Page 62 of Where You Belong

It is just after five when I pull into the driveway, parking behind Haelynn. Before I had a chance to knock on the door, Huxton smacks his hands against the door and presses his small nose against the glass.

“What are you doing, kid?”

“Nothin’.” He shrugs, stepping back to let me through. He zooms past me, his arms out like an airplane racing toward the kitchen.

Haelynn stood at the sink, washing off a plate before setting it in the dish drainer beside her. Her eyes light up when she sees me. Seeing her after being away all day makes me eager to pull her into my arms.

I set the pizza box on the island and cross the room, stepping up behind her and gripping her hips in my hands.

“Corbin,” she chastises me, peering over to see Huxton sitting at the island with his Lego blocks scattered over the granite countertop in front of him.

“He’s not even paying attention,” I whisper, pulling her into a hug. She slips her arms around me, and I sneak a kiss against the column of her neck.

She sucks in a sharp breath, her body trembling against me. I don’t regret it, but damn if it’s not making it hard to step back, knowing little eyes and ears were a few feet away.

“Corbin?” Huxton says, my name coming out as more of a question.

“What’s up, buddy?” I ask, opening the cabinet next to Haelynn to grab a few paper plates and tossing them by the pizza box.

“Are you and my mom boyfriend and girlfriend?”

I glance at Haelynn out of the corner of my eye. It takes mental effort to keep myself composed. The serious look on his face makes me want to chuckle.

“If we were, how would you feel about that?”

He rests his chin on his small fist, appearing to consider it for a moment before a smile stretches across his face.

“I think it’d be pretty cool.”

“Yeah?”

He nods. “Yeah. Does that mean you’re gonna fall in love and get married?”

Haelynn crosses her arms and presses her fingers against her mouth, attempting to smother her smile.

“I mean, I hope so.”

“Me too.” He nods, bouncing in his seat. “She’s happier when you’re here. She smiles a lot and stuff.”

Tears well up in Haelynn’s eyes. She does her best to blink through them, trying to keep it together.

“She makes me happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life. There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here with you two. I’ll want to be here for you both, to take care of you and keep you safe.”

Huxton smiles, looking over at his mom. He jumps down from his chair and runs over to wrap his arms around her waist.

“Don’t cry, Mommy,” Huxton whispers. “It’s gonna be all right now.”

Any hope of Haelynn keeping it together went out the window with that one simple sentence. She drops to her knees and wraps her arms around him in a hug.

I’d put my life on the line every day to protect them.

I’d sacrifice it all to keep them safe.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Haelynn ~ Three Weeks Later

“Thank you for watching Huxton for us.” I smile when Madelyn pulls me in for a hug. “I don’t know what I’d do without you these last few months.”