Page 103 of The Thief
“Between us, we’ve created our own family. All of you are brothers to me, you always will be. But as with any family, things change. People change. They grow up, maybe they want different things. It’s the way of life. But change doesn’t have to bad; we just have to adapt to it.
“I think that’s what we’re going through right now. Our family is changing. It doesn’t mean we’re any less, or that we don’t love each other the same. But we’ve come to a transition, a junction in the road, and each of us are choosing new paths.
“I won’t speak for everyone here, even though I know a little of what’s going on, but I will let you know where Olivia and I are at the moment.”
Adam turned to Liv, took her hand, and then with a smile on his face, he said, “Olivia is pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.”
Gasps and sighs filled the room, followed by hugs for Liv and pats on the back for Adam.
“Thanks. We’re excited,” Adam said, and then, as the room settled, he added, “But we’ve decided we don’t want to bring the baby up here. We love this club, but it isn’t the place for a newborn.”
“And I’m not lifting a pram up and down three flights of stairs every day,” Liv joked.
“This will always be our home,” Adam went on. “But we want to find a new home now. One where we can raise a family. And we think we might have found it.”
“We put an offer in on a house in Coney Sands,” Liv interjected. “Not far from the beach. And this morning, they accepted.”
“Please don’t think we’ve gone behind your backs with any of this,” Adam said. “We’ve thought long and hard about how to talk to you all and tell you what was going on. And this doesn’t mean we’re turning our backs on this place, or you. I’ll still do my shifts. We may stay here from time to time, if it’s easier for work. But our little girl will be brought up by the seaside, in a place where I can teach her to ride her bike. With a garden where she can learn to throw and catch a ball, or skip, or play football with me as the goalkeeper.”
“He has a lot of ideas,” Liv announced proudly. “He’s going to be a very hands-on dad.”
“I’m going to be the dad she deserves. The kind of dad I always wanted. The dad I know Tyler is being right now, if you don’t mind me saying that.” He looked at Jess as he spoke, and she just nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. “The kind of parent I know you’ll all be when the time comes. But it’s coming sooner for some of us. And some of us...” He stared right at me. “Are already there.”
“We’ll always be a family,” Adam stated. “But now, we’re making families of our own. I guess we’re like a tree; our branches are taking shape, moving us in different directions, but we’re still part of the same whole. Our roots will always behere, with each other. The bond we share won’t break. It doesn’t matter where we are, we’ll always be there for each other.
“The business we’ve built, it’s strong now. We have good staff. Staff we can trust to run things for us. Our... other business. Well, that’s a little more complicated. But life is shifting. We’re heading into a new era. A better era. We served our town as best we could. We’ve done our duty. I think we should feel proud of the service we’ve given. But... and it pains me to say this... maybe it’s time we hand the reins over to a new battalion. Bow out, while we’re on a high.”
The room fell silent as we all digested what he’d said.
“Do you honestly think we can do that?” Devon spoke quietly, as he wrung his hands in his lap. “Step away. Let someone else take control. Stop taking on new jobs?”
“I don’t think you can,” Liv replied honestly, glancing at Adam as she spoke. “But I guess we just have to see where this new era takes us.”
Adam sighed. “I think we have to take each day as it comes. Do what’s best for us.”
Devon nodded and then he took Leah May’s hand and pulled it into his lap, his thumb stroking her as he sat with his thoughts.
I sat forward.
“I’m not sure if I can add much more to what you said, Adam,” I stated. “But you’re right. I asked for this meeting because I don’t think I can live here anymore. Actually, I know I can’t. I have Jess and Ava to think about. And as much as I love you guys, they’re my priority now. I want to be with them. Tuck Ava into bed at night and read her favourite bedtime stories. Be there when she wakes up to make her pancakes and waffles. I can’t do that here. And I wouldn’t want to try. Ava already has ahome; she needs stability after everything that’s happened. And I’m lucky, ‘cos Jess has asked me to move in with them.” I lifted my head to look at each of them as I spoke. “And I want to do that. I want to be the kind of dad she deserves. To be the man that Jess deserves.”
Jess threaded her arm through mine, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Well,” Colton announced. “In the words of the great Bob Dylan, the times really are a-changin’, my friends. Is it a bad time to let you know I’m thinking of taking up a recent offer... changing professions and becoming a stripper?”
“Nothing would surprise me with you, mate.” Adam laughed.
“So... some of you are moving out. It’s fine. More space for us... for now.” Colton smiled and looked over at Will, and Will smirked back at him.
“You do know Colton’s gonna cause mayhem here without you,” Devon said.
“He’ll always create mayhem, doesn’t matter where he is,” Adam replied. “And we wouldn’t have him any other way.”
Epilogue I
TYLER
One Year Later
