Page 102 of Chosen Road

“This is for good?” he asked, his voice quavering. “I can tell Jace?”

Gus tousled his son’s hair and met his fearful gaze. “Yes, son. It’s over. It won’t happen again.”

Then he leaned over top of Alex, grasped me by the back of my neck and pulled me forward. He firmly and resolutely pressed his lips to mine before dipping down to kiss Alex’s forehead. “It’s over.”

Gus sat up abruptly. “I’m going to check on Yiayia. Make your way downstairs.”

I made big eyes at Alex behind Gus’s broad back and mouthed the words, “So bossy!”

“I can feel you sassing me, Amber.” Gus threw over his shoulder.

My heart skittered in my chest. That boded good things for me later.

Alex’s reddened eyes met mine and he giggled, his breath hitching.

I opened my arm to him. “Come cuddle for a few minutes and when you’re ready, we’ll go down.”

Gus

I rounded the stairs to find Yiayia standing in the no-man’s-land between the family room and the kitchen. She wasn’t dressed yet, she needed assistance still, and looked small and frail in her oversized robe and slippers.

“It’s all good, Yiayia.”

“I heard Alex crying, crying hard,” she prodded, her face concerned.

I smiled. “Amber and Alex are moving home, Yiayia.”

“Agori mou,” she whispered, then did her cross. “Thank, God.” She waved her hand at me as if she was going to spank me and laughed. “I told you God is helping! Alex is happy?”

“He is not too sure right now that it’s not too good to be true, but yes, he’s happy.”

“Kala,” she chirped happily, her face transformed with smiles.

I leaned over and gave her a gentle hug and a kiss on her wrinkled cheek. “How about I make you a Greek coffee, Yiayia?”

“Okay! I tell you how to do it.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Yiayia, you’ve been telling me how to do it for weeks now. You still think I can’t do it?” I protested.

“Kala, you right.” She shuffled over to me and reached for my face.

I bent low so she could reach me.

“I am so happy right now. Bravo, agori mou. You did it.”

I laughed and winked at her. “You helped.”

A thought struck me. “You want to see one of my tattoos?”

“One of your tattoos? How many you got? Is no good to mark your body, agoraki mou!” she scolded.

I lifted up my shirt to show her the olive branch.

She looked at me skeptically, then put her glasses on to better see it. “You put olives to be for Amber? Is not very romantic, agori mou.”

I chuckled. “Look closer, Yiayia. You see that word there?” I pointed to her name, and she gasped.

“Ekaterine. Is me.”

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