Page 126 of Rescued
His little family. God, at this rate I might have to propose tohim, because if I don’t lock this perfect man down, someone else might come along and steal him from me.
“A family date,” I echo.
Jasper squeezes my hand. “Yes, a family date. I think it’ll be fun.”
Or it’ll be a nightmare. “How much trouble do you think Salem is gonna give us?”
“Well…” He shrugs. “Hopefully none. He’s done better this week.”
I nearly laugh at that. He’s done a little better. As long as I take him to Hunter and Theo’s multiple times a week, no one looks at him the wrong way, and no one tries to get him to eat more.
“I’m anticipating a fight over the cost of food.”
Jasper sighs. “Honestly, I kinda am too. But I want to do this for you all, and I think the only way he’s gonna start getting more comfortable with the idea of money being spent on him is to have money spent on him.”
This time I do laugh. “Then you can explain it to him.”
“I feel like exposure therapy is what’s gonna help him.” I can’t fight another laugh, and Jasper side-eyes me. “No, I’m serious. Think about it. We keep telling him that it’s all good, but we haven’t really been able to show him.”
I shrug. “Alright. We’ll try it.” I shoot him a grin. “I love the idea of having a family date night.”
Jasper brings my hand to his lips and presses a kiss to my knuckles. “And if it goes well, maybe we can make it a weekly thing.”
Sighing, I sink into the truck seat, staring at him. “Sounds good to me. Oh, we should probably talk about me working.”
“Okay.” Jasper’s eyebrows shoot up, and yeah, okay, it is a big jump.
“I just mean, like… right now I’m only working during their school hours, but I’d like to go back to my normal schedule eventually. Or at least as close to it as I can get. I don’t want you to need to support us forever, and I can’t do everything I need to with part-time hours.”
Jasper studies me for a second, then nods. “Okay, what do you need from me?”
I nibble on my lower lip. “Uh, maybe if I work later on the days that you’re off work… Would you be able to keep the kids?”
There’s silence for a second, then Jasper cocks his head. “I kinda thought that was the plan anyway. What part ofmy familyare you not understanding? Of course I’ll be home with the kids while you’re working. That’s kind of what partners do, isn’t it?”
That’s… actually a really valid point. Holy fuck. I actually really have a support system now. What a wild fucking concept. “You’re serious.” Jasper sighs, and I hold my hand up. “No, hang on. Iknowyou’re serious. I just mean… I think it just—wow. It really just hit me that you’re in this with me. Like, holy fuck, we have two kids.”
Jasper’s eyebrows draw together, and he bites his lower lip in what looks like an attempt to not laugh. “Yeah, baby boy. I’m in this with you, and we for sure have two kids.”
I let out an almost manic burst of laughter. “Holy fuck. Okay, but what about if you get called in for an emergency or whatever?”
“Then I’m sure Salem can handle things until we can get an adult to the house. I’m sure Luca would help. Or even Theo and Hunter. And I know for a fact that Deb will.”
“Yeah…” I nod, thinking. “And I could also take them to work with me if I absolutely needed to.”
Jasper smiles. “There you go, baby boy. We’ve got it figured out. It’ll all be okay; I promise.”
The dreaded pickup line starts moving, and Jasper shifts his focus. I hate this damn line, and every day that Jasper drives instead of me is a good day. I get to be the passenger prince and not worry about the stupid people, and everything is all good.
Nora comes bounding out of the school, her head on a swivel, and when she sees us, her eyes light up in excitement.
She skips toward the truck, her hair bouncing around and a huge smile on her face.
She climbs into the back seat, humming a little under her breath.
Jasper and I share a smile, then he turns in his seat. “Did you have a good day?”
“Yes! Miles got in trouble in class.”
