Page 54 of Coming Home to You
“Yeah, you are,” she says, her face buried against my chest.“I love you, Beck,” she says, looking up at me now.“I love everything about you, including your family.The three of us just grew even closer after you left because all of us missed you.Just like all of us love you,” she adds, her voice quiet.
“She’s right you know,” Finn says.
I turn and see Pop and my brother standing by the back door.They’re watching us with concerned looks on their faces making me feel like an even bigger dick.
I exhale hard, turning to face them, Kelsey still wrapped in my arms.“I owe you all an apology,” I say, meeting each of their stares.“Not just for the way I acted tonight, but…” I stop and run a hand through my hair as I try and work out how I’m supposed to apologize for a decade of being a dick.“But also for walking out on you all those years ago.I was a dickhead,” I say.“Apparently I still am.”
“We all know why you did it, Son,” Pop says.“None of us blames you for wanting more than what life in this small town would offer.We just didn’t expect you’d forget about us, that’s all.”
I meet Pop’s eyes and see all of the hurt the old man’s carried for the past ten years.It makes me realize just how much I’ve fucked up here, not just with Kelsey, but with my family too.
“I know,” I say, not looking away.“It was a shitty thing to do and I have no excuses for the way I’ve acted.”I stop and take another deep breath.“You have no idea how much I wish I could go back and re-do the last ten years, Pop.With all of you.”
Finn steps closer now and puts a hand on my shoulder.“You can’t change the past, Beck,” he says.“But you can sure as fuck fix the future.”
“I know,” I tell him, pressing a kiss to the top of Kelsey’s head.“Trust me when I say I intend to, Finn.I don’t want to miss out on any of this anymore,” I say, waving an arm around the four of us.“I told Kelsey that I’m not leaving her again and I meant it.I mean it with you guys too.”
Pop, Finn and I all stare at each other for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything.Kelsey stands silently in my arms, her arms finally wrapping around my waist in forgiveness.
“Come on,” Pop eventually says, stepping towards us.“We’ve all said our piece, let’s just move forward from here.”
Finn and I both nod at each other and then we all turn and walk back into the house.As the other two take a seat at the table, I hang back, pulling Kelsey closer as I wrap my arms around her.
“I’m really sorry, baby,” I say, kissing her forehead.“I was being a dick.Forgive me?”
Kelsey smiles up at me.“Yeah, you really were,” she says, fisting her hand in my t-shirt.“But it’s okay, you can make it up to me later,” she says, kissing me on the lips before slipping out of my arms and walking back to the table.
The rest of the evening passes by without any more arguments or misunderstandings.It’s nice being back at home with Pop and my brother and even better having Kelsey with us too.It feels so much like old times and now that I’ve pulled my head out of my ass, I finally see how much I’ve missed this.
Pop fills me in on his plans for renovating the pub, even though he’s probably getting close to retirement.I’m not sure who he plans on having run it when he does, Finn’s too young to give up the chief job and there’s not really anyone else.It gives me a tiny idea, but I keep it to myself for now, not wanting to get anyone’s hopes up before I’ve thought this through.
“So what’s happening with the case in Boston then?”Pop finally asks, as we’re finishing off dessert.
“Fucking idiot decided to change his story,” I tell him.“Says Ryan and I coerced him into admitting guilt, so now I’ve got to go testify on account of the moron pleading not guilty.”
“You video the interview?”he asks.
“Of course,” I say, dropping my spoon into my bowl and leaning back in my chair, slinging an arm around Kelsey’s shoulders.
“So it should be open and shut then, right?”
I nod.“Yeah it will be.Just a pain in the ass that I have to do it in the first place, that’s all,” I say, glancing at Kels.
She smiles back at me before leaning in to kiss my cheek.“I’ll be fine, babe.I’ve got these two boys to look after me, remember?”
I smile, glancing back at my brother and Pop.“Yeah, I know you do.”
The next morning I wake early, the alarm blaring out and reminding me that today is the day I have to leave.
“Fuck,” I breathe out, reaching over to silence it.
“That a promise or a request?”Kelsey murmurs.
I smile as I glance down at her naked body draped over mine.We stayed here at Pop’s last night on account of a few too many drinks being had as we spent the night finally catching up again.It was a lot of fun and I’m glad they’ve so easily forgiven me for basically ignoring them for the last ten years.I’m still not sure how it is that I got so lucky, but then this is my family we’re talking about; I shouldn’t have expected anything different.
Last night also reaffirmed to me that this is where I belong, not just with Kels, but with Pop and Finn too.As much as I might love Boston and my job, this is home to me, especially now.
So it was late by the time we finally all dragged ourselves to bed.Both Kelsey and I were drunk, only managing to fumble through a quickie before falling asleep in each other’s arms.
