Or Lake doesn’t kill me in my sleep.
Three babies.
Maverick sighs, sitting down on the stool on the other side of me. “Yeah, pass me a shot of vodka,” he murmurs.
I guess life is about to change.
For us all.
Again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lily
I tune out as Max runs over the rest of the story. His fears of becoming a parent have hit me hard and it’s got me thinking. I don’t want to change my career, but I do want to stop working all together and be there for our child—at least until they are at school. I just don’t want to miss out on a single moment of their life.
I never realised, until he pointed it out, just how much is going to change. Working is something Jaxon and I haven’t talked about, but I guess it’s something we need to discuss. Because if his work continues to have issues, I don’t want to add to his plate. Or lose the income if we need it.
Jaxon’s arm goes around me, pulling me from my thoughts. I tilt my head up, giving him a gentle smile. His eyes crinkle at the corners as he leans down, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth.
“You okay?” he asks, keeping his voice low so he doesn’t interrupt Max.
I nod. “Yeah.”
I briefly kiss him before turning back to Max in time to catch the end of the story.
Aunt Lake stares at her husband with wonder in her eyes. I’m pretty sure we lost her the moment he admitted to changing courses because she hasn’t blinked since.
Or shouted at him for getting so drunk he needed his stomach pumped.
“You never told me,” she tells him, her voice clogged with emotion. “You said teaching had always been your passion. You even made me think I gave you the courage to do it. You came home stressed from college, and I asked you, ‘is this something you really want do’ and you said, no, but you couldn’t afford to change careers now. I told you to follow your dreams and become a teacher, Max.”
He grimaces. “I never meant to share that part.”
“Max, why would you do that?”
He shrugs, briefly glancing at the others in the room. “Because I love you. I looked at it all long-term, so I was being logical, as always,” he explains, earning a chorus of snorts from around the room. “My course was six years. I’d have been studying and working internships for hours I could never have predicted. Then there was me actually getting a job in that field. It wouldn’t have been an eight to five job and that would have put more pressure on you. It just made sense for me to do something more practical.”
Dad clears his throat. “Give her the main reason, since we are being truthful.”
“Main reason?” Aunt Lake asks.
“That is the reason,” he rebuffs, glancing away. “Now, are we going to keep opening presents?”
“Tell me.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
Lake glances at Dad, arching her brow. “Maverick?”
“Don’t,” Max warns.
“Tell her,” Dad replies. “It’s Christmas, and you’ve already told her the other parts.”
Max sighs, leaning back against in the chair. “Whatever. It’s not a big deal, so don’t go crying on me,” he warns her. “You know I hate it when you cry.”
“Swear.”
Clearing his throat, he finally answers. “Because being a teacher gave me time with my kids. I could be there through all the holidays. I wanted to be the best dad to my kids, and I wanted to be present. I didn’t want to be like…” He pauses for a moment, clenching his teeth. Once he gets it together, he continues. “I just wanted to be there. For all of you. And I wouldn’t have been able to do that if was working endless hours.”
My fingers tense against the cushion beneath me. He stopped his words, but I know what they were going to be. I know because more than once I had the same thought, only about her.
“And?” Maverick butts in, breaking me from my thoughts.
Max rolls his eyes. “And I wanted to make sure you never got overwhelmed and left me. I had to give you a reason to keep me around when I did fuck up,” he tells her, but seeing everyone is staring at him, he continues, “But I know that’s never going to happen. You can’t live without me. Who could?”
“Me,” Maverick mutters.
“Me too,” Malik pipes in.
Breaking her promise, tears begin to stream down her cheeks. “You let me stay mad at you for a week.”
For once, he actually looks embarrassed. “I deserved it.”
“How did you get her to forgive you?” Dad asks. “I always did wonder.”
Lake smiles fondly at the memory. “He bought me three vests. One had ‘Please’ on, the second had, ‘Forgive’, and the third one had ‘Me’ written on it.”
Max grins. “And to suck up even further, I had ‘World’s Best Mum’ written on the back.”
She sits down in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Max,” Lake murmurs.
“Don’t. I did what I did for our family, and I don’t regret it.”
“It’s not too late to do what you want to do. If I had known, I would have stopped you, Max. I want you to be happy.”
Shifting with her in his lap, he clears his throat. “I actually like my job.”
Her brows bunch together. “You aren’t just saying that?”
“No. Believe it or not, I really do. It kind of grew on me.”
Dad chuckles. “He really does.”
“Everyone loves me there,” Max announces. “I’m like a god to them.”
“No, they are just too scared you’ll teach other students to be like you,” Harlow announces. “You forget, most of those teachers couldn’t wait for you to leave school.”
“I’m like a bad penny. I keep coming back.”
“I love you,” Lake tells him, gripping his face. “And never, for one minute, think you’ve been anything but a good father and husband.”
He grins. “You going to tell me that in another twenty-two years?”
“I’ll tell you that with my last breath,” she promises, kissing him.
“Oh God,” Landon heaves. “Please stop.”
I snuggle into Jaxon. “It’s so romantic.”
“No, it’s not,” Landon screeches. “It’s disgusting.”
Max pulls back, grinning. “Then you really don’t want to know about the night you were conceived.”
“Jesus Christ,” Landon hisses. “Mum’s right. You are a great father.”
Sitting up straighter, Max turns to his son. “I know.”
“I wasn’t finished,” Landon mutters. “You are a great father—until you open your mouth.”
“He doesn’t mean that,” Lake tells Max, giving her son a warning glance.
Landon rolls his eyes. “On that note, we’re going to head out. We have guests at the bed and breakfast and still have people to see.”
“Do you have to go so soon?” I ask, not ready for the night to be over.
“Yeah. I want to go see Charlotte before we get back.”