Jakey stared at me, without blinking, for what felt like thirty minutes, but was probably only seconds. Then he tilted his head up to his uncle, who said, “Remember, I told you my friend Creed was bringing over pizza for dinner? Wasn’t that nice?”
Jakey’s gaze dropped back to me, and I started to withdraw my hand since he obviously didn’t play this particular game, when he lightly tapped his hand to mine, then jumped up and ran back farther into the house. I sprang up, feeling pretty proud of myself, to stop in my tracks at the bewildered look on Logan’s face. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked quickly, momentarily letting my own insecurity show.
He shook his head, the gentle smile I’d only ever seen when he talked about Jakey curving his lips. And wow! The power of that smile aimed in my direction, for me, made my heart speed up while making my breath catch in my throat. “If you, uh, stick around after Jakey goes to bed, I can tell you about it.”
He didn’t make eye contact, so I said, “I’d like that. I don’t plan on leaving”—he startled, his gaze returning to my face, and I winked—“until you kick me out.”
Logan snickered, turning to lead the way into his house. In one of our many text conversations, Logan had told me how he’d been roommates with his cousin, and after he got married, J.J. and his wife had invited Logan to continue living with them. He’d said that after moving in with his family when he was still a boy, his cousin had become the older brother he’d never had, and the other child his mom had always wanted.
The addition of his brother’s wife, Haley, giving him the sister, and his mom the daughter she’d wanted as well. Apparently, J.J. and Haley had met in a counseling group that dealt with finding healthy ways to deal with childhood abandonment. Haley had been in foster care most of her life, and once the two hit it off, Logan’s mother had been more than happy to mama her.
On our way to the kitchen, I surveyed the living room as we passed it. Haley may not have had a happy childhood, but the woman had set up a beautiful home for her family. The house was done in plaids of blues, greens, and white with hearty wood furniture for big men like Logan, but with homey touches, like a beautiful vase of fake flowers and potted plants, scattered throughout.
My heart broke for all that Jakey, Logan, and his parents had lost just from the glances I got at the pictures lining the hallway. Even as quickly as we walked, I saw how happy the couple had been with each other, and with their extended family. The pictures with Jakey were the most precious of all.
They had used tiled pictures of him as part of the backsplash to the kitchen counter. When Logan saw me staring at them, he said, “Haley sent pictures in once a month to have them made into those tiles. I’m going to keep doing it. They’re just overlaid on top of the other tile, so it’s not hard to do. She wanted a whole Jakey wall. I’m sure someday he’ll beg me to take it down, but for now…” He shrugged helplessly, cheeks flushing above his beard.
I clutched his bicep, ignoring how wonderfully firm it felt under my hand, and said, “For now it’s something you can do to honor his mom. I get that.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
The way his shoulders relaxed assured me that not only had I answered correctly, but that I’d managed to pass some kind of test. “Where’s your nephew?” I asked, suddenly realizing that I hadn’t seen him since he ran away at the front door.
Logan grinned and pointed toward another open doorway leading out of the kitchen. This one was larger than the regular door-sized one we’d entered and opened into a side room with a kitchen table. The room wasn’t big enough for a full formal dining room set, but it was perfect for the rectangular wood table it housed. There were wood benches on each of the long sides, and on either end were equally sturdy chairs. Jakey sat in a booster seat on one of those. When I moved closer, I saw the step stool by the side of his chair.
The little boy waited quietly, and it wasn’t until then I noticed that Logan had already set the pizzas on the table. I must have been more lost in looking at the tiles of Jakey than I realized. Logan came up beside me and gestured with a hand containing an already opened juice box to the bench on the opposite side of the table. In the other hand, he held two cups of ice, so I relieved him of one of them and crossed to the seat he’d indicated.
Once Logan sat down and handed everyone a paper plate and napkin, he raised his brows at me. I pointed down at the two pizzas. “Please, have at it. I know you said Jakey liked either plain cheese or pepperoni, so I got one with half of each. Since I noticed you didn’t say what you like for toppings, I ordered a whole meat lover's pizza. I hoped I could tempt you into splitting that one with me.”
Logan smiled shyly and nodded before opening the top box. It contained the two flavors I’d picked up for Jakey, so he tilted the box slightly for the little boy to look in. “Can you point to which one you’d like for me? Pepperoni or cheese?”
Jakey glanced at me from under a furrowed brow, then stared into the pizza box. Logan waited patiently, not hurrying his nephew to make a decision, and I liked him a little bit more. Hearing him talk about his nephew was one thing, the way his face lit up when he did it was another, but watching his patience with him was a turn-on and a half. Finally, Jakey’s lips twitched as he slyly pointed with a finger from each hand at both sides, the one with the pepperoni and the one with the cheese.
Logan burst out laughing, and I couldn’t help but chuckle along with him. “Alright, I’ll let you have one of both now, but don’t eat too much and make yourself sick. When you’re full, you stop. Agreed?”
Jakey nodded enthusiastically, sitting up higher in his seat and squirming as he waited on Logan to pull his two slices out, both of them stringing cheese in their wake. Once Jakey had been served, Logan transferred that box to the bottom and put the pizza of meaty goodness on top. “Oh yeah,” I said, rubbing my hands together as Logan opened the box and the hamburger, sausage, and pepperoni came into view.
Logan shook his head and laughed, but relieved the box of two slices for himself. Once I pulled out two, I shut the box. Logan poured Coke into one glass, then held it out to me. “Switch.”
I took the offered drink and handed him the cup of ice so he could get his own. When I looked over at Jakey, his penetrating gaze stared back at me, right into my soul. I shifted nervously wondering if this was it. Maybe the kid already didn’t like me.
Instead, he finally focused on his own plate and picked up a slice when Logan said, “Thank you for waiting for us, Jakey. You have such good table manners. We all have food on our plates, so let’s dig in.” It was my turn to raise a brow at Logan.
“Eating together as a family was important to Haley,” he explained. “She had us all trained not to take a bite until everyone had been served. My mom liked that so much that she picked up the habit as well. It’s how Jakey’s been raised since he could eat on his own so he’s always waited patiently. Isn’t that right?”
Jakey nodded, with a full mouth.
“That’s a really nice tradition.” Logan nodded, and a hint of sadness clouded the still gray orbs. “I think it’s really nice that you’re keeping so many things…in place.”