Page 96 of An Unexpected Turn
“How is he?” I whispered.
“Quiet,” she said after a long minute.
“Oh God,” I groaned as my head fell back against Jake’s refrigerator. Uncle Keith was never quiet. To me, that meant I’d broken his heart, and that broke mine.
“He will come around. I’ll set the table for two extra places, and we’ll all get through this. I know it seems tough, but it won’t last. You are too important to your uncle for him to cut you off for any reason, so stop thinking that’s what he’s doing. Let him be, and do all you need to do.”
“Okay. I love you both.”
“We know that, and we love you too. Rest and heal.”
I ended the call. It was difficult to find any encouragement in what my aunt had said because who knew how long Uncle Keith needed to process all this. Would he ever truly be okay with it, or forgive me for what I’d done and how long I’d lied about it?
“That was Maya?” Jake asked as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
I nodded without looking back at him. “She said she’s setting two places at the table on Christmas Eve for you and Mike, if you want to come.” I craned my neck toward him. “I’m still invited too.”
“Why wouldn’t you be? There isn’t anything Mike could do to make me cut him off. Keith sees you as his own, so it’s the same for him.”
“What about you?” I asked when I turned around, playing with the loose string on the collar of his T-shirt. “What if he cuts you off?”
“In time, he’ll see what we have is real and get used to it. Like I keep telling you,” he began, taking my face in his hands. “I don’t regret a thing. I’ll deal with whatever I have to, as long as I still have you.”
“You do,” I whispered. “Always.”
“Back at you,” he rasped, a slow smile creeping across his lips. “It’s nice to be public.” He drew me closer.
“About that,” I said, looping my arms around his neck. “I’m speaking to my boss tomorrow to see if they can assign Mike to another counselor after the new year. He can always talk to me, but if issues come up, I’d feel better if the school saw his advocate as impartial. I should have done this a while ago, but I guess I didn’t want to be known for who I was dating again.” I shrugged. “I could thank Lena for that. She didn’t seem to have an issue with picking up a parentatschool, so why not be honest.”
“She didn’t pick me up.” I stifled a laugh when his mouth flattened to a hard line.
“Whatever. Let’s go watch the rest of the movie.”
He grabbed me when I tried to step away and tightened his hold.
“I love you. You are all I’ll ever want.”
“Am I allowed to go home tomorrow after work, or are you holding me hostage for a few more days?”
A smile tugged at his lips as he cupped the nape of my neck and brought me in for a soft, slow kiss.
“You’re staying here until the doctor clears you to drive. After that ...” He brushed my lips again. “I’m thinking about it.”
THIRTY-NINE
JAKE
Iwent straight to Keith’s house after I dropped Peyton and Mike off at school. I’d called the station to make sure Keith was off today, and I wasn’t going anywhere until he agreed to talk.
I hated that Peyton was hurt, but I’d loved having an excuse to keep her with us for an entire weekend. She seemed as if she’d always been there with us and I hated the thought of her going back to her own condo, but things were different now. We’d get more than just the stolen moments and nights that we were used to. We belonged to each other—officially and publicly.
Nothing had ever felt so damn good.
Keith was free to hate me for as long as he wanted, as long as he made up with his niece. I knew the rift between her and her uncle was killing her, and Peyton had carried around enough guilt for too many things for far too long. It was finally our time, and she deserved to be happy. And I knew she was with me, but I hated watching her force smiles for the entire weekend because her mind was on her uncle.
I waited for a good five minutes after I rang the bell twice, a smile pulling at my lips at Keith’s reluctant shuffle on the other side. Maybe he was being a little spiteful, but he wasn’t ignoring me. I’d take whatever I could get.
“Something you want, Russo?” He lingered at the door, leaning his elbow against the frame.
