Page 61 of Until Forever

I howl with laughter. “Don’t I know it. But what can they do? He’s got to get to a point of wanting to change before anything will happen. If he does manage to stay sober long enough to get the liver, I hope he doesn’t turn around and fuck that one up, too.”

They each make a noise or gesture of agreement.

“It seems the plan worked. You’re a family man now,” Harlen changes the subject and gestures toward the house.

I look past them at the kids and then catch a glimpse of Latoya and the other ladies exiting the house and setting themselves up in the chairs we put out for us all to watch the game.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“It looks good on you,” Wes comments.

“Thanks, it feels good. We’re still trying to figure it all out, hell, we haven’t even told our kid yet.”

“Why not?”

I shrug. “She’s worried it could confuse him if we move too fast. And I get it. It’s more about her than it is him, but if this is what she needs to get used to the idea that I’m back permanently, then so be it. I’m willing to do what it takes, as long as we’re moving forward, we’ll be fine.”

“I feel that. It was kind of like that for me and June. We were married before, and I was going through some shit that I didn’t want to drag her through. I ended up making a stupid decision and broke her heart. Then the fates aligned because I started working at the compound not knowing that June had any connection to them,” Evan interjects.

“So it worked out?” I quiz. “You’re together, right?”

He nods. “Yeah, in the end it did. She was pissed, but when you know…”

“You know,” we say simultaneously.

“It’s been great for us, so I’m not really worried. I know where I want to be, and that’s wherever they are,” I admit.

Wes pats my back, Cobi gives me a silent decree that he’s with me, Harlen raises his beer in my direction, and Evan and Bax remain silent. I brave another look at my woman, taking in her smile and all of her features. She truly is perfect for me, every curve, every imperfection, every beautiful part of her personality makes me love her more each day.

I was young and not ready before, too weak to see that what I had, what Ihavewith her makes me better. So broken by the world and the man who raised me, that I allowed him to get in my head, believing every fucked-up thing he ever said about me. But never again. Time heals, and while I hated leaving her, I’m a much better man for her and our son.

I’m ready to give them the world and take on anything and anyone who threatens to stand in my way. JJ’s laugh cuts through my thoughts, and I think back to this morning and my encounter with the goons in the grocery store. My blood runs hot again, and my grip on the grilling spork tightens until it hurts.

It’s bad enough that whatever my father is involved in has somehow made its way into my life, but in front of my son… I wanted to hurt them, and if this were a couple of years ago, I would have. My anger would have taken hold, and I would have made a very stupid decision in a very public place. But all I could think about was JJ and getting him out of there unscathed.

“You all right?” Cobi asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

I blink. “I’m all right. Food’s done,” I announce loudly and load the meat into an aluminum pan.

“Right on time!” Bax sings. “The game is about to start, too.”

“Where’s the remote to your projector?” he asks.

I reach into my back pocket and hand it to him along with my phone. “The app should already be loaded. Just swipe up and set the phone on the docking station.”

Everyone starts to file out. Bax walks over to the seating area to get the game up on the screen, and the others meet up with the women at the table.

“Hey, Cobi, hang back for a second?”

He frowns. My guess is that my expression tells him there’s more behind that one simple question. But he does as I ask, standing still until after I put the grilled food next to the salad Latoya made. I stare behind me and roll my sleeves up, checking to see if anyone’s paying us any attention.

“What’s going on?”

I signal for him to move out of earshot. The last thing I need is to set off alarms before I have a handle on things myself.

“You’re a cop, right?”

“Detective,” Cobi corrects me.

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