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A chill went through me. My baby pictures? Mom and Dad would be in those photos. I hadn’t seen a picture of either of them since Honor took them all down right after they died. Was he going to hide those, too? Fuck, I almost wished he hadn’t found them.
A warm laugh pulled me from my thoughts. “Look at him,” Honor was saying, his eyes shining as he held the book open for Ziggy. “Trouble from the start.”
I frowned and handed the last record off to Ghost. “Let me see that.” I shouldered past Ziggy, expecting to see a picture of me doing something rotten as a kid. Instead, the image Honor was pointing to was of my dad, Kit.
He was surprisingly short, and covered almost head to toe in brown fur except for his hands and feet, which were black. He was grinning ear to ear, standing stark naked except for a towel, which barely covered anything. It certainly didn’t cover his giant balls. He was grinning sheepishly at the camera while sitting in the bath with a red-faced, screaming baby.
“That’s you,” Honor said, his voice small as he pointed to the baby. “You fucking hated baths. Always screamed like you were dying, though you screamed a little less with Kit. He spoiled the shit out of you.”
“What’s wrong with that man’s testicles?” I asked, almost in horror.
Honor grunted. “Nothing. It’s a Pomtuki thing. The males all have that. Giant freaking balls like damn watermelons. Normal sized dicks though, so I have no idea where you got that from.”
“Oh my god.” I covered my face. “Can we not?”
Honor flipped the page, and I peeked out from behind my eyes. My heart clenched at the image of a beautiful, smiling woman in a blue bathing suit and sunglasses. She was holding me in her arms while I tried to shove my whole fist in my mouth. Kit was in the background, standing in the sand with a stripe of white over his nose and plastic blow up floaties on his arms.
“Jesse,” Honor said. His voice sounded as tight as my heart felt.
“She was beautiful,” I said. I’d seen her before, but it’d been so many years that I’d nearly forgotten about her high cheekbones, dark hair, and big, warm smile.
“She was,” Honor agreed. “And big hearted, too. This was taken in Texas. We spent an entire summer out on the Gulf, eating shrimp and laying on the beach. That’s what finally got you over your fear of water, oddly enough. Terrified of bathtubs, but you loved the ocean.”
He turned the page again. There were more beach photos, pictures of seagulls and sandcastles, beach balls and sunsets.
The very last picture in the photo album was different from the rest, mostly because all three of them were in it with me. Honor was in the middle, smiling. He had on a big white hat and a pair of rose-tinted sunglasses. He was shirtless, too, the surgical scars on his chest much fresher. Kit had an arm around his neck and was kissing one cheek while Jesse kissed the other. I was a baby, looking up at Honor like he was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.
“We got a new camera,” Honor said quietly. “One of those newer models with the timer in it so we could all be in the photos. Jesse insisted. Complained I was never in them. I never realized until now how right she was.” He looked up from the photo book. “Your mom and dad loved you like crazy, Axel. You were their whole world.Ourwhole world. When they died I…”
Ziggy put an arm around his shoulders and kissed his cheek.
“It’s okay,” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “I know you don’t want to talk about them with me.”
“That’s not true,” Honor insisted. “Listen, kid. For a long time, my head was pretty fucked up. I thought I was responsible. I thought if I’d been with them, it would’ve turned out differently. I blamed myself for what happened and that sort of guilt…It eats you from the inside out. I couldn’t be the father you needed. I tried. I really did, but I knew I wasn’t good enough. So, when I got pulled away, I just decided it was easier to stay away. I thought you didn’t need me screwing up your life. Way I saw it, I was bad luck. You were safer without me jinxing you. That’s why I was gone all that time. I know it’s no excuse, and I know we can’t start over. That’s not what I’m asking you for. I’m asking for forgiveness, Axel. I’m sorry I wasn’t the father you deserved, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. I’m sorry Ileft, and that I stayed away. I’ll understand if you don’t want to go back to being family—”
“Are you kidding me?” I crossed my arms. “Honor, you didn’t stop being my family just because you were being a dumbass. We might butt heads. Hell, I might not even like you half the time. But you’ll always be my family. That doesn’t change, no matter how irritating you get.”
His eyes went all watery and his chin trembled, but he didn’t cry. He punched me in the shoulder with his good arm instead. “Back at you, kid.”
The door flew open and Mozley sauntered in holding two sealed yellow envelopes. He tossed one to me. “Congratulations. You’re officially dead. And you…Congrats. You’re dead too. Again.” He tossed the second one to Honor. “I’m also pleased to inform you that your residences in Eden, Wyoming have been prepared and are ready for you to move in at your convenience. I’ve pre-arranged some stops along the way for you as well. Remember, driving tired is as bad as driving drunk, and we don’t do that, fellas. Especially when Uncle Mozley spent two fucking days without sleep to get you your brand-new identities, all right?”
“Thanks, man.” I lifted the envelope.
“You about ready in here?” Mozley asked, looking around.
“A few more boxes for the moving truck and we’ll be ready to go,” Honor promised.
The plan was for us to caravan across the country. Honor, Ziggy, Ghost, and me would be going in Honor’s van while all our stuff went in two moving trucks. Hopper, Robert, Charlie and Cupid had all gone ahead to Eden to get things ready for us there. They were going to help us move things in. Cupid had gotten real excited when I mentioned moving involved lifting heavy things. I was excited to have a lifting buddy who could keep up with me for once.
Chris and Ollie were going to come for our housewarming party, but they’d gone back to Antarctica as soon as the medics cleared them. As for Phoenix and Bud, they’d taken off the day before once Mozley cleared them. I had a feeling that had more to do with Phoenix threatening Mozley than anything else. They’d promised to come to the party too and to bring Junior. I was really looking forward to getting to know the little pipsqueak. Every kid needed a weird uncle, and I had already committed to the role.
“Lake?” Ghost asked, shoving the record box at Mozley.
Mozley took the box and nearly dropped it. “I’ll do you one better. We’re putting in a swimming pool. You’re welcome.”
Ghost snorted and crawled in a circle around Mozley in a way he knew freaked him the hell out. “Good Mozley. No eat,” he said and galloped off on all fours.
Mozley let out a relieved sigh when Ghost was gone. “I still can’t believe you actually sleep with him,” he said to me. “You really don’t find him the least bit terrifying?”
