“Yeah, right,” Chase scoffs. “Just watch over Jax until she’s back.”
“Easy for you to say! You don’t have a child depending on you for survival,” I call out after him, but my brother decides to ignore me. “Great. Just great.”
My gaze falls on Jackson. His brows furrow in a displeased expression, and his small body wiggles in my arms.
“You’re going to fall,” I warn, trying to tighten my hold, but the kid doesn’t like it one bit.
Go figure.
Just one more person who’s not happy with me.
He continues to squirm. Cursing inwardly, I crouch down, trying to get a better grip on him; however, I’m not fast enough. Jackson slips out of my arms onto his wobbly feet.
“Fu—”
Jackson turns around and looks at me. His head tilts to the side, making his dark curls bounce with the motion.
“You planning on giving me a heart attack?”
The kid grins, his two front teeth flashing at me with mischief.
A Williams through and through.
“Your mom’s gonna kill me, dude.”
Does he care? Not at all.
He just turns around and starts waddling away.
“Okay, sure. Do what you wanna do. But no beer. Or girls. Then your mom isreallygonna end me. We don’t want that, right? I’m the fun uncle after all. We can’t have you stuck with Chase’s grumpy ass.”
I follow after him, my hands outstretched and ready to catch him if he fumbles. I saw him with Becky earlier, and he isn’t the steadiest on his feet. She didn’t seem worried about it, so I assume it’s normal, but I don’t want to risk him falling. Or injuring himself.
Just then he sways on his feet. Before I can react, he’s already crashing into the bouncy house. I wrap my fingers around his middle, pulling him back. But if I expected him to cry, I have another thing coming. He just grins at me and extends his hands to the castle, so I lift him up and sit him down on the rubber floor, his grin widening as he bounces slightly.
I sit next to him, my weight making the castle pitch and roll some more, and he lets out a shriek of excitement as he starts crawling to the other side, each movement making the house sway slightly.
Jackson seems to be entertaining himself, but I keep an eye on him. My shoulders are tense with every move that kid makes. The last thing I need is for him to get hurt in my care.
The commotion on the terrace draws my gaze, but instead of my sister, I spot the Santiagos. The excited chatter spreads through the yard as Emmett stops by Miguel’s teammates, exchanging handshakes before his arm slips around his wife’s waist.
Jackson lets out a shrill cry, and when I turn around, I find him standing on his feet. He tries to take a step, but his feet are unsteady, and he starts to fall.
I catch him at the very last second, before he face-plants onto the rubber. He tilts his head back and looks at me, shooting me a wicked grin.
“Seriously, kid? I thought we had an agreement.”
I curl my nephew into my arms just as Emmett walks over, holding a little girl’s hand the whole way.
“She put you to work already, I see.” Emmett glances at what can only be his daughter. “Look, Kay, Jackson’s here with his uncle, Matthew.”
The little girl gives us a shy glance before she hides behind her father’s leg.
“Hey, it’s okay. No need to hide. You know Jax,” Emmett reassures softly, his hand landing lightly on her back and giving her a reassuring rub. “She just woke up from her nap, so she’s being shy.”
“No worries on my end. If I were her, I’d also hide from rascals like this one.”
“He’s a wild one.” Emmett grins and extends his hand toward me. “Good to see you, man. When did you get back?”
