Page 34 of Coach (Shady Valley Henchmen #8)

“Listen, I am so full that I feel like I might burst if I even breathe too deep,” I admitted, getting a low chuckle out of him. “You didn’t warn me that your family was going to keep piling my plate up each time it got even close to empty.”

“In my defense, you did tell them about the baby,” Saul said, shooting me a sweet smile. “They weren’t just feeding you, but them too.”

“The baby is going to have no room with how big my stomach had to stretch for all that food. I’m going to be craving those carnitas for the rest of my life.”

“My tía is going to love hearing that. She might want to move in to feed you while the baby grows.”

“Hey, we have extra rooms,” I said, getting a chuckle out of him.

“You might rethink that invitation when you know she insists on doing a deep house clean every Saturday morning. Starting at five a.m.”

“I mean… a clean house is never a bad thing.”

“No one is allowed to opt out of the cleaning.”

“Oh, in that case, maybe we just visit her every month. On, you know, a Tuesday.”

Saul reached for my wrist, lifting it, and pressing a kiss to the back of my hand. His fingers slipped between mine after, holding on as we kept driving.

I’d met a few of Saul’s family members since we’d gotten together. We’d visited with his sister and her lovely little family several times.

One of his uncles had dropped by on his way to a bachelor party in Vegas.

But it was the first time we’d gotten together with everyone in preparation for our upcoming wedding.

Coming from such a small family background, I had been unprepared for how loud, crazy, and fun it would be.

But there were so many times that I stood back, watching everyone interact, and completely overcome by how much love existed there.

“Hey, Saul?” I called, making him turn to look at me.

“I changed my mind.”

“On?” he asked, brows knitting.

“I know we only have three extra bedrooms to fill. But I think we need like five kids. At least. I want all of that,” I said, gesturing back toward where we’d come from, “every single day.”

“Luckily, I know a guy who knows a thing or two about construction,” he said, leaning over to press a quick kiss to my lips before the light changed.

Coach - 5 years

“Whoa, where you going, little man?” I asked, scooping up our toddler as he seemed to be making a beeline for the wall. Why? Who knew. Toddlers made no sense. I once caught him putting piles of pasta on his head instead of eating it while munching on a leaf he’d taken off a houseplant.

“Papá,” he said, thrusting a fat arm out toward the door.

“Yeah, the door. That’s where I was going. You were running face-first into the wall.”

It wasn’t uncommon for someone to be at the door. Between all the club members, their wives, and local friends we’d made.

But when I pulled open the door, I was shocked to see who was standing there.

I’d been writing him for years, but hadn’t been able to bring myself to visit him in prison after finally getting free of that place myself.

“You’re out,” I said, my eyes going wide.

He looked mostly the same from the last time I’d seen him, except he’d clearly been working out. Gone was the skinny kid; In his place was a lean-fit man with a more chiseled jaw, bright green eyes, and brown hair that he had shaved close to his head.

“I’m out. You’re a dad.”

“I am. I’ve got two.”

“You never mentioned that.”

“Figure not everyone wants to talk about kid stuff,” I said, shrugging. “Did you get out today?”

“Yeah.”

“And you came right here?”

“Got nowhere else to go,” he admitted, making my heart crack.

But of course he had nowhere to go. That was part of the reason he’d been such an angry kid when he went inside.

“Is that Saint with the… oh,” Este said, stopping at my side as she looked out. “Oh my God. You’re Deacon!”

Then, baby on her shoulder, she flung her arm around Deacon, pulling him in for the first hug the guy had probably had in a decade.

“You know about me?” Deacon asked, arms awkwardly patting her back.

“Of course I know about you. Saul talks about you all the time! We have your art all over the house.”

“Yeah?” Deacon asked, shifting his feet.

“Of course. I keep telling Saul that you are going to make a fortune from it when you got out. And now you’re out.”

“Dunno about that.”

Deacon fell into the trap that a lot of young men from shitty families do.

Without any love or direction growing up, with a parent who beat the shit out of him and emotionally stomped him out, he went looking for belonging elsewhere.

That got him into crimes. And if he’d been on the loose long enough, I was sure drugs would have become a problem.

In a fucked-up way, going away, and making friends with people inside like me, had shown him there was a different way.

Evident by him showing up at my door all these years later.

“Well, I do,” Este insisted. “Okay. What are you doing standing on the porch? Come in. I have fresh coffee. And I was about to make some lunch. Are you hungry?”

“You’re gonna invite me in?” Deacon asked, watching her with wary eyes.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I’m a con.”

“Saul is too.”

“It’s different.”

“Not from where I’m standing. Come on. You’re practically family. Are you afraid of dogs?”

“Nah.”

“Okay. Trix might not be a fan of yours right off. But she will warm up eventually once she realizes you’re safe.”

We all moved inside, but after I put down our toddler and took the baby, so Este’s hands were free, Deacon and I hung back as Este disappeared into the kitchen.

“This is your place?”

“Yeah. We’ve done a lot of work on it.”

“It’s nice.”

“Yeah. It’s home. So, what are you most excited about now that you’re out? I think mine was food, a good shower, sex, and peaceful sleep.”

“All that,” Deacon said, nodding. “But also some art supplies. Good ones.”

“Don’t know much about good supplies, but I’m sure we can find some nearby. Where are you now? Halfway house?”

“Yeah. Couple towns over. Probably not even supposed to be here.”

“Which P.O. did you get?”

“Some Nancy chick.”

“Shit.”

“She no good?”

“She’s gonna be a thorn in your ass every day until you’re free of her. Got a friend who can tell you how to navigate her. ‘Cause she will be looking for you to fuck up. Might be able to get you in an apartment in town, though. Old place he had.”

“Be glad to be out of the halfway house. Don’t wanna be around a bunch of guys with no privacy.”

“I get that. I’ll get you in touch with the woman who owns the apartment. But you’re gonna need to convince Nancy.”

He nodded at that, then watched Este move past the door.

“You love her, huh?”

“More than I thought I was capable.”

“And the kids?”

“Yeah, we’re loving being parents. Want a bunch more.”

“She got a sister?”

“Only child. Don’t worry. After we eat and find you your art supplies, the guys and I will drag you to the bar and get you laid.”

“What guys?”

“Right. Yeah. About that. I didn’t exactly leave the criminal world behind me,” I admitted. “When I got out, I was offered an opportunity to join the local MC.”

“Bikers?”

“Bikers.”

“Weekend warriors or…”

“Or.”

“Huh.”

“Been one of the best decisions of my life,” I admitted.

“Yeah? They taking applications?”

“Maybe. But first, can you get that shoe out of my kid’s mouth?”

So, yeah, that was how Deacon became a part of the family too.

Este - 15 years

“Breathe,” Saul said, pressing a hand into my lower back as I just barely resisted the urge to leap forward and yank my baby away from the saw. “He knows what he’s doing.”

“This was a child I once saw using a butter knife to cut through a two-by-four.”

“When he was five.”

“He’s barely older than that now.”

“He’s a teenager,” he reminded me.

“Don’t say that. He’s a little boy.”

“He’s got facial hair. And he stinks. All the time. And he now calls us ‘dude’ instead of Ma or Papá.”

“Ugh. Why does he smell so bad? Did you smell that bad? Did all the boys I went to school with smell so bad, but I was too overcome with my own hormones to notice?”

“Think they all go through a stink phase.”

“Not me,” our daughter, a very girly eleven-year-old, declared with a lift of her chin. “I took two showers yesterday.”

“Yeah, about that,” I said, running a hand down her hair. “Our water bill is going to be insane.”

“It’s worth it,” she declared, walking away. “You’re holding the wood wrong,” she told her older brother before sauntering off.

He was, too.

But instead of being pissed at his little sister for being right, he just sighed and readjusted his hold.

“Whose genius idea was it to let him build his own desk?” I asked.

“Yours,” Saul reminded me.

“Yeah, well, what the heck are you doing listening to me?” I asked, my whole body tensing as our son finally made his cut.

“See? All good. Was your grandfather this much of a worrier when he was teaching you?”

“He was a stickler about my hair being up and my clothes not being too loose. Other than that, though, no. He once said that if I cut off my finger, he’d just stick it on ice until the doctors could reattach it.”

“I’m not gonna cut off my finger, Ma,” our son said, rolling his eyes a bit as he took his desk top off the table. “I’m going to sand this outside.”

We both turned, watching him head up the steps his sister had just ascended, leaving the both of us alone in the workshop slash craft room.

Not all our kids were into woodworking. But they all had their own little hobbies that required storage space and areas to work on them without worrying about making a mess.

The basement that had once served as my prison was now a space we all enjoyed as a family.

“I know. I know,” I said when Saul glanced over at me. “I’m being a helicopter.”

“Nah. You did good. I saw you pull yourself back three times.”

We tried, as a whole, to allow our kids to explore and make mistakes, not always try to correct them.

It was how I’d been raised, and it never occurred to me how valuable that had been.

Or how difficult it would be to do with my own children.

I was in a constant battle with myself to just step back and observe, waiting to offer them guidance only if they asked for it.

Mindfulness was a constant practice. Luckily, I had Saul to keep reminding me to stay grounded and present.

“They don’t make it easy, do they?”

“No. But that’s what makes it all worth it. I gotta go pick up the little two from karate. You wanna take a walk?”

“Always.”

Shady Valley had changed a bit through the years. Storefronts that had once been abandoned now featured sweet little mom-and-pop shops that brought a lot of richness back into the community.

Sure, development meant there were also a lot more people than there used to be. But Shady Valley was still the small town I’d fallen in love with, and fallen in love in, many years before.

“Uh oh,” I said as we walked past the pool hall and I noticed a brick had fallen out of the step.

“Don’t suppose you’d be interested in fixing it,” Konstantin said, shooting me a knowing smirk.

“Sure. For a small fee of four hundred thousand dollars.”

Miracle of all miracles, I actually got a little laugh out of the usually so controlled Bratva boss.

“You’ll forgive me for getting some other quotes.”

I wouldn’t claim to be friends with the Novikoff family. But I understood the balance between the criminal empires in the city.

And, well, our kids went to school together. So we had to be friendly, no matter our pasts.

“Picking up your kids too?” Konstantin asked as the front door to the karate studio opened and people started to spill out.

“Yeah,” we agreed, crossing the street to meet ours. Konstantin waited on the other side, waiting for his kids to cross safely.

We were somewhat hands-off parents with mostly independent kids.

But the Novikoff kids were almost feral.

“Mom,” our youngest said, letting out an epic sigh.

“Yeah, honey?” I asked, running my fingers through her hair.

“I gave it a try.”

“Hmm?

“Karate. You said I had to give it a try.”

She gave it more than a try. My little perfectionist had busted her butt to get good at it.

“Okay…”

“I don’t want to do it anymore.”

“Oh, well, okay,” I agreed. “You know your father and I kind of want you guys to each have one physical activity and one more mental hobby, though.”

“I know. I want to try something new.”

“That’s great. What do you want to try?”

“Soccer.”

My stomach sank, but I forced a smile on my lips. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m good at it.”

“I think that’s a great idea then. We will sign you up as soon as the season starts then.”

Happy with my decision, she skipped forward to join her brother.

“You handled that really well,” Saul said, wrapping an arm around me. “I’m proud of you.”

“We want the kids to explore their interests,” I said. Then, with a little smile for Saul. “And the local soccer coach is part of my mom’s group.”

Saul leaned over, pressing a kiss to my temple as we watched the kids run up our front porch to greet their siblings.

“Crazy,” I said.

“What is?”

“All of this because I fell off a ladder and into your arms,” I said. “Been falling for you ever since.”

“And I’ll always be here to catch you.”

XX