Hard Brake (Wilkins Brothers Book 2)

Chapter 30

GRUFF

“That was amazing dinner, Georgia and Hazel. The two of you outdid yourselves.”

Darren, Bellamy’s dad, stood up from the table and started to grab the empty plates in front of his wife and his daughter and Jetson followed suit right away. The unwritten rule of Thanksgiving is that Mom doesn’t have to do the dishes. Of course, we use paper plates and the dishwasher to make things easier on everybody else, but the fact is that they did the work, so they get to put their feet up and rest.

“I agree, this was even better than last year and last year was pretty amazing also.” Jetson finishes his remark with a kiss on my mom’s cheek. She’s beaming with happiness. Even after sixteen or so years, she looks just as happy as she did when she brought Jetson home for dinner the first time. I reach over and take Camila’s hand in mine and say a silent prayer that I hope sixteen years from now she’s feeling the same way.

I think she’s happy. I mean, I more than just think it. I know she’s happy because she’s always smiling and I catch her sometimes dancing around the apartment singing along with her Spotify playlist. After we got back from New Mexico we sat down with the kids and explained to them that we really liked each other and we were doing to be dating. I was completely uncomfortable during the entire conversation, but Camila handled it perfectly. We knew that Nico was aware we were sleeping in the same bed, but we weren’t entirely sure if Anna was aware or if Anna even knew what that meant. 

Part of me was expecting Nico to ask me what my intentions were with his mom, but it never really came up. The next time we were working together in the garage I asked him if he had any questions about his mom and me and he said no. He’s a great kid and I hope he knows that I’m nothing like his dad and that I’m going to take care of his mom. I think he does. As long as he doesn’t shoot me, I guess. Bad joke...that was a bad joke.

The biggest thing we did while in New Mexico was get the required legal paperwork so they could have a life here. Camila is ecstatic to have a driver’s license. She said that she hasn’t been able to have her own ID card in decades, just another way that he has his power over her. Not only does she have an Arizona ID with my address, but we got her a vehicle to drive. With there no longer being a threat around for her, she’s able to come and go as she pleases, freedom she’s NEVER had as an adult.

She’s also looking forward to enrolling the kids in school. We toured the school closest to us and she seemed happy with it. The kids had always gone to Catholic school before, so public school was different. I told her I could probably swing tuition, but that offer was completely off the table. She is going to finish homeschooling them until the semester break in December and then in January, they’ll start back at their new school.

There is a different feeling this year at Thanksgiving, as a family we have so much to be thankful for. Jasper is pretty much all healed up. He is back to work full time and the only thing that really lingers still is when he’s trying to work out. Our family has grown with Elsie, Camila, Nico, and Anna. Tristen is here this Thanksgiving, but so far things have calmed between him and Jasper. Landry is officially showing now and I think Jasper just decided he needed to let those issues go. She’s going to be a mom and Tristen is going to be around now. I do think it is mature of him to at least try to keep things civil.

“So are we going out again tonight?” Hattie claps her hands together.

“Going out?” Bellamy questions her, pretty much whining at the same time.

“Oh come on! Last year we went out on Thanksgiving and it was so much fun!”

“You mean last year when you girls all got shit-faced drunk and us guys all had to stay sober so nobody messed with you?” Tate replies.