Page 89 of Finding Fate

I drop to a squat on the floor, bringing my height to closer match his. “Madden, I’m Mad—”

“I know who you are.”

“You do?” I almost cry out, finding it difficult to maintain a steady voice.

“You’re my dad.” Then he looks at Gabby. “And you’re my mom. Both of you are in the picture by my bed. Pappoús gave it to me.”

My heart sinks as me and Gabby look at each other at the same time. She lightly shrugs, a crying mess, likely thinking the same thing I am. Which photo? “He’s known about you both his entire life. We’ve never babied him,” Gabby’s dad clarifies, looking between us both. “Every visit I tell him stories about his mom . . . and what I know of his dad. He’s always known this is his temporary home. He knows I sent him here after he was born, and that his mother didn’t want him to leave or know he was here. He also knew his mother would tell his father about him when she was ready. I’ll own up to a lot of things, but I’m not a liar. I may have hidden him from you in ways, but I’ve never hidden you from him. If loving my daughter enough to give her a childhood or my grandson enough to give him a fighting chance at a stable upbringing makes me the devil, then I’ll wear the suit.”

His eyes set on mine. “He’s always been yours. I gave him your last name too. I needed you to prove your commitment to my daughter with nothing in the way. Too many kids come from broken homes. My daughter is one of them. Despite what she may say, she misses her mother. No grandson of mine was going to follow in the same footsteps. If there is one thing I believe in it’s family. I forced you apart because of the age gap. You defied the odds and found a way. You gained my respect when you loved her regardless of the burns on your feet. You earned my trust when you made it forever with a ring. I’ll give her to you because you brought her back to life. Break her or leave them and you’ll be the one wearing a bullet. Are we clear?”

I direct a smile at the man I’ve hated since I turned eighteen. My birthday was January. I lost everything a month later. We finally agree on something. “I’ll even hand you my gun.”

He allows only a hint of a smile my way, before withdrawing his hand from Madden’s shoulder. “Go hug your mother, Madden. She’s waited long enough.”

He takes off running toward her and catapults into her arms. She doesn’t miss a beat either, as if she’s been practicing it for years, hugging his small body against her petite one in a death grip and kissing all over his face. “I love you, baby boy. Mommy has missed you so very much.”

I have to wipe my eyes when he wraps his tiny arms around her neck and lays his head on her shoulder, just letting her love him. That’s what you do with Gabby’s love. You let it seep all the way to your bones and experience the way it makes you feel better. It changes you, starting at your core. “Do you want to meet your daddy? I’ve waited for this moment for a very long time.”

Gabby’s dad steps out of the room as I stand, giving us privacy. Instead of taking him from her, I grab her and pull them both in, sandwiching him between us as I wrap my arms around her. For the first time in a long time, I feel complete, and a peace washes over me like I’ve never experienced. “I love you both so much. I’m sorry.”

He lifts his head and looks at me, before laying his small palm on my wet cheek. I can’t look away. All I’ve seen of him was his newborn photo that Gabby has. I’ve imagined him in my head so many times, but it never quite worked out right. I thought he’d look more like Gabby or me individually, but this is better. He got the one part of her I’ve never been able to get out of my head—her eyes. He looks so much like me, though, that one look at him and you know exactly who he belongs to. “It’s okay, Daddy. You don’t have to be sad anymore. I will stay with you and Mommy.”

Gabby clenches my shirt at my side, sniffling every few seconds. I grab the side of his little head and kiss his temple. I don’t have it in me to be angry anymore. I’ll always wish I could have been there when he was born, to see him grow up to this point, but I’m here now. Things could have turned out so much worse. Strangers don’t have my son. I have him. I’m going to celebrate that. I’ve spent too many years filled with hatred. Bitterness has been my poison for as long as I’ve been an adult. I’m ready to shelve that book and start anew.

Even if nothing comes of the band, I’m okay with that. I’m ready to build a life with my girl and my kids, because I’ve learned the people important to us are what matter the most. I could have been standing here hugging him for the first time as an eighteen-year-old instead of a six-year-old. I could have had to bury my girl like Riggan did Abby. But instead, I’m getting them both back with a bonus next summer. That’s enough of a blessing to let the bullshit go.

“I’d like that, buddy,” I tell him. “You and Mommy make me happy.”

“Daddy.” His dark eyes bore into mine like he’s thinking. “Pappoús said he’s Mommy’s daddy. Do you have a daddy too?”

And if my heart wasn’t already broken in two, it just split for sure. My parents are going to be heartbroken, and even though they’re conservative people, it’s not likely going to be because I have a son out of wedlock, but more because they’re going to meet their first grandchild at their door instead of in a hospital room like they will their second when it’s born. “I do, buddy. I have a mommy and a daddy, and a brother too. They’ll all be excited to meet you.”

“So I have another Pappoús and Giagiá?” he asks, his brain turning with information, and it’s getting harder to control my emotions.

“Yeah, Madden, you do.”

Gabby kisses his cheek, her stare pointed at me, and because she’s always been so in tune with me, she confirms she can feel the ache in my heart by mouthing,I’m so sorry.

I lean in and kiss her trembling lips. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You hear me? You made sure he got to live, and that’s the only part I’ll ever hold on to. When it counted, you gavehimlife, despite everything working against you. We’re going to come out of this stronger than when we went in. I’ll never leave you again.”

“I love you, Maddox,” she says. “Let’s go pack his things, and then I’ll introduce you to my grandmother. She’s softer than the rest.”

I nod, but when she turns to leave with him still in her arms despite his size against hers, I stop her, already grabbing for him. She’s short and he’s a kid, not a baby or toddler, and even though she’d die before admitting it, I can see she keeps adjusting her hold on him because she’s struggling. “Gab, let him—”

“I know he can walk. I just want to hold him a little while,” she pleads with just a look. It’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.

I know you didn’t get to, baby.

I’ve also been asking her a lot of pregnancy questions. It’s my way to find out information, which means I know she shouldn’t be carrying that much weight for long periods of time, especially up stairs. “Come to me,” I finish. “That’s what I was going to say. I’ll carry him upstairs. Think of both,” I hint, trying to be vague.

She hugs him tight as she breathes out, her shoulders trying to relax. “Okay.”

As if Madden doesn’t miss anything, he holds his arms out for me to get him, making my heart swell. I grab him and lock my forearm onto the backs of his legs on the left side of my torso, wrapping my right arm around Gabby. She’ll likely have plenty of time to hold him, because I’m almost positive he’s going to have to sleep with us until we figure out a new place to live; one that will accommodate an entire family. It’s no longer just the two of us, and that’s the way I intend to think from here on out. “Show me to his room.”

Fifty-Two

Gabby

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