Going Down Easy (Boys of the Big Easy #1)(57)

“Oh, no.”

He heard rustling on Addison’s end of the phone, and he pictured her sitting up in bed and trying to come awake. If Cooper had a bad dream or even just woke up in the night and wanted Gabe, he’d just come climb into bed. But Gabe knew well the feeling of forcing himself awake because Cooper was sick or needed something that required more of Gabe’s brain than just lifting the covers and snuggling.

“Is she okay?” Addison asked in his ear.

“I think so. She was pretty upset at first, but we talked about how thunder is just hot air shaking around,” he said, meeting Stella’s eyes and seeing that she was much calmer now.

A clap of thunder sounded overhead, and a bright flash lit the window. “Oh, cool,” Cooper said from the window seat. He turned. “I wonder how hot the electricity is,” he said, wonder in his voice. “Can we look that up, Dad?”

“Do you know, Stell?” Gabe asked.

She shook her head. “Really hot, though.”

He nodded. “I’ve seen trees that were hit by lightning, and they get black, totally charred.”

“Gabe,” Addison protested, “I’m not sure talking about how lightning can char things is helpful.”

He grinned. Addison couldn’t see Stella’s face. She looked part disturbed and part fascinated. It was the look she’d had on her face on the swamp boat when the guide had first brought the baby alligator out of its container. And she’d gotten over the disturbed part quickly. “Trust me,” he said softly to Addison.

He heard her take a breath and then say, “Yeah, okay.”

“Maybe we could find a tree like that somewhere,” he suggested to the kids. “See it up close.”

Stella’s eyes widened, and Cooper clambered down from the window.

“Really?” Cooper’s ratio for disturbed and fascinated definitely tipped more in the direction of disturbed. “Does that kill the tree?”

“We have a lot of stuff to look up,” Gabe said. “But I think Stella wants to talk to Addison first.”

Stella nodded, and Gabe turned the phone over.

He sat back, crisscrossing his legs, and Cooper climbed into his lap without a thought. Gabe wrapped his arms around his son and kissed the top of his head. He’d always taken for granted how easily Cooper hugged and sat on laps and accepted affection. He understood that Stella was more independent, maybe. That Stella and Addison didn’t have as much lap time as Cooper and Gabe did. But he loved that his son liked being held.

“I know,” Stella said to Addison. She paused. “Yes.” Another pause, longer this time. “I did.” She listened again. “I know.” Then she nodded. “Okay, Mommy.” She paused to listen again. She played with the end of the dog’s tail as she held the phone to her ear, the thing big in her tiny hand. She was nodding along with whatever Addison was saying. Then she smiled.

And Gabe’s heart turned over.

God, he was fully, officially, completely in love. With Addison. With Stella. With having them both in his life. And in Cooper’s life. This was good. It was so, so good.

“Okay, Mommy,” Stella said again. Then she looked up at Gabe. “Yes.” She watched him while listening to her mother. “Okay. I love you, too.” Then she held the phone out to Gabe. “She wants to talk to you.”

“Okay, sweetheart.” He took the phone and cleared his throat. “Hey,” he said to Addison.

“Hey.”

Desire swept through him with that simple word from her, but it was so much more than everything he’d felt to this point. They were parenting together right now. Kind of. And it felt so damned good and right and fulfilling that he knew that he wanted it forever.

“Everything good?” he asked, trying not to let all those emotions spill into his voice.

Cooper still looked up at him with a funny frown, and Gabe realized he hadn’t succeeded.

“Yeah. Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’m great.”

“I think she’ll be okay now. Usually by the time we talk it all out, the storm has passed.”

Gabe looked to the window. “I don’t know. I didn’t look at the forecast, but it’s still pretty strong out there.”

“Well, I’m hoping she’ll settle down for you now,” Addison said.

“It’s fine. We’ll do whatever we need to do,” he assured her.

“But you need to get your sleep.”

“That’s not the main priority here, Ad,” he said sincerely.

“She’s a guest. And she’s got you up in the middle of the night. I’m sorry.”

“Addison,” Gabe said firmly, mindful of the little ears listening intently, “it’s fine. More than fine. I want Stella to know that we’ll always be here if she needs us.” He fully intended for the little ears to hear that.

Addison sighed. “That’s really . . .” Her voice sounded huskier. “Nice,” she finally filled in. “It’s really nice to know you’re there for her.”

“I am,” he said resolutely. “But is there anything you think I should do specifically? Or not do?”

There was a pause on Addison’s end. Then she said, “I think you should do whatever you think is right.”