Page 68 of His Wild Storm
Well, fuck. If I hadn’t already declared my love for this man, that would have me doing it. Knox looks up at me and winks like he can read my mind.
I muse, “Should I go and grab him some clothes?”
“No,” Amelia insists, “we have plenty of clothes that will fit Wilde because Ridge has grown out of them.”
“Please help us declutter,” Beckett groans and Amelia giggles as she rolls her eyes.
Wilde launches himself at Knox and wraps his arms tightly around the man’s neck. He might not be able to breathe, but by the look of love and contentment on his face, breathing is the last thing he’s worried about.
After Wilde releases Knox, he bowls into my legs, and I lean down to hug him. “Thanks, Mommy,” he breathes out softly.
When he looks into my eyes, there’s so much gratitude there. I also see far too much understanding, as if he knows why this is hard for me.
Little does he know that the monster of our past, the one who would have wanted to drag us back into the shadows, is gone. For good.
I breathe a sigh of relief while knowing he’s going to be in great hands for the night. There’s just something about Amelia. I felt it the moment we met. She has a vibe about her that makes you feel like everything is going to be okay, and that anything is possible.
If she wants to take on four little boys for the night, on top of her two other kids, I’m not going to stop her.
“I have an idea,” Beckett muses and the boys all look toward him with excitement as if they know he’s always a guy with great ideas. Ridge, Mason, and Ethan might know, but Wilde has no clue since he’s new to this crew. “Lets invite Ian since Wilde knows him a little better along with anyone else who is interested. We’ll turn the living room into a fort and put on a movie.”
“That’ll be almost like movie night when Mom and Knox went on a date,” Wilde helpfully adds into the conversation.
“Oh,” Amelia’s voice is bright, “so you’re familiar with movie night. It is better if you’re in pajamas and have fruit sundaes,” she adds thoughtfully.
“I wasn’t in pajamas,” Wilde complains, “and there was no fort.”
“Dad makes the best forts,” Ridge tells Wilde, his voice giddy.
Wilde glances at Knox and muses out loud, “I wonder if Knox can build a good fort.”
“Don’t challenge me on my fort building skills,” Knox declares. He blows on his fingertips and then buffs them on his shirt. “My fort building skills are the best in the state, and you can bet on it.”
“I don’t know,” Ridge doesn’t sound even a little bit convinced, “Dad has had a lot of practice.”
Knox scoffs and promises, “Then we’ll figure out a night to have a fort building competition. It won’t be tonight, but it’ll happen.”
Wilde giggles before hugging my legs again. He looks up at me with so much happiness radiating from him.
I find it difficult to swallow past the lump in my throat because this was the life he was always meant to have.
As I look around, I realize I’ve never felt as accepted or seen as I have since Knox invited me into his family. It’s not just the way they opened their hearts to me, but Wilde as well. He’s glowing under their attention.
A pang hits my heart because I wasn’t enough for him all on my own. But, then again, maybe I wasn’t supposed to be.
It’s possible I was always meant to find this family. For me. For my son. Hell, even for Knox.
I didn’t leave Connecticut with the plan to end up in Denver. My only goal was to survive.
And I have.
Now, I can really live.
When I look over at Knox to find his hooded eyes intently focused on me, so many promises existing in the space between us, I realize now I can really love. And what a wonderful thing it is.
CHAPTER 21
KNOX
