Page 60 of Easton
“Good. He’s a whole lot more comfortable now. She’s teaching him the ropes.”
“Easton adopts dogs no one else wants. He doesn’t care if they have stuff wrong with them. Dad said maybe we can do that too.” Meadow beams proudly.
“Aww,” Simone says. “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“They’re lucky to have you.” Mom smiles at East.
“Nah, it’s me who’s lucky to have them.” His response makes me want to pull him into my arms and kiss him.
“I made these for them.” Meadow hands him the bag, East looking at me, then at her, like he’s not sure what to do. He knows she was bringing him something, but it’s almost like he thought it was a joke, like she would change her mind and not do it.
“Um. Thank you.” He pulls the first dog shirt out of the bag.
“I had Uncle Archer measure them when you weren’t looking, so they should fit. I made them with my sewing machine. It’s for them to wear when it gets cold.”
They’re matching shirts, each with their names on them, with matching ruffles at the end.
“Uncle Archer said you wouldn’t care if Casanova’s has ruffles too. Boys can like ruffles.”
East grins. His hands are shaking. I’m not sure if anyone else notices it, and my own twitch, wanting nothing more than to reach for him.
“Yeah,” he finally replies. “Boys can like ruffles. These are amazing. Thank you for thinking of them.”
Cass squeezes his daughter’s shoulder, clearly proud of her.
“You’re welcome.”
“Maybe you can come over with Archer sometime and see the dogs in them.”
We talked about her spending time with them before, but it never happened.
Meadow grins. “Ooh, can I, Dad? Uncle Archer?”
“You can come too,” East tells Cass. “Or if you want me to bring them to you or something, we can do that.”
I see the moment it dawns on Cass that East thinks Cass might not trust him, like he’s afraid the trouble East has gotten into will come back to hurt Meadow. “She can come over if that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” East replies. I wonder if he realizes how incredible this is. The fact that he’s here with my family, that he invited Meadow over to play with the dogs, and that he’s planning on having Morgan, Dusty, and Rhett over too.
When everyone loses themselves in conversation again, I whisper in his ear, “Good boy,” and to my surprise, he takes my hand in his, giving it a brief squeeze before pulling away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Easton
Idon’t talkmuch as the family sits around the living room, chatting. They ask me questions and pull me into the conversation. When they do, I respond as I should, but I don’t think anyone would ever call me chatty.
I can’t stop thinking about the gift bag at my feet, what Meadow made for the dogs. The fact that I said she could come over with Archer and that Cass doesn’t mind. Also, the feel of Archer’s thigh pressed against mine, something he’s been sure to do the whole time. He’s stayed close to me, supported me, and it feels so damn good.
Dinner is delicious. Daphne’s a good cook, and again around the table, they tease Archer about how bad he is.
“He’s learning,” I say, despite having called him justall rightearlier. I was teasing then at first, but now, even though I know they’re joking too, I want to defend him.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” He winks, and my heart races. I wait for them to look at him funny for calling me that, but no one seems to notice or care.
After dinner, they decide we should all go into the backyard. They have a basketball court, and everyone shoots around, even Simone, but I linger on the sidelines, watching them. It feels like I’m in a TV show or book. I’ve heard of families like this, and Dusty’s is similar, but it’s different seeing it. How sad is it that it doesn’t feel real to me?
El?