Page 29 of Wrecked for the Holidays

Chapter 14

Reed

While Jakob slept upstairs in my—our—bed, I did paperwork and read medical journals I’d put off for the last few weeks. The part of being a doctor widely skipped over in medical school was how much time would be occupied by things other than treating patients. I was deep into reading when my phone buzzed with a text.

Mom: Canceling on me?

Reed: I’ll make it up to you. Promise.

Mom: You should make it up to Cap. He’s the one who’ll have to listen to your dad’s rant about politics. Call me later.

As if on cue, another text popped on the screen.

Cap: Fucking canceling? I swear on everything fucking holy that if I have to listen to Dad rant about politics one more time by myself, your sorry ass will be the one who needs a doctor.

Reed: What do you think it will be this time?

Cap: Fuck if I know. I’ll distracthim with revenge stories for Florida Man. Why can’t you make it?

Reed: An emergency that can’t be put off.

Cap: Everything okay?

Reed: Yeah. Did I tell you I acquired a roommate?

Cap: Acquired is a specific kind of word. Is it a good thing?

Reed: I want it to be.

Cap: Does the roommate have a name?

Reed: Jakob

Cap: Does the emergency have a name?

Reed: Also Jakob.

Cap: Good luck with the roommate and the emergency. You better fucking show up next month. Bring him with you.

Reed: Maybe. Gotta go.

My excuse to get out of the conversation wasn’t a lie. Jakob was up from his nap, and his heavy footsteps slowly descended the stairs. After his behavior at lunch, I knew we needed a serious discussion, but it wasn’t entirely his fault that today had overwhelmed him and led to a meltdown. He was a little, but best as I could tell, he’d never had the opportunity to fully explore that part of himself. Sure, there’d been times when his little mindset bubbled to the surface, but to let go and let someone truly take care of him? Hell, he hadn’t even had toys or anything to play with until today.

For the first time since Jakob crashed into my life, literally, the direction wasn’tclear. Before I was even out of high school, I knew what my life plan was—graduate at the top of my class for the chance to get decent scholarships, undergrad in pre-med, and then medical school. After one ER rotation, my goal for a residency position was decided.

But Jakob? He was a mess of contradictions and conundrums. He was an intriguing mix of innocent and wise beyond his years. His intelligence was damn sexy, but he was certainly more than his considerable IQ. He was a little who’d never been fully little. And judging by today, he was jealous as hell.

“Jakob, in the office,” I called when I heard him reach the bottom of the stairs. His footsteps got slower the closer he came to the doorway. By the time he reached it, he was fully dragging his feet. Still in his pajamas, Jakob carried his babies in his arms. Given his stranglehold on them, it would take a crowbar to pry them away from him. His protectiveness was equal parts sweet and sad.

Jakob’s curls were a disheveled mess, sticking out in wild directions. His eyes were still hooded with sleep, the pillow had left creases across his cheek, and his pajamas were equally wrinkled. He trudged to where I was sitting behind my desk like a condemned man about to hear a sentence.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say it.” Jakob’s voice trembled with unshed tears. He swallowed reflexively in a doomed effort to control his emotions. With another shuddered breath, a tear leaked out, which he furiously wiped away with one hand while clutching his dolls tightly to his chest with the other.

“Oh, love, c’mere,” I said and opened my arms to him. Jakob fell into my lap. He clutched my neck and his tears finally flowed freely. His hiccupped breath was hot against my neck, and I held him while he cried.

“P-p-apa, I’m sorry I was m-m-mean. He was nice t-t-to me, and I-I-I wasn’t nice back. I’m s-s-sorry,” Jakob wailed while simultaneously trying to burrow into me. The cascade of tears was not just about being surly with the server. It had to be more because these tears were gut-wrenching. My hunch was that my interrupted thoughts were right, and his little was screaming to come out. He was using all his willpower to contain his regression. It was a recipe for disaster.

“Jakob, I need to ask you something.” He made a valiant effort to get himself under control, but it was too soon. The cries continued unabated, and my heart broke for him. His ragged, hiccupping breath tore at every string in my heart. I knew there was nothing I could do to ease his immediate pain, and that was a punch in the gut. This man, a stranger only a few weeks ago, had become the center of my world in such a short time. Jakob had barged into my life, anddamned if I wanted him anywhere else. “Love, you’re going to make yourself sick. Deep breaths.” I kept murmuring to Jakob until his sobs slowed to sniffles.

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