Matt sat back in the chair. It was comfortable, worn just enough to feel like an old friend. That was the entire point, he supposed, but he’d take it. In the last few weeks, the stress that had felt ingrained in his bones had finally started ebbing away. Almost unnoticeably at first, but gathering steam a little more every day. One day, he realized he’d slept soundly, not waking even once through the night. Another day and a whole morning had gone past before he’d realized he hadn’t felt the almost constant clench of fear around his heart for hours. When Lauren had looked up at him from her spot on the couch, Matt’s heart had instead been filled with love, and when Brayden had smiled at him, Man, that had made him feel like he owned the world. He grinned to himself then, just remembering the moment.

“So, I take it Brayden took the news well?” his therapist asked.

Matt laced his fingers together, his hands lying in his lap, loose and comfortable. He looked up at the doctor and widened his smile. “Better than either Lauren or I hoped, to be honest.” His shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “We were expecting anger at first, like we spoke about, maybe even rejection, but Brayden was amazing.” The memory still took Matt’s breath away. Brayden had looked nearly as nervous as Matt had felt when he and Lauren sat the boy down and told him they needed to have a chat. It was important, she’d said, but a good kind of talk. That hadn’t stopped the worry from flitting over Brayden’s face. He was definitely entitled to be worried, after everything that the world had already thrown at him in his young life. He was seeing a therapist as well, someone who specialized in childhood trauma. Lauren had suggested it, and Matt had readily agreed. There was no way he wanted Brayden to feel a moment of guilt or lingering fear from everything that had gone on with Victor and the fuckers who had abducted him and his mom that day. Matt had lived with what he now acknowledged was PTSD for eleven long years, and he’d move heaven and earth with his bare hands to prevent that from happening to his son.

His son.

He shook his head, chuckling. He still couldn’t believe it. Some mornings, he’d just stand in the doorway to the kitchen, watching Brayden bustle around setting the table or putting bread in the toaster. He’d really stepped up to the plate, helping out while Lauren was out of commission. When Matt was on shift, that meant it was overflowing bowls of sugar-packed cereals and toast with jelly slathered nearly an inch thick for just about every meal, but he didn’t think Lauren cared. Neither did he. As long as they were both safe and happy in his home, Matt didn’t think he’d ever care about anything else ever again.

His therapist smiled. “And you? How have you been coping this week? The trial’s coming up soon, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “We’ll be starting prep for that with the lawyers in a couple of weeks. Lauren and I are both testifying, but we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to leave Brayden out of it.”

“Have you thought more about the coping strategies we talked about last time?”

He had. At first, it had been terrifying, the thought about telling the courtroom—and what would likely end up the entire world—about the night that Victor Mancini’s right-hand man had killed his father and changed Matt’s entire life. Everyone would know every facet of his past, every detail he’d tried to hide for eleven long years. For just a second, he’d wondered if he’d even be able to do it. But then he’d looked over at Lauren resting on the couch, recuperating from her injuries, and it wasn’t even a question. He’d do whatever was needed to put that asshole behind bars. Nothing was too much to ask to keep his family safe.

He smiled at the doctor. “I’m good, but don’t worry,”—he tapped at his cell, which was resting in his pocket—“I have your number.”

The therapist grinned. “Voluntarily calling me. Now that is progress.” He leaned forward, shaking Matt’s hand. “I’m really proud of you. You’re doing great. Enjoy your break, Matt, and I’ll see you when you get back.”

After saying his goodbyes, Matt jogged quickly down the stairs and out into the sunshine. After all, the most important people in the world were downstairs, and he didn’t want to keep them waiting any longer. He stepped past his truck, loaded with their bags, and walked over to the cafe across the street, where Lauren and Brayden sat waiting for him to finish his appointment. Lauren was sipping on a coffee, her arm still in a sling, and Brayden sat in front of the biggest chocolate milkshake Matt had ever seen. Coming from someone who ate regularly with the guys from the firehouse, that was definitely saying something.

Lauren’s arm would take a while to heal entirely, but she looked happy and healthy, the pink glow back in her cheeks. He’d nearly lost his mind when she’d collapsed in his arms back in New Orleans, and his panic hadn’t calmed entirely until he’d been shown back to her room at the hospital and he’d been able to see with his own eyes that she was okay.

Jogging up to the cafe, he leaned down and took her mouth, kissing her, feeling her lips curve against his when Brayden let out a loud wail.

“Grooooossss!”

Matt laughed out loud. If Brayden was comfortable enough to be grossed out by their kissing—and to voice his displeasure so loudly—then they were finally a real family. He picked up Lauren’s hand and helped her from her seat, brushing his fingers over her engagement ring. He’d get her to the altar tomorrow if he could, but he wanted to wait until she was fully healed. He was going to give her the wedding he’d always wanted with her, making them a family for life. They were his life now, and would always be.

They walked over to the truck, Brayden running ahead to open his mom’s door. Matt grinned. Maybe his enthusiasm would wear off eventually, but between Brayden and Matt, he was determined that Lauren didn’t need to lift a finger for the next two weeks.

It was funny. He’d never wanted to take a vacation before, scared to even step out of Monroe, and now he couldn’t wait. In just two short weeks, they’d be back in Monroe, and he’d set about making Lauren and Brayden his officially. Until then, they had fourteen days of peace and quiet to enjoy, time to enjoy as a family.

His family.

Matt shut Lauren’s door and then walked around to the driver’s side, checking in the rearview mirror that Brayden had his seatbelt on before Matt started the truck and pulled out in the street. The whole process was so everyday, so normal, and he loved every second of it. That was his happily ever after, right there. His son, and the love of his life, soon to be his wife. Matt grinned, lifted Lauren’s hand, and kissed her palm before turning onto the highway and toward their future. Together.

Thank you so much for reading Matt and Lauren’s story. to be the first to know when the next Southern Heat book is published.