Her face crumpled. “Zachary, please. He’s my only grandchild.”
Miguel squeezed my shoulder. I reached back and put my hand over his. “The only way I’ll let you have any contact with Cody is if you get sober.”
“You can’t do that!” she protested.
“I can and I will,” I retorted.
Her gaze fixed on my and Miguel’s hands. Her eyes narrowed. “Who is he? Why is he here?”
“This is Miguel. He’s my boyfriend,” I said calmly, even though my heart was racing. “He’s here to support me.”
Her lip curled up in a sneer. “So, your father was right. You are a f?—”
I put up my hand. “Stop right there,” I snarled. Unconsciously, my voice slipped into my sergeant tone, escalating until I was sure they could hear outside. “One more word and you will never see Cody again. I don’t care how sober you get.”
Her jaw dropped in shock. I’d never raised my voice to her before. I’d always let her get away with saying whatever she wanted, excusing her because she was drunk. Not this time. I wasn’t going to let her disrespect the man I loved.
I stood. “I think I’ve said all there is to say. Come back to me when you can prove you’re sober and have the support in place to stay sober. Cody deserves that. Frankly, I deserved it a long time ago, but it’s too late for that now. If you’re lucky, you can at least have a relationship with your grandson.”
All the fight went out of her, and she slumped in her chair, tears tracking mascara down her face.
“Should I order her a rideshare?” Miguel asked.
I shook my head. “I’m going to ask if Marco will let one of his team drive her home. If we put her in a taxi or a rideshare, she’ll have them stop at the nearest bar.”
I opened the door, and as expected, Marco was standing outside. Since his brother, Tony, had loaned us a bunch of Cadillac Escalades to use for the funeral, I asked, “Would it be okay if someone drove my mother home?”
“You bet,” he replied. “Andrea and Pete already volunteered.”
“Thank you again,” I said. “I owe your whole team a night out.”
Marco chuckled. “You might regret that. Or, at least, your wallet might.”
“Totally worth it,” I said.
Andrea came back into the room and gently guided my mother out to the waiting vehicle. I stayed in the room, saying to Marco, “I just need a minute.” He nodded in understanding.
I closed the door and Miguel held his arms out to me. I collapsed into his embrace, my whole body trembling with rage and grief. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I said hoarsely. “This is so unfair to you. You didn’t sign up for this level of bullshit.”
“I signed up to be with you because I love you,” Miguel replied. “This is what it’s all about. Hearts and flowers are nice, but this is real life. There will be times when I’ll need you to hold me up, and I know you’ll do it because you already have.”
We stood there wrapped in each other’s arms while I allowed myself to bask in the peace Miguel was offering me. He was right. This was what love was.
CHAPTERFORTY-SIX
MIGUEL
Thankfully, there was no drama at the funeral. Zach’s mother showed up sober and quiet, her hands shaking. Zach acknowledged her effort with a kiss on the cheek and a murmured thank you. His father and brother never came, not that he was expecting them. I suppose I was, with that happily ever after hope that his family would suddenly stop being shitty. Yeah, not so much.
Zach even unbent enough to let his mother say hello to Cody while he held the little boy safely in his arms. When his grandmother asked for a hug, Cody politely said, “No, thank you, Grandma.” I had to walk away so I wouldn’t burst out laughing.
It was touch-and-go at the cemetery. Cody insisted he wanted to leave his Batman action figure on Allie’s casket as a present. Zach and I both knew he’d regret it about ten minutes after we left. Luckily, I’d saved the Batman and Robin figurines from Cody’s birthday cake, and we convinced him it would be a good way for his mommy to celebrate his birthday. Crisis averted.
Sean had generously offered the restaurant at the hotel for the repast at no charge. Zach tried to object, but Sean just waved it away. “Family, remember?”
Tommy, Levon, and Rich came to the funeral flanked by a half-dozen members of the veteran’s motorcycle club, all riding Harleys. They escorted us from the funeral home to the cemetery and then to Moonlight Inn. Zach invited all of them to join us at the repast, so there was a lot of military talk going on around me.
The food was set up buffet style so people could take as much or as little as they wanted. Zach had just gotten Cody settled at a table with Diego and Emma when Tino approached us. I hadn’t seen him when he picked up Zach and Cody to go see Nico, but Zach was absolutely right that he looked like Marco with grayer hair and fewer muscles. “Hey Zach and Miguel, I wanted to let you know there’s a court date for the custody hearing on Thursday morning.”
