Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
T.J. pads into the room in green dinosaur pajamas, his hair sticking up on one side. He clutches his stuffed frog as he squints at all of us.
I’ve faced down active shooters, raging fires, and enough bad situations to fill a few lifetimes, but somehow it’s an eight-year-old in pajamas who can make me sit up straighter on instinct.
T.J. rubs one eye. “I can’t sleep.”
Elena opens her arms right away. “Bad dream?”
He shrugs, which means yes, or close enough to it. He climbs up beside her, wedging himself in the space between her and Weston like he belongs there, because he does.
The energy in the room changes again with the boy’s arrival. Nothing’s lost, it’s just redirected onto something more important at the moment.
T.J.’s gaze moves around from Elena to the three of us men, and he frowns in that serious way he has. “Were you guys having another talk?”
I can’t help smiling. “We were.”
“An important one?”
“An important kind,” Weston says.
T.J. thinks for a moment, then fixes his eyes on Elena. “About if they’re gonna be my dads now?”
CHAPTER 48
BUCK
The three of us look at each other, then at Elena. The weight of the moment is like a hand landing on my shoulder. Not pressure, but responsibility. The kind I welcome.
Elena looks at each of us, asking without words. I give a small nod right away, and so does Weston. Calder’s comes last, but it’s firm.
Elena smooths her son’s hair from his forehead. “Yes,” she says softly. “If that’s what you want, then yes. They are.”
T.J. blinks once, as if he expected the answer but still has to absorb it. “All three?”
My chest tightens hard enough to hurt.
“All three,” Elena confirms.
The boy looks around at us, solemn as a judge. “Okay.”
And that’s it. Okay, like they’ve just settled what to have for breakfast.
T.J. leans into Elena, but keeps his attention on the rest of us. “Do I still get to talk about my real dad, too?”
Calder answers first, his voice low and sure. “Always.”
“Nobody’s replacing him,” Weston says.
I force my throat to work. “Your dad will be your dad forever, buddy. We’re just … more dads on your team.”
“Cool.”
Elena laughs softly and kisses the top of his head.
T.J. yawns, then frowns again. “So, do I call you Buck and Weston and Calder, still? Or Dad Buck and Dad Weston and Dad Calder? Or just Dad?”
I nearly choke on air, and Weston outright coughs. Calder looks like he’d rather take incoming fire than answer first.
Elena bites her lip, badly hiding a smile. “We can figure that out.”
T.J. seems unconcerned as he slides off the couch. “Okay. I’m gonna try sleeping again.”
“That’s it?” I ask.
“I was mostly checking,” T.J. says.
Weston’s brow lifts. “Checking what?”
“That you knew already.” T.J. shrugs. “‘Cause I knew.” Then he shuffles back toward the hallway, stopping halfway there to turn and tell his mom goodnight.
“Night, Bug. I love you.”
“Night, Buck. Night, Weston. Night, Calder.”
We all answer him at once.
When his bedroom door clicks shut, silence fills the living room for two seconds before Elena dissolves into laughter. Weston follows, Calder shakes his head like he’s been outmaneuvered, and I cover my face with one hand.
“Well,” Weston says at last, “that was humbling.”
I drop my hand. “That boy’s been ten steps ahead of us for weeks.”
Elena wipes under one eye. “You’re all very obvious in the way you care about him.”
“And you’re amused by this?” I accuse.
“Immensely.”
I catch her around the waist and haul her into my lap, earning another peal of laughter. “Good, because now we get to have the adult version of that conversation.”
Weston and Calder lean in again, and we talk about things that move beyond fear and confession. It’s unromantic, real-life logistics like school pickups, how we’ll share our nights, how we might spend holidays, and whether or not Elena or T.J. would need time before we make our relationship public in town.
“I don’t want him to think this is something to hide,” she says, and that tracks exactly with who she is. “Nothing hidden. Let’s throw out shame along with the guilt.”
I kiss her shoulder. “Agreed.”
Weston looks thoughtful. “We should be deliberate, though, and make space for Tyler in this.”
“I’d like that,” Elena says.
“Of course, pictures stay up. Stories stay part of things. If T.J. wants to talk about him, we talk about him.” I pause. “And maybe we make some traditions that are his.”
Calder rests his forearms on his thighs. “Like what?”
After a moment of thought, Elena says, “Tyler used to make pancakes on the weekends when he was home. Terrible ones. A few turned out good, but he always burned at least one.”
“Easy to do.” I chuckle as I picture it.
Elena’s eyes go faraway for a moment. “Little T.J. used to think it was hilarious.”
“We can burn pancakes in his honor,” Weston says gravely.