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Pearl cupped his face and kissed him, like a young couple still passionately in love.
I got out of the truck next and saw Conway and Sapphire on the front steps. Conway had his arm around Sapphire, but he wasn’t watching his parents. With his gaze averted to the ground, he found something else to look at.
I heard Pearl and Crow talking as he held her.
“Our babies are okay?” she whispered, her forehead against his.
“Yes.”
“It’s over? You’re sure?”
“Yes.” He kissed her on the mouth as he carried her closer to the front door. “Everything is alright, Button. Our simple life is safe. Our children are safe. I’m safe.” He held her against his chest as he carried her to the front of the house with ease. He set her on the concrete so her feet wouldn’t have to touch the gravel again.
She was in the same clothes she’d been wearing earlier, but her hair was messy from lying down until we came home. She cupped his cheeks one more time before she stepped back so he could greet their son.
He kissed the inside of her palm before he dropped her hand. He looked at his son next. “Con—”
Conway embraced his father, hugging him tightly. “I’m glad you’re home, Father. I’m sorry about everything.”
Crow stilled before he hugged his son back. Whatever he was going to say didn’t seem important anymore, not when his son said those words to him. He hugged him tighter and closed his eyes, holding his son even longer than he held his wife. “I’d do it again…a million times.” He cupped the back of his head and kissed his forehead. “I love you, son. So damn much.”
“I love you too, Father. I’m so sorry—”
“Forget it. It’s over.” He pulled away and looked his son in the eye. “It’s time for us to be happy. To live quietly. To welcome the new Barsetti that will be here any day. I just hope this is the last lesson I have to teach you.”
Conway stared at his father, his eyes starting to water. “I will always need you to teach me things, Father…”
Crow’s eyes watered in return. “Then this better be the last mess I have to clean up.”
“I can’t promise that either,” Conway said. “Sapphire and I are going to need you to babysit and change diapers…”
Crow blinked the emotion away and chuckled. “I don’t mind cleaning up after my grandbaby. But I’m not cleaning up after you anymore.”
“Deal,” Conway said. “Carter and I will pay back every dime you gave them.”
Crow gripped his son by the shoulder. “I know you will. That’s how I raised you.” He moved to Sapphire next and embraced his daughter-in-law, delicately hugging her because of her enormous stomach.
Pearl came to me next, tears still in her eyes. She moved into my chest and hugged me. “Thank you for everything, Griffin. You’ve been such a blessing to this family. We love you very much.”
Love. They loved me. “Thank you, Mrs. Barsetti.”
“I don’t want to hog you too much,” she said as she pulled away. “I know Vanessa is probably waiting by the door as we speak. I was sleeping on the couch in front of the window, waiting for the lights from your truck.”
“I told her to go to sleep. I’ll wake her when I get back.”
She smiled. “I promise you she’s wide awake.”
I smiled back. “You’re probably right.”
She kissed me on the cheek before she pulled away. “Good night, Griffin. Hope to see you soon.” She walked inside with Conway and Sapphire, leaving Crow behind.
Crow turned to me and extended his hand. “Thanks for everything…again. I’m sure that would have gone quite differently if you weren’t there to lay the groundwork. As my wife just said, you’ve been a blessing to this family…definitely not a curse. I’m sorry I ever said otherwise.”
I didn’t take his hand, letting it hang between us.
When Crow realized there would be no reciprocation, he lowered his hand, his eyes filling with disappointment. “Good night, then.”
“I forgive you.”
He flinched in place, his eyes widening when he heard the words I said. He regarded me with focused eyes, as if he didn’t believe the words that came out of my mouth. Perhaps it was part of his imagination. Perhaps he’d misheard what I said. He didn’t say anything, unsure how to proceed.
“You’re a great father. I think a man isn’t only judged by his strength and success. He’s judged by the way he takes care of other people, even if those people don’t deserve it. I see the way you respect your wife, treat her like a queen, and put her before yourself. I see the way you love your children, the way you’ve been a great example of what Vanessa should expect in a man. She’s a picky woman, only falling in love with a man who’s strong enough to handle someone like her. And you’ve been a great example to your son, to make him follow in your footsteps.”
