Wyatt was, of course, still Del’s mostly quiet little shadow, and Scarlett demanded attention off everyone, but she was particularly taken with Del’s sister Bernie, who was also staying with them at the moment. But somehow the house didn’t feel crowded at all.
The house felt like a home, and the people in it felt like a family.
One night, after Del had helped Justin up the stairs to bed, Justin lay under the comforter in the darkness and tried to flex his still-painful fingers. Weird that they hurt the most, given he’d had major surgery at the same time. “Del?”
Del shifted beside him. “Hmm?”
“I can’t go back to work for a while.”
“I know that.” He reached out and brushed his fingers down Justin’s cheek. “Given what you’ve been through, I’d rather you didn’t go back to something that physically demanding anyway.”
“I don’t have a lot of options.” His throat ached to admit that aloud.
“Okay, so hear me out,” Del said. “You don’t needto work right now. I’m not rich, but I’m not struggling either. And for now, the payments you get for the kids more than cover their expenses. So what do you need to work for?”
“What do you mean for now?” Justin asked, turning towards him.
Del’s face was shadowed in the darkness. “Well, I figure that might change when we’re official, right? I don’t know exactly how it all works, but my financial status might mean your payments drop.”
“Official?” Justin asked, his heart beating faster.
“If that’s what you want.” Del’s voice was so calm and quiet and certain. “Justin, you and the kids are family. And maybe I haven’t made it clear in the past, but you’re it for me. I’m in this for as long as you’ll have me.”
Justin’s breath caught. “Really?”
“Really.” Del leaned in and brushed their mouths together in a chaste kiss. “But I want us to leave Enterprise. I want us to get our own place together. One where your old house doesn’t loom in seeing distance. One where we can all have a fresh start.”
Justin’s mind whirled. “Really?”
“Really. Do you want to do that too?”
Leave Enterprise behind? It was all Justin had ever wanted. “Yeah. Hell yeah.” He tried to laugh, but it came out more like a sob. “Del, what if it doesn’t work out though? What if you get sick of always having to rescue me?”
Del caught his aching hand gently. “Justin, you rescued me too. When I came here I was a mess, okay? I might not have looked like one, but I had no idea what the hell I was doing with my career, or my life, or anything. And now look at me. I have a partner, and a family, and I’m actually excited to be back in the kitchen. And you did that. You and the kids. You rescued me as much as I rescued you.”
Justin held his breath for a moment, and then let it out slowly. “I’m sorry for what I did. For not telling you Steve was back. I was…” He tightened his grip on Del’s hand. “I was scared. I was scared he’d find out about us, and he’d hurt you. And I was scared that even if he didn’t, like even if he just showed up on your doorstep and yelled at you or whatever, that it’d be the final straw for you. And I came up with a hundred reasons to justify why I didn’t tell you, but all I did was put the kids in danger by going back there.”
He’d made things so much worse for Del, because now the police had been and asked questions, and Del spent a lot of time on the phone with his lawyer, and a few days ago they’d gone into town for groceries and for once most of the stares and whispers were for Del instead of Justin.
“Hey.” Del shook his head. “We don’t always make the right decisions in life, Justin, and you were under so much pressure. I wish you’d never gone back too. I wish you’d told me so I could have helped protect you, and I wish you’d never got hurt. But he’s gone now. He can’t hurt you or the kids again. We’re okay now, and that’s what matters.”
Uncle Steve would make a pretty full recovery, Detective Fischer had said, which had surprised his doctors, but it would be years before he’d be out of prison again. He was being held in jail until his trial, which was another thing Justin didn’t want to think about. He didn’t want to stand up in court and tell everyone what Steve had done. O’Dwyers didn’t rat each other out. Justin had learned that from the time he was a kid. It’s not like he owed Uncle Steve any loyalty at all, but he was afraid Uncle Steve’s lawyers would ask him why he went back to the house if he knew Uncle Steve was so violent. He was afraid nobody would understand the fear that had driven him to do it. The fear that had driven him to lie to Del, and to himself. How could a jury understand it when Justin could barely understand it himself?
He shivered, and Del smoothed a hand down his side.