Page 167 of Renewal After Dark

“It’s a huge relief that he’s doing so well. Jace and I are going to visit him and Kelsey this weekend.”

“Tell him we’re all rooting for him,” Duke said.

“I sure will.”

Ace, Tim and Buster from the studio came rolling in, looking as if the Beachcomber wasn’t their first stop on their night out. They stopped short when they saw Duke sitting at the bar.

“Whoa,” Ace said. “He’s finally come up for air.”

Everyone in the bar lost it laughing.

“Haha,” Duke said with a grin. “Where’ve you boys come from?”

“The Scupper. It’s two-for-one shot night over there. We couldn’t pass up a bargain.”

That accounted for their glassy eyes, Duke thought, as he gestured to Jace to put a round for everyone on him. These were his people, the ones who’d been there for him through thick and thin and everything in between. Jace was a relatively new friend, but he’d quickly become one of Duke’s favorite people. Especially after he heard more about Jace’s life and how he’d ended up in prison for a very bad decision and had lost his wife and kids in the process.

“How’re the boys?” Duke asked when Jace put a refill on the bar for him.

“They’re doing great. Growing like weeds and full of beans as always.”

His friend glowed when he spoke of his beloved sons, Jackson and Kyle, who were being raised by Seamus and Carolina O’Grady after Jace’s ex-wife, Lisa, had died of lung cancer. Lisa’s death had been a massive blow to everyone who’d loved her, including Duke.

“I’m so glad you get to see a lot of them.”

“Me, too. I’m very thankful for the way it all worked out. Seamus and Carolina are family.”

As someone who’d never had a family of his own, Duke was endlessly fascinated with the concept of “found family,” or the family one created for oneself. He’d been enormously blessed in that regard, thanks mostly to the people in this room and a few others, such as Rosemary.

After sipping his second beer for more than an hour, he settled up with Jace to head home to the two people who were quickly becoming his new family.

“See you again in six months,” Sierra said with a cheeky grin.

“Won’t be that long.”

“Bring McKenzie in sometime,” Chelsea said. “We’d love to meet her.”

“Will do. Y’all be good.”

“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do,” Ace called after him as the other guys laughed like the fools they were.

“I’ll do my best.”

In the parking lot, he took the time to don the helmet McKenzie insisted he wear before firing up the bike for the ride home. Soon, it would be too cold for the bike, but he was enjoying it while he could. He’d also enjoyed the night out with his friends and wanted to bring McKenzie in to meet them. It’d be no big deal to bring Jax with them. Nothing was a big deal on Gansett, which was another reason he loved it so much.

He pulled into the yard and cut the engine as soon as he could so he wouldn’t wake the little guy. Seeing the light on in his house filled him with a deep sense of homecoming. The house he’d loved so much for so long had truly become a home when they’d all but moved in with him over the last few weeks.

Jax now slept in an actual crib McKenzie had shipped from the mainland, along with a shocking amount of other “necessary” equipment for a tiny human. Duke’s living room was littered with toys, his bathroom counter was covered with girly stuff, and his heart… His heart was full to overflowing as he stashed the bike in the garage and walked swiftly toward the house, where his love waited for him.

It had taken a few weeks with McKenzie to know for certain that he’d never been in love, truly in love, with Lynn.

This… This was love. The heart-pounding, lightheaded feeling of pure joy he experienced every time he laid eyes on her, like it was the first time all over again.

“Hey,” she said with a smile as she looked up from her laptop.

“Hey yourself. Why you still working?”

“Too much to do, not enough time to do it.”

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