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“Maybe,” Callum chuckles with a glint in his eyes, letting me know he agrees with that sentiment.
“All right,” I say, feeling the relief of our decision lifting all the weight off my chest.
“It’ll be so weird,” Kieran says, rubbing a spot on his chest. “Not having the tours or the recording time…”
“We still can. You know? We can rent out a studio and create albums. We just won’t put on shows out of town. There are plenty of venues in town we could play at,” Callum adds.
“We could have a big ass show every year at the stadium or some shit. Like people will fly from everywhere just to come here and see us. River could be there, and Ly could get on stage with us,” Rad says with renewed energy, practically vibrating in his seat.
“This isn’t the end of anything. This is a whole new chapter in our band… Our fucking life,” Kieran says, heaving a big breath. “Once we talk to her brothers and let them know, we can talk to her about it.”
“If she finds out we’re doing this now, she’ll try to stop us,” I say with a sharp nod.
“She wouldn’t want us to give up our dreams.” Cal says.
“But we’ve already lived that part of it. Now, it’s time to live our River dream and help her raise Ly and be a fucking family,” Kieran says.
“Shh,” Rad hisses, putting a finger to his lips. “My Little Pretty Girl is stomping down the stairs,” he chuckles when the sound of heavy little footsteps stomps our way. “We’ll talk after River takes her to school. Maybe go talk to Seger and Zepp?”
We all nod in agreement.
“Slow down,” River reprimands in her motherly voice, only earning a giggle in return.
Lyric bursts into the dining room with an enormous grin, running straight toward Kieran.
“Little Blue,” he murmurs, pulling her into his lap. “Good morning.”
“Morning, Daddies,” she chirps, throwing her arms around Kieran’s neck.
“Sleep well, Little One?” I ask, grinning when she spins around and nods with an eager smile.
“I love this house,” she says, staring at Kieran’s plate with big eyes.
“Don’t worry, Little Pretty Girl. I got a plate for you,” Rad says, jumping up and heading into the kitchen with a bounce in his step. “And you too!” he shouts, pointing at River, who winces from his loud voice.
“Coffee,” River mumbles, stumbling into the dining room with a mug in her hand. She groans, taking the first drink with her eyes closed.
As she tilts her head back, I examine the remnants of Van’s handy work. A small burn sits on her jaw from the barrel of the gun being pressed into her skin too soon after firing. Bruises sit around her lips from the force of his grip.
Everything in me wishes I could erase all the pain he inflicted on her. Hell, I’d settle for going back in time and taking him out before he got to her or Lyric.
But I can’t.
So, I settle for taking her free hand and squeezing.
“Have a good sleep?”
River grins at my question, nodding. “Yes. I slept like a log.” Liar. She was up more times than I can count checking on me. Or switching beds, trying to get comfy. The bags under her eyes don’t lie. The dimmed light in her eyes doesn’t lie.
“Breakfast, my ladies,” Rad coos, setting a plate in front of River and a smaller one in front of Lyric.
“Pancakes!” Lyric celebrates with a tiny clap, digging into the food.
“She’s going to become a pancake monster,” River quips, grabbing a fork and cutting into her breakfast.
“I love pancakes, Mommy,” Lyric says through a mouthful of food.
“You sure do,” Kieran chuckles, moving her crazy hair out of the way as she eats some more pancakes and sticky syrup, getting it everywhere.
