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“I mean, look at the way you’ve taken care of Isaac all these years.” She glances behind herself to be sure we’re alone and no one else hears. “You’re a caretaker, Lucas. You love fiercely and loyally. And you don’t hesitate to protect your family at all costs.”
As I think about it, I realize she’s right. I did always feel a sense of protectiveness over Isaac, and when he left, I felt that for Sadie.
“I didn’t have much for a role model, though,” I say under my breath. We don’t like to talk to Mom about our father because she has her own baggage where that monster is concerned. But she has to know that he had an effect on me and how much I never wanted to end up like him.
“You didn’t need one, Lucas. You would have paved your own path anyway. You make your own rules, and you’re not afraid to do it alone.”
I chuckle lightly to myself. “If you say so.”
She glances sideways at me, grinning, and for the first time in a long time, I feel a sense of gratitude that I came back to Austin. I never wanted to return home. For a while, I saw returning here as a sense of failure. No one is ever supposed to come back home.
But now that I’m here, and I get to watch my nieces be born and grow up, and I get to dry dishes next to my mother, and celebrate birthdays with my brother, and bring my own child home for Sunday dinner… I’m so incredibly happy to be here.
Forty-Three
Sadie
“Well, it’s official,” I groan from the middle of the bed. “He’s late.”
“He is your child, after all,” Lucas replies with a smile as he leans over and kisses my temple.
“Very funny,” I mutter. I’m lying in misery on top of the covers because I’m always so fucking hot. My back hurts. My feet hurt. My breasts hurt. Every single part of me is in pain all the time, and at this rate, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be pregnant forever.
“You should be glad he didn’t come early,” Lucas says as he tightens his tie. “You were able to finish the semester and pass every class.”
He’s picked up a teaching job at the community college and his last week of classes is this week. Technically, it’s a big step down for him, but he doesn’t care. He makes enough money to keep us comfortable in the house. The people at that England project were disappointed he passed on the position, but they offered it to him later down the road if he wanted. He passed on that too.
But he’s happy. I can see it in his eyes every day now. He doesn’t seem too restless, like he has one foot out the door. Both are firmly planted here in this house with me.
“Don’t leave,” I groan into the pillow.
“I’ll only be gone for a couple of hours,” he says, kneeling on the bed and brushing the hair from my face. “And Isaac will be here in about thirty minutes.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I reply.
“No, but you do need someone to help you tie your shoes or to pick up things you drop on the floor.”
I pick up a pillow and swing it at him, but he dodges it with a laugh. “Watch it, Miss Green,” he says with a tsk. “One more outburst like that, and you’ll be punished.”
“Promises, promises,” I reply with a shake of my head.
He gently swats my ass and I give him a coy smile as he kisses me again. “I love you,” he mumbles against my lips.
“Love you too,” I reply.
After he’s gone, I manage to roll out of bed and start up the shower. Staring at my naked body in the bathroom mirror, I marvel at how much it has changed in this pregnancy. I feel huge, but I also feel sexy too. Every part of me is so full and round, and even with how uncomfortable I am, I am going to miss this.
Lucas certainly can’t get enough either.
After my shower, I walk out into the living room to find Isaac cracking open an energy drink in the kitchen.
“Hey, mama,” he says, looking at my stomach. “How you feeling?”
I try to stretch, but it feels like I might have slept on my back wrong because it’s more tight than usual today. “Am I glowing?” I ask sarcastically.
“Radiant,” he says with enthusiasm.
Isaac and I share the same sense of dry humor. Half the time, Luke feels left out when the three of us are together. Isaac has been around a lot lately. I’m getting the sense that he wants to be a part of this family, which is making things complicated.
