Luca comes to stand beside me and takes our son from me. He kisses the top of his head, as if reminding himself how precious life is.
King cracks open a beer and hands it to Ford. He readily accepts it and drains half of the bottle in two long gulps.
“Alcohol is the last thing he needs…” Rudi begins to scold.
“Pretty sure it’s the first thing I need,” Ford argues.
She continues her assessment and then steps back. “You seem to be okay if you ignore the scars and bruising. When was the last time you were hurt?”
“Attacked, you mean?” She nods. “About a month ago.”
“There’s no chance of internal bleeding then. You’d be dead by now.”
She hears what she said and blanches. “Sorry.”
He waves her off and catches sight of me. The smallest of smiles crosses his mouth, and I cross the space and wrap my arms around him.
“I’m so happy you’re home. We never stopped thinking about you.”
To see him alive is one thing, to feel his heat and his heart pound is quite another.
A throat clears from behind us, and I pull away, rolling my eyes at my husband. Konan lets Princess out from the kitchen, and he immediately goes to Ford. He licks his face and places his front two paws on Ford’s lap.
“He’s missed you,” I tell him.
There’s no fear from Ford. He rubs Princess’s head like they’ve been friends for years.
“Can’t say I missed him, but it’s fuckin’ good to see him.”
Luca moves beside me and passes River to me. Ford breaks out a smile. A real smile.
“You had the baby…” He shakes his head. “Of course you did.”
“This is River. The newest member of the Lost Souls. He’s been waiting to meet you.”
His smile drops and I step back as Luca takes my place. He crouches down before Ford and tells him, “You’re back where you belong.”
Ford nods once and asks, “What am I going to tell my mom?”
I move closer and tell him, “You don’t need to think about that now.”
His heavy gaze traps mine. “No, I suppose I don’t.”
Ford was the first to join my Luca’s chapter and I suppose he holds a special part of my heart.
He’s becoming overwhelmed. Rudi disappears into the kitchen, and I take River upstairs.
Ford needs his brothers and I’m more than happy to leave them be. He’s home and he’s safe. That’s more than what we thought he had a couple of weeks ago.
“Princess!”
I call out and my fur baby is nowhere to be seen. He always comes when I call him. Climbing the stairs, I stop on the second floor and find Princess lying in Ford’s doorway. Creeping along the hall, I crouch down and run my hand over his head.
“He hasn’t moved in over an hour.”
I look up and Ford is sat on the other side of Princess.
“I thought everyone was asleep,” I murmur.
