“I’m not going anywhere either,” I added, because this was important. “When I said cradle to grave, it covered everything.”
The small smile from earlier tipped upward a little more. The relief in her eyes didn’t offend me. I hated that she might be scared of losing me to the point that talking about what she wanted was a challenge. That only meant I needed to work harder.
When she did a quick sweep of Jake and Bubba, I flicked a look to where Archie watched me. When I raised my eyebrows, he just nodded. We were both in this.
No one was surrendering their place and if that meant taking the time to carve it in right, then that was exactly what we would do.
Jake clapped once. “Cool. So we’re all just emotionally evolved now? Is that what’s happening?”
Bubba snorted.
Frankie’s smile turned into a genuine grin.
Jake
Okay, but here was the part nobody was saying: Archie was different. Not overtly possessive or darkly dangerous—I’d gotten a taste of that threat in the den downstairs a few weeks ago. I’d be good with not pushing him that far again.
I was fine with beating the shit out of each other, but Archie was the kind to destroy you, then go after anyone still supporting you.
The difference today was he’d already decided something and settled on it. That decision included all of us which as much as I appreciated the fact of not being cut out—being included seemed a hundred times more intimidating.
Determined to be worth it for both of them, I grabbed another slice and leaned back. “So, are the adults dead or just plotting?”
“Plotting,” Archie said dryly.
“Cool,” I replied. “So basically nothing’s changed.”
“Everything’s changed,” Frankie murmured.
That shut me up.
Bubba
The house was quiet. Too quiet. But upstairs, in this room?
It felt… solid. Real. Real in a way we hadn’t been in far too long. We were a unit again. The five of us. Maybe we were still messy, complicated, and not altogether certain—but we were intact.
We were going to figure it out together.
Archie reached for a slice finally and Frankie relaxed half an inch when he did.
Coop leaned forward and stole one off Jake’s plate just to piss him off.
Jake protested loudly.
Frankie laughed.
There it was.
The sound we were all waiting for.
Normal.
Or close enough.
I leaned back and watched them.
The dynamic had shifted. Archie and Frankie had done—something to deepen their relationship. But they weren’t cutting us out. Coop’s jealousy was still present, but he wasn’t letting it decide anything. Jake’s curiosity and need to repair the damage he’d inflicted was also still there, but so was his determination to not let those mistakes dictate our future.
