She came back to me and kissed me long and wet before pulling away.
“Smooth sailing,” she whispered, her eyes twinkling.
“Go to work so you can come back to me,” I ordered gruffly.
“Love you,” she said as she backed away.
“Love you too, baby.”
I stood there in the kitchen and let the feeling ofhomesoak in. I’d been waiting a hell of a long time. Tipping my head back, I listened to Teddy and Finn getting ready to leave.
The front door opened.
“Love you, Dad!” Finn called.
“Love you too, bud,” I called back, lowering my head back down.
The door closed behind them, and I set my empty mug in the sink.
Throwing on my cut, I turned off all the lights and left for the garage.
It was time to live our lives.
Epilogue
Teddy
“Finnegan Harrison,” Karacalled out proudly.
The crowd around me surged to their feet, stomping and yelling and clapping as my boy crossed the stage, his cheeks red with embarrassment.
“Yeah, Finn,” Dylan yelled, putting his fingers to his mouth to whistle sharply.
“That’s my boy,” Curtis added, clapping his hands so hard that he jostled Jesse’s girlfriend and had to stop to apologize.
I laughed as Kara shot us a glare, waiting for everyone to quiet down so she could call the next name. It took a minute, since we’d filled an entire section in the auditorium. There were Aces cuts in every direction.
“He probably should’ve thought twice before he agreed to the name change,” Dylan said as we sat back down. “He sounds like a lawyer’s office. Finnegan Harrison, how can I direct your call?”
“Shh.” I elbowed him in the side as I laughed.
“I know, right?” Jesse said, whisper-shouting as they leaned around Curtis. “What a nerd.”
“He just graduated with honors,” I reminded them both. “Better than either of you did.”
“Nerd,” they both repeated at the same time.
“Your nerd brother is gonna kick your asses if you don’t shut it,” Curtis said, tightening his arm around my shoulder. “Practically dislocatin’ his neck down there tryin’ to shut you up.”
I scanned through the crowd of caps and gowns until I found Finn, the only kid turned toward us. He was staring in horror, his eyes wide.
Then, after a moment, his face softened, and Finn lifted his hand in a small wave.
“We did it,” Curtis whispered in my ear as all around me, Aces shifted in their seats and our family waved back at him.
