Page 48 of Love Set Me Free

Kaelis, their youngest daughter, ran out of the house, her pigtails flapping in the wind. She jumped into her sister’s arms and peered at her brother and dad and then at her mom.

“Mama, they fighting again.”

Paisley chuckled before smoothing back Kaelis’s hair. “Jace didn’t get a brother, so your daddy thinks it’s his duty to rough him up from time to time.”

“Who’s gonna rough him up when he leaves?” Kaelis asked, cocking her head to the side and genuinely curious.

Paisley cherished these moments with her youngest daughter. At five years old, she was at that age where she questioned everything and left nothing unanswered.

When she looked back at her husband and son, who were now playfully boxing, Paisley felt tears fill her eyes as panic took its hold on her. Jace was leaving for college in the morning, and Paisley had been an emotional wreck all summer. She knew it was a trauma response manifesting decades later, so she did her best to keep it under control, but it became harder to do.

Kydrick was arrested as a freshman. Kydrick spent his college years in prison. Kydrick had become a statistic to the system at the same age their oldest child was now. She breathed in and held it to the count of five before breathing out and smiling at her daughter.

“I’m sure he’ll make some friends to do it.”

“Yeah, right,” Jace called out. “Ain’t nobody gon’ punk me, Ma!”

Paisley shook her head. “Come on, you two.”

Her girls followed her down to the beach, which was right behind their backyard. They bought this house twenty years ago, and Paisley was so glad to grow old here. The beach at their fingertips was something she absolutely loved. They owned this small section, and it had been the setting for many family gatherings. It was her favorite place on their property.

Eventually, the kids ran ahead of them, and Kydrick caught up to her, grabbing her hand. They watched as their children tore into the water. Their little fishes with the biggest personalities.

Jace’s middle name was Laverne, which was Kydrick’s dad’s name. He was the leader of the pack, strong and proud, looking just like his daddy. He even had the locs like Kydrick had years ago.

Though Paisley was afraid of him going off to college, she and Kydrick had many talks with him. They were open with him about their experience at his age and drilled into his head to make smart decisions and surround himself with good people. He had a good head on his shoulders, so Paisley had all the hope in the world for him.

Then there was Nadia, named after Kydrick’s mom. She was fourteen with an attitude that was out of this world, but Paisley understood it was only because she was trying to find her place in the world. Underneath that attitude was the sweetest soul she had ever met. Nadia was her twin and took after her in a lot of ways—her love for jewelry being one.

Kaelis Alyssa Sutherland had her grandmother’s middle name. Alyssa passed away five years ago, only days after Kaelis was born. Paisley’s mom waited until her grandbaby was born to pass on, and Paisley would forever be grateful to her for that. It had been a long battle with cancer, and she knew her mother was tired. There wasn’t a day that went by where Paisley didn’t need her mother. She missed her fiercely, but she knew the daywould come where she would see her again. That thought always comforted her.

“You gonna get in?” Kydrick finally asked, breaking Paisley out of her thoughts.

For some reason, Paisley’s eyes watered. She knew after tomorrow their family dynamic would change. They had been through many changes through the years, new additions, and deaths, but this one felt particularly odd for her. It was heartbreaking but also promising wrapped in one.

She sniffled. “In a bit.”

Never needing words to understand his wife’s feelings, Kydrick pulled her close, forcing her to look up at him.

“Thank you,” he muttered, peering down at her, his gray speckled beard glistening under the sunshine.

“For what?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and lifting her hand to block out the beaming sun while a lone tear fell from her eye.

He pecked her lips. “For giving me this beautiful life. For always loving me. For setting me free.”

Paisley looked up at him in wonder. It had been over twenty years. Twenty glorious years since he walked out of that prison and into her arms, and he had yet to understand that she was the one that was thankful.

“You still don’t get it, do you?” she teased.

“Get what, Pooh?”

She squinted her eyes against the sun as she looked up at him, a grin spreading across her face.

“It’s you I should be thanking. You have no idea how happy you’ve made me. You have no idea how you’ve shaped my life.”

He shook his head. “All I can see is what you’ve done for me. All I can see is you. I’m so in love with you.That’sthe truth. The only truth.”

She heard the teasing tone in his voice. It was something they bickered over often—how much they loved each other or who loved who more. She beamed at him, and when he pressed his warm palm into her cheek, she leaned into his hand, basking in the moment.

She thought about her life as a child and her secret crush. She thought about the moments during her teenage years where she had to watch from the sidelines as her best friends fell in love with each other. She thought about Kydrick’s time in prison and how she threw herself into a career she hated and allowed his case to consume her. She thought about the heartbreak when he came home only to leave her again.

Then she thought about their time apart and how she slowly learned to live again. Kydrick coming back into her life allowed the last piece of the puzzle to click into place, and she had finally been freed from the shackles of her past and could fully step into her future. This future. This beautifully wonderful future that held so much more for the two of them before they reached their final resting place.

When her eyes opened, she exhaled a breath of contentment and whispered, “The truth…onlytruth is this… yourLove SetMeFree.”

The End

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