Lucas and Lily had already picked out their rooms in the new house and were so excited about moving. I let them decide if they wanted to get new furniture for their bedroom or keep the stuff that they had from the house they lived in with Darryl and Destiny. I didn’t want to guess their feelings or make the wrong decision. They chose to keep the furniture their parents chose for them and I found that comforting.
Throughout all of the chaos and with Chloe’s help, we found a schedule that worked for our family. I only had a late lecture once a week and Jag made sure he was home by 5:30 p.m. on those nights. We enrolled both of the kids in classes at the YMCA so that they could learn new things. Lily chose gymnastics and Lucas wanted to swim. Sometimes we took them separately, but mostly we all went as a family. Lucas and Lily seemed to enjoy cheering each other on and I felt like it brought us all closer.
I caught the ladies sizing up Jag like he was some hot mountain they wanted to climb on several occasions. I would just sit there smugly because only I got to climb Mt. Jag and climb him I did at every opportunity. I too had started some stress relieving activities like running, weightlifting, and even coloring with the kids. I discovered some amazing coloring books for adults at the bookstore when we took the kids shopping. As much as those activities helped, nothing could ever make me feel as good as Jag – his hands, his mouth, and magic cock melted my stress away like nothing else.
“After today we can put all of this behind us, Bones.” Jag reached over and placed his hand over mine where it rested on my thigh. “Judge Burrows will come through for you; I’m sure of it.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“She’s an amazing advocate for children and families. I’ve seen her in action plenty of times to know that she cuts through the bullshit and gets right to the heart of the matter, which is the best interest of the children. There is no one better suited to raise Lucas and Lily than you and she’ll see that. Hell, Vanessa’s deposition alone should be enough to sway her, but then you add in Lauren’s testimony and the caseworker from DCS and we have a slam dunk decision.” The confidence in his tone did make me feel better, but I was still afraid.
Lucas and Lily and no idea that any of this was going on. We kept it away from them because the last thing they needed was to think that they might be taken away from us. Lauren advised us, as she did the court, that removing Lucas and Lily from my home could be very detrimental to them coping with the loss of their parents. It had been a little over a month since the accident and the kids could regress if they were faced with the upheaval of being relocated again.
“Have faith, Bones.” He squeezed my hand once more before he replaced it on the steering wheel. As riotous as my thoughts and emotions were, I still noticed what he said and realized how far he had come too. This was a man who didn’t used to have faith in anyone, not even himself, and there he was lifting me up and giving me hope.
“I am a lucky man.” It was random and out of the blue, but totally called for in the moment.
“I’m the lucky one,” Jag countered. He gave me a firm look that dared me to contradict him as he pulled into a parking spot near the courthouse.
“We’re both lucky then.” I leaned toward him and he met me halfway for a kiss. His touch soothed me like it always did and I breathed my first calm breath since leaving the house. I ran my thumb over his full bottom lip and couldn’t wait until we could be alone so I could explore it more. “Let’s go make this official.” I was referring to the kids, but hidden in my message was a desire to tie myself to him by more than just a joint mortgage. I wanted it all with him and I wanted it forever.
“It won’t take her long to rule in your favor.” One last kiss and we got out of Jag’s car and briskly walked inside so we could get out of the brutal cold.
My mom and dad were waiting for me inside the courthouse. I had told them they didn’t need to be there, but they insisted. Looking at my mom broke my heart, because she tried her damnedest to smile through her pain, but it usually came out as a grimace. The only exception was when she was around Lucas and Lily. I missed my brother every single day of my life and the loss hadn’t gotten any easier a month later. I assumed that the ache would lessen over time, but it had remained the same. The pain I felt must have been magnified a thousand times in my parents. Losing a child had to be the most hurtful thing a person could experience.
The Candlesses would’ve been hurting just as badly, which was why I couldn’t be mad at them. They hadn’t made heinous allegations against me during any of the custody proceedings. The worse thing they said about me was that I was a bachelor and the kids would better be suited in a home with two parents. My rebuttal was that I was involved in a committed and loving relationship and provided the lifestyle that Lucas and Lily were accustomed to when their parents were alive. Regardless, I didn’t think their complaint held any merit. There were plenty of single moms and dads out there raising remarkable children. That argument might have worked in the 60’s, but I believed that it wouldn’t in my case.