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Why had she done it?
Hidden Mickey’s darkness?
She could say that she was afraid of him, or that she didn’t really know what he was capable of. But that wasn’t the whole truth. There was more, another layer—a fidelity, a love that let her see past his darkness to the squalling, helpless infant within. She wanted, in some great sense, to take care of him. It was a wrong impulse, she knew that. But it was a true one.
Henry is talking, telling her about himself, about Catrina, about how he and a private detective had been investigating and finally realized what she’d been doing. She’s listening, trying to understand the winding, twisting path they’ve all been on, the one that has entwined them all together. A strange and unhappy family.
When Bruce comes to sit beside her, the power finally comes back on. Outside, the rising sun is painting the wet world golden. The storm has passed.
He leans into her, burying his face in her neck. It’s the first time she’s seen him cry.
Bruce gave the FBI a back door into Mako’s network, allowing them to collect evidence against him and some transaction Mako completed tonight gave them the final piece they needed to come and take him down.
But Mako was the agent of his own destruction.
She loves her brother, but he was a bad guy. And if he was going to be punished for things he’d done, then it was his fault, not Bruce’s. Bruce hadn’t betrayed their family. In a sense, he’d saved them. He’d chosen right over wrong. A thing that Hannah is ashamed to admit she has never been able to do when it came to Mickey.
She wraps her arms around Bruce.
“Forgive me,” he whispers.
She already has.
48
Henry
Christmas 2018
The table is set and Piper is nervous. She’s banging around the kitchen, her movements efficient and quick for someone carrying a watermelon in her belly. He passes through and asks what he can do. The air is rich with aromas—the ham in the oven, the potatoes on the stove, the flowers on the table. Music plays softly. Bing Crosby and David Bowie sing the 1977 remix of “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Peace on Earth.” Piper’s an old soul. She hums along.
“What can I do?” Henry asks, putting his hands on her slender shoulders. He feels some of the tension there relax. He places a kiss on her head and she smells of eucalyptus.
She turns to give him a tired smile; they both know he’s not much help in the kitchen.
“Just hang out with the wild man,” Piper says, wiping an arm across her brow.
Everyone protested when Piper said she wanted to host Christmas, but she insisted. He knows that she did it for him. Christmas in their own home with the family they’d built. It meant something to him. In fact, it was everything.
“You got it,” he says quickly.
Luke, a born overachiever like his father—is walking early. And he’s tearing around the living room like a dervish. He seems to walk only to convey himself between spectacular falls. Henry arrives just in time to keep Luke from crashing into the towering Christmas tree.
“Buddy,” says Henry, scooping him up. “Chill.”
Luke finally tires himself out and collapses in front of his toys, where Henry joins him to build a castle out of blocks.
The doorbell rings and Piper issues a little shout—she’s not ready. But she is. Everything is perfect.
Paul and Gretchen are the first to arrive, laden with bags and bags of gifts, and piles of food. Paul makes two trips from the car, carrying shopping bags and crockery.
“Not enough food, as usual,” he says after he drops the final load.
Luke careens into PopPop’s arms and Henry breathes a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go run around the yard, little man,” says Paul. “Tire you out.”
Thank goodness for grandparents. Paul never seems to get tired of playing with Luke.
