My wife.Evan.Maddox, too, of course.
My family.
I turn and walk out of the office.Down the hallway toward Evan’s classroom.
And when I see Kelly standing there with her hand resting protectively on Evan’s shoulder, my chest tightens again.
They both look up when I approach.
The tension in Kelly’s shoulders is still there when I reach them.Her hand rests on Evan’s shoulder like she’s making damn sure he’s real.
Like if she lets go he might disappear.
The sight of it punches something straight through my chest.
Evan’s holding his backpack against his stomach, his little fingers twisted tight in the straps.His hair’s a mess from running his hands through it, and his eyes still have that watery shine kids get when they’re trying very hard not to cry.
But he’s standing.He’s breathing.He’s safe.
I force the steel out of my posture before I get the rest of the way to them.No reason the boy needs to see the storm that’s still sitting in my gut.
By the time they both look up at me, I’m smiling.
Not the polite kind I use in meetings.
A real one.The kind I save for her.For them.
“Well,” I say lightly, slipping my hands into my pockets like we’re just three people standing in a hallway instead of the aftermath of a near disaster.“Who wants pizza?”
Evan blinks.
Once.
Twice.
Then his eyebrows lift.
“Pizza?”he asks cautiously.
“Yeah,” I shrug.“Seems like a pizza kind of afternoon.”
Kelly lets out a small breath beside him—half laugh, half relief.
“You think bribery is the solution here?”she asks.
“Not bribery,” I say calmly.“Food to feed the soul Everyone knows pizza is the new chicken soup.”
Evan’s mouth twitches.I crouch down so I’m level with him.
“What do you say, kid?”I ask.“Pepperoni?Sausage?You look like a man who could handle a large.”
That gets a real smile out of him.
“Can we get garlic knots, too?”
“Kid, if you want garlic knots, we’re getting garlic knots.”
He glances up at Kelly.
