“You can keep it for when you get old and you need it to chase me around,” she replied with a wink. “Or use it to threaten Gracie’s and Heather’s boyfriends if they get out of line.”
That made me growl, and she laughed. The girls weren’t allowed to date until they were thirty.
“You hate the silver metal one Colin gave you from the clinic, and the ones the drugstore had were purple with butterflies or a horrid plaid. I thought you would prefer this elegant one, but if you want, I could go get the other one. The purple would set off your eyes.”
I pulled her down and kissed her. “I know what you’re doing, and I love you for it. I’ll keep the elegant wood one.”
“I thought you would.”
The cane and all the limitations would have frustrated me and caused some sort of outburst before, but now I accepted it. Every day, I got a little better. A little stronger. A little less reliant on the cane. One day in the near future, I wouldn’t need it. But I was living in the now.
I had a beautiful wife. Two sweet little girls. A great job. And friends who stuck by me, proving that family isn’t always blood.
I was a lucky bastard.
Using the wooden cane my wife bought me, I stepped out of the car and walked into the office, my head held high and my shoulders straight.
Richard VanRyan was in the building. And I was ready to take on the world.“Great work,” Graham mused. “This is spectacular.”
“Thanks.” I smirked, reaching for my coffee. “I thought it was bloody brilliant.”
Jenna chuckled, easing back in her chair, crossing her legs, and shaking her head. “I see your ego didn’t suffer in the accident.”
“Nope. Alive and kicking. Just like the rest of me.” I lifted a shoulder. “Well, most of me.”
Graham looked over the file in his hand, his glasses perched on the end of his nose. “Look how far you’ve come, Richard. You once thought you’d never see this day.”
I waved my hand. “I know. It’s fine. Katy tells me the cane adds another layer of sexiness to my persona. I’m good with that.”
Jenna coughed out a snigger and stood. “On that note, I am out of here. I have some errands.” She paused at the door. “Welcome back, Richard. I’m glad you’re back—even with the ego.”
She hurried away before I could retort. She had been emotional this morning, and I had teased her about it all day.
Brad appeared in my doorway, lifting his hand to knock. I waved him in, trying not to laugh as I remembered our first introduction. We had come a long way since that fateful day. When he returned to Victoria, he came to the house, and we sat in my den and talked for a long time. I hated the guilt he still harbored and refused to let him leave until he understood the only person blaming him was himself. I convinced him to see Randy, and it helped him a great deal.
Since that day, he was a regular visitor at the house and Gracie’s new best friend. She loved it when he came over, and he had, in fact, babysat a few evenings for us. He watched Disney movies with Gracie, played with Heather, and Katy was his confidante. She adored him, and he returned the affection.
“What’s up?”
“I got those designs we talked about.” He handed me his tablet, and I scrolled through the images.
“Brad, these are awesome.”
“I was wondering about tweaking the red. Making the logo stand out a little more.”
I nodded in agreement. “Good eye. Yes. Do that.”
I swiped again, stopping at the next image. It was a selfie of Brad and June—one of the new girls in accounting. Young, pretty, with blond hair and dimples so deep you could stick a dime in them, she beamed up at Brad in the picture. His arm was around her and his expression filled with happiness. I glanced up, raising my eyebrow.
His cheeks flushed, and he held out his hand for his tablet. “Sorry, I forgot about that one.”
I grinned and refused to hand it over. “Pretty girl. You look happy.”
Graham chuckled. “I know they’re dating, Richard. Laura and I like her. We have no company policy about interoffice dating.”
I started to laugh as I handed Brad back his tablet. “Good thing, Graham. Most of your executives are married to each other, and I can think of four other couples without even trying.”
He grinned and stood. “What can I say? Great place to work and fall in love.” He clapped Brad’s shoulder on the way out. “I’m leaving in thirty minutes. I’ll take you home.”
Brad still couldn’t drive. He froze every time he got behind the wheel. I was tense as soon as I sat in a car and had yet to attempt to drive. I was so worried about other drivers I knew I would be distracted. It was a hurdle we both had yet to overcome.