AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Losing out on that baby last year hit them pretty hard. And then having to wait to see if this adoption would go through…”
“They didn’t want to try surrogacy like you guys did?” I asked.
Dane shot me a questioning look.
“Emma told me Ben is biologically yours.”
Dane chuckled. “She called him Swirl, didn’t she?”
I hedged and Dane just laughed harder. “If Ben didn’t love her so much, I’d be worried he’d someday get a complex.” Dane quieted and said, “Roman and Hunter both had pretty bad childhoods. I think they wanted to give what they didn’t have to a kid who needed it.”
I nodded because that made sense to me.
Perfect sense.
We both fell silent as we walked and I grew more on edge the closer to the pond we got. I could already hear the kids laughing and dogs barking.
I was surprised when Dane slowed to a stop. I did the same and cast him a questioning glance.
“What’s bothering you, Beck?”
“Nothing,” I said as I shook my head.
Dane tilted his head. “Try again,” he said softly.
“I want to ask you and Jax something, but I guess I’m worried how you’ll react,” I admitted.
Dane considered me for a moment and finally said, “I can’t pretend to know everything you’re going through, Beck. But I know how hard it can be to try and be different things to different people.”
I stilled at that because his words were just a little too close to the truth for my liking.
“We’re hoping someday you’ll feel safe enough to just be yourself with us,” he added.
Fuck, if it were only that easy. I managed to not say the words aloud, though. Dane didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t seem eager to start moving forward again, either.
“I was thinking about talking to my dads about me staying at the resort for a few weeks while we’re working there.”
I waited for the question, prepared myself for it.
Do you think that’s a good idea, Beck?
So, when Dane said, “Sounds like a smart idea,” I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.
“We’ll miss you of course, but knowing Emma, you’ll be here for dinner more often than not.”
That’s it? That was all he had to say about it?
I realized it was when Dane started walking again.
“I can text you each night after work…mornings too,” I offered.
“You can text us whenever you want, Beck. But do it because you want to, not because you have to.”
It couldn’t be this easy.
I waited, but there were no additional comments about calling if I was feeling down or sideline comments about them coming to “visit” me on the spur of the moment. We walked in silence for several beats before Dane finally spoke again, but it still wasn’t what I was expecting. “Do you want me to let Jax know?”
Since I was considerably more intimidated by Jax than I was Dane, I wanted to say yes.
