Worth the Risk (Carolina Rebels 5)

“You couldn’t have left him in bed?” he asks as we walk to the door.

“He was latched onto me.” I open the door to Henry, who has a bag full of presents. “Hey. Come on in. I was about to find something to eat. You can take those upstairs to the second bedroom on the right.”

“Is he feeling any better?” Henry asks.

“Not really. Just meet me in the kitchen.” Henry nods and heads upstairs. I turn to Elias. “Give me my son. You’re supposed to be avoiding the germs.”

Elias opens his mouth to object, but Jackson rouses awake and guess who he wants? His momma!

“Please don’t be smug and sit down. I’ll heat up leftovers for you.” His voice turns all soft and sweet as he speaks to Jackson. “J-man, you want something to eat?”

Jackson shakes his head, but he hasn’t had anything to eat today. “Fix him some soup, please.”

Henry walks in and says hey to Jackson, who turns to hide his face in my neck. Henry looks helpless for a moment as he sits down next to me.

“Baby, your dad has something he wants to say, and I need you to listen. Okay?”

Henry shouldn’t feel too special. Jackson ignores me too. Henry apologizes to Jackson, for saying what he did and for Jackson hearing him, and then he apologizes to Elias and me. I make sure to tell him he’s forgiven. I don’t want Jackson to think I’m mad at him or that we should hold a grudge.

Elias sets a bowl of soup and a plate of leftovers in front of me. He looks like he wants to stay and be supportive, or maybe to supervise, but I flick my gaze to the living room. He’s not about to spend the majority of his time with us again.

“Don’t let her carry him anywhere, Henry,” he says. “He’s too heavy for her.”

I roll my eyes. “Go away, Elias James.”

Elias glares, but leaves us alone. Getting Jackson to eat is a task at first, but eventually, we both eat and head back upstairs. Henry carries him as requested. We sit on the bench in front of Elias’s bed.

“This isn’t your room,” Henry states.

“No. We’re staying in here while his family visits.” I wait for him to make some kind of comment on that, considering he brought it up, but he doesn’t. “Your dad brought presents. Do you want to open them?” I ask Jackson.

He nods against Henry’s shoulder. I’m surprised he doesn’t want to sit with me again. I grab the bag Henry brought and reclaim my seat.

“Has EJ given him his presents yet?” Henry asks.

“No. He hasn’t even had presents from Santa.” Why does it matter if EJ gave him his presents already? “Does it matter which he opens first?”

Henry shakes his head, so I begin to hand presents to Jackson. He gets new books, a few toys, some clothes, and then there’s an envelope. I open the envelope for him and pull out the piece of paper. Confused, I read what it says to Jackson.

“Congratulations. In three weeks, you start skating lessons!” I inject some excitement for Jackson as I realize what Henry’s done. Jackson’s eyes are wide and for the first time all day, he looks like himself.

“I’m gonna learn how to skate? Like Mr. EJ?”

“Yep,” Henry answers for him. To me, he says, “I’ll help you get him to the lessons, don’t worry.”

I’m excited for Jackson, I am, because he will love this. It’s already written all over his face. But why would Henry do something like this without asking me first? He needs to consult me. And what if Jackson gets hooked on this? Sports can be expensive and money is not something I’ve always had. The last thing I want is to tell Jackson he can no longer do something he loves because I can’t afford it, if something happens one day and I no longer have this job.

But this kind of fear doesn’t help me or Jackson. It doesn’t help my mission of expanding our worlds. I’ll let the fear go, but I still wish he’d asked.

It doesn’t feel right to carry Jackson’s presents upstairs and to leave Bree downstairs, but she’s the very last person who needs to be around him. Seeing the three of them sitting on the bench in front of my bed sends a ridiculous spout of jeal

ousy through me. They are a family. We’re sort of a family. Altogether, we’re some kind of a family. It’s weird, but it’s what’s happening.

“Hey, J-man. You feeling better?”

“Mr. EJ! I’m gonna skate like you! Dad got me lessons!” he says instead of answering.

“He did? That’s awesome. Now you don’t have to wait around on me.” I hold out my fist and he bumps it. “I thought you might want the rest of your presents. Some are from Bree and me, some are from your mom, and some are from Santa.” I look at Raelynn. “I left yours downstairs, but I can get them if you want.”