Page 145 of Outlaw Heartstrings
“I’m gonna ask Mimi to marry me, and I was wondering how you’d feel about that.” My pulse thumps as I wait for his response.
Tears instantly spring to Jagger’s eyes. “M-marry you?”
I nod.
Alba and I have talked about marriage—a lot—over the past few weeks. In vague and ambiguous terms. She’s hinted that if I ask for her hand in marriage, she’ll definitely accept. But I think she thinks of it as some theoretical idea that’s hovering somewhere out in the future. She doesn’t seem to realize that I want this life with her, and I’m not willing to wait an undetermined amount of years to make it a reality.
I’ve been waiting for her since I was eighteen years old. I’m not waiting anymore.
And after everything she’s been through over the years, I feel a sense of urgency to make this commitment to her. I need to let her know for sure that she doesn’t have to carrythose burdens by herself. She’ll have me at her side forevermore.
“That means we’ll be a family again?” Jagger asks me.
“In my heart, we’re still a family, Bud. That never changed. But wouldn’t it be nice to make it official? With a big party to celebrate with all our friends?”
The little boy nods eagerly. “Yeah. That would be cool.”
Now that Raya has signed the adoption form, Alba has initiated the adoption process. The procedure might take a long time to move through the legal system, but it’s a relief to know that the ball is rolling. In the meantime, Alba’s priority is making sure Jagger knows just how much he’s loved, just how much he belongs. And I’ll do my part every day to get the message across to the little guy.
“So what do you say?” I question him now. “Would you like it if I ask Mimi to marry me?”
“Yeah!” He leaps into my arms, almost knocking me over with his hug.
I laugh, hugging him back.
“Thanks for your blessing, little man,” I say to him. “It means everything to me.”
Patty pops her head around the corner and a radiant smile takes over her face. “Did you have the…talk?” Her eyes bounce between Jagger and me.
Jagger rushes over to his grandmother, lowering his voice to let her in on our secret. “Grandma, Easton’s going to ask Mimi to marry him. But we have to keep it a secret, okay?”
She smiles at me. “Okay. I can do that.”
“Thank you, Patty.” I go over and give her a hug.
“You’re a good man, Easton. It would be such an honor to have you as my son-in-law.” She pats my cheek, her eyes welling up.
Getting Alba’s mother’s blessing a few days ago really put my soul at ease. Especially when I think back to Coach Anderson and the way he never thought I was good enough for his daughter. Now here we are nine years later, and I’m going to make her Alba, anyway.
“Come on, you guys. Let’s get going.” Patty hustles us along. “The competition is about to start.”
Jagger and I enter the community room, hitting the makeshift stage with four other father-son duos.
And we kick ass.
We nail every question that gets thrown at us. When our opponents fumble their questions, we hit the buzzer and answer those questions, too, scooping up as many points as possible.
It helps that Jagger and I have the biggest cheering section in the room. All the people who love Jagger are here tonight. Patty, of course, along with Jules, Laney and Tammy. My mom. Lincoln, Rocco, even Cameron. Oliver brought Chloe along, and they’ve both been making a big, stinking deal, ensuring that everyone knows that it’s not a date. Like anyone even asked them.
The point is, having our people here is giving Jagger the boost of confidence he needs to rock this competition tonight.
At the end of the event, Jagger and I are crowned the champions. Rightfully so. We worked our asses off for this.
Kick rocks, other kids.
I’m beaming with pride as I watch the judges hand the fake gold trophy cup to Jagger. Nowthisis a championship cup.
The little boy looks out at the crowd where Alba is hooting and clapping like it’s the proudest moment of herlife. “Mimi!” Jagger waves her over. “Mimi! Come up here! Come up here!”
