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I held Aspen’s hand, being there for my son in another way now. His girlfriend was a nervous wreck just like I was, and I couldn’t help but grin seeing what she wore around her neck. Thatcher had given her the ring he always wore. He’d put it on a chain just like his father had when he’d given me his ring so many years ago.
His girlfriend never took it off, squeezing the chunky gorilla ring in her hand. The ring represented community, and many in our small town, Maywood Heights, wore them. The rings and what they represented meant so much to the town, so it was a big deal that Thatcher had given his to Aspen. These two seemed destined, and of course, Knight and I knew what he’d done for her all those years ago with that monster. It all made sense now really. He was protecting her just like his friends when he took her.
I brought Aspen in, and we hunkered down. I think we both held our breaths, gazing from the monitors to the actual football field. All my friends’ boys were out there too, their parents in here with me and Knight. At one point, Knight came over and put his arm around me. I noticed his mother by his side, like she felt safe there even with their distance.
I held Knight’s hand too, and even Bow looked up from her books. She didn’t always come to the games, and this one clearly had her engaged like the rest of us. Dorian, one of my son’s friends, sprinted down the field with the ball, and though I didn’t always know what was going on (I wasn’t a huge football nut), I knew what it meant when the crowd roared. When Dorian cheered and his friends gathered around him. When our son found him and picked Dorian up.
The whole suite exploded, parents, friends. Aspen’s mom had come to this game too, and even she was up out of her chair, cheering and applauding. We’d all come together through trauma, but somehow, someway, we’d stayed together and developed close friendships.
It was our kids, of course, to do that, our miracle kids, and the monitors flashed to a different image than the boys celebrating on the field. They suddenly filled with Aspen’s face and mine beside her. This happened quite a bit actually. Aspen was a celebrity, and her and my son’s relationship was apparently buzz-worthy. The camera man got Aspen cheering, then panned to Thatcher who was still on the football field with his friends. They put the camera right in his face and got the clear shot of him pointing to the stands. He kissed the necklace he wore around his neck while he did. He used to wear a cross during all his games, but somewhere along the way that had changed. He wore a gold snowflake now, something he said Aspen had given to him.
I didn’t know what the snowflake meant to the pair of them, but him kissing it was meant for her. Of course, that made the stadium lose their freaking minds, and Aspen kissed her hands before blowing a kiss toward the stadium. The gesture was obviously meant for my son.
I smiled as Knight rubbed my shoulders. He kissed the top of my head before we both stared warmly at Aspen, who herself stared warmly at the monitors. I didn’t think I was getting ahead of myself by predicting something wonderful in the future for the two of them. I mean, my son was still young yet, but I’d always wanted grandchildren.
“Baby…” Knight eyed me, as if knowing my thoughts. The subject of grandchildren and weddings had certainly come up when I’d realized how deep the two had gotten in with each other. Knight wrapped his big arms around me. “Let them be kids for a little longer.”
He definitely knew my thoughts, didn’t he? How I loved my husband, my protector.
We swayed together, a perfect harmony around us. Beautiful friends, both new and old, surrounded us. Family.
Like stated, harmony.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
Thatcher
Wells scooted past me in the front row, fashionably late, but that was just how this dude was. I eyed him, his seat next to mine. “Nice of you to show up.”
Dorian, Sloane, Wolf, and Fawn had gotten here over a half hour ago. They were up in the box seats, preferring to be out of the fray, but I was good right here in the front row. I wanted to be as close as I could for tonight’s show.
Wells’s eyes lifted, wearing a sports coat and no tie like me. I’d told my friends to dress nice, but tuxes and ballgowns weren’t necessary. Not for Snowflake’s concert. It may be at Carnegie Hall, her dream venue, but she wanted her patrons comfortable.
I was proud of her.
She’d worked really hard to get back here, but that had nothing to do with booking the actual venue. These people were greedy for her, everyone was, but I knew it had taken a lot for her to go back to the place where she’d frozen so many months ago. She’d finished the semester at Pembroke, but right after, she’d decided to have her first concert here. She was conquering her fears.
Again, I was so proud of her.
Her mom was here too somewhere and probably in her own box like my friends. She’d offered me a seat, but I had to be right here up front where Aspen could see me. I’d told her I got her and would be there for her.
“Dude, I got on a plane as soon as I could,” Wells stated, settling into his red chair. None of my friends had to be here today, but of course, they wanted to be. They wanted to support Snowflake, and how good she fit into my friend group. They loved her just as much as I did and maybe even more. The guys had all apologized to her for how they’d acted when she first came to campus, and Wells had been the first in line. Shit, the two even bantered more in our group text than I did with them. Mostly to poke fun at me or give me a hard time.
And I didn’t hate it.
I loved that all my friends were friends with her.
Wells nudged me. “Relax. She’s going to be fine.”
He knew me, so he knew I was nervous, but not because I didn’t believe in Aspen. She just had to be so tense right now. I mean, how could she not be, and I didn’t like being away from her if she was. I’d seen her before the show, and she’d seemed okay but…
“Seriously, she’s got this,” Wells said, and though he could have been up in the box too, he was down here with me. That was something I knew, so I decided to let go of the fact that he was almost late.
I tried to do what he said, relax, and I released a breath before flipping through tonight’s program. Snowflake was performing the show all on her own tonight, with the exception of a well-known pop singer coming to join her for the final song. Apparently, Aspen had had quite a few people reach out when they’d heard she was going to play Carnegie Hall again. They wanted to be there for her too. My snowflake had a lot of good people in her life, a lot of good friends. Two of which were my gram and sister. Gram would have loved to be here, but my parents thought it best that she watch the show from home. That was why they weren’t here. They’d stayed home with her. My sister was tied up too, and when I mentioned that, Wells shook his head.
“If she and the kid could stay out of the library…” he grunted, and I had to roll my fucking eyes.
