Page 89 of Reckless With You

“Tucker,” I whispered.

He looked at me then, a gift in his hand, his hair messy as if he’d run his hands through it over and over.

“You’re here,” he whispered and took a step forward before freezing.

That’s when I noticed that all three of my brothers were right behind me, glowering over my head.

“I’ve got this,” I said, trying to put a little sternness into my tone.

“We’ll see,” Caleb growled.

“Yeah,” Dimitri added.

“You okay?” Devin asked, looking directly at Tucker.

“I’ll be okay. We’ll talk later?” Tucker asked, looking over my head.

I angled myself so I could look at my brother, who simply nodded and then tugged the others out of the way before pushing me through the front door.

I stumbled over my feet and landed right in Tucker’s arms. Before I could yell at Devin, he slammed the door, the lock snicking closed.

“What the hell?” I asked, completely surprised.

Tucker snorted and shook his head.

“I swear to God, the Carr siblings are not subtle at all.”

“I guess not.”

I quickly scrambled away, wrapping my arms around my body. It was snowing outside, and I wasn’t wearing a coat.

Not the smartest thing, but it wasn’t like I had been given a choice.

Tucker cursed under his breath and set the gift down on the step before taking off his jacket and sliding it over my shoulders. He wore a turtleneck sweater, so he was at least a little warm, but I knew neither of us could stand out here for long.

“Hey,” I said, my voice soft.

“Hey. I should have been here earlier. I had an appointment, and then I had my head up my ass. Hell, I’ve had my head up my ass for far too long.”

“An appointment?” I asked, not bothering to talk about the last part of what he’d said. I wasn’t really sure what I could say to that anyway.

“Yeah, I needed to get some test results back and meet Evan.”

My eyes widened, my mouth going dry. “Yeah?”

Tucker slid his hands into his pockets, and I inhaled the scent of him on his jacket, my body heating even as longing slid through me.

“Yeah. He’s a great kid. I read to him a bit, talked with his folks. Set another appointment to get my bone marrow donated and all that. He’s mine. I don’t know what the fuck’s going to happen next, but he’s mine. I looked at him once and fell in love with the kid.” Tears filled my eyes, just like his, and I blinked them away.

“Really?”

Tucker nodded tightly. “Yeah. He’s mine. Well, he’s Robbie’s and Melinda’s, but I think a little part of him is mine, too. Like I said, I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I’ll figure it out. You know? As long as Evan’s okay. That’s the important part.”

“Of course. So, you’re a match? You’re going to be able to donate?”

“Yeah. There was no question about that. That was the one thing that I knew I could do. Give what I could of myself to help him. Even if he wasn’t mine, or I didn’t know what to do about him being mine. But, yeah, Merry fucking Christmas, right?”

Tears slid down my cheeks, and he leaned forward, wiping them away with his thumb.