Page 61 of Something Reckless

EASTON

My heart is pounding hard and my palms are a little bit sweaty, but nothing will chase me away from this doorstep.

It takes a whole lot of nerve showing up here like this, especially since I’ve practically ghosted Alba all week. She probably hates me. I’m sure she does.

She made it clear that her biggest fear is being abandoned. And what did I do? I freaking abandoned her. I disappointed her. I let her down when she needed me.

God. I’ve been an idiot.

But I’m ready to beg and plead and grovel and do whatever it takes to make things right again.

When Alba opens the door, there’s confusion on her sweet, beautiful, perfect face. A sweet, beautiful, perfect face I’ve missed like crazy over the past few days.

“Easton?” She blinks at me, tugging down the hem of the Sin Valley Saints jersey she’s wearing.

My jersey. She’s wearing my jersey .

Seeing her wear it now makes me hopeful that I have a shot at making this right.

“What are you doing here?” she asks me, her voice hoarse, and I pray she hasn’t been crying all week.

“I’m here to pick up you and Jagger,” I say with all the conviction I can muster.

“Pick us up to go where?” she asks, gripping the doorknob with both hands as wild, red curls fall into her increasingly confused eyes.

“To my place. Like always,” I announce, taking a step forward and brushing her hair back and tingling at the way the soft tendrils feel between my fingers. “Because that’s how this works. Because I love you and you love me and we both love Jagger. We’re a family. And none of that has changed.”

She shakes her head slowly, her eyes already growing wet. “You don’t have to do this, Easton. I know you want to do the right thing, but you’re under no obligation to—”

“What I feel for you isn’t an obligation, Alba. This is love.” I push my way inside and silently thank my lucky stars when she doesn’t try to stop me. “I love you so damn much. It’s too late to turn away from that.”

“But everything is so complicated now.” She looks up into my eyes, begging me to have some sort of solution.

I shake my head, disagreeing with her. “You’re wrong, baby.

It’s not complicated. Nothing made sense when I came to this town.

I was injured. I was pissed off. I was on the brink of losing my faith in myself.

And then you and Jagger let me into your family and suddenly, I was laughing again.

I was happy. I had purpose. When I came back to Fairy Bush, I’d forgotten myself.

But you made me remember the man I’ve always wanted to be. ” I breathe in deeply .

“It can’t be that simple, Easton,” she says on a hopeless exhale.

I refuse to give up. “You and Jagger are my purpose. We have to be a family. It’s not complicated. It’s the simplest thing in the world.”

She clutches a hand over her chest, closing her eyes for a moment, like she’s trying to absorb the gravity of what I’m saying to her.

“My life lost all its flavor when I lost you and Jagger. I lost my light and my joy and everything that matters to me. Please tell me I can have you back. Tell me I’m not too late.”

I want her. I want us. I want this little peculiar family that we’ve been building these past few months.

I just pray that she wants it, too.

The floorboards creak, and a tiny voice from down the hallway clutches my heart like a vise. “Easton?”

My stomach sinks when I hear Jagger call me by my name. Yet at the same time, a wave of relief washes over me as I turn and see his face.

“Hey, buddy.” I sink to one knee and he immediately runs into my waiting arms.

He wraps his arms around me and—fuck it—I start to cry.

Jagger leans back to get a better look at my face. He takes my cheeks in his small, warm palms. “What’s wrong, Easton?” he whispers innocently, ripping my heart in two when he says my name again.

“Nothing, little man.” I give my head a shake. “Just missed you. That’s all.”

Jagger lays his head on my shoulder, hugging me even tighter than before. “I missed you, too. But you had to leave. I understand. You’re not my dad, so you had to lea—”

“Me, not being your father doesn’t change a thing, do you hear me?” I pull back, looking into his face so he knows I mean it. “It doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

He blinks, his eyes cloudy with emotion. “You still love me?”

I ruffle the top of his head. “Of course I still love you, silly.”

His face lights up with relief and hope and love. I may not know what I’m doing, but I know I can’t leave any doubt in his mind about what he means to me. And seeing his reassurance renews my sense of purpose.

“We may not be related by blood, but we’re related by love, Jagger. That’s what matters most. So yes, I still love you, Buddy.”

“Twenty-four-seven,” he whispers.

And I chime in. “All the time.”

The blood running through his veins is never what made that kid my son. It was always his sweet little soul. The results of some DNA test could never change that.

Yet still, I can’t make him any promises. Because as much as I love him, the law is still an obstacle in the way. Now that the official paternity test results are in, I have zero legal leverage here.

But that’s not going to stop me.

Rising to my feet, I hold Jagger’s hand and turn to face Alba. Her arms are banded around her middle like she’s physically holding herself together. I want to be the one to hold her together.

“I want to go all in with you, Tiny Tiger.” I caress her cheek. “Whatever that means. Whatever comes next, I want it to be me and you and Jagger, facing it together. How can we make that work?”

Jagger’s large eyes bounce between the two adults. Clearly, he understands the importance of this moment. He needs us to figure it out. We can’t disappoint him.

I turn my attention back to Alba, pouring my heart out at her feet.

“I meant it when I said I have your back, Alba. I love you and I love Jagger, and that was never conditional upon us being connected by blood. There’s never going to be anybody for me but you.

I’d be a fool to let you slip away under any circumstances.

All of this is messy, I know that, but let’s be the diamond in the rough.

Let’s be the family that made it work against all odds. ”

Alba lays her hand on top of my own, allowing her fingers to intertwine with mine. The softest smile graces her lips. “I want you, too, Easton. But I don’t even know where to start.”

“Are you willing to give this a shot?” I ask.

There’s a little smile on her face as she nods. “Yes.”

Hope. Hope beats inside my chest like a drum.

I say the first thing that comes to my mind. “I want to take you on a date.” I smile. I smile the biggest smile that my face can manage. “Are you free tonight?”