Weston and Calder sit back, and Elena calls out to her son, a little breathless. “Come in, Bug.”
T.J. pads into the room in green dinosaur pajamas, his hair sticking up on one side. He clutches his stuffed frog as he squints at all of us.
I’ve faced down active shooters, raging fires, and enough bad situations to fill a few lifetimes, but somehow it’s an eight-year-old in pajamas who can make me sit up straighter on instinct.
T.J. rubs one eye. “I can’t sleep.”
Elena opens her arms rightaway. “Bad dream?”
He shrugs, which means yes, or close enough to it. He climbs up beside her, wedging himself in the space between her and Weston like he belongs there, because he does.
The energy in the room changes again with the boy’s arrival. Nothing’s lost, it’s just redirected onto something more important at the moment.
T.J.’s gaze moves around from Elena to the three of us men, and he frowns in that serious way he has. “Were you guys having another talk?”
I can’t help smiling. “We were.”
“An important one?”
“An important kind,” Weston says.
T.J. thinks for a moment, then fixes his eyes on Elena. “About if they’re gonna be my dads now?”
CHAPTER 48
BUCK
The three of us look at each other, then at Elena. The weight of the moment is like a hand landing on my shoulder. Not pressure, but responsibility. The kind I welcome.
Elena looks at each of us, asking without words. I give a small nod right away, and so does Weston. Calder’s comes last, but it’s firm.
Elena smooths her son’s hair from his forehead. “Yes,” she says softly. “If that’s what you want, then yes. They are.”
T.J. blinks once, as if he expected the answer but still has to absorb it. “All three?”
My chest tightens hard enough to hurt.
“All three,” Elena confirms.
The boy looks around at us, solemn as a judge. “Okay.”
And that’s it.Okay,like they’ve just settled what to have for breakfast.
T.J. leans into Elena, but keeps his attention on the rest of us. “Do I still get to talk about my real dad, too?”
Calder answers first, his voice low and sure. “Always.”
“Nobody’s replacing him,” Weston says.
I force my throat to work. “Your dad will be your dad forever, buddy. We’re just … more dads on your team.”
“Cool.”
Elena laughs softly and kisses the top of his head.
T.J. yawns, then frowns again. “So, do I call you Buck and Weston and Calder, still? Or Dad Buck and Dad Weston and Dad Calder? Or just Dad?”
I nearly choke on air, and Weston outright coughs. Calder looks like he’d rather take incoming fire than answer first.
