Chapter 49
Tristan
There’s a part of me, I think, that blamed myself for Chaz’s death,” Nick says quietly.
We’re sitting on a rock overlooking the strait, and Abbie is playing about ten feet in front of us.
“Of course,” he continues, “I didn’t make him work himself to death, but we pushed each other. Sometimes, I would wonder if I had been a better friend, if my priorities had been straighter, I could’ve changed things.”
He wipes at his cheeks. “I kept thinking about the paramedics, about how they had done everything they could to save him, but it was too late. That didn’t stop them from trying.
That was what I wanted to do with my life.
I wanted to save people. I talked about it with my parents, explained it to them, and promised them that I would always come home to Abigail. And I always have.”
He shakes his head. “Anyone who says that I was a better father to Abbie when I was in finance doesn’t know me, and doesn’t know a thing about fatherhood.”
I squeeze his hand tightly. “You are an excellent father, and they’re going to see that. Hell, I’ll testify about it if I have to.”
He pulls me closer as a gust of wind hits. “Thank you, Tristan.” He kisses the top of my head. “Thank you.”
Abigail waves at us, drawing our attention.
“Daddy!” she shouts. “Take my picture!”
Nick and I hop down from the rock, and Nick fishes his phone out of his pocket. Abigail poses with the bridge in the background, making silly faces and laughing.
“Now let’s get a selfie!” she cries.
She jumps up onto Nick’s back and clings there while he takes selfie after selfie with her. They’re both grinning ear-to-ear. Happy.
She waves me over. “Tristie! You too.”
I hesitate briefly, but Nick beckons me, too. “Get in here!”
He pulls me in close under one arm, and I smile at his phone as he snaps photos of us. Abbie proclaims the photos perfect. And, even though the wind is blowing her hair, and Nick did not capture my best angle, I agree with her.
The pictures are perfect. And so is this moment.