Page 47 of Lucky Boys
Wes swallowed but otherwise didn’t move. He didn’t seem annoyed or impatient. He really was letting me do what I needed to do. I pressed just a little harder so I could feel the skin of his cheek under the rough facial hair. A shiver wracked through me, and I pulled my hand away.
I felt lightheaded but not disgusted. I didn’t need to take a shower or hide away. I’d touched Wes and I was okay. I, maybe, kind of liked it.
What I was sure I liked, though, was the pride and affection on Wes’s face as he watched me. I knew right then I’d do anything to keep that look there.
CHAPTER 20
WES
Twenty minutesafter walking into Diego’s office, I left feeling giddy in a way I hadn’t since I’d been a kid. I felt such a strong connection to Diego, and I couldn’t wait to get to know him better. He was hesitant, positive it wouldn’t work, but I was confident it would. I didn’t know what a relationship with Diego would look like, but it didn’t matter. Just being in his life and having him trust me was a win.
Even after Luca cornered me and told me that they were all leaving on some kind of search and rescue mission with no determined return date, I couldn’t shake the smile. I was worried for my best friend, and I knew I’d miss him, but it meant I would have more time with Diego one-on-one, and I’d take advantage of that.
Now, I was lounging by the pool, the smell of barbequed chicken and burgers filling the air as my kids roughhoused in the water like they didn’t have a care in the world. A sense of peace covered me I never thought I would have. I had a family, a place I belonged. While I’d loved being a SEAL and my work after, it had never come close to the security I felt around these guys. It would hurt, Luca and the others being gone and beingstuck here, but it seemed like I was finally headed in the right direction.
A small sound had me getting out of my head and turning toward my right, where Riley was plunking into the lounge chair next to me. He was still soaking wet, no towel in sight, with a plate piled high with food.
“Hey,” he said with a grin, already shoveling macaroni salad into his mouth.
“Hey,” I replied with a smile of my own. Seeing Riley happy and carefree was contagious. “Having fun?”
He nodded as he continued to stuff food in his face. I wanted to tell him to slow down, but didn’t have the heart. Riley and Beckett never had to worry about having enough food ever again, but habits like that were hard to break, and I didn’t want to ruin the relaxed vibe between us by pointing it out.
“Yeah, this place never gets old. I could get used to this, even if this place is fuckin’ insane. Jay and I have a running bet whether Luca’s mobbed up or Batman. Becks thinks both.”
I laughed. Luca would fucking love that. “Yeah, this place is pretty ridiculous, right? It’s been in his family for ages though.”
Riley hummed thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine growing up in a house like this.”
“Me either, honestly.”
Riley tilted his head toward me, curiosity in his eyes. “You know, I never asked how you grew up. That’s kinda fucked up.”
I scooted my chair closer so our knees were touching, relieved when Ri didn’t try to move. “No, it’s not. We’re still getting to know each other. Besides, after everything they did, I don’t bring my parents up much, and I can understand you not asking about them.”
It was my parents’ fault I hadn’t found out I had a son for 20 years. I’d been deployed at the time, and Riley’s mother Laurie had gone to my parents to tell them and see if there was a wayto contact me. My parents had completely shut her out, told her never to contact them or me again, and hidden for all those years that I was a father. They had even somehow convinced her not to put me on the birth certificate, relinquishing all my parenting rights and responsibilities. I’d only found out Riley existed by sheer chance, otherwise I might have never known.
Just the thought of that made me feel sick. Even though I’d only had my son and his found family in my life for a short time, they made me feel so much more complete and content. I’d realized I could love in a way I’d never thought possible. Not to mention, I couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened to Ri and Beckett if I hadn’t found them.
“I’m not asking ‘bout them. I wanna know more about you.”
Jeez, he really knew how to make my old-man heart melt. It was true I hadn’t talked a ton about my past with the boys. It had been more about me getting to know them. Besides, it’d been crisis after crisis since we’d met, and even with them living with me, we hadn’t had a lot of chances to just talk.
“I grew up in an upper-middle-class suburb. We were comfortable, more than, really, but nothing like this.” I waved my hand at Luca’s estate. “My mom worked for the local board of education, and Dad was in aviation. I lived in a four-bedroom house with a white picket fence and a two-car garage. My parents stayed in that house until my mom died and we put my dad in a nursing home.”
Riley shifted in the chair so he was cross-legged. His plate of food was almost entirely done. “Did my mom grow up like that too?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she lived around the block. Our houses were almost identical. It was one of those neighborhoods.”
Riley smiled softly but got quiet. I was never really sure what it meant when he did that. Was he angry, sad? I hated that I didn’t know my kid well enough to tell.
Beckett did though, and I swore the man had some kind of tracker implanted in Riley that immediately informed him any time he was upset or had any change of emotion. Beckett was on the other side of the yard, chatting with Jay’s boyfriend, Dakota and Maverick, not even looking this way, and suddenly his head snapped in this direction.
I tried not to laugh as Becks stood up and strode purposefully toward us. He spared me a glance before turning his attention to Riley. “What’s the matter, butterfly?”
Ri looked up, like he hadn’t realized Becks was there, and immediately relaxed. “Oh, I’m fine. I was just asking Wes about his childhood and Mom came up.”
Beck grunted and then picked Riley up from the chair, sat in it himself, and brought Riley onto his lap, his arms wrapped tightly around him.
