Jake said Ryder would take care of it for me, and I’m afraid to ask what that means.
I startle as the jet pulls into the hangar. That is one shit-fancy plane.
Seconds later, the door opens, and my mom appears in the doorway. She clutches her purse as the stairs descend, heartbreakingly nervous.
The second she sees me, though, she straightens her shoulders and gives me that resilient smile of hers.
“Hey there, Boonbug,” she calls out, and I blush at the nickname.
“Your mom calls you Boonbug?” Maverick turns to me, his troublemaker smile at full wattage. “That’swayworse than Booney.”
“You sure about that?”
“It’s more embarrassing, at the very least.”
I grin and press a kiss to my glorious sun god’s lips.
Dad appears behind Mom and takes her arm, helping her down the stairs, protective as always. The three of us hug and exchange whispered words, assuring each other of our love. I warn Dad that Hopper likes to call me his son, but in a way that honors what Dad means to me.
“Boone, I’ve been your father all your life, and he’d be a fool not to be proud of you. Besides, you can never have too many father figures.”
At that, we turn to Hopper, and…huh. Not sure I’ve ever seen that expression on his face. Hopper looksanxious.
My mother, who has the uncanny ability to put aside her own stresses whenever she sees someone more nervous, is the first to break the silence.
“Hopper, you are as handsome as ever,” she says with a soft smile.
He dips his head, rocking back and forth on his feet. “I take after my son.”
Mom and I place our hands on our chests simultaneously. Almost as if we practiced it. We share a teary glance as she closes the distance to Hopper. They hug for several moments, and…hoo, buddy. Someone’s cutting onions in here.
Finally pulling away, she grips his arm. “We made a beautiful baby,” she says with affection.
He nods effusively, a little off-kilter. “We did. But more importantly, you both raised a wonderful human.” Hopper turns to my dad, eyes bright. “Thank you for loving him, and for showing him how to be a good man.”
My father, the big softy, opens his arms. Hopper hitches, then throws himself at my father, and I wonder if he’s ever in his whole life had a proper dad hug. Dad pulls him in tight and whispers a few words to him, father to father.
While they talk, I wrap an arm around my mother’s shoulders and introduce her to Liam.
With his gaze lingering on his husband and my father, Liam asks, “Did Boone share what happened with our surrogate?”
Mom takes his hand in both of hers, and their eyes meet, the moment poignant.
“I’m so sorry that happened.” She winks at me with fondness and an edge of humor. “Boone being in your life doesn’t make it go away or make it better, but…as consolation prizes go, he’s not bad.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say, laughing as I wipe the moisture from my eyes.
Liam’s ordered a large SUV for us, so Maverick and I get in the way back like teenagers, and the conversation flows easily as we make our way to the restaurant. Liam and Hopper do a goodjob of skirting around the fact that Hopper is basically a serial killer, and Maverick pulls up his Instagram to show Mom the little blue-roofed house he owns in Mykonos.
Good to know.
In the swirl of conversations, my phone buzzes. It’s Joni.
Joni: They weren’t able to find an emergency foster for Bailey, so she’s staying in the group home for now.
Fuck. That.
Me: She’s only three years old.
