Page 61 of Standing Still

“I’ll clean up later,” he goes to put the kettle back on. “You better get used to it.”

“Not a chance.”

He grins, then comes back and pulls me into his arms. I wrap mine around his neck. I cannot believe he is standing here, making jokes about leaving his clothes on the floor and me dealing with it. Like we are going to be a part of each other’s future.

My heart is beating hard, my head still trying to wrap around the idea of him being here.

He came all the way to New York. For me. After I ran away again.

Part of me feels I don’t deserve him, but another, more selfish part thinks I’ll never let him go.

“I guess dad really knew what he was doing when he wrote that stupid will,” I say.

“He did,” Ben agrees with a loud laugh. “The sneaky little fucker.”

Epilogue

Nine Months Later

“What the fuck?”

“Ben! Don’t swear where he can hear you,” Elle admonishes me.

“Have youseenmy dog?”

“Oh…” she stops short and looks at Jedi.

“Yeah, oh,” I grab Jedi’s collar and he tilts his head up. He’s smiling though, in that dopey doggy way he does, his tail is thwacking against the floor. He’s pleased as fucking punch. I use the hem of my t-shirt to scrub at the paint on his back. All I do is smear it even more into his fur, and get it all over myself. I look up at Elle, her lips press together, trying not to laugh.

“Jesse, get your little butt out here.” I look over at Dawn’s youngest son. He’s peeking out from behind the doorway to the dining room. After a few seconds, he comes out, his hands clasped behind his back. “Jesse, do you think the dog wanted to be your canvas today?”

“Uh… yeah?” he asks, his brow scrunching.

Elle perches on the end of the sofa, watching me. I’m not sure what she thinks I’m going to do, but she is waiting to see how I handle this. Jesse is old enough to know better than to put paint all over an animal, so he’s going to fix the problem.

“You’re going to clean him up,” I tell Jesse, straightening up but still holding Jedi. Last thing we need is him running amok getting paint everywhere.

“Like a bath?” Jesse’s eyes widen in excitement.

“Yeah, but not the kind you have in mind. Come on, outside, the both of you.”

“Be careful,” Elle calls out, but Jesse has already bounded down the steps and jumped two from the bottom.

I glance out to make sure he’s landed on his feet and not his head. Last thing we need is another Greenwood offspring breaking a bone today. Jedi hops straight after him and the two of them go running across the lawn.

“What are you going to do?” Elle lifts a brow in amusement.

“Hose the pair of them down.”

“Ben! It’s far too cold to do that. You’ll make him sick.”

I give her a look. “That is the best way to teach him.” I don’t wait for her to respond and head outside after the twochildren. “And I’m not stupid,” I call back. “I won’t hose the kid. Just the dog.”

“Yeah, hose me too, Uncle Ben. Look,” he holds up his hands. He’s covered in paint up to his elbows.

“Elle, check the dining room,” I laugh.

But fuck, kids are a pain in the ass. Fortunately for everyone involved, we’re at my house in Mystic, not Elle’s pristine apartment in New York. I make quick work of cleaning Jedi, who thinks it’s a game, and bounces all over the place, trying to catch the water in his jaws, leaving Jesse squealing with laughter.

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