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He had.
First with a toe-curling blow job.
Then again in the shower as I’d pressed him against the wall while he’d wrapped his legs around my waist.
“Daddy!”
“Yeah, Peaches, in here!” I called as I began to unbutton the cuffs of Levi’s shirt and roll up his sleeves. My eyes fell on the reddened skin on his wrist. The burn was still healing all these months later, but Levi had gotten his wish. The tattoo was gone.
I pulled his wrist up to my mouth and pressed a gentle kiss against it. Levi’s fingers brushed over my head and then he was pulling me to him for a kiss. The whir of Amani’s electric wheelchair had me releasing him and turning to face my daughter. I smiled at the sight of Henry sitting happily on her lap.
Amani had been home for two weeks now, though I took her to rehab every day and likely would for at least a year until she fully recovered. She’d fallen completely in love with Henry and he with her. While the pair had separate rooms, they were otherwise inseparable.
“He needs changing,” Amani said as she pinched her nose.
Levi chuckled and plucked Henry off her lap. Amani usually fed Henry and helped dress him, but her motor skills weren’t strong enough to handle the intricacies of changing a dirty diaper.
“Daddy, can I wear this?” she asked as she looked down at her pink dress.
“It’s perfect,” I said. I leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “You look beautiful.”
“Will the other kids like me?” she said. “Like this?” She motioned with her chin to the chair.
I bent down in front of her and said, “They’re going to love you and they’re going to love this,” I said as I patted the chair’s wheel. “Remind me to tell you about Mrs. Finney and her wheelchair on the way up there, okay? I suspect the other kids are going to want to see how fast you can get this thing to go.”
“Really fast,” she said with a nod.
“That’s right,” I said.
Levi returned with Henry. I took him and placed him back in Amani’s lap. “Can you watch him while we finish getting ready?”
She nodded and carefully wrapped an arm around Henry as she maneuvered the chair around and rolled out of the room.
“I should change,” Levi suddenly said and then he darted for the closet. I caught him around the waist and pulled him to me.
“No, you shouldn’t.”
I kissed him hard and said, “You’re perfect and you belong at that family dinner because you’re family. My family.”
Levi sighed and wrapped his arms around my neck. “Sorry,” he murmured.
“Don’t be sorry,” I reminded him.
He nodded against me. I knew his self-confidence was a work in progress, but he’d already grown by leaps and bounds. He’d started taking some night classes in the hopes he could eventually get his GED, though he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his career. He was happy at the grocery store, especially since Betty had let him switch his hours to days. She’d also offered him on-the-job training so he could eventually become an assistant manager. Levi hadn’t accepted yet, but more because he wasn’t sure he could do it. But knowing Betty – and I did because I’d met the feisty woman several times now – she’d wear Levi down eventually.
Zane Devereaux had been a huge help in Levi’s recovery as well, since he’d been working diligently to clear Levi’s name. We’d learned just this morning that Levi’s appeal for a new trial had been granted. Zane expected the prosecutor to drop the charges next. The talented lawyer had also continued to work on Hank’s case, though it was proving to be trickier. But with Hank being in a prison where Levi could visit him often and have physical contact with him, both he and Hank had benefited just from that change. I’d met Hank on several occasions and was impressed with the man. He was still recovering from the attack three months earlier, but it hadn’t changed his outlook on things. He’d cried when he’d gotten to meet and hold his namesake for the first time. The look on Levi’s face as he’d watched his hero and his son meet had been priceless. When we’d left, I’d put my arms around Hank and I’d thanked him for saving Levi’s life…in more ways than one. My hope was that Zane could work another miracle and Hank would get out of prison while Henry was still a child. Even if Hank eventually decided to try to reunite with his estranged wife and daughter, he’d still always be a part of our family.
“You ready to go?” I asked.
“No,” he said with a laugh.
I gently lifted Levi’s chin and kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
