Page 28 of Sobek’s Joy

Sobek’s hand moved from the railing to cup Rudy’s jaw, calloused palm warm against his skin. “You should not…”

“Should not what? Like you?” Rudy leaned into the touch without thinking. “Too late.”

“I am not...” Sobek’s thumb brushed across Rudy’s cheekbone, impossibly gentle. “I am not easy. I am not…”

“You’re here. That’s what matters.”

They stood frozen, a breath apart. Sobek’s hand cradled Rudy’s face like he was something precious. His eyes had gone soft, almost vulnerable in a way Rudy had never seen.

The distance between them evaporated. Sobek’s head dipped, and Rudy’s eyes fluttered closed, and…

Rudy pulled back.

“Wait.” His voice came out shaky. “Wait, I…”

Sobek dropped his hand immediately, stepping away. “I apologize. I should not have…”

“No, it’s not…” Rudy pressed his palms to his burning face. “Gods, I want to. I really, really want to. But I come with a lot of baggage, Sobek. Three small, chaotic pieces of baggage who need constant attention and who will definitely interrupt us at the worst possible moments and who…”

“They’re not baggage.”

“They’re a handful. They’re exhausting. They have weird quirks, and they need so much, and…”

“Rudy.” Sobek’s voice cut through the spiral. He closed the distance again, hands settling on Rudy’s shoulders. “Look at me.”

Rudy forced his eyes up.

“They are not baggage,” Sobek repeated, each word deliberate. “They are everything.”

“But…”

“Rose is fierce and wild and so full of joy it spills out of her. Jack is brilliant, understandably cautious and protective of his siblings. Timothy is brave, loving, and trusts you so completely.” Sobek’s grip tightened. “They are not obstacles. They are not burdens. They are yours, which makes them precious beyond measure.”

Rudy’s throat closed up. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

“I’ve never meant anything more.”

“Most people run when they meet us. We’re too much. Too loud, too messy, too…”

“Perfect.” Sobek’s intensity was like a warm blanket. “You’re all perfect. Exactly as you are.”

Something in Rudy’s chest cracked open. He’d spent three years building a life around his kids, convinced that romance was something that happened to other people. People with normal families and predictable schedules, and children who didn’t occasionally sprout fur.

But here was Sobek, looking at him like he’d hung the moon, declaring that Rudy’s chaotic, imperfect family was everything.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you will let me…” Sobek’s jaw worked. “Let me be part of this. Let me help with the children. Let me fix your doors and catch your fish and…”

“Kiss me?”

Sobek’s eyes darkened. “Yes. That too.”

Rudy swayed forward, heart hammering, fingers curling into Sobek’s shirt…

“Daddy!”

They sprang apart. Rose burst through the screen door, hair wild from her nap, one sock on and the other mysteriously absent.