Holding You Close (Ex-Con Duet 4)

“Are you excited this place is finally finished?”

“Yep! It’s nice and big, which means enough room for a dog!” Owen adds with a grin. He’s been asking about getting a pet, and we keep telling him maybe after we move since we’ll have our hands full with infants soon.

“Well, you aren’t wrong.” I flash him a wink.

As a surprise, Katie’s parents, Jerry, and Belinda purchased two cribs for the nursery. I was saving up to buy them when they told us they were ordered and on the way. Their bassinets will go into our bedroom, and once the twins grow out of them, they’ll move to the cribs. Today, Owen and I are putting them together.

“Do you think you’ll like being a dad?” Owen asks as we sit on the floor and look over the instructions.

“Yeah, most definitely. Though a little terrified,” I say honestly, chuckling. “But I know that being a dad is one of the greatest gifts in the world.”

Owen frowns, and before he speaks up, I already know it’s going to be about Gabe.

“I know how my dad died.”

Okay well, maybe not that.

Blinking, I try not to be too expressive as I wait for him to elaborate. As far as I know, Katie told him he got hurt, and that was it. We haven’t really discussed in detail what he knows.

“What do you mean?” I finally ask.

He fidgets for a moment before responding and looking up at me. “Anthony told me what his mom said.”

My heart hammers in my chest as I anticipate his next words.

“He said you punched him.”

And I’ve officially entered into panic mode as my chest tightens.

“Well…” I clear my throat, trying to buy some time. “We did have a fight that night.”

“Anthony said he hit his head, and it caused brain damage. That’s how he died. Is that true?” His voice is level and doesn’t sound angry, but I know I need to tread lightly. He’s asking me without his mom present, so it’s not like I can dodge the conversation and let her take over.

“Yes, that’s right.” The words barely come out, but I can’t lie to him. It was only a matter of time before he found out.

“Is that why you were in prison?”

I nod. “Yeah. Getting into a fight that caused his death was a crime, so I had to pay the price.”

“What were you fighting about?”

“Um, well…” I brush a hand through my hair, contemplating how to answer. “We were arguing about your mom. I thought he should be home with her because she was pregnant with you and having some issues. He had a lot to drink that night and didn’t agree. We ended up arguing and fighting when he wouldn’t listen.”

“Oh.” Owen lowers his eyes. “Anthony said his mom was there too.”

“Yeah, she was,” I confirm. “I didn’t realize it was her, though.”

“I think she’s mad you got out of prison,” he says. “But…” He shrugs with a small grin. “I’m not. I’m happy you’re here.”

My brows pop up in shock. “You are?”

“Yeah. You make my mom really happy. She doesn’t know this, but…” He hesitates before continuing, “I used to hear her cry at night. Now, she smiles and laughs all the time. I like that much better.”

My heart swells, and I pull him in for a hug. He’ll never know how much his words mean to me.

“I hope you know how much I love your mom and how truly sorry I am for what happened to your dad.” I release him. “I love you too, ya know. I’ll always be here for you no matter what.”

He nods with a smile.

“Actually, I have something I wanted to ask you.”

“What’s that?” he asks.

I hadn’t planned on talking about this with him just yet, but it’s the perfect opportunity.

“You think you can keep a secret for a while?”

He beams. “I’m a great secret keeper, remember?”

I chuckle, agreeing. “How would you feel if I asked your mom to marry me?”

His jaw drops. “Really?”

“Yeah, I wanna marry her and for us to be one big happy family. What do you think?”

“Does that mean you’d be my dad?” he asks eagerly.

“I can be whatever you’re comfortable with, Owen. You friend, your stepdad—”

“Can I call you Dad?”

I blink, shocked by how well he’s taking all of this. “Of course, if that’s what you want.”

Smiling wide, he nods. “Well, it might confuse the twins if I call you Noah and they call you dad, so…”

I smirk. “Right, that’s very true.”

“When are you gonna ask Mom to marry you?”

“Um, well…I wanna make it really special, so that takes some planning. It might not be for another month or so.”

“Did you get a ring?”

“Kinda. My mom died when I was your age, and she had two wedding rings. Gemma has one, and I was hoping to give the other to your mom.”