Page 71 of Will to Run

“In the best way,” he answers, but I see him putting his fingers, the ones that were just inside my body, in his mouth to lick them.

Holy. Shit.

We get to his parents’ house with two minutes to spare, but we are the last to arrive. I’m immediately welcomed as if I’m part of the family, and I take care to speak to everyone individually. The only person I feel half a step off with is Cayson, but based on what Jaxon has said about what’s happening in his life, I brush it off. Rose’s cryptic comment about staying longer is taking up real estate in my brain, and the dangerous question of what if floats in.

Dinner is as exquisite as he made it out to be, and I assume it’s from the lodge restaurant, but apparently, his mom works for two days to make it. Each time I encounter her, I’m more and more taken by this woman.

“Wait,” I say as dessert comes out, “you really made all of this?”

“I had Dale build me the chef’s kitchen fifteen years ago, and I’ve loved it every day since,” she gushes, looking at him. “Plus, if there’s one way to ensure my family comes together, it’s by feeding them.”

The entire table laughs, and I’m filled with such an incredible warmth. The love here is palpable, and I am feeling blessed to have been taken under their wing.

After dessert, Beth pulls out a box and announces that we’re playing a game. I look around the table and am, admittedly, a little surprised by it. Jax didn’t mention that games were part of this evening.

We play, and besides the fact we have a blast, it’s comical how the lot of them argue over every single tile laid, except the ones Mazie and Luke play. The response to their choices is always a resounding perfect, and how’d you think of that? It’s hilarious to watch them then pivot to give each other shit.

When that ends, they turn on the LA Sliders game so they can watch Kellen Wildes play. It’s hard to reconcile the stories I’ve heard about him with the larger-than-life all-star that keeps flashing on the television. Though I don’t pay much attention to baseball, Kellen is such a big deal player that even I know who he is. It sounds like him, Cayson, and Jax had the best time together growing up, and I’m sad I don’t get to meet him because his season just started.

Getting distracted, I end up looking around and notice Luke at the table coloring, and I wander over.

“Hey buddy,” I say. “I hear you like art.”

His eyes dart around as if he’s looking for an out, but I continue. “I do, too. I paint. Do you like painting too?”

He stops looking around and faces me before nodding quickly.

“Really? That’s so cool. Here’s something I painted last week,” I say, pulling out my phone to show him. After my conversation with Rose, I took photos of what I’d done so far… just in case.

Luke looks at the photos, then at me, then at the photos again, then shoves his chair out to leave the table. I feel bad that maybe that was too much, but seconds later, he comes skidding back with three papers that he hands to me.

“Did you paint these?” I ask, flipping through them. “Luke, these are great! Look at how blue your sky is, and your green grass! I love your yellow sun!” They are three-year-old paintings, no doubt, but I can make out trees and mountains and flowers, and that’s a big deal for that age.

He beams at me, waiting for more praise, which I happily heap on.

“I like yours too,” he whispers. I look around to see if anyone else heard it, but people are too engrossed in the Sliders game.

“Thank you, Luke. If you ever want to paint together, I am always here to do that with you.”

He smiles at me, and I hit the freaking moon that he shared his voice with me. I want to hug him, but realize that would be way too much, so I settle for a smile back. Handing him his papers, he runs off to put them away, but then goes to Cayson, who lovingly puts his arm around him, none the wiser that he just shared his art and his voice with me.

I get up and relocate to the arm of the couch next to Jaxon, and he puts his hand on my back while he continues watching the game. It’s so… normal. I haven’t been to a normal family dinner since my mom died. My aunt and I would enjoy plenty of meals, but being surrounded in this capacity is different. Even when things were great, it’s not like I had siblings surrounding me.

“I can’t believe you actually know him,” I say to Jax.

“Eh, I can’t see him as anything but the person who hates snakes and can’t drink Goldschlager,” he replies, but I catch him looking at his siblings and sharing the inside joke.

“Baseball is kind of boring to watch on TV,” I say quietly, or so I think. Immediately following my statement, a couch pillow hits me, and I laugh with my whole heart, feeling accepted.

“Oh, you’re in for it now, Della,” Beth says as she hits Dale’s arm to stop him from throwing another one.

My heart is bursting, literally bursting, and I settle in to watch the final two innings of a victory that Kellen secures with a walk-off home run.

34

JAXON

Ihave spent every free moment I have with the woman who, I can say without question, I’m currently obsessed with. Yesterday, we officially ushered in high season with a ninety-nine percent occupancy rate for the first week, and I couldn’t have been more excited to hit that number.