Page 100 of Maximus

“Hey,” Eva greeted.

“Have you guys eaten?” Anaya bypassed me and moved toward Eva. “Hey, boys.”

Anaya received two mumbled ‘heys’ but otherwise, the boys went back to their puzzle. They’d been going at it for hours.

“Liam. Elijah. Manners please.”

Both boys studiously stood and properly greeted Anaya and said hello to Kyle.

Once Eva gave them the go-ahead, they were both back in front of the puzzle. I glanced at my watch, surprised to find it was indeed almost time for dinner.

How long have Eva and I been talking? Hours had slipped by unnoticed and I couldn’t remember a time, ever, when I’d simply sat and spoken to a woman for so long.

“What did you have in mind for dinner?” I asked Anaya.

“We thought we’d order in.”

“Babe?” I turned to Eva.

“Um… sure. Whatever you guys want.”

It took a few minutes to hash out what to order, deciding pizza would be easiest, and Kyle called it in. It didn’t take long for Kyle to pounce as soon as the women made their way into the kitchen.

“Glad to see you worked out whatever was troubling you.”

I glared at my friend then made a decision to do something else I rarely did—I shared.

“Never saw myself settling for a woman. After the bullshit Pam pulled, I never wanted to open myself up to that kind of pain again. I’m still not sure how it happened, but there’s just something about her.”

“And the boys?”

“That’s gonna take time. Dawkins was a dick and put them through hell. Especially Liam. Fuck, brother, every time I see the scars on his arms, I wish the man was alive so I could kill him myself. Elijah is so shy it might take me years to get in there with him.”

“Have you shown Liam your scars? Talked to him about what your old man did to you?”

“No, not sure if I should.”

“You absolutely should. He needs to know you understand. I bet after you show him, he’ll open up. And once Elijah sees he can trust you, he’ll feel safe and he’ll do the same. But I think you’re right, it’s gonna take time. But if anyone can heal that family, it’s you.”

Damn, my friend’s confidence in me felt good, but it did nothing to alleviate the rock in my gut when it came to the boys. They scared me even more than Eva did. I didn’t have the first clue how to be a father, and if this worked out with Eva, that’s exactly what I would be. And those two kids deserved a good one.

“What makes you so sure I can heal them?”

The tone of my voice sounded foreign to my ears—it was unlike me to be so unsure. Hell, I wasn’t unsure about anything—ever. I made a decision and didn’t deviate. But with Eva and the boys, I was off-kilter.

“Because you understand them. The four of you are all the same. And if you let them, they’ll heal you, too.”

“I don’t need—”

“Brother, don’t feed me a line of bullshit. You must’ve forgotten who you’re talking to. I know you. You’ve got decades worth of shit bottled up. Let Eva sort that for you.”

“The last thing that woman needs is to take on my baggage.”

“You’re wrong. She needs all of you.”

All of me?

That wasn’t part of the plan. Surely, I could give us a shot at happiness and still hold parts of me at bay.