She nodded at her dad. “So why did you rescue grandpa then?”
“Because it was the right thing to do for the Clan. That’s why we came here, remember? Mission complete.”
“So we can move before my test then?”
I groaned.
Baine laughed.
“Smart kid,” Taylor complimented.
Grant wrapped an ACE bandage around my knee and made me promise to keep my weight off that leg until he spoke to our Clan doctor. Turned out he was tending to my dad so worked out perfectly for us to go see him sooner rather than later.
Mentally, I thought I was prepared but walking into the house I’d grown up in and into his bedroom to find my father looking small and frail in his big bed wrecked me.
Since we hadn’t seen the doctor yet, Baine was being over-protective and insisted on carrying me. I tried to argue but secretly enjoyed it. That was until I saw the look on my father’s face when we walked in and Baine carefully set me down on the bed.
“You didn’t tell him?” I whispered.
He shook his head.
I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with that too. What I was expecting was to see my daughter excitedly leaping onto the bed. My dad was one of her favorite people in the entire world. Instead, she clung to Baine. It was the truest testament of just how bad he looked.
Baine squatted down to Macie’s eye level. “I know it feels scary and he looks rough, but Grant and your Clan doctor have thoroughly checked him over. He could stand to put a few pounds back on, but I promise you he’s going to be okay. Would I lie to you?”
She shook her head and wiped a tear from her eyes.
“You need to be strong for him just like he’s always been strong for you, okay?”
Dad watched the interaction between them intently as Macie hugged Baine who picked her up and settled her on the bed next to him. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen my father so emotional as he watched them.
“Are you really okay?” Macie hesitantly asked him.
Dad softened and reached out a hand to her. “I am now that my favorite grandcub is here.”
Macie rolled her eyes. “I’m your only grandcub, silly.”
Baine squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll be just outside until you need me.”
I wanted him to stay, but I didn’t argue. I knew it couldn’t be easy on him dealing with my father.
“I may have been through quite the ordeal, but my eyes still work perfectly fine. Do you want to tell me what’s going on with you and Baine Landry?” Dad asked, the second Baine closed the door behind him.
I wasn’t ready for the interrogation but I knew I needed to stand firm.
“He’s my true mate, Dad.”
The most magnanimous man I’d ever known sniffed as his eyes moistened.
“I’m sorry that upsets you. It’s not my intent. It’s simply a fact.”
“He’s my dad,” Macie blurted out. “You can’t kick him out again without banishing me, too.”
The protective tone in my daughter’s voice surprised me. Pride swelled in my chest.
“I always suspected,” he surprised me by saying. “My biggest regret in life will always be how I handled that situation. Still, despite it all, he came to rescue me.”
“He didn’t want to,” I admitted.
“The grumpy man made him do it, but we’re glad he did,” Macie explained.
Dad closed his eyes and nodded. “He always was a good kid. I was wrong, Olive.”
“I know, dad. It was a long time ago.”
“You’ve already forgiven me,” he said with certainty.
I leaned down and carefully hugged him. “Life’s too short to hold on to anger.”
“I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”
“I’m aware.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank her yet,” Macie blurted out. “We’re going with him when he leaves.”
Dad squeezed me a little tighter. “I know.”
“I’m scared, Dad.”
He stroked my hair as he did so often when I was a little girl. “I wouldn’t step aside without argument for a lesser man. The fact that he came back, facing potential death even, to save our Clan, to save me is a debt I’ll never be able to fully repay.”
“He was just doing his job, grandpa. You don’t owe him anything.”
He reached over and hugged Macie to him, too. “How long until you leave?”
Macie shrugged. “That’s up to the grumpy man, but I’m hoping it’s before my big test next week.”
“Macie Laine,” I warned, but I appreciated the wide smile that crossed my father’s face reaching all the way to his eyes. That smile let me know he was really going to be okay.
Dad surprised me when he requested Baine to join us.
When I opened the door, Killian tried to force his way inside.
“Macie, why don’t you go entertain Uncle Killian while I speak with your parents?” said Dad, firmly as a statement, not a question.
Baine heard him and gave me a questioning look. I could only shrug. I had no idea what he wanted.
Macie left the room without a fuss and Baine enjoyed closing the door in Killian’s face. I scowled and shook my head, but he just gave me an innocent look and winked.
His entire body stiffened as we walked back to my father’s bed though. I reached for his hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze.
“Please, sit with me a moment. I want you both to know how sorry I am for everything. Being locked in a cage and facing death head on made me realize just how short life is. It also gave me time to consider my life and everything I’ve accomplished. The biggest mistake I ever made was banishing you from this Clan. You were like a son to me and I turned my back on you. It has haunted me every day since. I made a pact with myself that if the good Lord found a way for me to escape that nightmare, then the first thing I would do was find you, Baine, and make amends.”
Baine’s jaw dropped open and silent tears ran down my cheeks.
“When I opened my eyes in that car and saw you sitting next to me, I honestly thought I was dead and you were my purgatory. I couldn’t even complain because I deserved that. Fortunately for me, you’re a much bigger man than I’ll ever be.”
My dad was the biggest man I knew and it hurt my heart to hear him pouring out his.
“Forgive me, son?”
Baine was speechless, but he slowly nodded.
With a smile back on his face, and the stress gone that he’d been carrying for so long, my father seemed to improve right before our eyes. He reached over and took my hand and then Baine’s and he held them together.
“I can see you haven’t sealed your bond. I’m not sure what the holdup is, and I know you aren’t waiting for my blessing, but I want you both to know you have it. There was a light in my Olive’s eyes that dimmed the day you left. I see it’s back. Her love for you shines bright, Baine. Don’t snuff that light out again. It’s more precious than anything. And I might not be Alpha anymore and I’m certainly in no condition to challenge my son for it back, but I am still an alpha and I can sense just how strong and powerful your bear has grown. You were always a great protector of her. I know you will be even more so as a mate. I wish the both of you a lifetime of happiness together. I know it can’t make amends for the past, but I do hope you will consider visiting once in a while.”