Page 48 of Knight

He sits next to her and pulls her close to him with his arm around her. Yep, this is weird to see Mom with a man that isn’t Dad. She mentioned that Jackson is affectionate, but hearing it and seeing it are two different things. Skylar stares at me, clearly thinking the same thing.

Hayden takes our drink orders, and Reagan being Reagan, goes right for the jugular. “So, which one of you has seen my mom’s boobs? I mean besides Jackson.”

Trevor doubles over with laughter. “Oh my god. I love my new sisters. It was me. I had that distinct pleasure.” He turns to Mom and winks. “And itwasa pleasure, Darian.”

Mom turns eight shades of red. Jackson playfully smacks the back of his head. “Cut it out. Show some respect.”

“Sorry,Mom.” He laughs again. Trevor is a handful.

Reagan is equal to the task though. “Did you guys know that Harley walked in on your dad and our mom too? Harley was kind enough to put us on FaceTime first though, so we all got to enjoy it. I have screenshots if you want to see them.”

She starts to take out her phone, but Mom grabs it. “Reagan, enough. Delete those. Jackson, perhaps Trevor and Reagan are the twins here. Maybe there was a mix-up at the hospital.”

“They certainly are two peas in a pod,” he agrees with a smirk.

Hayden returns with our drinks. His hands are literally shaking when he gives me mine. “I’m sorry. I’m a little nervous.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. Let me help.” I grab my drink from him.

Trevor looks over. “Oh my god, Hayden. Just ask her for her autograph, maybe grab a selfie and call it a day.” Huh? “Let’s get this all out. Harley, Hayden is low-key obsessed with you. Apparently, you’re sort of a legend at the medical school.” What? I am? For what? Shit. That can’t be good.

Hayden stares daggers at Trevor. “Trevor, you suck. Sorry Dr. Lawrence. My brother is a jerk.”

“Hayden, I’m like five minutes older than you. Call me Harley.”

I look at Mom in bewilderment, and she mouths “I’ll tell you later.”

Everyone kind of goes around in a circle and says a little bit about themselves. Payton is quite impressive. He’s a smart guy. It’s actually really nice that he loves working with his dad so much.

Jackson grabs my mom’s hand. “Darian, come inside with me to grab the steaks. We need to get them going on the grill.” He pulls her in pretty aggressively. What is that about?

I chat with Hayden about medical school. He’s struggling a bit with the memorization. I give him a few tips of the trade and he seems grateful. I hear Payton and Reagan talking about her franchising meeting. He gives her some negotiation tips. Skylar and Payton talk about business school. I can’t really hear, but she mentions possibly looking at schools away from home. This is the first I’m hearing of that.

Mom and Jackson return about twenty minutes later. They’ve clearly been going at it. Both of their lips are red and puffy. Her lipstick is gone and her hair is a mess. They’re kind of cute. The six of us all knowingly stare at each other and smirk.

Jackson cooks the steaks and Mom helps to serve the sides. We eventually sit down at the table. I look at Jackson. “This all looks great. Thank you.”

“My pleasure. It’s nice to have so many beautiful ladies at our table.”

Trevor adds, “I’ll say.” He turns to Mom. “Darian, you’re a lawyer, right?”

“I am. Are you in trouble? That would not shock me in the least,” she jokes with him, and he smiles.

“I’m not. Yet. Asking for a friend here, but what are the laws on stepsiblings dating?” Everyone laughs.

Hayden shakes his head. “Sorry ladies, but my brother didn’t mature past the age of seven.”

That’s kind of how the meal goes. Lots of poking fun and laughs. Just getting to know each other. It’s actually kind of nice. We didn’t grow up with brothers. They’re pretty relentless with one another, though we do have Reagan in the regard.

When the meal is over, I suggest that since Mom and Jackson did the heavy lifting on the front end, the six of us clean up, letting Mom and Jackson start on the s’mores by the firepit. Everyone agrees.

The six of us bring everything inside and have an assembly line going, though we all stop when we see Mom and Jackson interact outside. She’s sitting on his lap. They’re feeding each other s’mores while laughing and kissing.

Payton is the first to speak. He nods his head in the direction of Mom and Jackson. “What do you guys make of this?”

Reagan responds. “She’s really into him. I don’t know how much you guys know about us, but I assume you know our dad died three years ago. Mom has been miserable since. At least until she started seeing your dad. She literally barely left the house for three years until they started dating.”

Payton responds. “We knew she was a widow, but we didn’t know the other stuff. He’s like a different man since they started dating. He’s more relaxed and amenable at the office. He’s not working all hours. He can’t wait to get out of the office to see her. I literally heard him whistling in his office the other day. I’ve never once heard my dad whistle in thirty years.”

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