Page 91 of Rescued
“She’s okay. She can have whatever she wants.”
Nora grins. Jesus fucking Christ. He’s known her for all of a few hours, and already he’s spoiling the shit out of her.
“What about you, Salem?” Jasper asks, turning to face him.
“Uh… Just a hash brown, please?”
Jasper’s brow furrows. “That’s hardly breakfast. Do you want pancakes too? Or a breakfast sandwich? You can get anything you want.”
“What if it costs too much?” Salem says, barely above a whisper.
My stomach sours, and Jasper and I share a look.
“You can get anything you want, Salem,” Jasper says again. “There’s nothing on the menu too expensive for us to handle.”
I barely catch the sound of Salem practicing the breathing exercises I taught him.
“Okay. I’ll take a hash brown and biscuits and gravy.”
Jasper’s smile is blinding.
He already knows my breakfast order, and without missing a beat, he turns and rolls his window down to place the order.
I sit dumbfounded. Why is Salem so worried about the cost of things? Is this a remnant of foster care? Or is it from Mom and Melvin? And fuck, how am I supposed to help it?
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I try to keep myself calm. Driving home from picking them up would be a really fucking awful time to realize I’m not actually cut out for this at all.
Salem and Nora deserve me to be at my best, and that means knowing what the fuck I’m doing.
I carefully pull my phone out, then shoot off a text to Luca.
Me
Do you think all parents have no fucking clue what they’re doing, or am I just like extra stupid?
I’m not expecting a response. It’s barely 6:00 a.m., but Luca starts typing right away.
Jasper is passing out food to everyone when his message finally comes in.
Luca
I think all parents, and even big brothers, struggle at first to figure out their shit. You know you can call Deb too if you need advice. She’s already told you she wants to be Mamaw Deb. And also, stop being mean to my best friend, thanks.
“Here, baby boy.” Jasper hands me my sandwich, and I take it with a sigh before texting Luca back.
Me
Thanks. Also, why are you awake?
Luca
You don’t want to know. Caught me right as I was about to go back to sleep.
I nearly burst into laughter. I’m not sure if I’m jealous or if I’m happy for him. A little of both, I think. Jasper is still treating me like I’m broken, and with the kids, opportunities for us to be alone seem like they’re going to be even more slim than they were before.
Me
Thanks, Luc. Love you.
