Page 64 of She's Mine

“Thanks Mom,” I replied, shuffling back a little to wipe the tears from my eyes.

“Once things have settled down here, wehaveto go on a shopping trip. I can’t wait to spoil my grandbaby,” Mom said, excitement glittering in her eyes.

“I can’t wait either,” I replied, a small grin covering my lips.

Mom slipped out of the room, leaving me to eat my lunch alone, while – I assumed – she went to talk with Dad about me and David.

29

CHARLES

“Come in,” I called, as someone knocked on the door to my office.

I wasn’t surprised when Pamela entered the room a moment later. It certainly wasn’t going to be Alyssa knocking on my office door. My daughter had been overtly avoiding me since she’d gotten out of hospital.

“You’re brooding,” Pamela said without any preamble.

“I am not,” I insisted hotly, then sighed. There was no lying to my wife. “Okay, maybe just a little bit. I just thought, once the Bloodline were caught, everything could go back to normal. That we could finally be happy.”

“The only thing stopping you from being happy, Charles, is yourself. You’re going to be a grandfather. We should be celebrating,” Pamela said, pouring herself a glass of Scotch, before sitting on the leather couch in my office.

“She’s still a child,” I replied.

“Charles, she’s twenty-five. When I was her age, we’d already been married a year. Don’t forget, I was twenty-seven when we had Joey.”

I winced at the mention of my son’s name, hoping Pamela would take the hint and change the subject. But of course, she didn’t.

“That’s what all this is really about, isn’t it? You’re grieving over losing Joey a second time and controlling the only thing you can – Alyssa.”

“I thought he was dead Pamela,” I replied, my voice taking on a hard edge I didn’t mean to use with my wife. “We spent ten years mourning him. I devoted my life to bringing his killers to justice.”

“And you did. You won, Charles. Hernández is dead, and all the other cartel members are in jail. It’s over. You can retire in peace and enjoy being a granddad.”

I couldn’t help the small smile that covered my lips at the thought of becoming a grandfather. But I still had some reservations. “I know Alyssa is an adult, and she can do as she wants, but she still feels like a little girl to me. I know that’s because we spoiled her so much after Joseph’s death. I’m just scared she doesn’t know what she’s getting into.”

“She’s changed, Charles. I think her time hiding away with David really helped her mature. You’ve seen it for yourself – she isn’t obsessed with partying and shopping anymore. She even mentioned going to college. She can do this. And she’ll have David’s support. From all she’s told me about him, he’s a wonderful man. He took a bullet to save her life.”

I knew David had been shot as he and Alyssa had escaped the Bloodline’s hideout, but I hadn’t known he’d taken a bullet for my daughter. That counted for something. “Maybe I need to get to know him better first, but that still doesn’t change the facts that he’s fifteen years older than she is, and that they’ve barely even been together for two months. Don’t you think this is all a little fast and too soon?”

Pamela shrugged. “Sure, it’s not ideal, but these things happen. We can’t change the fact Alyssa is pregnant. The only thing wecancontrol is our reaction to it. And Charles, Iknowfor a fact if you keep resisting like you are, it’s only going to push Alyssa away. We could lose her, and our first grandchild. After all we’ve been through, isthatreally what you want?”

“No, of course not!” I insisted, as the harsh realization dawned on me. Pamela was right. Alyssa was an adult, and nothing I said or did could change the fact she was pregnant and in love with David Gordon. But my behavior could very well push her away. I couldn’t risk that. “I think I’m going to take a walk. I need to clear my head.”

“Okay. I’ll be here waiting when you get back,” Pamela said, rising from the couch. She placed the empty Scotch glass on my desk, and then wrapped her arms around me. She pressed her lips to mine, and for a moment,everythingwas right with the world again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I told my wife, then gently moved her aside, so that I could stand up and leave the office.

At first, I drove blindly around the streets of Beverly Hills and the surrounding area, and soon – subconsciously – I found myself heading towards the hospital. I knew what I had to do.

I made my way to the intensive care ward, where Joseph lay still and unresponsive.

Taking my son’s hand, I stared down at him, and poured my heart out. “I’m so sorry, Joey. I’m sorry I believed the lies and stopped looking for you. And even before that, I’m sorry I dragged you into my war with the Bloodline. You didn’t deserve any of that. You deserved to live your own life, and be your own man, not live in my shadow. If I could take back all the wrongs I did to you, I would.”

I startled as the sound of the heart monitor increased, and then, to my surprise, Joey squeezed my hand back. “Dad,” he croaked weakly.

The next hour passed in a blur of activity, as doctors were called into Joseph’s room, and he was checked over. I called Pamela, and she and Alyssa arrived at the hospital as quickly as they could.

“What’s the prognosis?” My wife asked, as she rushed into my arms.

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