Page 77 of Shattered

Mackenzie cocked a brow. “Boy, don’t you realize, everyone is a kid when you’re sixty-six years old?”

“Old man,” Hayden teased.

Mackenzie smiled when the twinkle of mischief returned to her eyes. “So, I’ve been told.”

Nico pulled Hayden in closer to his body and addressed Charles Franks. “Give me a call when you get the file. Our children are waiting on us.”

“I’ll bring it by the moment I get,” Charles stated.

“Uncle Kal is going to want to see it first,” Hayden added. “You know him.”

“The Judge will be handling that,” D.A. Franks said.

“Thank fuck for small miracles,” Royce muttered. “At least with the judge, Kal can’t blow his top.”

“Might want to give Keeley a heads up. He’s liable to be in a pissy mood tonight,” Mackenzie warned.

Hayden nodded. “I’ll call her from the car on the way home.”

Mackenzie reached out to snag Hayden’s arm. “You need me, kiddo, you don’t hesitate to call me.”

“I know, uncle Mac,” she said the tightness around her mouth easing. “I know.”

Mackenzie released her arm then gave Nico a look and ordered, “Take care of her.”

“Always,” Nico replied, before escorting his niece from the courtroom.

“Got time to grab a cup of coffee?” Royce asked.

Mackenzie hoped his face didn’t show his surprise he experienced at his son’s request. Before they’d gone away to Massachusetts, their relationship had been strained, to say the least. Returning to Window Rock created a chasm between the two of them. Mackenzie had, for the most part, kept his distance, not wanting to force a relationship with his son.

Once they returned from the mission in Northeast, though, it had even been even more chilly. It’d only been more recently, since the twins were born that he had seen a noticeable thaw in his relationship with his Royce. Mackenzie knew it had everything to do with his daughter-in-law, and he’d been eternally grateful as well. Like all Raferty men, Royce included, he’d quickly became pussy whipped. Charisma was a force to be reckoned with since she had found her footing with Royce.

“Always got time for you, son,” Mackenzie said, not missing the small smile floating across his son’s lips.

“Mind walking down toYoJo?” Royce asked.

“Sounds like a good idea. I’ve been sitting most of the day, and I’m not used to being so sedentary all day,” Mackenzie said.

The short walk to the town’s only coffee house was serene. Neither of them spoke much, and, instead of dwelling on it, he focused on the coolness of the day. It wasn’t until they both had their drinks and found the only remaining empty table in the outdoor eating area that Royce began to speak.

“Listen, Dad, I know we’ve not had the greatest relationship since you got back to town. I’ve been closed off and unreceptive—”

“Listen, Royce, you—”

Royce held up his hand, stopping Mackenzie. “I need to get this out. All of it. I need you to allow me to do it without interruption. You can have your piece when I’m done, okay?”

“Okay, son,” Mackenzie promised before taking a sip of his coffee.

Royce fiddled with the lid of his cup before he continued. “When you showed back up in town, I was an asshole. I was angry as fuck with you for leaving me with your brothers for such a long time. I also had trust issues. Both of which I held onto, and one of them almost cost me my mate.”

Even though Royce had requested his silence, Mackenzie needed his son to know the truth. “It was never my intent to leave you with your uncles for so long.”

Royce sighed. “I know, dad. I do. But I spent years feeling this,”—Royce gestured to his chest— “knot of abandonment constantly sitting in my gut, festering and growing. I allowed it to consume me to the point where I didn’t even like what I saw in the mirror. I got to the point where I couldn’t do it anymore. Fuck. I don’t want to live my life with it hanging over me anymore.” Royce rubbed his hand through his hair. “Everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes shouldn’t define us, though. It’s how we recover and handle ourselves after we make them, that determines our future.”

“Son.”

Royce ignored him. “I got lucky and received my second chance with Charisma. No lie, dad, I thank God every damn day she forgave me and let me back in. Without her and our kids, I’d be a shell of a man. So, I want to give our relationship another chance. I want you in our lives. Not just the kids and Charisma, but mine also.”

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