Page 322 of Tell Me I'm Enough

The tension in my body leaves as soon as our house at the end of the cul-de-sac comes into view. A smile creeps onto my face, seeing shadows move behind the curtains.

Thisis my sanctuary.

As soon as I step through the front door, I’m met with the sound of laughter, the smell of takeout, and the sight of every piece of my heart somewhere running around amongst all the chaos.

“Dad!” Jackson screams all high-pitched and excited, and then he’s barreling into me like a linebacker in a tiny body.

I catch him, lifting him up, as his arms lock around my neck. “Hey, Bud. You been good today for your mom?”

“Yeah!”

“No!” Simone shouts from the kitchen, pointing a large spoon in Jackson’s direction.

I laugh, moving him up to sit on my shoulders. “What did he do today?”

“What did henotdo?” she says, adjusting the straps on her shoulders. “He’s been into everything! I had to get Easton to come down here and do a puzzle with him just so I could start a load of dishes without having a panic attack or mental breakdown because of that little boy.”

I look down at the floor by the couch, where Easton is lying out, looking up at me with a grin, knowing how much trouble Jackson is around here.

“I’ve been trying to distract him,” Easton tells me in a voice that’s way too low for my liking.

Puberty was something I wasnotprepared for with those two.

“Go faster!” Nash squeals from down the hall.

Simone throws her head back in exhaustion. “Please tell me you arenotspeeding down my hallway in your wheelchair like this is Need for Speed, Ash!”

“He made me!” Asher shouts in an innocent tone.

Simone throws her hands up in defeat. “Great. No, that’s fine. You both can just match each other in wheelchairs for the rest of your lives.”

I let out a laugh that I try to cover up with a cough.

I still get a glare from Simone, but it only makes me smile, which makes her smile, even though she looks like she’s trying to be pissed right now.

Asher comes around the corner with Nash in his lap, positioned like he belongs at the center of everything, like the world can adjust around him.

One thing that the boy has never done is let his injury define any part of his life or personality. After the spinal cord injury he suffered from Scott dragging him out of the car when he was just seven and slamming him onto the pavement, everyone wanted to treat him like he was so fragile and would break if he did anything slightly risky and fun in life. He hated it. I did too. I knew I couldn’t be overprotective of him forever. I had to let him be a kid and figure out how to navigate this new life he was living inside of now. Especially after having something so traumatic happen to him and then simultaneously losing both his parents.

Once the police started to dig deeper after the accident, they found more than they bargained for. And they foundeverythingthey could, thanks to the large sum of money I put into hiring all the best lawyers and investigators—fraud, embezzlement, fake contracts, shell companies, the whole nine.

Scott and Rose thought they were untouchable. Turns out the universe loves receipts, and now they’re both behind bars. I own everything they built on a foundation of lies, and have had full custody of the boys for the last eleven years.

I swallow hard as Asher looks up and meets my eyes. He’s so stubborn, and it makes me so proud. Those two boys might be my brothers by birth, but in every way that matters, they’re mysons too. I couldn’t be more blessed with the family God gave me. The one I’m so determined to fill with love and happiness, and all the things I didn’t have.

I put Jackson down and cross the room, squeezing his shoulder. “Hey,” I murmur.

He smirks up at me. “You look like you got punched in the soul.”

“Pretty much.”

“I know you hate going there,” he says, lifting Nash up and putting him on the ground. “Was it bad?”

I shake my head. “No.” Then pause, cause I don’t lie to them. “Yes. But it needed to happen.”

He just nods, understanding.

And I know he does. He’s extremely smart and is much wiser than I was at almost eighteen. He’s going to do big things in life, I just know it.