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I forced a laugh and shook my head. “I lost them once. Their job scares me, I guess. Seeing them rush away, it worries me. It’s not just me I have to think about. What if we do this and then Forrest watches his dads run out all the time? What if they don’t cut back on the long trips? As much as I care about them already, I don’t know them well enough to know they won’t leave.”
“Well, honey, you never know anyone well enough to know anything one hundred percent.” She grabbed my hands and tucked them both against her chest. “I don’t want my daughter waiting around on men all the time. Personally, I would prefer you find a man, or men, who are here for you and Forrest. You deserve that. I can tell you care about them, though. Maybe just slow things down and be careful.”
I felt her hesitating and closed my eyes. “Just say the rest, Mom.”
“No matter what you think or want, Violet, you have to tell Forrest they’re his dads. You can’t make that choice for him, or them, out of fear. He deserves a dad. Or dads, as it may be.” She squeezed my hands and then pulled me in for a hug. “He loves them. He talks about them nonstop. He even told your father he wishes they were his dads. Honey, you’re not doing yourself any favors by trying to control this.”
My chest tightened. “He said that? He said that he wishes they were his dads?”
She nodded. “Your dad said Forrest looked so hopeful it took everything in him not to blurt it out right then and there. We won’t do that, of course. It’s not our place. But you need to tell him.”
“I’m so glad this night was so light and easy and that I don’t have anything serious to spend my night losing sleep over.” I looked out the window and saw General take Dad’s legs out from under him. Smiling, I gestured at the window. “We should go save him. I’ll clean up after you guys leave.”
CHAPTER 34
Justin
I swore as Mason parked on the street in front of our house. Violet was already dressed for work and getting in her car. When she saw us, she hesitated before getting out and standing next to her open door with her arms crossed. Mason shut the truck off and rubbed his hands over his face. Ben took a deep breath. I swore again. We were all fucking exhausted. Some prick of a senator’s son had gotten himself kidnapped by a rebel group in some backwoods part of the world and we’d been up all night, gathering intel and setting up calls with old buddies from the service. We needed eyes and ears near the rebel force as soon as possible. Before Violet and Forrest, we would’ve been wheels up the moment we got the job. Sending other people in our place wasn’t easy.
“She’s pissed.” Mason shoved his door open and glanced back at me. “I hope she knocks me out so I can have an excuse to sleep for a few hours.”
I met him at the front of the truck and stretched to crack my back. “Being a boyfriend is hard.”
Ben pushed past us and growled. “I’m too tired for you two right now.”
Violet kept her arms crossed as we closed the gap between us. Her lips looked red and raw, like she’d been chewing on them. She had dark circles under her eyes, too. It looked like she’d slept about as much as we had.
Ben gripped the back of her neck and pulled her into his chest. “You can hug me back or we can stay just like this all goddamn day.”
“Ben.” I leaned against the car and positioned myself in the way of her escape. “You’re upset with us, Vi?”
She heaved a giant sigh before wrapping her arms around Ben. When he let her go, she hugged Mason and then turned to me. Moving to hug me, she gasped as I grabbed her hips and pulled her mouth to mine. I kissed her until her hesitant mouth became hungry and I was in the middle of considering making her late for work when she pulled away suddenly and frowned at me. “I am upset.”
I licked her taste from my lips and nodded. “Tell us.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears and took a few seconds before meeting my gaze. “I’m not upset at you. I’m just…disappointed, I guess. I was looking forward to last night.”
Ben growled under his breath. “I was, too, Vi. It was a work thing we had to handle so we could get back here to you. We did it as fast as we could.”
Her cheeks heated. “I’m not… I’m not suggesting you guys were wrong for handling your work commitments.”
“Then what are you suggesting?” Tired Ben wasn’t exactly going to win any awards for mincing words.
“My mom said something after you guys left last night. She’s worried about me being with someone who can’t be here for me and Forrest.” She looked down at her feet and her voice grew quieter. “It worries me, too.”
Anger boiled up my throat. I hated that her mom didn’t trust us to take care of her daughter and grandson. To hear that Violet didn’t trust we could take care of her was salt in the wound. “It was one night, Violet.”
She nodded and sent her hair flying in her face. She didn’t bother pushing it back. “Of course. Let’s just forget it.”
“No. If you don’t trust us, we need to know.” I looked to Ben and Mason and saw them giving me glances that said to chill out.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m just scared of falling for men who aren’t home. It’s not fair for me to ask you to give up your career. If your career keeps you gone for weeks at a time, though, I’m just not sure I want that life for me and Forrest.” She rubbed her arms. “Waiting around to see when, or if, you guys come home, doesn’t sound like a peaceful life.”
“Violet, we’ve turned down a couple of longer jobs already. I told you we aren’t going to leave like that anymore. None of us can stand the idea of leaving you and Forrest here alone.” Ben brushed her hair back and cupped her face. “We don’t have to take a single job we don’t want to take and none of us want to take a long one. We want to be here. We wanted to be here last night. It would’ve been nice to convince your parents to give us their blessing. Instead, your mom has more reasons not to like us now.”
I held her hips and pressed my face into her shoulder. “You can’t give up on us before you even give us a chance, Vi.”
She took a shuddering breath and held it. After too long for my comfort, she blew it out. “I’ve never done this stuff before. It’s all scary. I’m not giving up. I’m just…moving with caution.”
