One year later…
“Antler ring toss! Just what I always wanted!” Zach yelled out. “How’d you guys know?” he asked Nick and Dylan as he tore into the box with exaggerated enthusiasm.
“Well, Eli always says you act like you’re five, so…” Dylan said matter-of-factly with a shrug of his shoulders. Eli choked on his coffee while the rest of the room erupted in laughter. A proud smile grew on Dylan’s face when he realized he was the cause.
Zach arched an eyebrow and looked at Eli. “Paybacks. That’s all I’m sayin’.”
Eli put his hand on Jake’s thigh and settled back on the couch while the boys sat in front of them on the floor. His parents’ living room was packed with Taylors and Novaks and was in total disarray. Just how Christmas should be.
Zach tossed one of the blow-up antlers to Jake. “Let’s see what ya got.” Zach put his game face on, his eyes narrowed, as he strapped the antlers to his head—and Eli just about lost it.
He turned his head to Jake and barked out a laugh seeing the inflated antlers on top of Jake’s head. Jake tilted his chin at Zach, his eyes challenging. “Bring it.”
“Ugh. Why’d you ever let them become friends, Eli?” Savannah complained jokingly.
Eli just laughed, but in the back of his mind, he was so damn happy about how his family had reached out to Jake and the boys over the last year. Slowly, Eli watched Jake’s walls come down as they all healed. It hadn’t been easy at times, but they were getting through it day by day. Jake’s parents hadn’t bothered to try and see the kids in the past year. They would have failed if they’d even tried. Jake, Nick, and Dylan were much better without them in their lives.
But Eli’s parents, along with Nina and Stan, had seamlessly stepped into the roles of surrogate grandparents. They even treated Jake like a son, which took him some time to get used to. Seeing how comfortable Jake and the kids were as they sat here, in Eli’s parents’ home, was unbelievable. And the fact that Zach and Jake had become genuine friends, well— “Ow!” Eli griped, as the plastic ring bounced off his nose and fell in his lap. Why did I let them become friends?
Jake snorted out a laugh while Zach unapologetically said, “You’re in the line of fire, little brother.”
“Uncle J? Can we now?” Dylan asked impatiently. For what, Eli had no idea.
Jake looked up at Zach. “Time out. The boys and I are gonna give Eli his last gift now.” He took the antlers off his head and tossed them on the table next to him.
Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and Jonah yelled out, “Ma! Get in here!” She ran in from the kitchen, a towel in her hands, and sat on the arm of the chair Eli’s dad was in.
“What’s going on?” Eli squirmed on the couch next to Jake, his whole family looking at him with goofy smiles full of anticipation. “Seriously, you’re all acting weird.”
“Nick, you wanna grab the box from under the tree?” Nick nodded and reached over, pulling a box from way back under the tree. Eli hadn’t even noticed there was one left. Jake’s leg that was pressed up against Eli’s started bouncing and he wiped his hand on his jeans.
Damn, he’s really nervous.
Nick handed Eli a present the size of a shirt box. Eli looked around the room one more time before Dylan whined, “Open it already.”
“Okay, okay.” He tore the brightly colored paper off the box and handed it to Nick to put in the garbage bag next to him. Carefully, he lifted lid and inside was a note:
Your mission, should you choose to accept…all of it.
Eli chuckled and arched an eyebrow at the boys. “Should I be scared? You’re not going to challenge me to a bug eating contest or something, are you?”
“Just keep going,” Nick urged impatiently. “Lift the tissue paper.”
Eli lifted the thin tissue to find…more papers. Forms, actually. He read the top of the first form. Guardianship? His watery eyes shot up as he looked at the boys then turned his head to Jake. Jake bit his bottom lip, his brows furrowed, and that knee was bouncing rapidly. “Are you serious?”
“We talked about it a lot, right guys?” Jake asked the boys. His eyes met Eli’s again. “You already take care of them in every way that counts. The only thing that’s missing is the legal stuff.”
“Can I…? I mean, we’re not married. Will they let me…?” Eli was a ball of emotions and confusion, still trying to process what was happening.
“We can make it all legal, you know…if you want,” Jake replied, clearly riddled with doubt and insecurity. “I want that. We want that. You, me, the boys…forever.”
“Yeah, and then we can call you Uncle Eli once you guys get married,” Dylan added, as usual, easily saying the words Jake and Eli seemed to dance around.
Eli wiped at his eyes and leaned over to Jake, giving him a soft kiss, and Jake’s tense body relaxed.
“Well?” Nick stared at Eli with hope in his eyes.
Eli looked at Dylan and Nick; two kids who, through horrific circumstances, had become two of the most important people in his life. His gaze shifted to Jake; the man who had become…everything. The answer was so incredibly clear.
“Mission accepted.”
He barely had the words out when cheers rang out around the room, and Eli found himself in a Novak pile-on. He laughed as the boys leapt off the couch and happy-danced in the middle of the living room, with everyone looking on and laughing.
“There will be a private initiation later on tonight,” Jake whispered in Eli’s ear.
Eli chuckled and placed a hand on Jake’s cheek. “I love you.”
Jake leaned in and brushed his lips over Eli’s. “I love you too.”