“Thanks, Dad,” I said quietly, swallowing back the emotion that threatened to take hold. I’d expected Mom to be encouraging because she’d been like that all my life, but it was going to take me some time to adjust to the way Dad showed his support. The same way he’d been showing his support for years, apparently, but I hadn’t been intuitive enough to pick up on unfortunately.
A noise from my right caught my attention, and when I turned my head to check, I found Daniel wheeling Jackson toward me. Jackson was now in a pair of black sweats and a loose gray sweater instead of the hospital gown he’d been wearing when we arrived. He looked embarrassed that the nurse was hovering over him.
“Mom? Dad? I gotta go,” I said while keeping my eyes on them as they approached. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay, sweetheart,” Mom said. “Thank Rose for me and tell her that our plan worked.”
“What?” I asked as the call dropped out. I pulled the phone from my ear and glared at the screen. Why did I get the feeling I’d just been played?
“Everything okay?” Daniel asked. He stopped when Jackson was sitting in front of me and fiddled with what I assumed were the brakes of the wheelchair.
I waved him off. “Yeah, it’s just my mom being my mom. She told me to thank your daughter for her and tell her that their plan worked,” I said before narrowing my eyes at him. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Thankfully, his confused, furrowed eyebrows made it clear he had no idea what I was talking about. “No, but now I’m somewhat alarmed.”
“You and me both.”
Jackson raised his eyebrows at our quick back-and-forth, his eyes flicking between us when his stiff neck couldn’t. A slow smile stretched over his face. “I see it now.”
“See what?” I asked with a raised eyebrow before glancing at Daniel in question, only for him to shrug as he fiddled with the bag holding the rest of Jackson’s belongings. “What?”
“You two.” He raised his hand and gestured between us. “I couldn’t see it before, but I do now. You’re good for each other.” He grunted as he shifted enough to look up at Daniel. “I’m glad you’ve found happiness again.”
A faint blush appeared on Daniel’s cheeks as he stopped what he was doing at Jackson’s words before looking my way. I hadn’t noticed it before because I wasn’t looking for it, but now I could see the sparkle in his eyes that Rose had mentioned. A contented smile appeared, and I was helpless to stop myself from reflecting it when he said, “Yeah. So am I.”
This man. This sweet, sweet man.How had Jackson given him up? Although I couldn’t understand it, I thanked every known deity that he had, because now it was my turn, and I wasn’t going to squander it.
“Right,” I said when I blinked out of the gaze that Daniel and I had been locked in. Jackson chuckled at the heat I felt warming my cheeks. “Where to? Back to Jackson’s or back to Daniel’s?”
“My place, please,” Jackson said. “As much as I’m thankful for the offer of staying with you two and Rose, I don’t want Brett to run me out of my own home.”
Daniel nodded. “While you were on the phone, Jackson asked if I could help him install some surveillance cameras around his property while we wait for the locksmith to change the locks.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding along with what Daniel was saying. “And we’re burning Brett’s belongings, right?”
Jackson choked, his face going pale at my words. “Um, I don’t think—”
“I know you’re not there yet. You will be.” I huffed out a small, sad laugh and waved his panic off. “Let’s pack it all up and store it in your garage, assuming you have one, until you’re ready to let your pyromaniac side loose.” I shrugged. “Or you could do thenicething and give it back to him.” I shuddered like the very idea pained me, then leaned forward to stage-whisper to Jackson, “Ireallyhope you opt for the bonfire, though.”
Daniel let out a loud snort. “I can’t say that I disagree, Jackson, but we’ll support you, whichever way you decide to go.”
Pressing his lips together to stop them from wobbling, Jackson looked at both of us before squeezing our hands. “Thank you. Both of you.”
“It’s nothing,” I said before I rose from that godawful plastic seat and stretched my arms out, wincing when my back popped. “Let’s get this show on the road.” I looked at Daniel and nudged him aside with my hip so I could take over wheelchair duty. “Jackson, let me tell you a story about why Daniel is going to be picking up a tiny little void kitty later today, even though he was adamant with Rose that Bucky was all they needed.”
“I never said I’d be picking it up today!” Daniel whined, throwing his hands up in the air like the defeated Muppet he so clearly was.
“We’ll see,” I said quietly enough that only Jackson could hear me, then grinned when he chuckled the loudest he had all day.
He and I were going to get along just fine.
Thursday
Chapter Fifteen
Daniel
Thesettling-inprocessforour second pet was vastly different to what Rose and I had gone through with our first.
