Chapter Forty-one – Not a Moment Too Soon #3
So many people in this world, like her father, took the bonds of DNA and shat on them, tore them apart and claimed it was their right to do so simply because of the blood they shared.
But Dawson had turned a few tainted cells into something purer.
Actual love. Real connection. That meant something to me. It would mean something to my parents.
We’d be a family forged together by more than what flowed through our veins.
“Ari—Andie.” He frowned. “Which are you going by now?”
“Andie,” she said, looking down at her sock-clad feet. “Come inside so I can actually give you a hug without getting my socks drenched.”
I stepped back, and she pushed past me as he stepped over the threshold, and they shared a hug. It wasn’t tight and solid like the ones she gave me, or the ones I shared with Luca, but it was still a hug.
Just as they were letting go, a chaos of feet stomped onto the porch.
The trio of teenagers ranged from Luca’s age to at least eighteen.
But it was the blond woman from the front seat who commanded attention, regardless of the fact she was pint-sized.
An elfin-like fairy next to her husband’s giantness.
When she looked at me, it was with a pair of eyes the same color as her name.
“Bathroom. Can I use the bathroom, Auntie A?” the youngest of the three, the one who’d hollered from the vehicle, demanded.
Andie glanced at me, as if for permission. I raised a brow, trying to communicate that she didn’t need my permission.
“Of course, come in,” she said.
The entire family filled the entry, and I shut the door as Andie pointed out the way to the half bath.
My parents came down the hall just as the teen sprinted toward the bathroom.
Before we could get stuck in the small entrance, shoulder to shoulder, while making introductions, I said, “Let’s go into the living room.”
Shoes and coats were divested and hung, and we made it to the living room, where the fire was burning at full force, casting flickering light over the well-worn, well-loved furniture.
I doubted the room was anything that billionaires and their families were accustomed to, but I’d never be ashamed of my parents’ home.
It was a place where everyone was welcome.
“Dale, Lydia, this is my brother, Dawson, his wife Violet, and—oh my gosh, you’ve grown up so much, Jennah.
” Andie stopped, voice cracking, hand to her chest before she got her bearings again.
“Sorry, this stunning woman is Jennah, and my nephew, Soren, and the girl who ran down the hall is Charlotte.”
“She prefers Charlie,” Soren said with a seriousness that screamed he wasn’t sure about any of us.
“Of course, Charlie,” Andie said, voice fading some.
Dawson knocked his son on the shoulder gently with a closed fist. “Ease up, kid.”
Soren shot him a glare. He obviously did not want to be here, regardless of what Dawson had said about the kids demanding to come.
Chatter behind us in the hall brought Luca and Charlie.
My son’s eyes met mine, wide and open, as if trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Charlie was mid-sentence. “—you know that Haley’s landing was five times better than that stupid Marty.
I don’t care who scored them. She got robbed because she’s a girl. ”
“Okay,” Luca dragged out the two syllables.
Charlie laughed. “Sorry. I saw your shirt”—she waved at Luca’s X-games tee with a skateboarder mid aerial—“and I got excited because no one in my family will talk skateboarding with me anymore because they know I’m always right.” She thrust her hand out at my son. “I’m Charlie, by the way.”
He took her hand, shook it, still staring at her like she was some strange creature. “Luca.”
“Luca. Wait… You’re not @LucaOnDeck, are you? Holy shi—” She glanced at her dad. “Holy basketballs. You are! You’re actually LucaOnDeck. I can’t believe it. I’ve been following you since you posted your first aerial. Now that was a gnarly landing.”
Luca still seemed at a loss but flushed bright red at the compliment.
Soren glared at him.
Violet and Dawson both smiled as if holding back laughs.
Silence descended until Andie broke it, clearing her throat. “What are you all doing here?”
Dawson took her in. The bruise below her eye that had barely faded.
The bandage on her arm peeking out from under an old T-shirt of mine she’d borrowed.
“I came to make sure you were really okay.” He threw a thumb in the direction of his family.
“They all insisted on coming to the snow for Thanksgiving.”
I tugged Andie into my side, and her arm went around me automatically. Her shoulders eased. “I’m good, Dawson. Like I texted you yesterday, it seems somehow, miraculously, I’m in the clear.”
“It’s not a miracle, baby. You’ve been through enough. This is how it should have ended ten years ago.” I didn’t hesitate to send my pointed glare to her brother.
Dawson watched us closely before his smile returned. “I think he’ll do just fine.”
I barely held back a growl. I didn’t care if he liked me. I didn’t need his permission to make sure Andie never experienced another day of trauma again. Dawson may have helped Andie escape and watched her back from afar, but in my book, he’d still let her wallow in useless remorse for far too long.
For the rest of her life, I’d only let her spread her wings and soar.