Page 126 of Perfect Chemistry

I was overwhelmed. I looked at Kai, fell into his chest and cried. All of the guilt, self-blame and self-hatred poured out of me with every tear. I felt the weight of my guilt lift away. They never blamed me. Ty had told them everything about me, and they knew everything about us. Fucking Ty, with his secrets and surprises.

A giggle escaped my lips. Kai pulled me out of his arms and searched my face. “I told you to give this a chance, Kitkat,” Kai whispered adoringly in my ear.

I walked around the coffee table and gave Annie and Tom a huge hug. “I thought you blamed me for taking Ty away from you. I had no idea you had such a hard time. I am sorry for disappearing from your lives as well. I was not in a good place for a long time,” I apologized to Tom and Annie as the three of us hugged each other and cried.

“BO-BO!” a tiny voice squealed from the floor. “Bo-bo?” Ty cried, working her way around the table to me, before Kai intercepted and scooped her into his arms.

“Mommy is fine. She is crying happy tears. No boo-boos. She didn’t hurt herself. It’s okay,” Kai laughed as Ty stared at Annie, Tom, and me with tear stained cheeks trying to judge if her dad had told her the truth.

We all started to laugh when Ty ‘hmmmph’d’ and tried to climb from Kai’s lap again. She came to soothe and there was no soothing to be done, so she went back to the bear.

Sitting back down on the sofa next to Kai, I squeezed his hand. This was the right thing to do. Kai’s eyes searched my face before nodding in agreement.

He passed me the envelope from Ty’s travel bag, and I slid it across the coffee table to Annie and Tom.

“This is for both of you. When Ty deployed he set everything up so that he left me everything. I never spent a penny of his savings or the life insurance, so it had been sitting there all this time collecting interest. He wanted you both to take half,” I told them as Tom opened the envelope and saw the check inside.

“Katie,” he breathed in hard, “we can’t-”

“You can,” I smiled at him. “And you should. Ty wanted this for you both. He worked so hard and saved up so much money to help you both retire early. I am doing this for Ty, because he can’t be here to do it himself.”

Annie took the envelope from a speechless Tom, and pulled the blue check out. “Oh dear lord! Katie, this is too much!” she gasped, staring at a check for nearly half a million dollars.

“Ty was really good with money. He didn’t want the people he loved to want for anything. Please. This was his last wish for you both,” I pleaded. “This is Ty’s last gift for you, Annie and Tom.”

“Gam?” little Tysan asked, staring up at Annie.

Annie looked down at Ty unsure what to respond before looking over to me and Kai for guidance and a translation.

Kai chuckled, “Grammy is ok. She likes her gift, Ty. Are you going to give Grammy and Pops hugs?”

“Hiccc-” Tom nearly choked back more tears as he opened his arms to Ty barreling in to deliver her hugs.

“Pops!” she beamed at Tom, and patted his shoulder then lunged from his arms into Annie’s lap.

“Gam!” she cheered, hugging Annie, and patting her on the back too.

Tom wiped the tears from his face, “She called me Pops.”

I couldn’t help but smile with more tears in my eyes. “Ty always said that he couldn’t wait for our kids to call you Grammy and Pops. We told little Ty that we were visiting Grammy and Pops. She isn’t Ty’s little girl, but I would like you-” I stopped speaking as my voice broke.

Kai squeezed my hand again and pulled me into another hug. “Ty brought us together. We would like you both to be a part of our lives. Little Ty isn’t your grandchild by blood, but you will always be Grammy and Pops for our children. We have every intention of including you both in our lives, if you want to be involved,” he explained for me.

Tom and Annie’s faces lit up with bright smiles. “We would love that very much,” Annie whispered as tears continued down her cheeks.

Ty reached up and wiped Annie’s tears away. “Shhhhh-” she whispered as she placed her head against Annie’s chest and rocked in her lap. “K-Gam. Shhhh. Gam k. bo-bo k, Gam,” Ty attempted to soothe another boo-boo, patting Annie’s arm as she rocked against her.

Everyone started laughing. This child was too stinking sweet for words.

“Grammy is okay, sweet girl,” Annie laughed. “Thank you so much for taking care of your Grammy.”

Ty looked smugly at Kai and me. “Gam, k!” she informed us, patting Annie one last time before going after the bear again.

Tom looked at me for a moment, seeming like he was at a loss for words. “Do you have other children?” he asked quietly.

Kai’s smile at that point was so big it covered his whole face. “Not quite yet, but the buns are rising just nicely as we speak,” he laughed, rubbing my stomach.

“YOU’RE PREGNANT?!?” Annie squealed, jumping up from her seat in excitement.

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