Page 97 of Totally Off Limits

On the ground, there was a small marker buried flat in the earth that simply saidGary Morton.

The three of them stood for a long minute and Sierra realized that she and Mia might be making this whole thing feel more awkward. “Do you need us to go back to the car?”

“No. It helps having you here.” When Mickey looked over at her, she gave him a soft smile, hoping his words were true.

As he shifted his eyes back to that spot on the ground, Sierra touched the band on her ring finger with her thumb. They’d decided on a Vegas wedding and immediately after, she and Mia had been on tour with the band—once she was able to get a passport for her daughter. The band had a week off for the holidays before returning to the road, and Mickey had resolved to close the door to a wound that had festered his entire life.

“Dad…I don’t think I’ll ever understand why you did what you did. But maybe you were just treating me the way you’d been treated. Or maybe you had an addiction I didn’t know about…or were hurting and I just didn’t know it. But I’ve got to let it go. I have a beautiful family now, and they’ve helped me figure out how to forgive you. And I have to thank you, too—because you inspired me to be the best dad I could ever be.”

When he turned to look at his wife and child, Sierra reached over to touch his stubbly cheek. His eyes were watery, but no tears would fall.

And then he smiled.

“That’s all. Rest in peace, dad.”

“You sure you’re done?”

“Hell, yeah.” Bending down, he scooped Mia up in his arms and kissed her on the cheek. “Are we ready to go rip open Christmas presents?”

“Yes, daddy!”

Mia wrapped her little arms around her father’s neck, and he smiled at Sierra with an expression of peace she’d never seen on his face before. “Daddy loves his Mimi,” he said, echoing Sierra’s mantra.

“Mia loves daddy. And mommy!”

This right here…this was the best gift Sierra could have ever asked for. And as her tears fell steadily as the snow around them, her heart filled with more joy than she’d ever experienced.

Because she was finally whole.

* * *

---