Chapter 25
Blake
Surprising Tinsley and Juliet with a visit to the aquarium turned out to be one of the best days of my life, despite the loss on the pitch.
Tori and I never got to do any of the normal family outings when we were kids.
For as far back as I can remember, Dad was always a raging alcoholic arsehole, and all our money not spent on bills went straight to the local bar.
Tori would take me to the park, and I had my soccer trainings and games, but other than that, we just hid in each other’s rooms to avoid being Dad’s punching bags.
Seeing the happiness radiating from Tinsley as she bounced from exhibit to exhibit gave me this strange feeling of longing for something I never had, but suddenly realised I wanted.
I never considered having my own kids one day, thinking it wouldn’t be on the cards, that I was too damaged to be good enough for someone.
But now, with Juliet and Tinsley, I do want it. I want to be deserving of them.
Because it’s late on Sunday night, and Tinsley has school tomorrow, we stop to pick up sushi on the way back to their place.
“Can we do this every weekend?” Tinsley asks, stuffing another piece of salmon sashimi into her mouth.
Juliet and I share a look, and my heart beats wildly in my chest as I realise this is our opening.
Juliet wipes her hands on a napkin. “Would you like that?”
“Uh-huh,” Tinsley says. “It was fun.”
Releasing a breath, Juliet reaches for my hand, and I give it a reassuring squeeze. “How would you feel if Blake came over more?”
Tinsley frowns. “With Rett, too?”
“Maybe, sometimes,” I say, looking to Juliet for guidance, continuing when she smiles and nods. “But I really like your mum, and I’d like to spend more time with just the two of you. Would that be okay?”
She thinks about it, her eyes falling on our joined hands before she looks up at us. “You like Mama?”
Unable to hide my grin, I nod. “Yeah, I do.”
“Are you her boyfriend?”
My eyes widen. I didn’t realise five-year-olds were that worldly. “Uh, I’d like to be. But only if it’s okay with you.”
“Will you live with us?”
Juliet shakes her head. “No, but he might stay over sometimes?”
“Like a sleepover?”
The back of my neck heats, and I bite my lip to hide my smirk.
Juliet somehow keeps a straight face when she says, “Like a sleepover.”
Tinsley eyes me warily. “Will you hurt her?”
Her words are like a red-hot poker slicing through my chest.
“No,” I say firmly, my throat thick with emotion. “I won’t hurt your mum or you, Sprout.”
“Okay,” she says with a shrug, and picks up a chicken teriyaki sushi roll.
“Do you have any more questions about what this means?” Juliet asks.
Tinsley shakes her head. “I like Blake.”
I grin. “The feeling’s mutual.”
She scrunches her nose at me. “What does that mean?”
“I like you, too.”
We don’t rush any sleepovers, wanting to ease Tinsley into our relationship, but I do spend all of my free time at their house.
The week after our aquarium date is my final week of placement, and while I’ve loved the hands-on work and the adrenaline of knowing someone’s relying on you to save their life, adjusting to the long shifts was challenging, and I’m looking forward to some downtime as I explore this new thing with Juliet and Tinsley.
I finish on a Friday day shift and head straight home to celebrate after my twelve-hour stint.
I’m exhausted, but underneath, I’m charged.
Being on the front line lit a fire in me.
Being a paramedic is what I want to do. In three and a half months, I’ll graduate, and for the first time in my life, I’m excited about what’s to come.
Juliet and Tinsley are already here, helping in the kitchen. Tinsley’s standing on a chair in front of the stove, stirring the mince under the strict supervision of her brother. Juliet and Emily are chopping the toppings for the potatoes, which are baking in the oven.
For so long, I barricaded myself behind stone walls, blocking people out, convinced I was better left alone. But coming home to this, knowing they’re cheering me on, I feel the shift. I don’t have to do it alone anymore. I have people in my corner.
“Smells delicious,” I say, dropping my bag on the end of the couch.
Tinsley jumps off her chair, runs over, and launches herself at me. I laugh as I catch her, swinging her into the air. “Hey, Sprout. How was your day?”
“I made this for you,” she says, thrusting a folded-up piece of green card into my hand after I set her back down on her feet.
Crouching down to her level, I look down at the card, a lump forming in my throat as I take in the drawing she’s done of an ambulance with three people standing next to it.
“Is this me?” I ask, pointing to the tall person closest to the ambulance wearing the paramedic uniform.
“Uh huh.” She nods, then points to the other two people. “And that’s me and Mama.”
She’s drawn herself in the middle, holding both of our hands.
I pull her in for a tight hug, trying to keep my emotions in check. “Thanks.”
When I move to stand up, she tugs on my hand to keep me there, then leans in to whisper in my ear. “You make Mama really happy.”
Jesus Christ.
This little girl has the power to bring me to my knees.
Grinning, I whisper back, “You and your mama make me really happy.”
I let her lead me into the kitchen, stepping in behind Juliet and wrapping my arms around her waist. “What can I do to help?”
“Absolutely nothing,” she says, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“We’re almost done,” Emily adds.
Just as she says it, the oven timer beeps.
“Perfect timing,” I chuckle.
I help carry the bowls of toppings to the dining table as Everett pulls the tray of baked potatoes from the oven with a tea towel.
“Hot, hot, hot,” he yelps, setting it down in the middle of the table and shaking his hands.
I chuckle, shaking my head. “You never learn, man.”
When I sit down, Tinsley immediately scrambles for the seat next to me. Juliet smiles at me over her daughter’s head as she takes the seat on her other side.
“Can you help me, please?” Tinsley blinks up at me with the same green eyes as her mother.
“Sure thing, Sprout.”
I place a potato on her plate and split it open.
“What are you after?” I ask as I put a dollop of dairy-free butter in the middle.
“Meat and corn, please.”
I pile the requested toppings on her potato, then slide the plate in front of her. “Bon appétit.”
Her eyes widen. “You know French like Mama?”
Everett snorts, and I shoot him a dirty look before turning my attention back to Tinsley. “Un petit peu,” I say, relying on what I remember from high school, which wasn’t much when I spent most of the time skipping class, and when I was in school, I was usually stoned. “I only know a little bit.”
“That’s okay,” she says, patting my hand. “Mama can teach you. She’s a good teacher. She’s teaching me, and one day, I’m going to go to France and see the Eiffel Tower and go to Disneyland.”
Everett’s face drops, and the mood around the table becomes tense.
We all know she won’t be going to France anytime soon if her arsehole of a father has any say in it, which of course he fucking does.
There’s no way he’d let Juliet take her out of the country for a holiday to visit family, because it’s the only control he has over her.
As I pile my plate with a couple of potatoes and a mountain of meat, avocado, tomato, cheese, and sour cream, my thoughts drift to the bastard and the inadvertent knowledge I gained of his drug use.
I wish I could use it to help Juliet rid him from their lives, but even if it would help, I’m bound by patient confidentiality, and breaching those rules could see me face disciplinary action from the university and be barred from future registration with NSW Ambulance.
I feel awful keeping this from Juliet and Everett, but there’s no guarantee it would help their case.
It doesn’t put Tinsley in direct harm because she’s never alone with him, so for now, I need to forget what I heard and saw that night.
For all I know, it was a once off, and I can’t go off half-cocked accusing someone of being an addict, especially when I have a stake in this as well.
After dinner, we move into the living room and play UNO. By the third game, Tinsley is yawning.
“C’mon, princess,” Juliet says, standing up and reaching for her daughter’s hand. “Time to get you home to bed.”
“I don’t wanna go home,” Tinsley whines while stifling another yawn. “I wanna stay here. Please?” She draws out the word, pouting and pressing her palms together in a prayer position.
Everett shrugs. “It doesn’t bother me. Saves me having to come and pick her up in the morning.”
The thought of Tinsley’s supervised visit with her father tomorrow settles heavy in the room.
“We can both have a sleepover, Mama,” Tinsley says, bouncing up and down in excitement. “You said you and Blake might have sleepovers sometimes.”
“Sounds like a great idea,” I say with a grin, gripping Juliet’s wrist and tugging her back onto the couch with me.
Her cheeks flush, and she casts a quick glance in Everett’s direction. “I don’t know if that’s such a good id—”
“It’s fine,” Everett interrupts, looking uncomfortable but trying to hide it. “This is Blake’s home, too. You’re both welcome whenever you want.”
“See, Mama? Please, can we stay over? Pretty please?”
“Okay,” Juliet relents, “but you need to go upstairs now and get ready for bed.”
Tinsley jumps to her feet and races upstairs.
I press a kiss to the crook of Juliet’s neck, but she doesn’t melt into my touch the way I hoped, instead shifting away slightly.
Clearing her throat, she turns her full attention to Everett.
“We haven’t really talked through what this thing between me and Blake is, but I know this must be awkward for you.
” He opens his mouth to say something, but she continues before he can refute anything.
“If you feel uncomfortable with me staying, I can go. I completely understand.”
Everett sighs. “I’m not going to lie, it’s weird as fuck seeing you together.
” He grunts when Emily’s elbow connects with his side.
“That’s my truth,” he defends. “But I want to see both of you happy, and if that’s with each other, then I’ll deal with it.
You are welcome here, Juliet. It might just take me some time to get used to it. ”
“That’s fair,” she says. “You’ve done so much for me and Tinsley. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable in your own home.”
“You don’t,” he assures her.
I wrap my arm around her waist, and this time, she relaxes into me as we hear Tinsley’s little feet on the stairs.
Moments later she appears in the entry, dressed in her Frozen pyjamas.
“Rett, will you and Emily read me the next chapter of the Enchanted Forest?” she asks, hopeful.
“Did you brush your teeth?” he asks.
She nods vigorously.
“Okay, pipsqueak. Say good night and let’s go.”
She runs over and wraps an arm around me and her mum. “Night, Blake. Love you, Mama.”
“Love you, too, princess.”
“Sleep tight, Sprout.”
When we’re alone, I tilt Juliet’s chin so she’s looking at me.
“Are you okay staying here?”
Her expression softens, and she nods.
I lean in and kiss her, a firm press of my mouth to hers.
“This has been fast,” I murmur against her lips, “but I’m so gone for you, pixie. I’m not letting you go.”
She fists my shirt, holding me close. “Family drama and all?”
“I’ll take everything if it means I get to keep you and Tinsley. I’m all in.”
Her breath hitches. “Me, too.”
Forcing myself to pull away from her before I do something reckless like take her right here on the couch, I reach over and grab the remote, lining up an episode of Criminal Minds.
She settles into my embrace, our fingers tracing mindless patterns over each other, getting more and more daring when we realise halfway into the next episode that the house is silent, and Everett and Emily have no plans to come back downstairs.
Juliet’s hands trail over the ridge of my stomach, moving lower to toy with the waistband of my jeans, and she whispers, “So, when are you showing me your bedroom, striker?”
I grin, knowing I’m completely done for, and not giving a shit. This woman could ask me for anything, and I’d move Heaven and Earth for her.