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"You were so upset that I was leaving, and with good reason," Knight murmurs.
"Call it a sister’s intuition. I was so scared, and I didn’t know why. I was convinced I was never going to see you again. Not that I could tell you that. I didn’t want to upset you. Not before you left on such an important assignment, too." She bites the inside of her cheek. "Knowing now what you do, would you have gone?"
"Absolutely. Knowing what I do now, I’d have made doubly sure that nothing stopped me. I was there for Adam, and for the rest of my team. And while I’ll never completely get over what happened, now I know it wasn’t my fault. I know I may never get over the trauma, but it will fade with time."
She swallows, then turns to me. "I have you to thank that he’s going to therapy, huh?"
I blink, then nod at Knight. "It was all him. He’s the one who told me he was ready. I helped him find someone who I thought would be well-suited to his needs. But the initiative to start the sessions and to do the work, that’s all Knight."
It’s only been a few days, but it’s amazing how the will to move on from the trauma is accelerating the process of healing.
"I couldn’t have done it without Penny." His lips curve, and the look in his eyes is so possessive and filled with so much adoration, I'm sure my heart literally stops, then starts again.
"The incentive to be the kind of man she deserves spurs me on to do better every day," he says in a low voice.
"You guys… My work here is truly done." She sniffles.
Knight tears his gaze from mine. "Hey sis, didn’t mean to make you cry."
Abby fans herself. "These are happy tears, you goofball." She leans up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "You make me so proud to be your sister, Knight. You’re the best big brother anyone could have asked for. Also"—she inclines her head in my direction—"if you hurt her again, you’ll have me to contend with."
"I’d kill myself before I do that," Knight murmurs. And the tone of his voice indicates he’s not kidding.
"Please, can we not say the K-word again?" I rise up from my chair and walk over to him.
Knight instantly wraps his arm about me and pulls me into his side. "Whatever you say, baby."
Abby chuckles. "On that note, I’m off. Don’t forget—tomorrow, six p.m." She levels a final glance at Knight before she saunters off.
"Is it me, or is my sister’s confidence in herself growing?" he murmurs.
"The love of a good man." I slide my palm over the soft material of his suit jacket then, because I can and because he’s there, I bury my nose in his shirt and sniff. His sea-breeze and pepper scent fills my senses, and I melt into him.
"I don’t deserve you, baby, but I’ve never been as at peace as in the last few days. Seeing you first thing in the morning and the last thing before I go to bed… Not to mention, whenever I start missing you—which is always, by the way—I only have to walk out of the office, and there you are. It makes me feel like the luckiest man in the world." His phone buzzes. He ignores it and holds out his palm. Without question, I place my hand in his. He brings my fingers to his mouth and kisses them. Then, he notches his knuckles under my chin and peers into my eyes. "It’s not that I can’t live without you."
"No?" I frown.
His lips twitch. "It’s that I don’t want to try. I love you, Penny." He lowers his head and places his lips over mine. "More than myself. My life is worth living because I found you. I know what love is because of you, baby." He presses his mouth to mine, and his kiss is so sweet, so tender, so everything, I melt into him.
I wrap my arms about his shoulders and tug on the short hair at the nape of his neck. I press myself to him, open my lips, but when the phone buzzes again, I stop. "I think you need to get that. Whoever it is has been trying to reach you for a while."
He presses his forehead into mine and draws in a breath. Then, without releasing me, he pulls out his phone and presses it to his ear. "Hello?" His arm around me tightens. "We’re on our way."
73
Knight
"It’s going to be okay." She places her hand over my joined ones.
We’re at the social services’ office, waiting to meet Adam’s daughter Bianca. She’s been staying with a foster family the last few months. All of my money hadn’t helped me fast-track the process of adopting her. I suppose that says something positive about the foster care system—they won't allow just anyone to adopt, regardless of how much money they have. On the other hand, it can't be healthy to delay the placement of children with their adoptive families.
In the end, Bobbie's passing away accelerated the process. She went to sleep and never woke up. The nurse at the hospital told us she passed peacefully. The call I received was from the hospital, and when we arrived, they told us the news. They mentioned she’d had lucid moments over the past few months, when she was aware I wasn’t her husband, but her husband’s friend. Unfortunately, she flitted in and out of reality. Luckily, one of those lucid moments also resulted in a letter to child protective services specifying her wishes that Penny and I be permitted to adopt her child.
She said she couldn’t think of a better couple to step in for her and Adam.
She also said she hadn’t wanted her daughter to see her in the state she was in, so she’d made the decision not to see Bianca, even though it broke her heart. This was right for her daughter. She was leaving the stage wide open for Penny and me to walk into Bianca’s life as her parents.
The letter gutted me. I’m not ashamed to say I found a tear running down my cheek. Thankfully, my wife was there to console me. We held onto each other, and I allowed myself to absorb comfort from her. After all, that’s what marriage is about, right?
