Page 89 of The Run Home
“I pulled some strings,” I said as we cleaned up the wreckage of moving Kinsley into her dorm.
Shae, Bray, and Cassie were down at the dumpster with the last haul of trash. The two of them had developed a friendship over the summer that made everything with Kinsley run smoother. Cassie had apologized for her comment that Shae overheard at the graduation party, and Shae had invited Cassie to join the Pinterest board she created for Kinsley with all her preferred dorm decorations.
Kinsley had surprised us all by choosing a college near the one Tatum went to for baseball. Her university was smaller and better geared to the degree she wanted. They’d still get to see each other often, but I was happy she was looking out for her best interests and not chasing a boy.
“Dad,” she groaned in the way only a teenage girl could.
“I haven’t even told you what I did yet,” I answered, exasperated. Between no sleep due to the baby and Kinsley’s whirlwind schedule getting ready for college, I couldn’t remember the last time I felt fully rested.
And yet I was living my very best fuckin’ life.
I held up car keys to the brand-new Jeep I bought last week and had delivered to the university this morning. “I got you a coveted parking space and wheels. You can see Tatum any time you want.”
Kinsley’s shocked face was all the thanks I needed. First of all, she was speechless, which might have been a first. Just a high-pitched squeal came out of her mouth when she launched herself off her twin bed and slammed into me. For being a foot shorter than me and weighing way less, she somehow rocked my body side to side in her happy dance. Then she released me to snatch the key out of my hand.
“Seriously?”
“Jeep Wrangler, white, brand new,” I said proudly. “But if you crash it, it’s on you to fix it, so I suggest you drive like a girl who has something to lose.”
“Oh my God,” she breathed, staring at the key like it was solid gold. “This is the best thing ever and also highly embarrassing.”
I frowned. “What do you mean, embarrassing?”
Kinsley rolled her eyes. “You pulled some strings to get me a parking space? Ugh! So embarrassing! I want to be like every other freshman here.”
My hands went to my hips. “Youare. If you fail a class, you pay for it. My pockets only go so deep. You gotta pull your own weight. You get caught with a fake ID, I will not be bailing you out of whatever trouble you get into.”
Kinsley grinned from ear to ear. “Perfect! Now let’s go see my car!” I noticed she didn’t argue about the fake ID which meantshe probably already had one. She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the dorm room. Shae and Cassie were walking down the hallway.
“Ah. I see you told her about the car,” Shae drawled, stroking Bray’s back as he snoozed against her chest in a sling.
I stopped Kinsley long enough to kiss Shae’s cheek and the top of Bray’s downy head. Then we all went downstairs and admired Kinsley’s new car. Another set of parents walked by, loaded down with things to move into their own kid’s dorm room, but the mom stopped and took our picture when I asked, extending my cell phone.
Cassie, Kinsley, Shae, me, and little Bray arm in arm in front of the white Jeep. A family. Not conventional, by any means, but ours.
And you’re damn right I had myWorld’s Best FatherT-shirt on.
That picture was going in a frame on the fireplace mantel.
Back home in Blueball the next day, it was the two-year anniversary of Dad passing away. My brothers and I decided we’d swing by the cemetery to pay our respects. Mom and all the wives and grandkids came too. It was quite the crowd now hovering around his headstone. At his funeral, it had just been us boys, all of us in different places in our lives.
Mom laughed as much as she cried, which I decided was a win. She didn’t hesitate to step forward and tell her Willy she had things handled.
“You’d be proud of them. Every single one. They’re good boys and they have even better partners in their lives. We couldn’t ask for anything better.” She lifted her head and looked at each of us. “That’s why he made those final wishes. We’d been happily married for so long, he knew that was your ticket to happiness too.”
Warrick pulled Emmerleigh even closer. Colson kissed Tully on the top of her head. I already stood behind Shae with my arms around her waist, both of us supporting Bray in his sling.
“I’m not quite sure those were final wishes,” I said dryly, breaking the emotional moment.
Mom’s sharp gaze landed on mine. Colton snickered. Warrick grumbled something under his breath.
“More like finaldemands,” I finished.
Mom rolled her eyes and looked back at Dad’s headstone. “See what you left me here with?”
“You know you love us,” Colton said.
“Loving and liking are two different things,” Mom snapped back.
