(3 years, 7 months later)
“Alright my little cowboy, time to blow out your candles. Don’t forget to make a wish,” I whispered to my son Liam, who was decked out in his favorite Western outfit, complete with a ten-gallon hat and a holster for his Billy the Kid toy gun.
Liam’s eyes poured over the massive cowboy-themed ice cream cake topped with a huge number three candle that Sarah had ordered for the occasion. He inhaled slowly, his cheeks puffing up, and when his lungs were full, he paused for a moment and locked his eyes with mine, giving a quick wink before blowing out all the candles in one big huff.
We all clapped and whistled as Liam leaned back in his chair looking proud. “I’m free,” he announced with glee—he was still working on his ‘thr’ sound—and my three nephews huddled around him in excitement.
Sarah covered her swollen belly with one hand and began passing out forks and plates with the other, first to the kids, and then to my sister Hope and her husband John and me. “Alright, I hope everyone likes mint chocolate chip. It’s the birthday boy’s favorite,” she said as she began to carefully carve the cake.
John nudged me, leaning in as he asked, “Hey Declan, when’s that famous BBQ chicken of yours going to be ready? I’m starving.”
“I’m sorry, man, it’ll be ready soon. We’d meant to serve lunch first, but this morning, the little guy insisted on opening presents early, so we thought we’d do the cake now instead. Can I get you a beer? I just picked up a case of this great IPA from Vermont that none of the stores around here can seem to keep in stock,” I offered.
“Sure, I’ll take one of those in the meantime,” John said.
“You’ve got it. Hey Liam, I know you’re chomping at the bit to open your presents, but Daddy has to run in the house for a second. Just hold tight for a few and enjoy the cake with your cousins. I’ll be right back.”
Liam nodded obediently, raised his fork to the large cake slice that Sarah had served him and began digging in with gusto.
I made my way onto the deck, took a peek at the food on the grill and popped into the kitchen. I grabbed two IPAs, a bag of chips and an empty bowl as Sarah and Hope were making their way inside.
“I know I’ve seen it, what, about a hundred times now, but can I please get another peek at the insane rock you have on your finger just one more time?” Hope begged when she got inside.
Sarah obliged and splayed the fingers of her left hand for my sister, turning to look me in the eye, “I have to admit, Hope, I still can’t believe your brother splurged like he did.”
“It’s so beautiful; I just love the setting and those accent stones are precious,” Hope gushed.
“My hands are almost full, but I can grab something else if you ladies can think of anything else we need out there,” I interjected.
“Oh, no, I’m here to help, Declan. Let me grab the beer and everything else you’re carrying and you go help your very pregnant wife,” Hope volunteered.
I passed everything in my arms off to my sister and took Sarah in my arms. “Can you believe how far we’ve come, babe? Remember how I used to rail against the idea of kids and white picket fences? Now look at us.”
“You’re right, a lot has changed, but thankfully, a lot still hasn’t,” Sarah cooed in my ear as her left hand rubbed my back, the other hand making its way around to the bulge growing in my jeans.
“Fuck…last night…god, you were incredible,” I gushed.
“I was incredible? You were relentless,” Sarah teased.
I pulled back, feigning a smug face and shrugged, “What can I say? I’m a man with an insatiable appetite.”
“Yeah, well you’d better watch those IPAs, or you’ll start developing a Dadbod like your brother-in-law out there,” she chided.
I pulled her in close, grabbing her firmly by the hips and kissed her deeply. “Once we wrap everything up later and the little man is asleep, I want to see if we can break last night’s record. They say the fourth time is a charm.”
Sarah laughed, “I’m so glad I listened to you when you insisted that we set up Liam’s room on the opposite end of the house from our room.”
I gave her a quick squeeze and patted her on the ass. “Alright, we should start to bring out the presents. I’ll grab the big one. I put the smaller, lighter ones in a bag over there near the fridge if you want to grab that,” I motioned.
As we made our way back out to the party, Liam and his cousins were running around playing tag while Hope and John were busy clearing the dessert plates from table.
“Alright, everyone. It’s time for presents!” I shouted.
The kids stopped dead in their tracks and dashed over to the picnic table, bouncing around with excitement. Before I could place the largest present on the table, Liam was already shouting, “I want the big one, Daddy! Let me open the big one!”
Sarah followed, placing the smaller gifts by Liam and sat down next to me.
“Alright, buddy, it’s your big day. If that’s what you want, that’s what you get,” I said as I carefully placed the large box down in front of him.
He paused and looked up at me, waiting for approval.
“Go ahead, Liam. Open it!”
His eyes widened as he lurched toward the gift and swiftly began tearing the paper away. When he realized what it was, he jumped back and covered his mouth with both hands.
“A moto-cyco! Just like Daddy’s moto-cyco,” he exclaimed.
“Well, it’s close, buddy. It’s a tricycle that looks like Daddy’s motorcycle,” I said as I freed it from the box and placed it in the grass. “Check it out, it even has flames on the side like Daddy’s bike,” I pointed out.
Sarah chimed in and handed him a smaller gift from the table, “Wait, this goes with it, Liam. You have to open this one next.”
Liam hungrily took the small box in his hands and methodically ripped the paper away to reveal a plastic motorcycle helmet that resembled mine to a T.
“Try it on, buddy,” I said as I carefully removed his prized ten-gallon hat and replaced it with the helmet. His eyes lit up as he jumped on his new bike, and before we could tell him to be careful, he sped away through the backyard as his cousins chased after him.
A feeling of gratitude washed over me and I almost welled up, but I managed to control myself. I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed in just a matter of a few years. I had married the most amazing woman and now lived in a beautiful home—white picket fence and all.
Fatherhood had given me a new perspective on life and made me truly appreciate every moment that I was able to spend time with my family. Our son reminded me more and more of Sarah and me every day, and although it was too early to tell, it seemed like he inherited the best of both of us.
Once I settled down with Sarah, I happily gave up the old business, and ‘put it all away’ as her father had urged in his letter to me. I didn’t miss my past life for a second, but at the same time, I didn’t regret where I had come from. Being in such a dangerous trade taught me how to not only protect myself and others in ways that normal guys would never understand, but I knew that if anyone ever threatened me—or my family—I knew I had what it takes to protect what I held dear.
Just then, Liam circled back, pulled the e-brake on his bike and spun out right in front of us, like a miniature stunt man. He leapt up from the bike, reached for his holster, and pulled his toy gun out in one move, shouting, “Bang! Bang! Bang! I’m gonna get all the bad guys.”
I shot Sarah a sideways glance. Shock began to spread over my face until I realized that we were the only ones who knew the truth about both her father’s past and mine.
“Looks like we might have a future vigilante on our hands. I wonder where he picked that up from? Better keep an eye this guy,” John joked as we all broke into laughter.
As my tension eased, Sarah smirked, rubbing the top of my hand and giving me a knowing look. We had nothing to worry about; our secrets were safe. The darkness of the past was far behind us and the future ahead was so bright.
THE END