Ronan grabbed Ten and pulled him in for a hug. “There are a lot of times when I tell you I was wrong.”
“All of them coming in the bedroom, if memory serves.” Ten waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“Are you okay?” Ronan asked. “This morning you were sad and quiet and now, it’s like you’re back to your old self with your old energy.”
Ten pressed a kiss to Ronan’s lips and pulled back. “There are a few things I need to talk to you about.”
“Shit, that doesn’t sound good.” Ronan grabbed a ginger ale from the cooler and cracked it open.
“Some good. Some unknown, to be honest.”
Ronan liked the sound of this even less. “Is this about me or the Autumn Miller case?”
“Yes,” Ten agreed with a smile. “It’s about everything. I’ve been depressed lately.”
“I noticed,” Ronan said softly. “It’s gotten so I don’t know how to make you feel better.”
“I’ve felt buried under the weight of the kids, you, work, that stupid bitch.” Ten grimaced as the words left his mouth.
Ronan snorted. It wasn’t like Ten to use that kind of language. “Can I assume from the smile on your face that you’ve found a way to dig yourself out?”
“I think so,” Ten agreed. “Ever since my arrest, I’ve been scared of everything. Jumping when I hear police sirens, waking up when the house creaks in the middle of the night. My stomach hits the floor every time a new customer walks into West Side Magick.”
“Do you want to get a better security system or a big dog?” Ronan didn’t know what else to suggest to make Ten feel safer in their own home.
“Nope. Although the kids would love another dog.” Ten shrugged. “When I was upstairs earlier helping Ezra unpack, he came and sat with me and asked why I was sad. I thought I’d been doing a pretty good job of keeping that hidden, but then it struck me that there might be another reason Ezra knew what I was going through.”
“His gift is starting to work.” It wasn’t a question. Ronan already knew the answer. They’d known Ezra would be gifted like Ten, but hadn’t known where or when it would manifest. It seemed the time was now.
“I asked him to tell me what number I was thinking of and not only did he know what it was, but told me I was too loud. He wasright, I’d used all my energy to push the number to him. Ezzie told me he’d take care of me like I promised to take care of him when he was born.”
“Wow!” Ronan took a sip from his can. “Did he seem interested in doing more with his brain powers?”
Ten shook his head. “All he wanted to do was go to the beach, which got me thinking that I needed to do the same thing. Go in the water, splash, hunt for shells, enjoy the sun on my face. I need find my joy in life again and the best part of that is my joy is all around me. You, the kids, our friends, this place. I need to start trusting humankind more and banishing my fears.”
“You know there are a lot of fucked up people out there, right? I mean half the country voted for-”
Ten set a hand over Ronan’s mouth. “Part of finding my joy isnotmentioning that asshole conman the entire time we’re here.”
Ronan laughed. “I can get behind that.”
Ten laughed along with him. “There’s something else I need to talk about. My Dad.”
Of all the things Ten could have said, David Grimm would have been at the bottom of the list. “What about him? Has David tried to contact you or Everly?”
“He hasn’t been reaching out to me and I don’t know if he’s been speaking with Everly. I think it’s time I reached out to him. How do you feel about that?”
“I’m not sure.” Ronan shook his head. “I know how much it meant to you to rebuild your relationship with him after he passed away. I also know how crushed you were to find out David had known about River all along and had purposely hid him from Kaye and you. Not to mention the way he respondedwhen you asked him about your brother and he refused to discuss the matter or accept River as his son. Then there’s Kaye.” Kaye Grimm hadn’t started out as Ronan’s biggest fan, but over time they’d developed an unbreakable bond.
Ronan would never forget Ten and Kaye being on the beach during a thunderstorm screaming into the wind at David. It had taken Kaye weeks to recover her voice, but she’d welcomed River and his family with open arms. The reason Kaye wasn’t with them on this getaway was because she was in Florida watching Brooke and Delta, while River and Barb took a little trip of their own. He had a feeling the result of their time away would be a third baby.
“Mom and I were in an awful place back then. I think we’re both doing better now. At least when it comes to David.”
“I agree with you.”
“But?” Ten prompted.
“But, after everything that happened with Autumn Miller, do you think you’re in the right head space to have this conversation with your father?”
