Chapter 72
SAGE
As Kai kisses me, I feel our daughter kick inside my belly, and it brings a smile to my lips. Pulling away, he brushes the hair from my face. “Say goodbye to your grandmother, baby.”
Feeling moisture lick at the backs of my eyes, I drop my hands from Kai’s face and turn around to face the headstone for my grandmother. I read over her name in my head a few times before it starts to feel real, then I slowly lower myself to the grass to sit in front of the stone.
Putting my hands against the headstone, I feel a sob roll through my body, one I can’t even attempt to contain.
My guys are there then, each of them offering comfort to get me through my grief, and I’m thankful I have such selfless and loving partners with me through this.
“She didn’t deserve what happened,” I whisper. “But I know she isn’t angry. It wasn’t in her soul to be angry. She was always so understanding.”
“What do you mean, Savage?” Beckham asks, putting his face against the back of my neck. “You think she understood why your uncle did it?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I know she did. That’s just who she was.”
Silence falls over us again, and I take the chance to sit and stare at my grandmother’s headstone, wondering if she can see me now.
Is she watching us from above? I wonder what she would say to me about Kaiden, Beckham, and Vinny…
Would she approve of the life we’ve started, the baby we’re going to raise together?
Kai’s fingers thread into my hair and he kisses my ear. “We need to get going, baby. We’re going to be late for graduation.”
I nod, tears still streaming down my face as my hand smooths over the top of the headstone. My voice hurts as it comes out, a small whisper that breaks my heart and pieces it back together all at once. “Bye, Gran. Thanks for everything.”
Kai, Vinny, and Beckham walk behind me through the cemetery, and my hands rest on top of my swollen stomach as I admire the headstones I’ve grown to recognize, wondering how I got so lucky to end up in this town with these three men.
I must have done something right in a past life to deserve so much love in this one, because even through everything, the trauma only brought us closer together.