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Chapter 49
Phin
I woke up late, but still hopefully early enough for morning sex, when I noticed Lizzie wasn’t next to me. I eventually found her at the coffee table, totally immersed in organizing our wedding. She was a whirlwind of planning, and I did my best to stay out of her way.
The only argument we had over the wedding was the location. We had a long discussion about having the wedding at my parents. She told me we could have it at her parent's house, but I knew that my parent's house was the better choice. Despite all the bad memories it had for me, I wanted to give Lizzie her dream wedding. After our back and forth, Lizzie knew she wouldn’t win this argument. My only concession was that I let Lizzie call my mother to ask her for permission. Lizzie didn't tell me how the call went, but I just knew she'd been given the go ahead.
As the groom, I didn't have much to do but call the man who was the only father I had known—Duke. The phone was ringing before I even realized I'd hit his name on the keypad. The third ring brought me out of my deep thoughts.
His gravelly voice hit my ear and calmed me.
"Hey, kid!"
I could hear the reluctant smile in his voice.
"Hey, old man. How they hanging?"
"Pretty low and wrinkled if you must know. The rest is high and hard." His dark laugh rumbled down the line and put me at ease.
"I asked her to marry me, and she said yes. I'd like you to be my best man," I blurted out like it was trapped in my throat.
There was another long silence, and then he let out a long sigh. I wasn't sure I wouldn’t like his answer.
"Of course, kid, I'd be honored." Once he began to speak, I realized it wasn't disapproval; he was trying to hold back his emotions.
"Yes, that's great!" The relief hit me, and the happiness came flooding back to the surface.
"Can you come up in a couple of days? We are getting married on Saturday. Life's too short, you know? My father’s dying and he needs a bone marrow transplant. We went to go see him and he looks bad. Lizzie and I decided we’d be getting tested on Monday to be donors for my father."
My parent’s influence made sure we'd get the results back within twenty-four hours. Duke knew that I'd been working at reconnecting with my family, but I hadn't had a chance to tell him about this new turn of events with my father.
He cleared his throat. "You sure you want to do that, kid? I know he wasn't a good man to you. Giving a piece of yourself to him; that's a big deal."
He was right, and I was working through my feelings about it. Duke was the first person to show me I deserved to be loved. "You don't think I should do it?"
"Kid, you should do it if that's what your heart tells you. Remember what I said about following your heart. Don't make the same mistakes I've made. You don't want to be a lonely old codger at the end of your days. You've only got one dad, no matter what kind of monster he might be, but be careful. Should I have a word?"
The fact he would defend me to my family meant so much.
"You're wrong; you can have more than one dad. Having someone's blood doesn't always make someone their father." I heard the big bear of a guy sniff.
"You got allergies, old man?"
"Yep." I sniggered at his response.
Smirking down the line. "Don't worry, it happens to all of us sometimes."
"Fucking smart-ass kid."
"Love you too, old man."
"Yep."
I needed to change the subject before we both turned into pussies.
"Speaking of relations, you ever going to call Gray?" Gray was missing out not having Duke in his life. I knew what a good man he was and an awesome father he'd be to his own child.
He laughed again. "Damn it, kid; you should leave it?"
"Nope, not going to do it. If I know anything, it's that he deserves to have you in his life."
I could tell the smile was gone from his voice.
"Not everyone gets that, Phin."
"Old man, you haven't missed your chance to be someone's dad."
"Fuck, kid, you trying to get me to kick your ass."
I changed the subject, knowing he wouldn't say any more today.
"So, when can you get here?"
"How does Friday at lunchtime sound?" Duke’s deep chuckle reverberated down the line. The sound made me smile, knowing how rare that laugh had been in the past.
"Perfect!" I pumped my fist in the air. “See you then!” I hung up the phone excited my plan was coming together and so was my future.
