“No one, Tink. No one but you. You’ve always been all I see. All I want. All I crave,” I tell my wife as I make love to her.
“I love you, Sonny,” she pants. “All of you.”
“Daddy! It’s donut day!” our daughter yells as she jumps onto the bed where my wife and I were sleeping.
“Shhhh…you’re going to wake up Mommy,” I tell her.
“Too late,” Ruby mutters. “Little miss, didn’t I tell you to knock before barging into someone’s bedroom?”
“But Daddy and me can’t be late. It’s Donuts with Dad day at school today,” Gemma, our five-year-old daughter, pouts.
Picking her up, I smack a kiss on her cheek. “Go get dressed. I promise we won’t be late.”
“K!” she yells before running to her room and slamming the door shut.
“Good Lord, that girl is going to be the death of me,” Ruby says as she pulls the blankets back up over her face.
Chuckling, I edge them back just enough so I can kiss her. “This pregnancy is making you grumpy.”
“Is not,” she pouts with a grumble.
I kiss her again before leaving the bed to get ready to go have donuts with my daughter.
Who would have thought that me, Sonny Knight, the son of an Irish mob boss, would become a family man? I wouldn’t trade a second of it for anything.
Ruby found out she was expecting our second child after our anniversary. We just found out this one is a boy. And I’m happy to say that this pregnancy has been healthier and easier on her, with the exception of how tired she is all the time. But I guess that’s to be expected when you have another energetic one running around.
Our precious Gemma has been the center of our whole world since the moment she was born. She’s a firecracker with a quick wit. She’s brave and fearless and has the biggest heart.
She’s also the reason why Ruby’s family is such a big part of our family now. I’m so grateful that they were able to make amends and grow as a family together, with open arms to both Ruby and myself.
I never expected them to welcome me into their family or forgive me for the things I did, but they do and they have.
Benton once asked me if Ricco could ever hurt his daughter again. I assured him that he couldn’t breathe the same air as Ruby ever again. He understood what I meant, and although he might not understand the way I was raised to be mobster, he still shook my hand in gratitude.
Dez is still our best friend and always close by. He’s since moved into his own home and has stepped away from his work at the club, only coming to help if I need him. Instead he’s made it a full-time job and mission to help with the human-trafficking epidemic that’s swept through the world. Much of the heart of it coming after what he and Ruby faced. He started his own company that is now contracted with the government from time to time to help, because he’s that good. I’m so proud of my best friend, and I’m happy to call him that.
Ruby has continued to be the brave, strong woman she always has been. She has bad days like everyone else and wakes from nightmares sometimes. She still sees a therapist regularly, both alone and with me. Together we worked through the past to give our future the very best chance.
Looking at Ruby’s sleeping form now, still tucked into bed when I exit the bathroom, I smile and think, Yeah, I’m a pretty lucky bastard for the life I have. I kiss her on the head before I leave her to sleep.
Taking Gemma’s hand, we walk to her school, which is only a few blocks away, and when she looks up at me and smiles, I nearly fall to my knees. Her eyes, the same ocean blue as her mother’s, slay me every time, turning me to putty in her hands.
I’m thankful for second chances. For acceptance of change. For forgiveness.
But mostly, I’m thankful for the love of a girl who loved me back when she had every reason not to.