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“Siren and Zeke are okay?” Beckett asks.
“Yes, Siren sacrificed her voice; Zeke, his hearing.”
“And the kids?”
“Rose and Atlas are safe and sound. They aren’t injured in any way we can see. I think Langston has a pediatrician and psychologist coming out to check on them just to be sure, but they seem perfectly fine. When I left them, they were eating a tub of ice cream.”
He smiles at that.
“Thank you, Beckett. You have no idea how much your sacrifice means to me, even if it didn’t turn out the way we planned.”
“It was the right thing to do—no regrets.”
We both turn and look out at the ocean. The sun is already beginning to set. Where did the time go?
“What happens now?” Beckett asks.
Langston returns, standing over my shoulder.
I turn to answer Beckett. “First, we talk to the kids. We tell them the truth or as much of the truth as they can handle. Then we make a plan to find Declan and protect all of us from Corbin, Maxwell, and Phoenix.”
Langston lowers his hand to me. I reluctantly take it.
I’m not sure I’m doing what’s best for Rose and Atlas by telling them the truth. A large part of me still feels like I should hide the truth from them to protect them, but the other part wants to love them openly.
That part can’t be silenced any longer.
19
Langston
“They are going to love you. There is nothing you should be nervous about,” I tell Liesel as we walk back into the house, Beckett trailing behind.
I can tell she’s nervous, her hands are shaking at her sides, and she doesn’t respond.
“Or we can go with the whole hate me thing we got going on. They’ll think that’s a hoot,” I joke.
I tilt my head, hoping she’ll crack a smile—she doesn’t. She’s a woman on a mission, and I have no choice but to go along with it and hope she’s ready to tell the truth. Maybe after she tells the kids the truth, she can start talking to me?
We head back inside, and Liesel freezes. I’m guessing she’s having second thoughts, but I’m not going to let her think too hard about this. She needs to tell the kids who she is. It’s the only way we can be a family again.
“Rose, Atlas, you want to go for a walk on the beach with Liesel and me?”
“Yes!” Rose says immediately.
Atlas nods, and they both pop off the couch.
Beckett walks in behind us, and Kai runs to him, engulfing him in a hug. They all have a lot to talk about, so I take Liesel’s hand and lead her out the back deck, then down the stairs toward the beach. Rose and Atlas chase after us.
As we get closer to the beach, I find a quiet spot and sit down. Liesel doesn’t sit immediately, so I tug on her hand until she takes the hint and sits.
“Are we building sandcastles?” Rose asks.
I shake my head. “Maybe later. We both wanted to talk to you about something first. Liesel is…”
Jesus, it’s harder to tell my kids their whole world has changed than I realized. And if I tell them Liesel is their birth mom, do I have to tell Rose that I’m not her biological father?
I rub my neck, unsure of what to do next when Liesel speaks.
