Page 86 of Small Town Frenzy
“Very,” she says, opening her arms wide and making a beeline for Cricket. “I’m so happy to have you both in our lives. I have a nephew. So exciting!”
Their embrace is sincere and warm. To see the woman I love being welcomed into my family without hesitation reminds me of how lucky I really am. I don’t have my mom anymore, but my family is steadfast, and the love is even stronger.
When Cricket turns to look at me, her cheeks are pink. To my sister, she says, “I’m so grateful for your family. Both Jacob and I are so happy to?—”
“Be a part of it,” I add, making sure she knows she’s every bit a Greene even though she doesn’t carry the moniker. I come around behind her and wrap her up in myarms. After kissing her head, I look up to see my sister watching us.
“You make a beautiful couple and adorable kids, if I do say so.”
As if cued, Daisy runs from the corner of the house with Jacob in tow and Beckett trying to wrangle them. “Come on, guys, I mean it. We have to wash up.”
Daisy laughs like the maniacal terror she is and yells, “Neveerrr.”
“Never,” Jacob shouts and giggles right after as they leg it up the steps and run into the house.
I say, “That’s trouble if I ever did see it.”
Cricket glances at me over her shoulder. “Should we be concerned?”
“Nope.” He’s led a life that was more on the sheltered side and wasn’t exposed to other kids as much. He’ll get more than he bargained for on the ranch. It will do him good, and he’s going to love it. “We’re going to let that kid be a kid. Sometimes he’s going to fall and scrape his knees. Sometimes he’s going to lead the charge and start some shit. But he’s going to have the best childhood. I promise.”
Tagger comes out with a platter of fresh fruit, and my dad follows with two bags of chips. Baylor comes from the other side of the house, holding tongs in his hand. “Are we ready to eat?”
Lauralee comes out of the house as if she can sense her husband’s presence, takes a sip of lemonade, and sits down. Rubbing her baby’s belly, she says, “Two more months.”
Cricket sits next to her, and they start chatting like old friends while I go inside to get my gift for Jacob. I got him something I’d like to share with him privately before the birthday festivities kick off.
I duck inside the house and grab Jacob midair just as they were taking off up the stairs. “Gotcha.”
“I’m playing, Daddy,” he whines with a few kicks, but the sound is music to my ears because he called me Daddy. I’ll never take that for granted.
Spinning him sideways, I carry him under my arms to the living room, where I let his present down earlier. “I wanted to give you a gift.” Apparently, the magic word was said because he stopped fighting me. I plop him on the couch and sit next to him. Taking the small, wrapped box, I hand it to him, and say, “I want you to have this, Champ.”
He tears into it like a gift-opening pro and lifts the lid. His eyes dart to mine. “Your buckle.” When he looks back at it, he pulls it from the box. “Your favorite.” He’s the politest kid I’ve ever met and handles it with care as he wiggles it in both his hands to catch the light on the shiny surface. “Whoa. Did you see that?”
He caught a ray of sunshine sneaking in through the window, and it hit just right. “I did.” For a kid I’m pretty sure is big for his size, he’s still so small next to me. It’s weird to have this feeling of wanting him to stay this way, with him only seeing the good in the world and rushing for him to get bigger so we can do all the things together. “Do you like that?”
Nodding, he holds it to his heart. “It’s my favorite, too.” He stands next to me, looks at the buckle with a big grin, and throws his arms around me. “Thank you, Daddy.”
I hold him, closing my eyes and feeling the full weight of the blessing this kid is in my life. “You need to take care of it, okay? It was grandpa’s and then mine, and now it’s yours.”
Even when he leans back again, he’s still staring at it in awe. “Okay.” I help him put it on his belt and send the little cowboy out to the pasture to play.
With everyone back outside, I take a moment in the quiet of the house to soak this in—the good I’ve been given, the second chance at having a real life, and the gift of family.
“How ya doing there, Greene?”
I look up to see Cricket standing behind a chair, with nothing less than admiration lifting her features. I’m so fucking lucky. But I’m also starting to think it wasn’t luck at all. It really was the universe bringing us together. “I’m good. How are you?”
“Happy.”
“You deserve that, babe.”
“So do you,” she says, coming to sit next to me on the couch. “That was really nice of you to give him your buckle.”
Sitting back, I stretch my arm over her shoulders. “Figured it would be good to pass something else down other than a feud between families.”
“We squashed that, so we get to focus on the good generational stuff like belt buckles.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. “The hot dogs and burgers are ready.”
