Chapter 23 #2
"You didn't ask her to quit school."
"You didn't tell her how to dress."
"You didn't try to make every decision for her."
He lets out a slow breath.
"You loved her exactly the way she is."
He looks back at me. "And that's something I never managed to do."
My throat tightens, but I keep my expression steady.
Frank gives a small nod. "You're a better man than I've been." He looks down for a moment. "A better man than I taught her to look for."
Lucy lets out a shaky breath beside me, but she doesn't speak.
Frank looks at Lucy.
"I don't expect you to forgive me."
His voice is tired.
"Not today. Maybe not ever."
Lucy doesn't answer.
"But I needed you to know that I finally see what I've done."
He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand.
"I hurt you for years because I confused control with love."
He glances toward Karen.
"I hurt your mother for the same reason."
Karen closes her eyes for a moment.
"I can't change any of that."
He shakes his head slowly.
"But I can stop making the same mistakes."
He looks back at Lucy.
"I want to do better."
"I want to learn how to be the father you deserved all along."
His voice cracks again.
"I know I haven't earned that chance."
Lucy stares at him for several long seconds.
When she finally speaks, her voice is quiet.
"I don't know if I can trust you again."
Frank nods.
"I know."
"You hurt me for a long time."
Another nod.
"And because you couldn't let go..." She swallows. "I almost died."
The words hang between us.
Frank's eyes close.
"I know."
"I'll never forgive myself for that."
Lucy wipes another tear from her cheek.
"I can't pretend everything's okay just because you apologized."
"You shouldn't."
"I can't come back here and act like nothing happened."
"I wouldn't ask you to."
She studies him for another moment.
"I need time."
"As much as you need."
"And things are different now."
She slips her hand into mine.
"I'm with Tiny."
Her fingers tighten around mine.
"I'm building my own life."
She lifts her chin.
"You don't get a say in that anymore."
Frank nods immediately.
"I know."
"If you want to be part of my life..."
She takes a steady breath.
"You have to accept all of it."
"My relationship."
"My choices."
"The club."
"My future."
"Everything."
"I do."
His answer comes without hesitation.
"I accept all of it."
Lucy doesn't smile.
"Saying it isn't enough."
"I know."
"You have to actually change."
He nods again.
"I will."
"You have to treat Mom like she's your partner."
Karen looks over at Lucy.
"You have to stop making every decision."
"I will."
"You have to listen."
"I will."
"You have to prove it."
Frank lets out a slow breath.
"I will."
"I don't expect you to believe me today."
He glances toward Karen.
"But I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying."
Karen finally stands.
She walks across the room and wraps Lucy in another hug.
"I'm proud of you."
Her voice trembles.
"So proud."
Lucy hugs her tightly.
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too."
They stay like that for a long moment.
I watch Frank standing a few feet away.
He isn't trying to interrupt.
He isn't trying to control the moment.
For once...
He's just letting it happen.
Maybe that's the first real step.
Eventually Lucy pulls back.
She wipes at her eyes and lets out a shaky laugh.
"I think I've cried enough for one day."
Karen smiles through her own tears.
"I think you've earned it."
Lucy reaches for my hand again.
I lace my fingers through hers without thinking.
Frank notices.
Instead of looking annoyed...He nods. "I know I don't deserve another chance," he says quietly. "I'm just asking for the opportunity to earn one."
Lucy looks at him. "I'll think about it."
We don't say much as we head for the front door.
There's nothing left to say.
Not today.
Frank walks us outside. The late afternoon sun hangs low over the neighborhood. Everything looks the same as it always has, but it doesn't feel the same.
At the truck, he stops in front of me.
For a second, neither of us moves.
Then he holds out his hand.
"Take care of her."
I look at Lucy before I take it.
"I will."
My answer comes easy.
"Every day for the rest of my life."
His grip tightens once before he lets go.
"I believe you."
Lucy wraps her arms around her mom one last time.
"I'll call you tomorrow."
Karen nods. "I'd like that."
Lucy gives her one more squeeze before climbing into the truck.
I walk around to the driver's side and slide behind the wheel.
Neither of us says anything until we're halfway down the road.
Lucy reaches across the console and slips her hand into mine.
"That was hard."
"Yeah."
She stares out the window for a minute.
"I don't know if he'll really change."
"I don't either."
She nods slowly.
"But at least he admitted what he did."
"That's something."
She turns toward me.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For standing beside me."
Her fingers tighten around mine.
"I don't think I could've done that alone."
I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss the back of it before setting it back on the console.
"You'll never have to."
A quiet smile spreads across her face.
"I know."
Instead of turning toward the clubhouse, I take the back road that winds through the edge of the compound.
She notices almost immediately.
"Where are we going?"
"I wanna show you something."
She doesn't ask anything else.
A few minutes later I pull onto a gravel drive and park beside a wide stretch of open land tucked against the trees.
Lucy climbs out beside me.
She slowly turns in a circle.
"It's beautiful."
The breeze stirs her hair as she looks across the property.
"It's quiet."
"That's why I bought it."
She looks back at me.
"You own this?"
I nod.
"Bought it about five years ago."
Her eyebrows lift.
"Five years?"
"Yeah."
She slips her hand into mine as we start walking through the grass.
"I figured you'd have built something by now."
"I could've."
"So why didn't you?"
I stop near the middle of the property.
The trees sway behind her.
Sunlight catches in her hair.
Because of everything we've been through, because I almost lost her, because I don't want to waste another second...
The words come easier than I expected.
"I was waiting."
She tilts her head.
"For what?"
"For you."
Her eyes widen.
"I always knew I wanted a home someday."
I look around the empty piece of land.
"I just didn't want to build one by myself."
She blinks hard.
"I figured if I ever found my person..."
I smile.
"...I'd want every part of this place to belong to both of us."
She looks around again.
Then back at me.
"So you never built?"
I shake my head.
"I couldn't."