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I snort. “I’m only moving a few miles away. It’ll be like I never even left.”
“That’s depressing,” Devin teases. “I was looking forward to not having to see your ugly mug anymore.”
My eyes roll. “Shut up. You know you’re going to miss me.”
She tries to play tough, but I can see right through it as she starts to tear up. “Fuck, fine. I’ll miss you a little.”
Cam up-nods at me through the front door and I know we’re all set to go. The guys are on their way back to my house to help unload, and Laiken and Mali are there to unpack and wait for the people delivering my furniture. Apparently, when all you have is a bedroom, you need to buy a lot of shit.
“Hey,” I say to Devin, getting an idea. “You busy today?”
Her lips purse before she shakes her head. “No, why?”
“Want to come back to the house with me?” I suggest. “Laiken and Mali are there. You can hang out with them.”
She smiles and looks over at Mom. “Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” she assures her. “You go have fun and help your brother.”
Devin goes to get her shoes on while I turn to my mom.
“If you ever need me, you promise you’ll call,” I tell her. She tries to wave it off, but I don’t allow it. “I’m serious. I don’t care what it is, or if it’s two in the damn morning. You call me and I’m here.”
Her eyes soften and she nods. “I promise. I love you, Hayes.”
“I love you, too.”
I hug her once more, trying to show her how much I care about her and appreciate how hard she’s always worked to provide for us. I know it wasn’t easy, raising two teenagers alone, but she never once even thought about giving up on us. Laiken is my future, and I love her more than I ever knew was possible. But everything I am, and the man I’ve grown to be, I owe to the woman standing in front of me.
With one more goodbye, all three of us step onto the porch. Devin skips ahead to get in my truck, and I turn around, walking backward as I talk to my mom.
“I’ll bring her back later,” I tell her.
She scrunches her nose. “Do you have to?”
I chuckle as I get in my truck, waving one more time as I pull out of the driveway.
There’s a weight in my chest from knowing she’s going to go back inside and cry. Memories of when my dad left play through my mind, but I push them away. Unlike him, I’m not abandoning her with two kids and no idea how to get by. I’m not abandoning her at all. If she were to need me, I could be there in under ten minutes.
She’ll always have me.
WE GET BACK TOthe house and I walk in to see the girls must have gotten bored. They unpacked what we brought back so far, and while I don’t know where anything is, I’m just glad it’s done. I’m not sure how I feel about them putting together the end tables and the coffee table though.
“Are you sure they’re not going to fall apart?” I ask skeptically.
Laiken glares at me. “Yes, prick. We followed the instructions.”
Owen picks up the one end table and shakes it. “Seems sturdy to me. Hey, Aid! Come stand on this thing.”
“Let’s not,” I stop him and give Laiken a small smile. “It looks great, babe.”
“Thanks,” she says, grinning happily.
Mali has herI’m about to stir some shitlook on her face. “Lai, tell him about your new business idea.”
Laiken chuckles, and already, I’m scared. “I’ve had so much experience in manual labor lately, I should start my own handyman business.”
Cam barks out a laugh. “Manual labor? You sit there gawking at your boyfriend all damn day!”
