Page 105 of Redeem Me

Though Jacinda and Hector embrace their rowdy side around the Backcountry Kings and O’Malley family, I also teach the kids how to be a Kovak. We practice “crab apple” on a regular basis. My kids will need to walk the tricky line between two vastly different worlds. One runs hot and loud. The other is cold and quiet.

No matter their complicated future, they’ll grow up surrounded by friends. When we visit Thibeaux Mansion, Hector and Jacinda still chat with the staff. They eventually win over my brothers through their sheer refusal to be ignored. And, of course, they wrap their grandfather around their little fingers.

They’re just as chatty at the farm. They laugh at the large men wrestling. Hector eventually warms up to Hicks and Hudson. Ripley isn’t too much older than Olívie, so they often get paired together growing up. Like Jacinda and Hector, Olívie has never met a stranger, is obsessed with the color blue, and adores Sesame Street. However, she never buys in to the Grover thing.

“I am O’Malley,” Olívie insists to her older siblings.

Bear always grins and announces, “I taught her that.”

As much as I enjoy my life in Banta City, I can’t forget the dead man I left on my way here. A little part of me still stresses over what Hector and Jacinda will think when they’re old enough to realize how their father died.

Having looked death in the face and survived, I choose to believe I can handle anything now. The Kovak determination will help me deal with the kids’ reaction to the truth when the time comes.

The two years from Olívie’s birth to my next pregnancy are busy yet wonderful. After several delays, we finally enjoy our Key West honeymoon. Our group ends up claiming most of the resort. Security and staff have a ball for those two weeks. My parents join us and watch the kids most nights. I’m able to run around naked with Bear, wearing only his vest.

“This is all I’ve ever wanted,” Bear says on our final night in Key West. “A beautiful, rich wife with an outie belly button. Funny kids. Lavish vacations. My friends sending jealous texts all day. It’s been my dream for as long as I can remember. I really deserve nothing less.”

Even though I know he’s screwing with me, I agree Bear O’Malley deserves everything he wants. Our road to this moment wasn’t easy. I tried so hard to hate and forget him. Yet, Bear’s affections had branded me. No other man would ever be enough. This life with Bear is what I dreamed of back before I knew he could be mine.

In the end, we both got what we deserved.

BEAR’S EPILOGUE

Some days, all I can see are my many flaws. Probably because one of my biggest faults is my negative thinking.

However, I know I’m a good dad. I hadn’t really expected that about myself back when I was a rowdy teenager growing up on the farm. Never did I hope for a wife or kids. My goal was to be like Zoot. Or if I could become more patient and less stubborn, I might aim to become like Noble. Never once did I imagine myself capable of living Elvis’s life.

Yet, here I am with my beautiful, sweet-natured wife, two blood-related daughters, and four non-blood kids.

Michala is the last kid I make with Natasha. Though the pregnancy starts well, she ends up on bedrest at seven months. Even the C-section is riskier than with Olívie. The entire stressful experience leaves us certain we’re done making babies. Natasha has her tubes tied during the surgery.

Our youngest daughter looks just like Olívie with brown hair and bright blue eyes. They’re built big like me but inherit Natasha’s soft, beautiful features.

Unlike Olívie, Michala is shy and reclusive. She hides behind her brothers and sisters and peeks out at strangers and friends alike. Despite her more reserved nature, she isn’t a shrinking violet with her siblings. Michala never hesitates to run around out back, keeping up with the big kids.

On account of her quiet, watchful nature, many people claim Michala acts like a Kovak. However, she reminds me of myself as a kid. Even before I knew the world sucked, I remained wary. That’s all Michala does by standing back and waiting to see what happens before jumping all-in like her siblings.

For years, Hector is my only son. He shadows me whenever I’m at the house. The cats often follow us around. Once he’s seven, I start bringing Hector to breakfast at Farmer’s Table. A part of me hopes he’ll join my club when he’s older, but I’m not sure he has the heart for the job. Hector is such a fun, open little guy. He loves animals and dress up. He wears tutus when his sisters run around in theirs.

I don’t know if he can still be himself and also ride with the Backcountry Kings. Still, I fucking love when he wears his club vest and helps me work on my motorcycle in the front driveway.

We gain two more sons after Natasha meets the brothers—aged seven and four—through one of her charities. Kit and Jon’s parents had died a year earlier, leaving them in the care of their alcoholic grandmother. When she neglected the boys, they ended up in foster care.

I often tell people I didn’t have a choice with the boys. As if once Natasha came home in love, I couldn’t deny her. The truth is I saw myself in their situation. If I really was like Elvis, I needed to offer the boys a second chance at a family.

Jon is a hyper blond with a big laugh and a habit of stealing food. Natasha starts setting an extra dish next to his to encourage him to snag food from it rather than his siblings’ plates. In the evenings, Jon runs with me around the property’s perimeter to wear out our new puppy, Crawfish. This little trick helps them both settle down for the night.

Older and warier, Kit comes off super fake at first. He pulls the classic, foster-kid routine with big smiles and overly respectful language. Kit doesn’t trust his new luck will stick.

I totally get that, too. He went from living in squalor to uptight, awkward homes. He knew no one really wanted him. His parents weren’t so different from mine. Now, he’s living in a big house with a loving mom and an involved dad. He’s got tons of toys and a fantasy backyard. He won the adoption lottery. If I were him, I’d also assume the good times wouldn’t last.

Like Aunt Fred did with me, Natasha wears down Kit’s defenses. She is always caressing his head or asking him questions. When my wife unleashes her love on someone, there’s no fighting its power.

Kit finally falls for her, leaving him depressed when he worries her affections will go away.

“Natasha is clingy,” I warn him one day as he sits away from his siblings. “When you get bigger, she’ll be all up in your business. I bet she’ll spy on your girlfriends. Real obnoxious shit, but she can’t help loving you so much.”

Kit frowns at me, considering a far-off future where he’s still loved by his new mom. I catch him watching me more after that. He views me as a straight shooter. If I say something is real, he’s more likely to believe it.

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