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Mo pressed a hand to his chest and inhaled a shuddering breath when he saw me, then reached with trembling arms as I offered Cree his way.
“Mo, meet Cree Aiden Rivers Westbrook.” I spoke each name deliberately, knowing two of them would hit him square on the heart.
His teary eyes found mine and searched. “AftermyAiden?” He took his grandson into the crook of his arm and stared in awe.
I nodded and fought to lock down welling emotion. It meant the world to Jess for one of Cree’s middle names to be after her missing brother—Aiden—and Rivers was their childhood surname.
“Yup,” I stated hoarsely.
Jess’s sniffle pulled my attention her way. I took her in my arms and kissed her forehead. “You okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah,” she whispered shakily. “I just never thought I’d see him again… Thank you for giving us this and giving him a moment with Cree.”
“You’re welcome, Bright Eyes. It was time,” I admitted.
However, if I’d found Mo on our doorstep a year ago, I would have told him to fuck off and never come back. The wounds of my treatment while being held captive were still raw. But something changed in me since seeing my own dad hold Cree in his arms. Something that, since becoming a father, I now understood. It was suddenly important for me to give them both a chance to meet. Albeit, Cree wouldn’t remember, but we could at least tell him the story of him meeting his grandfather on the morning of his first Christmas.
“Dad?” Jess murmured while remaining in my arms. “Just this once, would you like to stay for breakfast?”
The man standing in our living room tenderly cradling our baby was a far cry from the hardened gang member he was every other day of the week. His sharp expression softened and the hard lines on his face eased. A warm smile even broke out.
“I’d really like that, J-bug. If that’s okay?” he asked, flicking his focus to me.
I eyed him carefully before nodding. “It is. Bagel or breakfast muffin?”
“Either will be fine,” he murmured, gazing down at Cree again.
Jess smiled at me with gratitude, and I kissed her forehead again. “Go catch up with him while I make breakfast.”
“Thank you,” she whispered and rose on tiptoes to plant a kiss on my mouth. “For everything.”
When she shifted to Mo and asked him to join her on the couch, I watched until they were both settled, then left them to their cherished moment.
While setting Marjorie to brew again and cleaning out the burnt oil from the pan, I started second-guessing my actions. Fuck, I hoped I wouldn’t regret inviting him into my house, much less feeding him.
Much to my horror, a car pulled into the driveway and I cursed; they were at least two hours early.
Jess’s stricken eyes met mine and her panic grew with each of Hana’s footsteps running to our front door. It flew open before I could meet her at the threshold and my eight-year-old niece barrelled in without greeting.
“Where’s baby Cree?” she demanded. “I miss him!”
I chuckled. “You saw him two days ago, Chippy. And Merry Christmas; c’mere and give me a hug.”
Her arms wrapped around my waist and we squeezed tight. I took a second to enjoy the calm before the storm hit. My eyes flicked from Mo in the living room to the front door as Ash rushed in, flustered and looking guilty.
“I’m so sorry for arriving this early. She’s been up since five and pestered the hell out of me to see Cree. Even her Santa sack wouldn’t distract her long enough.” She grimaced apologetically.
“It’s fine, Ash, honestly. We’ve been up for a while too. Merry Christmas.”
When Hana left my arms, Ash stepped into them. I kissed her cheek before murmuring against her ear, “There’s something I need to tell you, but I’m not sure how you’re going to take it.”
Her dark-brown eyes, exactly like Jess’s, held a weight of worry. “Oh my god,what?” she hissed.
“Ah… well, we had a visitor this morning.”
Ash’s face drained of colour. “And?”
Wordlessly, I angled her toward the living area. Jess rose to her feet, though remained at her father’s side. Mo remained on the couch cuddling Cree. Hana had tucked herself unusually close so she could pet and kiss her baby cousin, but Mo’s eyes locked with Ash and never left.
