Their New Beginning (Oh Captain, My Captain 5)

“Can I call my mom?” Reed asks.

“Of course,” I tap Brooke’s name and hand him my phone.

Reed tells her all about his day, and the finally says good night. It’s a simple conversation between them, but it makes me wonder about my future kids. Will I be a good mom? I know that Jax says yes, but I think about my own mother.

I shake my head. No. I’m nothing like that. There’s no way I would put my children through what Regina and I went through.

Reed curls up next to Jax’s side. The three of us sit and watch more cartoons, and I can’t figure out what the appeal is for kids. I look over and see they are both asleep. It’s quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

I try to ease off the couch, and I’m not sure that I can carry Reed all the way up the stairs, but I try to lift him, when Jax wakes.

“I’ll get him,” he whispers, picking him up a lot easier than I ever could. That little boy weighs a lot more than he looks. I turn off all the lights and TV and follow him upstairs.

Jax puts Reed in the guest bedroom. I leave the hallway light on and the door open. We go across the hall, and I leave our door open in case Reed needs us.

“I’m exhausted.” I yawn, grabbing a T-shirt and shorts. I quickly change and crawl into the bed.

“What the hell are you wearing?”

“There’s a small child across the hall. He could wander in here. How would I explain that to Brooke?”

“Well, I need some adult time with my wife.” He pulls me against him.

“Right now? Reed’s right there,” I whisper, not sure why.

“Oh my God, I need you, and right now seems like the perfect time.”

“Uncle Jax,” Reed’s soft voice carries from across the hall.

“Come on.” He grits his teeth. “Ashton said that he has perfect timing.” He turns to check on him. I giggle because I know what he means.

Jax comes back a moment later holding Reed’s hand. “Someone’s scared.”

I smile, pulling the covers back as Reed jumps into the middle of the bed. Jax climbs in on his side, and the three of us snuggle together.

Yes, I love my life again.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jax

Soft giggles wake me up and when I open my eyes, Reed’s feet are right in front of my face. I love the kid and all, but that’s not how I like to wake up. I look toward the sound of the giggling and see Avery trying to hold her laughter back because of the sight.

“Reed,” I say to wake him up, pushing his little feet away from me. He groans and rolls over. I slide out of bed and grab Avery’s hips, kissing her once. “You shouldn’t have laughed, Avery.”

“I couldn’t help it. It was cute and funny. You were practically snuggling with his feet when I came in.”

The mental image of such a thing makes me laugh and I glance back at Reed. When Avery got out of bed, he must have somehow turned himself around on top of the covers.

“Breakfast is ready, by the way,” she adds.

“Okay. I need to wake him up then, huh?” I climb onto the bed, stand up on the mattress, and glance at Avery. She shakes her head, but there’s a hint of a smile on her face. “Reed! Wake up!” I start to yell as I jump on the bed around him.

“Jax, you’re going to break the bed,” Avery laughs.

I ignore her because I won’t. I paid too much for this good bed for it to break from a couple of jumps. “Reed! The house is on fire,” I holler as he starts to laugh and rolls over to face me.

“Uncle Jax! Mom says we’re not supposed to jump on the bed,” he snickers as he stands up and jumps a couple times with me.