Page 73 of Long Road Home

Incredible. Two words.Our boy. And everything changed.

We were most definitely staying.

“Yeah. Our boy.”

Jordan’s phone rang, and he scowled at it on the counter behind me before standing from the table. “That’s the resort’s ringtone. I gotta get this.”

I tucked back into my waffles, glancing at Toby to find his eyes, awed and sweet and so hopeful that he’d finally found his father—and it ended up being a man who loved him— watching Jordan.

“Hey,” I whispered. “You good? You can take a few minutes if you need to.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m cool.” He shoved a forkful of waffles into his mouth.

I stared at my son like the sun was shining directly onto him, because as far as I was concerned, it did.

God had given me an incredible boy. And hopefully soon, He’d give me the family I always wanted.

“Sorry,” Jordan said, coming up behind me. He pressed his hands to the back of my chair, brushing the hair off my shoulder. “There’s a problem with the woman’s brunch and golf tournament starting in a couple hours. I need to shower and head into work for a few hours.”

Disappointment dulled Toby’s smile. “No golfing?”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Okay?”

“Sure.”

Warm breath and full lips brushed my ear. “I gotta get it in the shower. But I’ll give you the keys to my truck so you guys can head out when you’re ready. That okay?”

I shivered at the feel of him so close. So impossible to fight. My reaction to him was a living, needy thing I had no control over. “Sure, Jordan.”

He chuckled quietly. Drove mecrazy.

“Good.” He smacked the side of the chair. “Eat up. And make sure you help your mom clean up, kiddo.”

He walked away and once his steps up the stairs had evaporated, I turned back to Toby. “Hey. How about after this, you and I go for a drive? I want to show you something.”

“Sure. Something cool?”

I highly doubted he’d think the middle school I attended was cool. Still, I grinned at him and lied through my teeth. “Of course it is.”

Twenty-Four

Destiny

While Toby cleanedup his room, I cleaned the monstrous mess in the kitchen. I loaded the sticky syrup plates and was closing the dishwasher when two large arms wrapped around my stomach.

“Do you know how sexy you are, wearing my shirt, prancing your sexy ass around my kitchen?”

I relaxed in his arms and soaked in the scent of his body wash or cologne and thefeelof him. “You’re insane. And Toby—”

“Is brushing his teeth. I couldn’t resist hugging you in my house. I’m sorry I have to get to work.”

“It’s okay.” I shifted in his arms and faced him. “Thanks for breakfast.”

Thanks for making this so easy and beautiful.

“Yeah.” His hands pressed against the side of my head, back into my hair and cupped the back of my head. “If Toby wasn’t going to come down any minute, you know I’d have your ass on that counter and I’d be eating my second breakfast of the day, right?”

Good Lord. A flutter hit me hard and fast. It started deep in my stomach and shot straight to my heart. Which might have stopped beating for a second and kicked into high gear when it re-started.

---