I couldn’t believe I got to meet my savior again. After all these years, fate had brought us together because of Eva.
I stared at my mango iced tea. “Eva says it’s nutritious and light. Perfect for your health.”
“Thank you. She’s always worried about me.” He sipped his drink. “It’s delicious. I’ve never had this kind of tea before. Being in this lively town has introduced me tosomany things.” Brown eyes focused on me. “Including you.”
“You’re Eva’s only family.” I drank my tea and sighed. “I never thought I’d get to see you again.”
When we departed that fateful day, I should have asked for his information. But the police were asking too many questions, and I wanted to make sure the boys were okay. Besides, I was dealing with the overwhelming fear of what I’d done. I’d killed many people in that explosion. I feared what the authorities would find. My mind was wrapped around the thrumming danger. Harold wasn’t part of that, so asking for his contact slipped my mind.
“Life works in mysterious ways, Kain. You can’t stop what’s meant to happen, nor can you push what isn’t allowed.” He lifted his face to the clear sky with a purple hue. “Someoneup there knows what he’s doing. You just have to trust in that power.”
“Did you recognize me the day I chased after the thief?”
“Sort of.” Harry’s mouth formed into a smile. “You looked different from the twenty-two-year-old man I remembered. But I had to make sure, so I invited you to lunch at Eva’s.”
If only she knew her grandfather wasn’t being irrational, inviting complete strangers to her apartment.
“So you weren’t being gracious for my heroics.” I twirled the drink in my hand.
“I was both gracious and suspicious.”
“Suspicious?” I asked.
“Two suspicions.” He held up his fingers. “The first was wondering what you’ve become. People change. Sometimes it’s from circumstances, sometimes greed. It’s hard to tell what moves a man.”
“What’s the second suspicion?”
“The way you looked at Eva that day reminded me of how I used to look at my Melinda.” Harry’s brown eyes gleamed with warmth. “She told me I was a criminal for stealing her heart, and I wanted to find a criminal for Eva.”
“I thought that comment was strange coming from an old man.”
He laughed. “You didn’t recognize me, did you?”
“No, you look different.” I gestured to his round belly. “You’ve gained a lot of happiness.”
“Twenty pounds of joy!” He chuckled and patted his belly, then his cheeks. “You’ve gained weight too. More muscle than me.”
Even though I didn’t recognize him at first, I felt a tug of familiarity.
“I should have asked for your information back then,” I admitted.
“I was going to give you my number but decided it was safer for both of us to go our separate ways.” He patted my arm. “After what you told me, I feared for myself and my family. I thought I could reach out later when things settled.”
If Harry hadn’t found us that night and driven us to safety, I didn’t know how my friends and I would have made it home. Hawthorne’s other men could’ve caught us. We could have died from lack of food and water, exhaustion, or infection. My friends and I got cuts from the thorns and sharp branches obscuring our escape. That night, adrenaline and survival numbed everything else.
“A year later, I looked into you and the boys. You seemed to do well, and I left it at that. But I thought about you all the time.”
“We wondered about you too.” Over the years, questions emerged as I flipped back to that night.
“How are the boys doing?” Harry asked.
“They’re doing fantastic. We talk about you constantly.”
“So that’s why my ears have been itching.” He tugged at them.
“I haven’t told them about you yet. They’d be thrilled to meet you. Are you okay with that?”
“Of course.” His eyes sparkled. “You’re all family to me.”
