A nightlight that cast stars across his walls and ceiling lit the space, and I crept over to his crib so I could gaze down at my little man.
My chest squeezed tight.
Fierce and swift and with the greatest amount of devotion.
Every once in a while, God makes someone extra special. Someone who is more vulnerable than others, and it’s our job to protect them.
And I knew my daddy had meant his family then, too. That he’d passed that on to me. That it was our jobs to protect and teach and love somethin’ mad.
Keaton saw me and cooed, staring up at me with his charcoal eyes that matched his mama’s, his little feet kicking in excitement.
“Hey there, little man. You gettin’ hungry?”
Another coo, and he went to shoving his tiny fist into his mouth.
Love stretched like a bow, and I reached up and twisted the dial to his mobile. The one thing that seemed to soothe him other than being in my or his mama’s arms. The one that was made up of crudely folded horses and ducks and interspersed with a few misshapen stars and hearts.
His eyes bugged out when the melody of Sweet Thing filled his room, and he smiled around his fist.
My hand reached out and splayed across his whole abdomen.
Like I could shield the entirety of him with only my hand.
We stayed like that for a bit, just restin’ in the peace that I never thought I’d be afforded.
Every day of my life, I would cherish this gift.
Standing there in the shadows of my son’s room, I could see a vision of my daddy doin’ the same. I could almost feel the presence of him standing over me when I’d been the same size. And I promised him all over again that I understood. That I got it now. And I knew, without question, he’d loved me to the end.
I shifted when I felt the energy emerge from behind.
Big and booming.
Stealing air and sanity.
My gaze skated that way.
She stood in the doorway with that smile on her face that made me weak in the knees, all that black hair in a messy twist on her head and wearing a set of those short sleep shorts that drove me insane. “There are my men.”
My whole bein’ shivered and thrashed.
“No matter what she looks like, once you feel it right here…” He tapped his fingers over the beatin’ of Rhys’ heart. “She’ll be the only thing you can see. Just like your mama always says…it’ll be love, love, love.”
Love, love, love.
Yeah. It’s what made up this house.
This family.
Luckiest. Bastard. Alive.
THE END