Mitch nodded. “You’re already a better dad than I was. I never knew any of those things. Your mother did.”
“Listen, about Mom—”
“I’m sorry.” Mitch took a breath. “I wasn’t there for her or you when I should have been. I recognize that. I made a mistake. I should have ignored my work and focused on her. And you. If Ihad it to do over, things would be different. I don’t blame you for hating me.”
Kyle frowned. “I don’t hate you. I think becoming a parent has helped me understand things better. I know you were just coping in your own way. I didn’t like your way, but I was wrong to judge you. I’m sorry about that.” He looked up at Joyce, who was completely enraptured with Ruthie. “Joyce helped me see that. I owe you for that, Joyce.”
Mitch narrowed his eyes. “How did she help?”
“She wrote to me,” Kyle answered. “Told me what’s been going on. That you were going to a therapist.”
“I never said therapist,” Joyce corrected. “I just said your dad was talking to someone. Someone who was helping him.”
“Same thing,” Kyle said. He looked at Mitch. “The fact that you could do that, you of all people, that seemed like a pretty big step on your part. It made me feel like you were serious about changing things.”
“I was. Am.” Mitch shook his head. “I’m a work in progress. With no real completion date in sight.”
Ruthie let out a little coo and raised her hand toward Joyce’s face. Mitch inhaled. His granddaughter. His whole body ached with something he hadn’t felt since Kyle was a baby. It was like love and pride and a fierce protectiveness all mixed with an overwhelming sense of joy.
Joyce caught his gaze and smiled. She came over to him and placed Ruthie in his arms. “There you go. I have to clean up in the kitchen. You remember how to hold a baby, don’t you?”
Mitch nodded, the wonder of tiny fingers and miniscule dimples leaving him speechless. Ruthie was perfect. She looked up at him, her sweet hazel eyes framed by the pale fringe of her lashes. Her rosebud lips pursed and opened, letting out another soft coo.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was captivating in the same way that Kyle had been as a baby, and yet, there was something else about Ruthie that made his entire life feel worthwhile in a way it never had before.
He saw Jeanie in her.
“Dad, are you…crying?”
Mitch looked up, feeling the tears on his face as Kyle spoke to him. “She’s just so perfect.”
Kyle sniffed and nodded. “Yeah, she is. This feels like the right time to ask. Can we stay? Because we have nowhere else to go. Addison kicked us out.”
Mitch laughed. He’d never been happier to hear such awful news. “Of course you can stay. This is your home.”
“I’ll get a job, I swear. I’ll contribute. I’ll help with the—”
“Kyle, why don’t you just concentrate on taking care of Ruthie for a while? That’s all the job you need to worry about. We’ll help with her, of course. Happily. But you look like you could use some sleep.”
“And a good meal,” Joyce called from the kitchen.
Kyle nodded, his chin crumpling. “It’s been really hard. I’m sorry about my attitude. I miss Mom so much.”
“So do I,” Mitch said. “All the time. But I know she’d be as proud of you as I am. And she’d want you to take care of yourself and this sweet girl. As far as you and I go, it’s all forgotten. We’ll just move forward from here. What do you say? You good with that?”
He sniffed and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Dad. Some sleep would be great. I haven’t been getting a whole lot of that lately. But I have to get her stuff out of the car. I don’t have a crib for her, either. But I have a Pack ’n Play. She can sleep in that for now.”
“Give me your keys,” Mitch said. “I’ll bring your stuff in.”
“You’re sure?”
Mitch looked down at Ruthie’s sweet face again. “We’ve got this.” He glanced up. “Don’t we, Joyce?”
“Of course we do.” Joyce lifted her chin. “You need a hot shower and a long nap, Kyle. When you get up, there’ll be a good meal waiting for you. Mind, my sister will be here this evening, but Beryl will be happy to pitch in with our Ruthie.”
Kyle looked over. “Your sister is coming?”
Joyce nodded, all smiles. “She is. Your father bought her ticket.”
