42. Reese
Reese
After we got home late that night, the three of us went straight to bed and crashed from exhaustion. And the next morning, for the second time in my adult life, I slept in.
A burst of adrenaline woke me, and my eyes flew open. Nate. Summer. Where were—
With a soft sigh, she rolled closer, and I put my arm around her waist, drawing her against me. We were home safe.
I’d reached out to everyone on the drive home—Garrett, my parents, my other siblings, Gunnar—to let them know we’d found Nate. He was unharmed, and we were on our way home. It was over.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I breathed her in, enjoying the warmth of her body tucked against mine. She felt better than I’d ever imagined, and it was almost hard to believe she really was mine.
But she was, and she always would be. Soon, like I’d told my dad, I was going to make it official. One last Haven wedding was coming, even if the bride didn’t know it yet.
I wanted to let her sleep, so I slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom. When I emerged, her eyes were still closed and her breathing even. I smiled at how peaceful she looked, then quietly left the bedroom.
After starting the coffee maker, I turned and was surprised to find Nate. His hair was messy, and he rubbed his eyes.
“Hey, chief. Why are you up so early?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just woke up.”
“Did you sleep okay?”
“Yeah.”
“No weird dreams or anything?”
“Nope.”
“That’s good.” I gestured to the couch. “Let’s sit down for a minute.”
With a nod, he followed me to the living room, and we sat down. He rubbed his eyes again and looked at me expectantly. I hated the idea of asking him to lie about what had happened. But if we wanted things to blow over, we needed to have our stories straight.
“Listen, a lot happened over the past couple of days,” I began. “You had to see some things no kid your age should have to see. I’m sorry about that.”
“Are you going to get in trouble?” he asked, worry in his tone.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. We need to be careful what we say to people about what happened.”
“Kind of like telling people I’m Nate Haven and you’re my stepdad?”
“Exactly like that. We’ll say your mom and I rescued you from Axel’s uncle’s house, and we don’t know what happened to Axel after that.”
He nodded. “Okay, I can do that. Are those biker guys coming back?”
“No. They’re not.”
His posture relaxed and his mouth turned up in a smile. “Really?”
“Really. I doubt you’ll ever see them again.”
“So now, Mom and I can just live here?”
“That’s the plan.”
“With you?”
My heart melted and I ruffled his hair. “With me. I’m not going anywhere.”
He sprang forward, knocking himself into me with a thud that pushed the air from my lungs. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Closing my eyes against the sting of tears, I squeezed him. “I love you, too, chief.”
The sound of sniffling made me look up. Summer stood in the hallway watching us with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her lower lip trembled and she shook her head.
“Come here, beautiful.” I kept one arm around Nate and held out the other for her.
She rushed over and sat next to me. I put my arm around her and held her close while she shook with sobs. I had a feeling she’d been holding in those tears for the last couple days. She needed to let it all out.
Nate pulled away, his expression concerned.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “She needs this.”
“Is it like chopping wood, but for moms?” he asked.
“That’s exactly what it’s like.”
“It’s okay, Mom.” He reached over and patted her arm. “You should get your feelings out.”
That made her cry harder.
Holding them both, I waited for her to finish. Gradually, her sobs subsided and her breathing evened. She sat up and wiped away her tears.
“Sorry.” She took a deep breath. “I think I’m okay now.”
“Can we go to Grandma and Grandpa’s today?” Nate asked. “Do you think Grandpa got more root beer? He said pretty soon we could make root beer floats.”
Summer gazed at him, her expression a mix of love and bewilderment. “Root beer floats? That’s what’s on your mind this morning?”
“Have you ever had a root beer float?” he asked, his tone serious. “They’re so good.”
“Yes, I’ve had a root beer float. And yes, we can go visit them today.”
“That’s not really optional,” I said. “They’ll want to see him.”
Smiling, she nodded slowly. “Yeah, they will.”
We decided we were all hungry, so Summer and I got up to cook a big breakfast. We had a large package of bacon in the fridge, and it seemed like a big-pile-of-bacon sort of morning.
Nate came in to help, and Summer showed him how to scramble eggs.
It was a bit crowded in the small kitchen, and Nate stubbed his toe twice.
But in the end, we sat down to a delicious and satisfying meal.
It felt good.
I texted my parents to let them know we planned to come by soon. Summer sent Nate off to take a shower—reminding him to wash his feet.
She and I took advantage of the opportunity—brief though it might be—and hurried into the bedroom.
Clothes fell to the floor, and our bodies came together.
I kissed her deeply, loving her with all I had, until we were both sated and spent.
When it was our turn for the shower, I got in with her, and we held each other beneath the warm spray.
It was everything. She was everything.
We all felt better after washing off the last of our ordeal and left to go to my folks’ place.
I pulled up to the house and parked. Dad was already on the porch, waiting for us. Seeing him there, a surge of emotion swept through me, and I had to swallow the lump in my throat.
Nate flew out of the car and ran up the porch steps. Dad caught him in a bear hug. A moment later, Mom rushed out of the house. Dad put an arm around her, and they both held Nate.
Summer burst into tears.
I reached over and took her hand.
“Look at them,” she said, sniffling. “They love him so much. I love them so much. What did I ever do to deserve all this?”
I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. “You deserve all this and more.”
“I love you.”
Leaning over, I pressed my mouth to hers. “I love you, too.”
We got out of my SUV and joined my parents on the porch. They hugged us, and Mom and Summer shed a few more tears. Nate wasted no time asking if root beer floats were on the menu. That got a soft laugh out of Mom, and Dad gave him one of his rare smiles.
“You bet we’re having root beer floats,” Dad said. “We need to celebrate.”
They led us inside, and it didn’t take long before the rest of the family started showing up.
Annika, Levi, and their kids were first, and Nate launched into an animated explanation of his ordeal for Thomas.
Summer and I already knew the details—he’d told us everything on the drive home.
He spent a lot of time on how he’d left Lego pieces behind, like breadcrumbs for us to follow. Thomas was suitably impressed.
My brothers and their families arrived one by one—except Theo and Penelope, who were still on their honeymoon—and it turned into an impromptu Haven family gathering. Someone ordered pizza, and the kids played outside while the adults hung out in the shade.
When Garrett pulled me aside, I told him the truth about what had happened. It didn’t feel right to lie to him. He nodded along slowly as I spoke. In the end, he gave me a backslapping hug and told me he would have done the same.
We were good.
He went back to sit on the grass with his wife and daughter, and I stood off to the side, watching the chaos. Summer chatted with Melanie and my mom and the kids ran around playing tag. Out of nowhere, my niece Emily toddled over and lifted her hands in the air.
“Hi, little one.” I picked her up and settled her on my hip.
“Hi,” she said and clapped her hands.
I laughed. She was adorable—the perfect combination of her parents. “Hi, Emily.”
She clapped again and giggled, seeming very pleased with herself.
I glanced at Summer. She gazed at me, and the look on her face was one I’ll never forget. In an instant, I knew we were imagining the same thing.
A baby. Our baby. A brother or sister for Nate.
I winked at her. Don’t worry, beautiful. I’m going to give you everything you ever wanted. Including a baby who looks just like you.