“It would be a hoot to have Elvis officiate my wedding.” Kaye’s eyes crinkled with joy. “I’d be all shook up.”
“Do you want to marry Eagle?” Ten asked, sounding more excited than incredulous.
Kaye shrugged. “I’m not sure. He hasn’t asked if that’s what you’re wondering. I just want to have fun. He’s taught me so much about myself and about life. There’s a lot this world I’ve missed out on, and I want to see everything I can.”
“I’m with you.” Jace pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. “Let me know when the two of you want to go, and I’ll arrange it all—flights, hotel, fancy meals, cash to spend at the blackjack tables.”
Kaye’s eyes widened. “Jace, I—” She cleared her throat and fanned her watery eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes!” Everly called from the other end of the table.
“Sayyes!” the other kids chimed in.
“Well, when you put it that way.” Kaye grinned. “Enough about me. I want to know what’s going on in Florida.”
“I’m in nesting mode,” Barb said. “We started decorating the nursery, and River put the crib together. It’s slow going this time around with being six years older and having Brooke to take care of.”
“Brooke is the sweetest thing,” Jace said. “I love the relationship she and Aurora are building. She has trouble making new friends, and I’m absolutely thrilled they’re getting along like peanut butter and jelly.”
River gazed down the table at Brooke, who was dipping her chicken into the giant puddle of ketchup on her plate. “It’s not easy dealing with the ups and downs of childhood. Best friends can turn into mortal enemies in a heartbeat, and before you know it, they’re besties again. Brooke has a few close friends, but they’re away for the summer traveling in Europe.”
Ronan snickered. “Tough life.”
“We’ve got Brooke in this fancy private school, and sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it. She’s getting a good education and takes horseback riding lessons, but everyone is so stuck-up.”
“Brooke might be better in private school for that reason.” Fitzgibbon grabbed the salad and added more to his empty plate. “We thought about private school for Aurora. She was born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, which left her with a bit of a developmental delay, but in the end, it was her relationship with Everly and Wolf that made up our minds. She’s better off with her friends in public school than she ever would have been alone at some swanky private kindergarten.”
“Thanks to her teachers and lots of hard work on Fitz’s part, Aurora’s all caught up.” Jace swiped at his damp eyes with his napkin.
“It’s amazing how they change our entire lives.” Jude’s attention was on Wolf, who was telling an animated story with his hands moving a mile a minute.
“Before I became a father, I would have told you my proudest achievements were solving murder cases and seeing criminals locked up, but now, it’s all Aurora,” Fitz said. “My kids have changed my entire life.”
“You have an older son, if I remember right?” River asked.
“Yeah, Greeley.” Fitz shook his head. “Tennyson and I met him nearly seven years ago. We were trying to catch a serial killer in Boston who was targeting young gay men, and Greeley was the only man who survived an encounter with him. He was skinny as a rail and strung out on drugs. After we caught the killer, I adopted him. His parents had disowned him years earlier, and because of that, Greeley had been living on the streets. I got him into rehab and helped with his GED. Now, he’s a patrolman with the Boston Police.”
“Walking in your footsteps,” River said softly.
“I can’t imagine anything Brooke or Delta could do that would make us turn our backs on them.” Barb crossed her hands protectively over her belly.
“You all stuck by me when I was arrested for Bart’s murder, and I’ll do the same thing for my kids if a similar situation should arise. Not that I expect my daughters to turn into murderers.”
Ronan snorted. He raised his can of soda in the air. “To our kids not being killers.” He finished his toast just as Everly squeezed between his seat and Ten’s.
“Seriously, Dad?” Everly rolled her eyes in a perfect imitation of Ronan. She stood on tiptoes and whispered something to Ten before heading back to her seat at the other end of the table.
“What was that about?” Ronan studied Ten, trying to figure out what his daughter could have said.
“We have a visitor.” Ten’s eyes were on River. “I haven’t sensed David since we were in Florida.”
The memories of that day burned vividly in Ronan’s brain. Ten and Kaye screaming into a thunderstorm, daring David to explain why he’d kept River a secret for forty years. He and Jude racing outside to grab Ten and Kaye to get them out of the storm. David appearing and making an ass of himself. Neither Ten nor Kaye wanted to speak with him again until David was able to understand why what he did was wrong. Ronan would give anything to keep Ten from getting hurt again. “Can you see him?”
Ten shook his head. “He appeared to Everly when we were in Florida, using her to get a feel for what we were thinking and feeling. Maybe he’s doing the same thing now?”
“Or he’s here to see you and River. You two missed out on a lot of years together, and if you can make up for lost time, maybe David can too?” Ronan wasn’t sure he was making a lot of sense. Ten always told him that spirits had their own agendas, and David’s might not be as cut-and-dried as Ronan was making it out to be.
“Maybe.” Ten shrugged as if he didn’t much care. “If he wants to speak with me, he knows how. Until then, I’m living my life to itsfullest.” He pecked a kiss to Ronan’s cheek and dove back into his steak.
