Page 96 of Deception
“You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Yeah, I did. Here,” he says and shoves the envelope at him. “It’s not much, but…”
Looking at Lex, he narrows his eyes, but she shrugs and shakes her head. It’s kind of nice to be able to surprise them, and Lucas just prays they don’t find it silly.
“What is this?” Colt asks, and Lex gasps as she reads the document with him. “Wait—”
“I’m changed my name,” Lucas says. “I thought about it, and I realize I should represent both of my fathers. I’m now Lucas Lawrence-Nichols.”
Lex’s hand rests on her chest, and she stands to hug him. When she kisses his temple, his anxiety fades. They like the present.
“Luke, you didn’t have to do this,” Colt says. “Regardless of your name, you’re a Nichols. You’re a major part of this family.”
“I know,” he says and smiles. “I just want to make sure everyone else knows, too.”
Standing, he pulls him into a big hug. “This is the best gift I’ve gotten. Thank you.”
“No, thank you… Dad.”
“You’re a good kid, you know that?”
“He’s going to be a lawyer,” Lily says.
Lucas’s stomach drops. This wasn’t how he planned to tell them about his plans. In fact, he wasn’t sure he wanted to tell them until he graduated high school. Which he’s on track to do early.
“Yeah?” Colt asks. “Gonna take over for Lily when she gets old and retires?”
“Hey!” she calls out. “That’s a dick thing to say. I’m a spring chicken, Colton Nichols. But, yeah, kinda.”
“You’re not mad?” Lucas asks, his eyes wide.
Instead of anger, Colt laughs. “Are you kidding me? You guys hear that? My kid’s gonna be a lawyer!”
He locks eyes with Lex, and she gives him a knowing look. Wrapping his arms around Colt again, he sighs in relief. The last thing he ever wants to do in life is disappoint them. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. It’s going to be hard. At least you’re smart.”
The tears appear against his will, and he hates it. Looking down, he tries to hide them, but Colt catches on.
Pulling him to the side, he keeps Lucas shielded from the crowd. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“My dad would have really liked you.”
“Your dad would be proud of you, Lucas. Just like I am.”
It doesn’t feel real. This life Lucas lives feels more like a dream than reality, and he decides in that moment that he is going to cherish it. If it disappears tomorrow, so be it. At least he can be happy now.
Maybe Undertaker knows a trick or two to help me stop dreading the possible terrible things that may never happen. I don’t know how to stop it.
Chapter Thirty
Griffin’s Beach
Undertaker
“Ilike spending the night at the clubhouse,” Jamie says as she curls up against Undertaker’s side.
Until he almost lost her, Undertaker refused to have sex with Jamie in his apartment. He didn’t want anyone else to hear her, but he was living under a set of rules that went out the window a year ago.
