Page 94 of Under the Mistletoe
He dropped a kiss on his mom’s head. “Love you, Mom.”
He took off his coat and headed into the living room as Tyce barreled into him. “You’re back!”
“I am.” Logan caught him and scooped him up. The kid had on khakis and a red sweater vest over a collared white shirt. “You looked dressed for a party.”
Tyce made a face. “It’s a dance.”
“And I got a dress.” Alani spoke softly from the doorway as she spun in a circle. The red sparkles of her skirt picked up the light from the entryway.
Logan set Tyce down and focused on the girl. “It is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen. And I love the matching bow in your hair.”
She grinned wide as she reached up and touched the bow, then twirled around again.
Easton stood about five feet behind Alani in a dark-green sweater. His hands were in the pockets of his black dress pants and his face like stone. “You left. You didn’t even say goodbye.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Understatement of the year. “Can we talk? Man to man.”
“Why don’t you two go up and find your shoes.” His mom ushered the younger two up the stairs, then followed them.
Easton regarded Logan a moment, then turned back toward the great room. Logan followed him over to the bookshelf, where Easton sat in one of the wingback chairs. Logan chose the other.
Easton held himself stiff, but the pain in his eyes nearly broke Logan. “It was wrong of me to leave without saying goodbye. I’m really sorry, and I’ll never do anything like that again. It had nothing to do with you.”
Easton seemed to roll the idea around, then twisted his hands in his lap. “I guess you know the Barlows didn’t want us.” Easton’s voice cracked. “I told you they didn’t.”
“I’m sorry. So sorry.” Logan wanted to tell him that there was still a good future for him. And that moment would come, but right now the kid just needed someone to see his pain.
“I knew it was coming.” He shrugged and angled his head toward the books, trying to disguise the fact he was wiping away a tear. “Like I said. No one wants three kids all at once.”
“I know for a fact that isn’t true.”
Easton scoffed. “Yeah sure, would you want us?”
“Yes.”
Easton’s eyes jerked toward his. There was a touch of wariness to the expression, but there was something more. Hope, maybe.
He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that. He leaned his elbows down on his knees. “I know I failed you and left. I don’t deserve a second chance, but adopting you three has been on my heart for a while now. It’s something I really want. Before, I didn’t understand why I felt that way, because you weren’t available. But now?—”
“Now we are.” Easton’s face twisted in doubt. “But we can be a lot. That’s why nobody wants us. We’re not exactly perfect.”
“Neither am I. Far from it. But I do want you. I don’t even know a whole lot about parenting, so the better question is, do you want me to be your dad?” The question hung out there a moment.Dad. That was the first time he’d spoken it out loud, but nothing had felt more right. Logan held his breath. It wasn’t just choosing them. He wanted them to choose him.
“Where would we live?”
“I’m going to build a house not too far from here.”
Easton’s head tilted. “What about Devin? I know you like her. Would she be our mom?”
An uneasiness settled in Logan’s chest. Maybe alone he couldn’t be enough for them, but right now that was all he could offer.
“I do like Devin. I love her. But I messed up there too, and I need to try to fix that. But I don’t know if I can. There’s no guarantee. But regardless of what happens with Devin, I do want to be your dad, but only if you want me to. If you want to wait to find out first how things go with Devin and me, I understand. After all, if it doesn’t work out with Devin, you could be stuck with just me.”
A slow smile spread across Easton’s face. “Devin’s cool, but I’m okay with being stuck with just you. As long as you’re okay being stuck with us three.”
“More than okay.” He pulled Easton into a quick hug, then ruffled his hair. “Think we should get Alani and Tyce and tell them?”
Easton studied him for a moment. “Not yet. I think I need to see where you’re going to build your house first. Make sure it is a good place for us.”
