Page 129 of Other Side Of Never
“Oh, God,” I gasped, sinking into the nearest chair.“I need to sit.I wasn’t prepared.She’s so beautiful.I think I just fell in love.”
“I can see it now,” Nadine teased.“She’s going to be spoiled rotten.”
“Not rotten, no,” I countered.“But spoiled, definitely.”
“The nurse told us not to pass her around too much,” Aaron murmured a little while later as he gently took her from my arms.“And I want everyone to get a turn.”
Approaching Max, Aaron laid his daughter in his arms.
Max stared down at her, wonder stamped on his face.“Thank you, Aaron,” he breathed.
“You don’t get to keep her,” Aaron joked.“But she’s your granddaughter, too.”
After a few minutes, Aaron faced Kian.“Aren’t you going to wash your hands?”
Kian shook his head, stepping back.“It’s okay, I don’t want to…” His words petered off.
“Don’t want to what?”Aaron smirked.
“I don’t know,” Kian replied, sounding lost.
“Wash your hands, Old Man,” Aaron ordered.
‘Old man’ was what he’d taken to calling his father after hearing Kian address his grandfather.
When he popped into see me in my kitchen, it was ‘How’s the old man?’
Visiting the house, he greeted him with ‘How you doin’, Old Man?’
‘Think you’ve got what it takes to beat me, Old Man?’came out when they took their teasing to the basketball court, the soccer field, and the baseball diamond, discovering in each other a mutual love for sports.
And a competitive drive that was not always altogether healthy.
Kian huffed out a laugh as he washed and dried his hands before slowly approaching his son, a wary uncertainty of his welcome lingering still.
Aaron passed Thalia from Max’s arms into Kian’s hands.
Those large, calloused hands that only ever touched us with gentleness, cradled her tiny rump and supported her downy head as he held her in front of him and stared down at her precious face.
Kian’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat once, twice, three times, but no words came.
Aaron gently pushed her into Kian’s chest and secured her like the protective father I knew he would be and touched a finger to her downy cheek.
Then he swallowed, the sound audible in a room where you could hear a pin drop.“I see,” Aaron began.“I want you to know I see everything you’ve done to bring and keep your family together.I’m grateful,” he paused, his chin trembling, “for your example.”
Each word from Aaron’s mouth found its target.
And with no armour in the world that could withstand those kinds of blows, Kian tucked his chin to his chest.
And he cried.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Two weeks later, Kian’s family returned to Sage Ridge, ready to officially welcome the newest members of the family into the fold.
All three of us: Thalia, Jake, and me.
Standing at the altar, a place I swore I’d never visit again, I faced the future promised in Kian’s soft hazel eyes with confidence as he took my hands in his.
