Who the hell would look up to him?
“Like Tucker,” Stone said. “He’s come to me on several occasions the past two weeks to thank me for putting him on your crew. And I noticed you got him to group therapy yesterday.”
The kid even stayed until the end. Leo already promised to go with him again next week.
“I hope you see how you’re more than motivational,” Vince said. “You’re the reason At-Ease is here.”
“Because I fucked up,” he grumbled.
Stone smiled. “Yeah, and because of that fuckup, how many lives have we changed? Made bearable?Saved?”
Emotions swirled in Leo’s chest, tightening it to full capacity.
“There are times things happen in life for a reason,” Cord said, and it immediately reminded Leo of his grandmother’s words.
“Gram said something similar the other day.” He gave a half smile. “Sometimes someone needs to fall in order to lift others up.”
But there’d be no more falling back into his pit of self-pity and despair. That pit was gone. It was time to grow. To rid himself of those damn demons. To kill off the person he was before. It was time to let go. Time to say goodbye to the broken man—the part of his psyche that always held him down—and embrace the man he had become because of his history. The whole man who acknowledged his past, both dark and light, and moved on. The man Kaydee always saw. The man Kaydee…and their baby deserved.
By putting that old part of himself to rest, Leo felt stronger. Calmer. Like a wiser, better version of himself.
Brick leaned forward. “Damn. I love your Gram.”
“Like it or not, Leo,” Stone said, “you are the savior of At-Ease.”
Savior…
He may be wiser, but he was no one’s savior. He was just a guy.
“You’ve saved people while on active duty and you continue to save them now. You’re going to make a hell of a dad.” Vince slapped his back. “Emma and the girls are going to flip when they find out about the baby.”
He was still trying to process thesaviorandsaving livesthing, but the instant Vince mentioned Leo was going to be a dad, warmth shot through his body and straightened his spine.
“As long as Beth doesn’t want one of her own.” Brick shivered. “Our wedding is rushing close. I’d like to survive that first.”
Stone laughed. “You’re going to do fine. There’s nothing to it. Cord and I made it through without a scratch.”
“Yep,” Cord said. “Just agree to anything my sister wants and you’re golden.”
Vince turned to him. “Now, how can we help you with Kaydee?”
He inhaled and thought for a moment. The image of her face as he left her kitchen flashed through his mind. The hurt he was trying to shield her from was blatant in the arms crossed over her stomach and her watery eyes. His own stomach clenched hard. She’d been holding back tears…holdingherselfas if hugging would keep it all in.
He needed to fix it. Make up for it. Jesus, he owed her so much. He owed her everything. “I need to go back there and grovel.”
“Chocolates are good,” Brick said. “Beth can eat my weight in them.”
Momentarily pulled out of his misery, Leo snorted at the analogy. “You’re right. I’ve seen her devour one of Emma’s cakes in under a minute. Without coming up for air.”
“Roses,” Stone said. “Jovy loves them.”
“Do you have the tile-cutting saw?” Cord asked.
Brick turned to look at his buddy like his brains were oozing out of his ears. “Saw? Jesus, Cord. Really? Some romantic you are. I feel sorry for Haley on Valentine’s Day. You probably buy her kitchen appliances. Or weight-loss DVDs.”
Leo snorted again, next to a chuckling Stone.
“I wasn’t suggesting it as a gift for Kaydee,” Cord said with an eye roll. “You all seem to have that covered. I was asking if he was done with the saw because I need it tomorrow to work on a bathroom at home. It’s a surprise for Haley.”
