Page 46 of At Last

“Okay,” she says, the corners of her mouth drop, she sounds almost hurt. Fuck I gotta give her something, but I can’t tell her ’bout the photos yet, not ’til we know more. Got Peaches covered. She’s safe, no need for her to worry unnecessarily.

So I tell her something else, something I thought on out there on the porch. “I was never gonna have a family.” I give.

Caitlin rolls to her side, elbow to the bed, chin to her hand, she waits patiently.

“Married Dawna knowing that would never happen for us. But you know, I had her, so I had enough. Loved her, Doc. She needed me, I stepped in and took care ’a everything for her. Then one day, I didn’t have her.”

“Dawna was your family,” she whispers.

“Yeah. She was, mean kids. After she left this world, I knew aside from my club, I was destined to be alone. And then I meet you. Maybe you’ll think it’s too soon for me to feel this way, and maybe it’ll scare the crap outta you, but honey, with you and Peaches, I got my family.”

She bursts out crying. Did not expect that reaction. She launches herself at me, her arms around my neck, she takes my mouth. I feel her tears, taste her tears.

“We’re… your family… Chief.” She stutters through her crying.

Giving her that, right thing to do. I hold her, her head resting on my chest and hand to my belly. Hold her the rest of the night. Neither of us speaks, and eventually, we both fall back to sleep.

The next few days go as the first. We eat breakfast together, Doc and Jesse drop Peaches off at school, I head to work, then pick her up by six. Feed her, feed Doc when she gets home and then we end up naked in bed.

Peaches loves playing out on her jungle gym. Several kids come to play with her.

Since it wasn’t getting any use sitting in a backyard without a family, Peaches and I drove the truck over to their place to load up the patio set, then moved it back to my back patio. And because now we had this patio set, Peaches and I drove to the home store about half an hour away where she and I picked out a gas grill with an attached wood smoker. Huge. Burners and a prep station. Then we stopped at the store to grab some steaks, corn on the cob and a few other groceries for dinner. Finally we headed home.

Now she’s swinging from one of the swings next to a little girl named Teeny. Her dad, Brutus, got out ’a the joint two years ago. His old lady has the other two kids up at the singlewide. Twins born nine months after his release.

“Another?” I ask Brutus, shaking my empty beer bottle so he knows what I mean, and stretch over to the outdoor fridge Peaches and I also picked up.

“Sounds good,” he says in his slow drawl, and twists the cap from the full one I hand him. He takes a pull, swallows, then pauses. “This is the life.” Brutus keeps watching his daughter play. She’s seven now. Only a baby when he got sent up. “Rex was a good man, but I like where you’ve led the club.”

Wellshit. This comes from left field. But maybe not, when he goes on. He sounds like a man who’s done a helluva lot ’a thinking.

“I can’t go back. Missed the first five years of my girl’s life. Made my wife a single mother all that time. Now I know the club kicked in financially, but I promised her, she sticks with me, never again. Was gonna quit the club when I got out.”

Hell. My brows furrow. “What stopped you?” I ask, then take a swig from my own beer.

“You. Boss. Chaos. Brothers taking us legit with real businesses. I fix cars. I’m proud of what I do. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m giving my girl a good role model. Boss is married with a kid. Sneak’s got one on the way. And now you, the man at the top. Hooked yourself a doctor, and with that comes the privilege of playing daddy to that little girl.” He pauses to take another pull. “The wife and I talked just last night. She’s going to school to be a medical assistant. Something she really wants to do. So long as you keep our noses clean, we’re staying. Just thought you should know.”

“Glad to hear it, brother.”

“You gonna adopt her?” He points the neck of his bottle toward Peaches.

“Adopt her? Never thought about it.”

“Well here’s a little something for you to chew on then. I were you, I’d get my ring on the doctor’s finger. Adopt that sweet little girl, then give her a brother or sister and sit back and finally enjoy the good life you’ve created for all of us.” Then he yells, “Come on, Teeny. It’s getting late. We gotta go spend some quality time with your mom before you gotta go to bed.”

“Awe, Daddy…” The little girl whines.

“We can come back another day.”

He sets his empty bottle down on the table, pats my shoulder, then takes his girl’s hand when she runs up to him. They walk out through the grass to the trailer they’re staying in for the time being.

Dusk turns twilight and the first stars begin to show. I set my beer on the table and walk around the perimeter of the yard, lighting each citronella candle, twenty-four in total. Then pull my steaks from the outdoor fridge and get those on the grill.

Adopt Peaches.

The corn, I pull from the water they boiled in and toss them on the grill, too. Give ’em some nice marks.

Live the good life.

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