Chapter 34 Boone
BOONE
I stand on the tarmac with Hopper and Maverick, heart in my throat as the private jet carrying my parents touches down.
The call I had with my mother was one of the most difficult in my life. She was embarrassed to find out that I learned her secret, though I was quick to assure her that it didn’t change the way I felt about her or myself.
Life doesn’t exactly give you time to process, though, and PTO is forever running short, so I let Liam handle the flight arrangements and accompany my parents without me.
Thankfully, Hopper doesn’t like to fly all that much, so I didn’t have to explain to him that he might be a little much to handle in the confines of a small jet.
Hopper thought it was silly of me to worry about PTO since the Whitaker operation made me independently wealthy, and I’ve been cut into the family trust, more or less against my will.
The money is already proving to be a pain in the ass because, as Liam warned me, if I wanna keep my job, I need to make sure the department doesn’t find out about my wealth.
By the way? Supremely weird to say the words, “my wealth.” The only reason I said yes is because now Mom and Dad won’t have to worry about their retirement.
I did tell Joni, mostly because I’d feel weird if I didn’t. She agreed I should keep it to myself, then read me the riot act when I tried to top off her retirement accounts.
Jake said Ryder would take care of it for me, and I’m afraid to ask what that means.
I startle as the jet pulls into the hangar. That is one shit-fancy plane.
Seconds later, the door opens, and my mom appears in the doorway. She clutches her purse as the stairs descend, heartbreakingly nervous.
The second she sees me, though, she straightens her shoulders and gives me that resilient smile of hers.
“Hey there, Boonbug,” she calls out, and I blush at the nickname.
“Your mom calls you Boonbug?” Maverick turns to me, his troublemaker smile at full wattage. “That’s way worse than Booney.”
“You sure about that?”
“It’s more embarrassing, at the very least.”
I grin and press a kiss to my glorious sun god’s lips.
Dad appears behind Mom and takes her arm, helping her down the stairs, protective as always. The three of us hug and exchange whispered words, assuring each other of our love. I warn Dad that Hopper likes to call me his son, but in a way that honors what Dad means to me.
“Boone, I’ve been your father all your life, and he’d be a fool not to be proud of you. Besides, you can never have too many father figures.”
At that, we turn to Hopper, and…huh. Not sure I’ve ever seen that expression on his face. Hopper looks anxious.
My mother, who has the uncanny ability to put aside her own stresses whenever she sees someone more nervous, is the first to break the silence.
“Hopper, you are as handsome as ever,” she says with a soft smile.
He dips his head, rocking back and forth on his feet. “I take after my son.”
Mom and I place our hands on our chests simultaneously. Almost as if we practiced it. We share a teary glance as she closes the distance to Hopper. They hug for several moments, and…hoo, buddy. Someone’s cutting onions in here.
Finally pulling away, she grips his arm. “We made a beautiful baby,” she says with affection.
He nods effusively, a little off-kilter. “We did. But more importantly, you both raised a wonderful human.” Hopper turns to my dad, eyes bright. “Thank you for loving him, and for showing him how to be a good man.”
My father, the big softy, opens his arms. Hopper hitches, then throws himself at my father, and I wonder if he’s ever in his whole life had a proper dad hug. Dad pulls him in tight and whispers a few words to him, father to father.
While they talk, I wrap an arm around my mother’s shoulders and introduce her to Liam.
With his gaze lingering on his husband and my father, Liam asks, “Did Boone share what happened with our surrogate?”
Mom takes his hand in both of hers, and their eyes meet, the moment poignant.
“I’m so sorry that happened.” She winks at me with fondness and an edge of humor. “Boone being in your life doesn’t make it go away or make it better, but…as consolation prizes go, he’s not bad.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say, laughing as I wipe the moisture from my eyes.
Liam’s ordered a large SUV for us, so Maverick and I get in the way back like teenagers, and the conversation flows easily as we make our way to the restaurant.
Liam and Hopper do a good job of skirting around the fact that Hopper is basically a serial killer, and Maverick pulls up his Instagram to show Mom the little blue-roofed house he owns in Mykonos.
Good to know.
In the swirl of conversations, my phone buzzes. It’s Joni.
Joni: They weren’t able to find an emergency foster for Bailey, so she’s staying in the group home for now.
Fuck. That.
Me: She’s only three years old.
Joni: I know. We’re working as hard as we can.
“What’s happening to your eyebrows?” Hopper asks, turning to face me. “Why are they all scrunched?”
I tell him what’s going on, leaving out any details that would send my parents running, and Hopper looks beside himself.
“Group homes are awful. Just awful,” he whispers, horrified. “They can’t leave her in there.”
He practically shouts the last part.
Liam tries to console him, but my dad reaches forward to grip Hopper’s shoulder.
“You know, there is an obvious solution.”
Oh man. I already know what’s coming next.
Mom and I share a look.
Hopper stares at him, his chest hitching rapidly, eyes wet with tears. “There is?”
“You’ve only known my son a couple of months, and you love him, right? Would give him the world?”
“I’d give him his trust if he would take it from me,” Hopper says, glaring at me in the rearview.
Mom goes from bemused with my father’s machinations to open-mouthed horror. “Hop wanted to give you a trust fund, and you refused it?”
“I tried to,” I grumble. “I just want to earn my way through life like Dad taught me.”
Dad whips around, giving me the same look I got when he found out I’d stolen bubble gum from the store.
“Son, when did I ever teach you to throw good money away?” Holding up his hand as if he can’t with me, he addresses Hopper in the front.
“How much is this trust we’re talking about? A couple million?”
Hopper snorts. “That’s how much it made in interest last quarter.”
Still ignoring me, Dad turns to Maverick. “Is he really complaining about being gifted that much money? Did I seriously raise someone so ungrateful?”
“I’m done with arguing with him about it,” Maverick says, completely abandoning me.
I drop my chin to my chest. “I have taken the money.”
This time, Mom and Dad do the simultaneous hand-to-chest thing, and it’s a lot less cute.
“By the way,” Maverick says with a shit-eating grin. “You do understand that means that you’ll hafta participate in our charity work, right?”
“I hadn’t thought about that, but of course.”
He rubs his hands together, and I sense I’ve stepped into a trap.
“Great. You’ll be perfect in my charity fashion show.”
Yep. Walked right into that one.
“You said I had a bad walk.”
“Don’t worry, Detective.” Mav bounces his brows. “I’ll show you the ropes.”
Ah, jeez.
Dad winks at me, then refocuses on Hopper.
Here we go.
“Like I was saying, there’s a pretty obvious solution for the little girl. She needs parents. She needs unconditional love. And with everything she’s been through, she deserves a pony. So…she probably needs someone with a lot of money.”
“Agreed,” Hopper says, fiddling with the A/C.
Dad grins at Hop in the rearview, and Hop spins around, a stunned expression on his face.
“Wait. You think Liam and I should adopt her?” Hopper asks, acting as if my father has just said the craziest thing he’s ever heard.
Which…funny.
“Obviously, if you don’t really wanna be parents at this stage in your life, totally understandable,” Dad says smoothly. “Kids are tough to keep up with.”
“Oh, he’s good,” Mav side whispers to me.
Mom and I share another tight-lipped glance. We’ve been on the receiving end of more than one Loyal Hitchens “I’ll manipulate you for your own good” speech.
It’s funny when it happens to other people.
“I have never had a hard time keeping up with my niblings, I’ll have you know,” Hopper says, irritated. He flexes an impressively muscled arm. “I am plenty strong.”
“Of course. I meant no offense. I just know that kids are a lot of hard work, and you shouldn’t just go get one on the suggestion of someone you just met.”
“Yeah, ’cause that’s crazy,” Hopper says, shifting in his seat.
He unrolls the window, then rolls it back up again.
Maverick laughs into his fist, then gestures toward Liam. Hopper remains irritated by my father’s insinuations, but Liam is biting his lower lip.
“Hopper, love, I think what Loyal is telling us is that he thinks we’d be pretty good dads to a little girl who’s seen some pretty terrible things,” Liam finally says.
“We would be great dads because you’re amazing, and”—Hopper gestures to himself—“I survived being an underage prostitute, juvie, and that shitty halfway house. This would be easy.”
Hope and hurt collide in my chest. He really would be such a good dad.
“I doubt it’d be easy, lover,” Liam says, somehow mollifying Hopper without being condescending. “But certainly she’d know she was loved and protected.”
“This is what I’m saying.” Turning to me, Hopper demands, “Get Joni on the phone. Ask her what we need to do to get Bailey an emergency placement with us.”
Dad turns back and winks at me.
“Alright. So, the bossy for your own good comes from Loyal,” Maverick says, rubbing his hands together.
“It can be a little fun when he gets bossy like that,” Mom says with a secret smile.
“Mom!”
“What? I’m just saying…”
Hopper is practically out of his seat, vibrating with purpose as he burns holes into my forehead, making a rolling gesture. “Have you called Joni yet?”
Laughing, I pick up my phone and hit the number. “Doing it right now, Daddio.”
Hopper’s face lights up like a Christmas tree, and he throws back his head, laughing and clapping. “That’s what Bailey will call me. She’ll call me Daddio, and she’ll call Liam Papa, and we’ll make sure she’s always safe and loved.”
Maverick grips my hand. Hopper’s talked about how losing their baby had all but destroyed him, and it’s touching to see how those who love him so want him to be happy.
A single tear tracks down Liam’s cheek, and he grabs Hopper’s hand. “You know what, love? That sounds like a great idea.”
“Yeah, Hop,” I say, sending him a warm smile. “I can’t think of anyone who would be better at it than you and Liam.”
Hopper spins around in his seat again, locked in on my father. “What if I have questions? Will you let me call you? My friends are all great dads, but honestly,” he says, gesturing at me, “I’d like to learn from the very best.”
Ugh. This man.
Dad nods. “I probably got lucky with our kid, but I’d be honored to answer any questions you have.”
Luck, my ass. Hopper Hughes is about to get a world-class education from my father, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.
Hopper claps his hands. “I’m going to be a dad again!” He rocks back and forth. “A dad.”
There aren’t any dry eyes in the SUV.
“And I can’t wait to be an older brother,” I say softly, and Maverick kisses my shoulder.
We started this drive as a handful of strangers, but as we walk into the restaurant, I sense we’ve become a family.