Worth the Risk (Carolina Rebels 5)

“That’s up to you.”

“Me?” I squeak. He’s giving me way too much power here. It’s crazy. Why would he open his soul like this and then leave such an important decision as to what to do with his daughter up to me?

“Yes. You can let me support you and Jackson while you continue to help me raise my daughter. You can figure out what you want to do once you graduate and,” he takes a deep breath, “Bree can go to daycare while you work. I’ll still need you to help me, though, because I travel. Or,” and he hesitates before finishing, “do something about that book you’re writing. Either way, I’ll support you entirely and in every way possible.”

All I can do is stare at him, even when he says, “Well?”

“I don’t know what to say.” This is overwhelming. My mind is effectively blown. I didn’t expect him to sit me down and have this kind of talk right after something as emotional as dropping Jackson off to spend the night somewhere else for the first time.

“Say you want to help me cross those things off my list. That you’ll let me help you cross things off your own list. That we can have a list together. My daughter loves you. I love you. Just say that you’ll be happy to keep me.”

“You’re serious?” I ask. I know it sounds like he is, but this can’t be real life.

“The whole point of this is to show you I’m serious.” He takes the paper out of my hands, throws it to the ground, and grabs my hand. “What more to do you need?” he asks desperately, misreading my question. “Do you want me to propose? I’ll do it. We don’t have to wait. Do you want—”

I cover his mouth with my hand. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just...” I remove my hand from his mouth and pinch my arm hard. Ouch! Yep. This is totally real life.

Elias laughs and frames my face with his hands. “Do you forgive me? Are you with me in this?”

The moment I start nodding, he leans forward and kisses me. I wish this kiss could last forever because it fills me with peace and a security I haven’t felt in...well, never. Bree shouts a long, “Gah!” which causes us to separate. With a laugh, we glance over at her. She stands and bangs her hands against the sides, wanting our attention and wanting out of her pack ?n play.

Elias leaves me to get her. She crawls back and forth between our laps, not sure of where she wants to be, while pulling on my hair whenever she’s close by. Elias smiles at her until I get his attention.

“You really want all of those things?” I ask quietly, still unable to believe it. “With me?”

“I really hate Henry.”

I frown at his response. “Why?”

“And your parents and his parents,” he adds as he grabs me by the hips and pulls me into his lap, causing Bree to giggle with the sudden movement. She loves that we both now sit in his lap too. “They are the reason why you’re still struggling with believing me.”

“I do believe you; I just can’t believe it’s real. That my family just grew by two.”

Elias grins. “It’s bigger than that. There’s the rest of my family and the Rebels.”

“Quit overwhelming me. You’ve done enough of that today.”

His grin widens. “I’m not done, Raelynn.” He grabs his phone and sends a text. “We have a date tonight, but first, do you want to cross something else off my list?”

I swallow hard. “What do you want to do?”

He picks up the discarded paper and scans the list as if he isn’t sure, but when he points it out, I know he knew beforehand which he wanted to do. He wants me to move into his room today. When I don’t immediately agree, he says, “You said so yourself that you like my bed better. You miss sleeping there and you like being there, waiting for me when I get home.” All true. “But we can wait, too.”

I shake my head. This is a big step. Such a big step that I know I’ll have to let Henry know things are more serious with Elias and me, so serious that he might as well know he’ll definitely see Elias as much as he sees me. “We don’t have to wait. I want to.”

He kisses my temple and murmurs, “There’s my Little Grizzly.” He waits a moment. “Let’s get started.”

We walk upstairs and Bree crawls around Elias’s room while he makes room for my things and I move them over. Whenever I thought of a future, even when I hoped Jackson had a sibling, I never saw myself in a relation

ship because I didn’t think it would happen. That it could happen. And yet, here I am.

Once I’m all moved into Elias’s room, we lay on his bed with Bree playing between us.

“Do you have a timeline for those things on your list?” I ask as Bree pats my chest and mumbles something along with Ja-Ja.

“First, tell me what’s on your list.”

“You already know those things.” I told him once that I wanted to graduate, figure out my dream job, and give Jackson a sibling.