Page 54 of Done

Before she could reach Carlee, Easton snaked a hand out and grabbed her, lifting her high over his head. He made sounds like he was King Kong and Jenny was his blonde sacrifice, which made her laughter soar.

“Uncle Easton,” she screamed, “put me down.”

“Fine,” Easton growled, then set her on her feet. “But don’t come runnin’ through these parts again or you’ll be eaten alive!”

Once again, Jenny laughed and screamed as she ran away. Easton had added an accent to his words and stood fromhis seat, but instantly relented when Jenny was safely behind Carlee.

“He’s silly,” Carlee waved at Easton, making Jenny laugh again.

“Yeah, he’s silly,” Jenny agreed.

My smile had started to hurt. It was hard not to have one plastered across my face when Easton was so irresistible around the kids. Seeing him with Max was wonderful, but seeing him with someone he had loved since she was born was another level of who he was capable of being.

“Max?” Easton growled with his monstrous accent. “You’re next.”

“No, no,” Max laughed, backing up and dancing his feet in excitement. “No Eas, don’t get me.”

“Then you better run!” Easton lunged, but it was with no effort and both kids ran toward the swing set laughing.

“We’re safe here, Uncle Easton. You can’t get us.”

Max and Jenny had climbed onto the platform at the top of the slide and stuck their faces between the slats of the boards. Max was happy. Carefree. He was no longer worried about being shy and had even spoken a few words loud enough that everyone could hear.

Easton seceded his attempt to get the kids and sat back down, giving me another small wink. Meanwhile, Max and Jenny began playing, forgetting that King Kong was lingering on the patio. It gave the adults time to talk, and I was able to get to know Carlee better.

With her third kid on the way, her belly was round and as much as I missed that feeling, I also felt bad for how hot she was. It made us laugh, though, as we commiserated about those late stages of pregnancy.

When the littlest woke up from her nap, I held her for Carlee, loving the feeling of a one year old in my lap again. That wasuntil Easton took her and held her, playing with her and loving on her until she wanted to run around with the others. Then he let her go and I watched as his eyes lingered on her lovingly.

How Easton had made it to his thirties without becoming a dad was amazing to me. It seemed like he could just pick anyone in the whole world and they’d happily become his wifeandgive him children. Of course, I was just assuming that was what he wanted, and instead of finding that life, he had the unfortunate luck of finding me instead.

“You work this week?” Daniel asked Easton as we finished our hamburgers later that evening.

“Yeah and I have to get the house mowed. And Gramps needs me to do some work at their house. You still up for adoption? Maybe you can help?”

“Hell no,” Carlee chimed in. “The only lawn he’s mowing is mine. Trimming my bushes and my,” she waggled her eyebrows and pointed between her legs, “bush.”

She was somehow serious and making a joke so funny that I spit some of my water out of my mouth. My face was red, my sides were hurting, and tears of laughter started to leak out of my eyes.

Carlee eyed me and shook her head. “Don’t act like you could reach around this thing when you were this big.” She grabbed her belly then finished with, “Somebody has to get things situated down there, and he chose that job when he knocked me up again.”

“I meant an actual yard,” Easton groaned with a smile, pretending to plug his ears.

“And I meant my pussy,” Carlee snapped at him. “So what?”

Damn, I liked her. She was easy to get along with and didn’t try putting a show on for me. She seemed to be unapologetically herself, and not only did I love it, I envied it. To be so securein her marriage, her livelihood, and the people she let into her home was a level of comfort I was afraid I’d never feel.

“La, La, La,” Easton hollered, still plugging his ears.

“Love you,” Carlee cooed, which was as close to an apology as Easton was going to get.

“Eas!” Max yelled from the yard, getting all of our attention. “Look!”

With my breath held tight, I watched as Max slid down the fireman’s pole on the side of the slide platform. When he got off, he waved to Easton and then to me, showing us that he was a fireman.

We clapped, and Easton pumped his fist, excited for Max’s venture down a new obstacle. Not that he wasn’t capable, but just like talking, Max didn’t do many new things. He kept to smaller things, not daring to be brave. But he knew Easton was brave. He knew firefighters were brave. And it was just one more positive effect that Easton had on Max.

We left that night with the expectation that we’d do it again, and that I’d be back. Max and Jenny would get to play again. Carlee would make Easton cringe again. I’d laugh and smile so much my cheeks hurt.

---