Page 74 of The Biggest Sacrifice

“Someone’s gotta keep an eye on him and Daisy!”

“William! Do I need to break out the mugshot?” Chief hunter raises a brow and gives him a stern voice. And in true Billy fashion, he breaks out his phone, scrolls around for a second and pulls up a picture. Flashing it around the group, it’s his mugshot from years ago.

“Jesus Christ, Bill, that’s nothing to be proud of.”

He shrugs. “Not proud, just a reminder of where I came from.”

Adley leans into him and I notice everyone here does the same with their significant others.

“Tom, I’m so glad you’ve told us. We all knew something was wrong, but we couldn’t fix it until we knew. And we were afraid to push, for fear of losing you altogether.”

My mom’s voice cracks and I realize how much damage I’ve done for years. The half in, half out attitude wreaked havoc on their emotional state, too.

“I’m sorry.” My voice breaks again, and Farrah is there to push me through it. “I never meant to hurt you or force you into the midst of my mess. I just couldn’t let you see that darkness, either. It’s enough that I had to deal with it.”

“Tom, we want to know so we can help. It’s not about forcing us to, we’re family. It’s what we do.”

I might as well keep going.

“I submitted my retirement papers. This past Friday. I’m don-”

Billy jumps from his seat, ripping both Farrah and I from mine.

“Oh, thank fuck! Jesus, Tommy. Thank you. Thank you.” He’s carrying on, and my tears blend with his. We’re all a fucking mess tonight.

Had I known, truly known, this situation, what it did to me, had such an impact on my family, I would have rethought everything I’ve done these last seven years. He pulls away from me, wiping his eyes, and sits back down. I fall back into my chair and pull Farrah with me.

“Congratulations, son. What you’ve done, the time you’ve served, you should be proud. We are all proud of you. We’re just sorry that it came at a cost.”

“It hasn’t been a complete loss, Dad. I’ve learned a great deal from this experience. I’ve learned that I’m in love with Farrah!”

The only gasp I hear comes from her.

“That isn’t news!” Jackson yells out.

Connecting eyes with her as she sits up straighter in my lap. “It’s probably not news to any of you. It isn’t news to me and it definitely shouldn’t be news to her, but because I’m an asshole, like Cash said, I haven’t reported this news.” She laughs and plays with the hair at my neck. “Because I don’t just love her. I am stupid in love with Farrah DeAngelo!”

She’s full on belly laughing now as I yell out that last sentence.

“Tommy! You’re embarrassing me!”

“Let him do it!”

I move forward on the chair with Farrah still balancing on my lap. “And I don’t deserve a second of her time, but for whatever reason, she loves me back. And for all of you who think you know us, and know what we should do next, I’m going to tell you something.” I pause for dramatics, watching everyone’s eyes light up with excitement.

Billy’s right. This is fun.

“You’re right.”

I urge her to stand, and I follow, but then I drop to my knees and pull the ring from my pocket.

Screams and cries circle through the night air.

“Tommy, no!”

“No? Damn, mouse, I didn’t even ask yet!”

She falls to her knees in front of me, animatedly trying to calm me, but I think she’s trying to calm herself.

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