Shelter Me(57)

“Sounds good, man. Let me take care of the dog and I’ll meet you guys over there.”

Handing Lucy’s bag to Luke, Adam goes to do what he needs to do as the three of us go back out to the vehicle. Letting Luke buckle up Lucy, I climb in the back just as Adam is coming out of his house. I can’t help but notice the look on his face as he looks past me at Luke. It’s the look I have seen him use too many times before. ‘Fuck with Shayne, and I will kill you’.

If I were to say I wasn’t nervous about today, I would be lying. Even though Luke’s family didn’t pass any judgment on me for keeping Lucy from them, I still have this feeling something is off with his father.

The tension between Luke and Adam isn’t as bad as I imagined it would be on our drive over to Luke’s parents’ house. They are both so overprotective it’s not even funny. I can tell that Adam is easing up a bit as he engages himself in conversation. This puts a smile on my face and seems to ease my nerves a little knowing the two of them can joke around a little bit with each other.

Once we arrive, Luke puts the car in park and gets Lucy out of the back seat. My palms instantly get sweaty and I start to feel a little light-headed. Adam must notice I’m not acting like myself, because he comes up beside me and throws his arm around my shoulders, giving me a soft kiss on the temple.

“You got this,” he whispers in my ear.

Giving him a small smile and a nod, I continue on. Luke and Lucy are too busy talking to each other to notice anything. Entering the house, we are greeted by Luke’s parents and Antonio. I don’t know why, but I stand there nervously for those first few moments as my daughter charms the hell out of her grandparents and her uncle. As soon as she says ‘hello’ to them, they are goners.

Walking into the kitchen, we all sit down to the table. Lucy wants to sit by Luke’s mom and they talk all the way through breakfast. I can tell that Camillia is very interested in everything that Lucy is saying to her. Vincent seems to be taken with her, too, but he still seems to be acting a bit odd. I don’t think Luke notices how his father is acting as he is too busy talking with his brother and Adam about the fact that we are moving in with him.

Excusing myself to use the bathroom, I go and take care of business. When I walk back into the kitchen, Luke’s father is standing outside of the door heading toward the living room.

“They all went outside to show Lucy the rose garden and I told them I would wait for you. May we talk for a minute first, please?” he says with apprehension.

“Sure, Vincent. What would you like to talk about?”

I walk past him and take a seat on the couch. He sits in a chair opposite me, leaning forward.

“I feel I owe you an apology, Shayne.” he says, lifting his head and looking me in the eye.

“For what?”

“It was all my fault what happened all those years ago. I have to live with it for the rest of my life, but I want you to know that I love my family. That includes both you and Lucy.”

I lean forward too, lightly placing my hand on his arm.

“I know you do, Vincent, and I accept your apology. Luke and I are trying to get past the years we lost and I don’t blame anyone anymore. I love your son and I always have. He is a natural at being a father, just like you.”

With that, he places his hand over the top of mine and lightly squeezes it.

“Thank you for saying that, my dear.”

Standing up, he leads me out to the rose garden where we easily find everyone. Antonio has Lucy up on his shoulders and they are walking around with Camillia, looking at the different roses. Luke and Adam are off to the side talking. Luke notices me approaching and walks up and grabs my hand.

“Hey, tesoro bella. You all right?”

With a genuine smile on my face from seeing all the people I love, I reach up and stroke my hand down his cheek. He leans into my touch.

“I couldn’t be better, babe.”

I watch my daughter laugh and play baseball as Camillia and I sit along the edge of the handmade baseball field where I spent many days as a teenager watching Luke and his friends play. Hearing her squeal and giggle as she tries to outrun them as they chase her is heaven to my ears.

“She’s perfect, isn’t she?” says Camillia, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“She is,” I say, turning toward her. “I love her so much.”

“I can tell you do, Shayne, and it shows in her. She is a sweet girl, and although she was brought to us under circumstances I wish you didn’t have to go through, I am so glad she is here.”

Placing her hand on top of mine and squeezing it slightly, she turns her face back out to the field.