get too dirty.”

His right thumb was basically a big blister, and the pads of his pointer and middle finger were also bubbled. “I don’t know how you’re gonna work on cars with your hand like this. You’re right-handed, correct?”

He tensed up as concern marred his sweet face all over again. “Yes. But I can put a glove over the bandage.”

“Can you ask your boss for a couple days off? Even just two or three will help dry out the skin until it either peels or the blisters pop, and then it’ll be easier to use.”

He dropped his chin to his chest. “Yeah. I can do that.” After a moment, he looked up at me again. “Mondays are the busiest, so I hope Max doesn’t hate me.”

I thought about everything he told me about his friend and coworker Max. “Max has a Daddy too, right?”

Brayden focused on his lollipop, licking it from the bottom to the top. “Yeah, Daddy James. He’s nice and invites me over for playdates sometimes.”

I smiled as I looked at the packages of gauze I brought to see which would be most appropriate for his hand. “What do you think Daddy James would say if Max had a burn like this?”

Brayden kept his eyes averted but his eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t know. Should I ask?”

“If you’d like.” I didn’t love that he was second-guessing my judgment by asking another Daddy, but again, I reminded myself that we were just starting to build trust. Brayden already had that with Max and James. He and I would get there eventually, but I needed to be patient. “Maybe send him a text?”

Brayden picked up his phone and typed with his left thumb and then sent off his message and waited.

It took more self-control than it should have for me not to ask what he said, but when his phone buzzed a few moments later, we both got our answers.

Brayden looked at his phone and then blew out a dramatic sigh. “Max said his Daddy said fuck no.” He looked up at me and grinned. “His words, not mine.”

“Fuck no to what?” I began to loosely wrap the sterile pad over his palm as he picked up his phone and read it to me.

“I said, ‘If you had a second-degree burn on your right hand, would Daddy James let you go to work tomorrow?’”

Now it was my turn to smile. “Daddy James sounds like a smart guy.”

Brayden nodded his head and sighed. “He is.” The phone buzzed again, so he glanced at the message. “Max said he’ll cover for me so I can take this week off work.”

I secured the pad in place and kissed his wrist. “That’s very nice of him.”

“I don’t think I’ll need a whole week, but I’ll tell him thank you and let him know how it’s healing tomorrow.”

There was another buzz, and Brayden had to bite his cheek to keep from giggling as he sent back a response.

I waited for him to share, but when I could see his grin was mischievous, I had to ask. “You look like you’re thinking silly thoughts.”

He looked up at the ceiling, but his smile just got bigger and bigger. “Max said that Daddy James offered to come over and help me with my hand, but I told them I had Daddy Ethan here to take care of me.” His eyes went wide as he looked at me. “Is that okay?”

I brought his uninjured hand to my mouth and kissed the back of it. “It’s definitely okay. I want everyone to know that Daddy Ethan is here to take care of his sweet boy Brayden. Got it?”

All the trepidation and insecurity that had been rolling off him since I walked in the door seemed to float away as he finally relaxed. “Yes, Daddy. That’s what I want too.”