Page 108 of A Little Jaded
“He worked hard on it,” Kate gives her husband a look and smirks. “I’m sorry Finley couldn’t be here, by the way.”
“It’s fine. She told me about her little trip to see Drew.”
“Yeah, she really loves the boy. Speaking of my youngest child, Finley’s told us a lot about you,” Kate adds.
Called it.
Finley’salsoa blabbermouth.
I look down at my hands. “Sounds…promising?”
“Only good things, I swear,” Kate teases but sobers quickly. “Well, mostly good things. I heard about your ex.”
My smile falls. “Did you, now?”
“Yeah.” She grimaces. “I hear it’s how you met Everett?”
I force myself to nod. “Uh, yeah. He stepped in and made sure my ex couldn’t…couldn’t bother me anymore.”
“Ever the protector,” she quips. “I’m sorry about your situation, though.”
“It’s fine.”
“It isn’t, but I understand why you don’t want to talk about it,” Kate interjects. “Just so you know, my daughter’s avault most of the time, I promise. But when it comes to her big brother, she isn’t afraid to break the rules and fill us in.”
Nodding, I pick at my cuticles.
“He’s so used to taking care of everyone else,” Macklin adds. “Dylan. Ophelia. Tatum. Finley. His mom.”
Kate smiles and grabs her husband’s knee like they’re both privy to some big secret. I bite my bottom lip to keep myself from asking what it is.
“I have epilepsy,” Kate explains. “And unfortunately, it’s genetic, so I passed it along to Finley.”
“Finley mentioned it,” I reply, remembering the way she blurted out her diagnosis at SeaBird not so long ago. “It must be…scary.”
“It can be,” Macklin says, “but I’m a paramedic, so I know how to handle it.”
“You also signed up for it,” Kate muses. “Everett, on the other hand…”
“You’re an amazing mom,” Macklin reminds her.
“I know I am.” Kate grins back at him, then turns to me again. “But what I’m trying to say is Everett didn’t sign up to be his mom’s and sister’s pseudo-protector when his dad isn’t around.”
“Pretty sure he’s the pseudo-protector no matter who he’s around,” I point out with a laugh.
Kate joins in. “You’re totally right. What we see and experience in this life molds us into who we are. And sometimes, it sucks. Then, add in what happened with Dylan and how terrible he felt, and…well, no wonder the poor boy has a bit of a hero complex, you know?”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that, too,” I admit. “The way he’s always so quick to swoop in and protect the people he cares about. Like me,” I add.
“It isn’t a bad thing,” Kate rushes out. “I think we all needsomeone to swoop in and save us every once in a while.” She tosses another smile at Macklin, and my chest squeezes.
“I’m sorry if you feel like Finley betrayed your trust by telling us about your situation,” Macklin interjects. “She likes you. Actually, they both do.”
“I like both of them, too,” I reply.
“They’re easy to like,” Kate agrees. “It’s just…,” she pauses. “I want to make sure someone’s taking care of him, too.”
I swallow thickly, unsure what else to say, as my pulse quickens. “Yeah, I…I completely understand.”