When he pursed his lips, almost unconsciously, I guided his hand up gently. “Suck your thumb if you need it. It’s fine.”
The relief that crossed his face damn near undid me. He tucked his thumb into his mouth, and I felt the tension drain out of him little by little. He still didn’t know how much space he occupied in my heart. Hell, I wasn’t sure how to put it into words yet, but watching him settle against me, needing me… It lit something inside me I didn’t even know had been waiting.
“Gonna take a baf first, Daddy? Peas?” His voice was small, and it tugged at every protective instinct I had.
“Yep, if that’s what you want. I was waiting for you to be ready to move.” I dragged out the words, trying to make him smile. “So noooooow…are you ready?”
“Yes, peas.” The little laugh that came with it made me grin like a fool.
That was all I needed. I pulled Jasper up and steered him gently toward the bedroom to fetch his pajamas, then into the bathroom. I ran the water warm, added bubbles, and tossed a couple of toys in for him, glancing over to catch him fighting sleep with those stubborn, heavy eyes. I didn’t call him out, but I also wasn’t willing to leave him in the bathtub alone. My original plan had been to pop into the kitchen and get something cooking, but now that was completely out of the question.
“We’re gonna get you clean and then we’re gonna get some food in you,” I told him as I tested the water with my hand. “What are you hungry for? Anything you want.”
“PB&J, peas.”
“Sugar, is that really what you want, or are you tryin’ to be nice so I don’t have to cook?”
I watched Jasper play with the toys for a few minutes, and it made me stop and think about how this had become my life since I’d found him in the pasture with the goats. It had never occurred to me that I’d end up in his home, giving him a bath and fixing him dinner, after a long day of him showing off his hard work on the bed and breakfast. I sure as shit wasn’t complaining, but I hadn’t expected it either. It wasn’t exactly true to say that it hadn’t been on my Bingo card because it hadn’t even crossed my mind.
“Daddy bath wit me?” Jasper asked from where he sat in the tub below me.
I dropped to my knees, grabbed the washcloth, and dipped it in the water for soap before I answered, “Not tonight, buddy. If you fall asleep, and I fall asleep, we’ll both be in the cold water.”
“You tired?”
“I’m not as tired as you, but it’s hard work trying to keep myself from getting a big head at how fucking talented my boyfriend is.”
Jasper blushed a little at my words and ducked his head like he was embarrassed. And that made no goddamn sense because there was nothing to be embarrassed about. The fact that he’d gotten this place open within six weeks was nothing short of a goddamn miracle. But that was Jasper. Jasper could literally do anything.
I was content to watch Jasper splash a little bit in the bathtub, but when his eyes got even more heavy-lidded than before and his movements slowed, I told him it was time to finish washing up and get dressed so I could get some food in him. Jasper didn’t argue at all and sat patiently while I scrubbed him, rinsed him off, and then helped him step out of the bathtub so I could get him dressed. I slathered on his lotion, along with some powder, and he took on the sweetest scent I’d ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It was hard to put into words how much I enjoyed taking care of him.
When he was fully dressed, he followed me back to the front of the house and parked himself on the stool at the kitchen counter. His eyes were still heavy, so I didn’t wanna make anything complicated. I rummaged around in his fridge and found some leftover pasta from the night before. I grabbed some of the random veggies he had inside and set them all on the counter in a giant pile.
“Whatcha makin’?”
“My mom used to call it Asian spaghetti, but mostly it’s just a way of using up leftover random vegetables.”
Jasper watched me quietly as I quickly chopped the green onions, red onions, carrots, and a little corn. Then, I heated the angel hair pasta, added soy sauce to the vegetables, and sautéed everything for a few minutes. I soon had a plate full of Asian-style noodles for him to chow down on.
It didn’t take him long to shovel everything on his plate into his mouth and ask for seconds. He ate the next plate a little bit slower, but still managed to ask for a third helping. He wasn’t kidding that he had been working all day and hadn’t eaten. I put some milk in a sippy cup for him and set that on the counter. He guzzled it down and then asked for another one of those as well.
I made a mental note to double-check he was eating regularly once the bed and breakfast got busier. I suspected we’d have more days where he forgot to eat or thought he didn’t have time. No way would my boy get rundown on my watch if I had anything to say about it. I’d come over every day and fix him lunch myself if I had to.
My boy.Just the phrase sent my insides into a series of swoops and swirls.
“You ready for some little time?”
At his quick nod, I cleared away his plates and dumped them in the sink. The dishes could wait when my baby needed some downtime.
Jasper settled onto a floor pillow in his cozy corner and immediately pulled out some polished wooden blocks. Unlike the usual kind, they weren’t painted in various shades. Leave it to Jasper to find a way to make even his toys aesthetically pretty. The man did like to coordinate.
The only thing missing was Nessie, who’d been left behind on the bed. After Jasper was settled, I headed back to the bedroom to grab her from the prized location of dead center of the pillows on Jasper’s bed.
“Daddy! Oh no! We gotta go!” Jasper shot to his feet and was headed for his shoes before I could get a word in or figure out what he was talking about.
“What the hell? Where are you going? It’s close to ten!” I scrambled back into the living room. Jasper was jamming his sneakers on. “Wait.” My voice rang with more authority than I usually used with him, and there was no damn way to miss the way his breath hitched a little at it. Noted.Focus, asshole.“Where do you think you need to go?”
“My goat-a-roos…they didn’t get fed or put up this evening. The coyotes are gonna chomp them,” Jasper wailed. Tears were already threatening to spill down his cheeks. “They gonna get hurt.”
