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His brows pull together, like they often do when he’s thinking about something. “That’s why she made me her first word?”
I grin. He thinks Bree made a choice. And he thinks she chose him. “You play with her, don’t you?”
He shrugs and stuffs some lights into the tree. “Sometimes.”
“And she seems happy?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I think you’re her best friend.”
Jackson looks over my shoulder at Bree. “Does that mean she’s my best friend? How many can I have?”
“As many as you want, and if you want her to be.”
He decides to let that topic go while we finish putting the lights on the tree. Raelynn helps once she puts Bree to bed for the night. Jackson has the most fun with the tinsel. He grabs a handful and runs around, throwing it on the tree. Raelynn looks like she w
ants to tell him to be more direct with his throwing since part of it falls onto the floor. I don’t want to ruin his fun, though. I grab some tinsel, just a few strands, and throw it at her.
She looks at me with surprise and a little smile.
“He’s fine,” I whisper.
“Mr. EJ, I can’t reach the top. Will you help me?”
“I can,” Raelynn says as she stands, but Jackson shakes his head with an expression as if she’s crazy.
“Momma, you can’t reach either.” The duh is silent, yet loud and clear.
I chuckle, which earns me a quick glare from Raelynn. “I can still lift you up, Jackson.” He clearly doesn’t believe her, but she picks him up anyway. He’s nearly as tall as she is. He’s only like two feet shorter. I’m surprised she can pick him up still. Just as I think it, I hear her grunt when he leans forward. I walk over and before I can say anything, she grinds out, “I’m fine.”
“Either I take him, or I pick you both up.”
Her hair flies out as she whips her gaze over to look at me with wide eyes. I’m dead serious, too. I can easily pick them both up. There’s no need for her to injure herself. Or drop Jackson.
Jackson leans too far to the right while Raelynn eyeballs me, probably wondering if I’d really pick her up. He falls forward, which pulls Raelynn in that direction. I snake an arm around her waist and lean her upright again.
“Sorry, Momma,” Jackson says softly.
She kisses his cheek. “Don’t be, baby.” She takes a deep breath. “You’re growing up is all. Mr. EJ will help you with the rest.”
I briefly rub her back before taking him from her to help him toss tinsel onto the top portion of the tree. When he’s done, I set him on his feet and take a few steps back with my hands on my hips. “Well, J-man. What do you think? Is it finished and perfect?”
Jackson walks over to stand next to me, mirroring my stance. He eyes the tree and then nods. “Yep.”
Raelynn laughs. “Time for bed, Jackson.”
He follows her upstairs and I tidy up a bit. I was worried how the transition would be. For me to have a nanny. For my mom to be gone. And then for there to be another kid in the house. After all, I went from living alone to having a baby and now to having a house full. My peace and quiet alone time is almost nonexistent now, but this new part of my life? It’s not bad at all. I thoroughly enjoy it.
Not to say I haven’t been enjoying life since Bree came into it, I have, but things seem to have settled down now with Raelynn here. It’s a new, different kind of peace.
I eye the crazy tree. The ornaments are nearly hidden from all of the tinsel Jackson put on it. That’s definitely going to be a tradition for Bree and me. It’s too fun not to be. I flip the switch to turn the outlet off and thus, turning the lights off on the tree.
“Elias?”
I turn around at the sound of Raelynn’s voice, sounding close by.
She throws her arms around my neck, her entire body leaning into me as she hugs me. “Thank you,” she whispers.
