Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“Of course you did.” Gray rolled his eyes and got uncomfortable. She was gonna quiz him about Jayden now. He just knew it.
“Don’t interrupt me,” she sang. “She told me you’re very concerned about Jayden and that you wanna be there for him. And considering you already have a lot on your plate, Aiden and I decided that you shouldn’t work.”
“Wait, what?” Gray rubbed his forehead, trying to keep up.
“Well, you have to contact your therapist, honey,” Mom replied patiently. “The FBI agent assigned to you in Seattle would also like you to check in. You’re supposed to touch base once a week, remember? And then there’s us. Your family misses you, but we don’t want to put pressure on you. So, I figure, adding work to that will be too much. It’s better you focus on recovery, and when you feel like you should’ve worked a shift or something, you go see a family member instead. Go see the babies! Have coffee with Gage. Reconnect with Gid and Gabriel at the rink—you get what I’m saying.”
Gray was beginning to, at least. It was still a lot to process.
“Without an income—”
“You have the card Aiden gave you,” Mom pointed out. “You can argue if you want, but you have to take it up with him.”
Jesus Christ, he didn’t deserve his family. “I can charm Aiden into seeing my side of things,” Gray said, unsure if he actually believed it. Darius didn’t seem to. He chuckled next to Gray. “I don’t wanna be a liability.”
“First of all,” Mom said, “I’m pretty sure my charm on him works better. And second of all, say you’re a liability one more time, and I’ll tan your fucking hide. Are we clear, son?”
Shit. Gray straightened in his seat automatically. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” she responded firmly. “Besides, this was Aiden’s idea.”
That kinda made sense. He knew she still struggled at times with how easily Aiden made financial issues go away. To him, money was nothing and family was everything. Mom would agree, but she’d never had to make the choice before because money had been scarce.
“We’ll give this a try a few months, at least,” she added. “Oh, and a quick question before I have to hang up.”
“Yes?”
“Would you have been able to work at the inn tomorrow night?”
Gray furrowed his brow. “Of course.”
“Perfect! Then you’re welcome to join us for dinner at seven. Don’t worry, the twins have practice, so it’ll be just the three of us.”
Holy shit, he’d walked right into that one. Gray had to admire Mom’s sneakiness. “I’ll be there,” he chuckled. “Love you.”
“Love you too, baby! I’ll text you the recipe when I get home.”
“Thanks.” He shook his head, in a daze, and ended the call.
“I heard most of that,” Darius noted, amused. “Good luck with my sisters, is all I’m gonna say.”
Great. Fucking great.
But Gray wasn’t gonna pretend to be upset. He was a lucky bastard, and he was done keeping his family on the sidelines. As long as he moved forward slowly and didn’t overwhelm himself, he wanted them all close. Including Darius and his family.
At ten on the dot, Jayden burst out of the facility and grinned widely. “You came!”
Gray matched it with his own grin and jogged over to him. “Of-fucking-course I did.” The cracks in his heart healed instantly when Jayden crashed into him. “Are you ready for our little adventure of the day?” He weaved his fingers through Jayden’s soft locks, and the boy nodded furiously. “Good. Get in the car, and I’ll grab your beanie. It’s freezing out here.” He spied Adeline at the door and wanted to hear how the first night had been.
He watched Jayden run to the car and greet Darius.
Darius grinned back. “Hey, buddy.”
Gray turned toward the house and trailed up the steps to Adeline. “Morning.”
“Good morning, hon.” Adeline smiled and extended Jayden’s beanie and mittens. “Everything’s gone well so far. He was a little quiet at first when you left, but after I spent most of our dinner talking about you, he felt better.”
Gray’s forehead creased. “Talking about me?”
She nodded slightly. “He has some abandonment issues—understandably. He reasoned to himself that this shelter was still better than the ones in Philadelphia. I sensed he was trying to see the silver lining in case you didn’t return.”
Ouch. That shit was gonna burn for a long time. Not the part where Jayden felt that way, but that Gray had to drop him off here and leave after every visit. It was gonna take time for Jayden to trust that Gray would always come back.
“He’s a sweet kid,” Adeline murmured. “And you’re wonderful for him, hon. Don’t doubt that.”
Gray tried to put a smile on his face. “I just hope the state will see that one day too.”
Adeline hummed and hugged herself, shivering a bit. The winds were picking up. “At least Washington is a progressive state. They’re pretty flexible these days, and the requirements aren’t too strict anymore. I don’t think you will have that many problems. It’ll just take time.”