Hope stopped swinging and ran across the sand and over the grass to where we were. “Daddy, you okay?”
He clenched his jaw and crouched down. He opened his arms and Hope went straight into them, looping her arms around his neck. Kyson picked her up and held her close, dipping his head to her neck and breathing. I watched as all the frustration and hurt seeped out of him as he held his girl. She was amazing, just holding on, not saying anything.
When he sighed and pulled back, he took in his daughter’s face. “You’re the best little girl in the whole world. You know that, right? How much Daddy loves you?”
She smiled and nodded avidly. She cupped both of his cheeks. “What’s the matter, Daddy? Someone make you sad?”
He frowned and shook his head. “I’m okay, bug. You hungry? Isa made you an amazing peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich.”
Hope grinned and glanced my way. “Did you cut off the edges?”
“Of course!” I patted her back.
Hope kicked her legs and Kyson put her down. “Let’s eat!” She hustled to the basket. “I’ll get it all out.”
I got close to Kyson until he pulled me into an embrace. His body trembled for a full minute as whatever emotions were left from his call leaked out of his body and he calmed down.
“You keep me sane, Isa,” he murmured against my skin.
I curled my hand around his neck and kept him close. “Then I’m doing my job.”
He nodded.
“You’ll get through this. Hope will be fine. And I’ll be here to help in any way I can.”
I could feel him swallow against my hold. “Just don’t leave. No matter how hard it gets or what happens from now until whatever shit she’s going to pull plays out. Just don’t leave. I couldn’t take it, baby.” His words were guttural as if they were peeled from his very soul.
I closed my eyes and locked him in my hold. “I won’t. I love you. I love Hope. I’ll never abandon either of you. Not ever.”
Twenty
Jasper drove while I fiddled with the stereo a hundred times, checked my phone another zillion times and stared blankly out the car window. The three-hour drive to my grandfather’s reservation was pure torture. It left far too much time to build up all the reasons why I was scared of meeting the man Evie and Suda Kaye revered. The first of which being his daughter chose to abandon me and keep me a secret from my sisters our entire lives.
All over again I was pissed at Catori.
If she hadn’t left the way she did, what kind of life could I have had?
If she hadn’t made my fathers promise not to speak of her, I would have had a mother.
If she hadn’t kept my sisters from me, I would have known their love sooner.
If she hadn’t kept my only living grandparent from me, I wouldn’t have felt uncertain about my place.
If she hadn’t abandoned me, everything would have been different.
I felt so deeply for Hope and Kyson in that moment I could hardly breathe. Every nuance of Kyson’s fear was now my own as Jasper pulled my car up behind Evie’s Cayenne, which was behind Camden and Suda Kaye’s vehicle at the gate of the reservation.
Kyson and Lincoln planned to drive up on Saturday morning as the wedding was scheduled for just before sunset. My guy didn’t want to leave Hope for four full days, much to his mother’s irritation. The woman had finally kicked the flu to the curb and was ready to see and spoil her grandbaby. Still, Kyson decided two days was enough and I agreed with him. Not knowing Veronica’s plans, and due to her pop-up visits, it was safer having Hope close. Plus, it gave him and Hope time alone to bond without me. Of course, Kyson didn’t think this was necessary, but I did. She’d had her dad alone her entire life. She probably wanted some special time with him, and I wanted her to have that. Mostly because I had no intention of backing away from their lives, rather ingratiating myself further in the fold as time went on.
Kyson agreed, though he worried about me meeting Tahsuda without him, as he knew that I was nervous. I explained he and Lincoln could attend the wedding on Saturday, spend all day Sunday with the family and head back home on Monday. And besides, I had Jasper. Regardless of all of this, I was a grown woman. Not all challenges needed to be faced with your man at your back. Sometimes you had to take those leaps of faith on your own and let fate play out.
This one was a fear I had to conquer on my own.
Jasper trailed behind my sisters and their men until we reached a one-story home, off the beaten path but close to where the mountains started to rise in the distance. As if we’d planned the move, each car separated and pulled in front of the home one after another.
Standing rock solid was a large, barrel-chested man. Skin the color of the earth. Black hair separated down the center, waving like a flag against the breeze. His face was weathered and showed his age but did not take away from the fierceness or the wisdom in his gaze. He wore a red-and-black poncho, his hands clasped in front of him. Several thin pieces of beaded leather were woven around his neck, a single turquoise inset in the center of his throat. Before I could even put my hand to the door handle, I watched Suda Kaye race from Camden’s car like an arrow shot from a bow. When she reached the man, he opened his arms and she slammed into him. He didn’t so much as need to take a step back, he was that solid. He wrapped her in his arms and held her close, dipping his chin to the top of her head. He closed his eyes, and his lips moved. I imagine he said something special, something private. A secret the two of them shared due to years of familial love and acceptance.
“Come on, Izzy, let’s go meet Grandpa Tahsuda.” Jasper squeezed my hand while I stayed seated in the car, perfectly still. Afraid to move. I watched as Evie walked up to our grandfather, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet in a display that was so far from her normal cool and calm exterior, I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.
Jasper opened my door just as I heard Evie squeal, “I’m getting married, Toko!” Then she threw her arms around the man. I held my breath as he took her into his embrace, held her head with her cheek to his heart and closed his eyes.
I shook, my knees knocking together like a game of marbles. Jasper led me toward the dark figure. He let go of Evie, and his coal-black gaze lifted to meet mine. For a full thirty seconds I did nothing but stare at the man. A wave of love so powerful and strong blasted against my body, making my heart pound and my vision blur.
My grandfather.
My blood.
My family.
He lifted his arms out toward me and said one word. “Kasaraibo.”
I broke down. Tears fell to my cheeks as Jasper led me straight into the arms of the only living grandparent I had.