Page 92 of Rescued
Luca
Love you too. Always here if you need me. Let me know when everyone is up for visitors. We want to meet the kids.
Dropping my phone into my lap, I shift my attention to Jasper. “Sorry, baby. Thank you for breakfast.”
My words set off a chain reaction, and Salem and Nora immediately echo my words.
“You’re welcome, everyone. We ready to hit the road again?”
There’s a chorus of yeses, and then Jasper’s turning the radio on and pulling onto the highway.
Thekidsareasleepby the time we get home. It’s been a long-ass drive, and I’m ready to take a little nap. I hope the kids aren’t opposed to that. At the very least, Jasper will need to get some sleep.
I can probably make it through the day on what I’ve got, but there’s no way he will.
His eyes are heavy, and he looks exhausted. “Let’s get everyone inside, and then you go take a nap,” I say when he pulls into the driveway and puts the truck in park.
He hums, turning and gripping my chin to pull me closer to him.
His lips press to mine softly, then he pulls back. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, my eyes falling shut.
“Thank you for this.”
My nose scrunches. “For what?” I ask, opening my eyes.
“This.” Jasper nods toward the backseat. “For inviting me into your life and theirs. I’m so fucking happy to have you all. Never knew how much I wanted exactly this until you placed it right in my hands. I owe everything to you.”
There’s a jaw-splitting yawn from the back seat, and then, “You said a bad word.”
Jasper chuckles. “Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t do that, huh?”
I glance at Nora in time to see her shrug. “Don’t care. S’nothing Mom hasn’t said around me.”
I think I speak for both Jasper and me when I say that we want to be better than Mom. That’s not the standard I want to set for myself or the standard I want the kids to hold me to.
“That might be true, Nor,” I say, “but we shouldn’t be doing it around you. Just because Mom does something doesn’t make it right.”
Salem snorts, his eyes still closed. “You can say that again.”
Rolling her eyes, Nora huffs. “Fine. Can we go inside?”
Sitting up straighter in her seat, she tries to peek out of the windshield to check out the house.
“Definitely. Let’s go see your rooms,” Jasper says, a big smile on his face.
I’m really glad we got the kids, but I’m so ready to have a few minutes to talk to Jasper alone. I want to find out where his headspace is at.
When we all pile out of the car, Jasper grabs the kids’ new suitcases from the back, and I usher them toward the house, putting in the code on the door to unlock it.
Nora is bouncing on her toes in excitement while Salem’s eyes dart around.
Pushing open the door, I walk inside. Home sweet fucking home. After that car ride, I’m so happy to be home.
Jasper steps in behind us and rolls the suitcases toward the couch. “Do you all wanna see your rooms? As soon as everyone has some time to rest, we can make a trip to the store and buy some things to personalize them.”
I nod. “We didn’t want to do too much without you guys.”
