Page 56 of The Valiant Knight (The Ravensmire Chronicles #2)

Tony wiped his tears with his thumbs,

“In life, we all make mistakes. Forgiveness isn’t for the person who hurt you, Graham. Forgiveness is for the person who was hurt. Maybe it’s time you talked to them and told them you forgive them, so you can start healing too.”

He closed his eyes.

And Tony pulled him into his arms and hugged him. He let the man cry, and he held him up.

Because family wasn’t always blood.

Family was the people who were there when you were at rock bottom.

He said nothing else to him, but he held him, letting him get it all out.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

In that moment, Tony paid the universe back. Once upon a time, he had no one, and Charlie LaRue came to him, called him his son, and showed him the kind of love he needed.

So, Tony was going to do the same.

“When I was a little younger than you, about thirty, I went on vacation with Elizabeth and Chris. It was for Christmas.”

Graham listened.

“I nearly died in a rip current because I was too stubborn to listen to everyone. I believed that I’d been on my own, so I could handle ANYTHING . I, in fact, could not. I went under, and Elizabeth had to save me.”

He let Tony hold him as he shared this with him. He wasn’t sure where it was going, but it was clearly going somewhere.

“Elizabeth and her father, Charlie, got me to shore, and saved me. After, he was so angry with me. I thought erroneously that it was because I’d risked his daughter’s life being an idiot.”

“That wasn’t the reason?” he asked.

Tony laughed.

“No, it was because he was frustrated with watching me trying to YEET myself off the earth with stupid stunts, random acts of cavalier behavior, and choices that were incredibly dangerous. What he was really angry about was that he’d nearly lost me.

He told me in that moment that he loved me, and that he chose me.

He told me I was his son, and from that day on, he wanted me to love myself as much as he loved me. ”

Graham said nothing.

“Son, I love you, and I need you to make better choices, so I don’t lose you. The heart loves who it loves, Graham, and from this day forward, you’re mine. You’re part of my family.”

His heart skipped as he stared at Tony.

“Why?” he finally asked.

“Because family isn’t blood. It’s who you pick, and while your parents didn’t pick you, I’m picking you. You’re mine now, and that means you’re not alone in the world.”

He hugged Tony.

“And I love you for you, Graham. I want you to be part of my family. Jaxon and I want you to come stay with us for the holidays, and come meet our children. They are your family too.”

That kind of love and compassion was so foreign to Graham that he didn’t know what to say.

He could only think of one thing.

“Thank you for this.”

He took his face in his hands, and stared into his eyes.

“You deserve to be loved, and you are. If you hurt yourself, or you die, I’ll be crushed. This Christmas, we’ll be here for the wedding, but every other Christmas, I want you to come home. Any holiday, you come home, and we’ll have your room ready.”

It made him smile.

“Thank you.”

Tony being Tony went there.

“I mean, I could be your father. I was a ladies’ man when I was sixteen.”

It made him laugh.

How could it not?

Graham wiped his eyes for the last time, and now, he had hope.

“Can I really come home for the holidays?”

Tony nodded.

Pulling out his phone, he texted his wife. It was morning in DC, but he wanted to prove to this man that he wasn’t alone in the world.

Then, he sent a text.

‘Jaxy, Graham is going to be part of our family, and my son. Can he come home for all the holidays?’

Graham watched, taking it in, and holding his breath. Then, he saw the little bubble with the dots in it, showing she was typing.

When the message appeared, they read it together, and as usual, Jaxon didn’t let him down.

‘Absolutely. Graham is ours now, and he can come here anytime he wants. I love having a boy, so two will only be so much more fun. Give him a kiss from me, and from Jack and Sam. Tell him we’ll see him at Christmas for the wedding. I love you both.’

Graham read it, and oddly enough, he felt the weight lift off of his chest. Like he could hold on a little longer.

“Thank you for this,” he said again.

He reassured him.

“There’s no reason to thank me. We’re family now, and that matters. I expect a call from you weekly to make sure you’re okay.”

He laughed.

“Sundays good for you, Dad?”

Tony grinned.

“Perfect,” he said, patting him on the back. “Feel better?” he asked.

Graham actually did. Oh, his heart still hurt, missing D’Artangnan, but he might be able to hold on for a while because he felt love.

“Yes.”

Tony was glad.

As he was about to say something, they heard it. There was talking, and it sounded like it was coming toward the library.

They both froze, and stared at the open door.

What they didn’t expect was exactly what happened next.

Two dark figures walked past, cloaked, and talking in low murmurs.

Tony blinked.

“Did you just see what I saw?” he asked, as Graham was already getting up to follow them.

Well, he wasn’t leaving him behind.

The two of them peeked their heads out into the stone corridor that led back to the kitchen. There, they could see the translucent figures walking.

Hand-in-hand.

“That has to be Duncan and Ciarán,” Graham whispered.

It had to be.

They began following, and they caught the tail end of them as they moved up the stairs in the kitchen, that led to the tower.

At the top, they heard the door open with a squeak, and then close again.

Both men looked at each other.

“Not it,” said Tony.

Graham laughed.

“I’m not going.”

That gave Tony a good idea.

“We should wait until Finn and Gabby get back. Then, we should all go up at the same time.”

And that was the best damn idea Graham heard all day.

There was safety in numbers.

Even when it came to ghosts.

* * *The Ravensmire Castle* * *

Tattoo Time

Outside Of

The Shop

It had been difficult escaping his family. His parents and sisters were in love with Gabby, and they didn’t want to let them slip away.

He promised that he’d spend more time with them, AFTER they got back from the States.

Honestly, he wanted to spend as much time with his woman as possible.

ALONE .

He wanted to steal those moments, and that meant being a bit selfish. Finn simply couldn’t help himself. There were so many things he wanted to do with her, and all of them were there for the taking.

His life was good.

And he couldn’t be happier.

After getting her away from his family, he dropped her off at the tattoo place, and left her in good hands. Then, he knew what was next.

He needed to tell his boss he was going to be leaving the country on Sunday.

Finn was flying back with Gabby, and spending a week in the US packing her up, and bring her things back. He’d help her clear out the house, so that it could go up on the market.

Honestly, the more he thought about it, the more he didn’t want her to sell it.

Why couldn’t they have two homes?

He was sure that she would want to visit the US when she was homesick, and if she had to head back for Elizabeth, where would she stay?

With both of them employed, and his house paid for too, they could make that work.

As he got his vacation time handled, and headed back to the shop where his lady was, he couldn’t imagine what kind of ink she was getting.

But he was excited to see it.

When he reached the shop, he went in, and found his girl in a chair getting something tattooed on her hip.

“Can I see it, Lass?” he asked, as he could tell the artist was almost done.

She smiled.

“Absolutely,” she said.

Heading her way, he got a good look at it, and it made his heart skip in his chest.

“Oh, Gabriella,” he said, unable to stop smiling.

On her hip, there was a heart, and in it, she’d put his name.

It was sweet and something he’d never forget for as long as he lived.

“I wanted to carry you with me all day, every day,” she said, as the guy was finishing it up.

He.

Loved.

It.

Well, now, he needed to return the favor. Because if she had a name tattoo, he needed to do that too.

“Can you do me next?” he asked the man. “Same tattoo, but with her name on my chest?”

The man nodded.

“Absolutely.”

Well, then, it was decided.

As Gabby got up, the guy sealed the ink up, and she buttoned up her jeans.

Finn sat down, and they waited for the artist to make another image to stencil.

“I love it,” he said, holding her hand. “Thank you for that,” he added.

She gave him a kiss.

“It felt right. I can always get flowers. How often can I get the name of the man I love?”

She was absolutely right.

When the artist came over, Finn pulled off his shirt, and the man placed the stencil where he wanted it. When he peeled it off, he checked it in the mirror.

His chest was unmarked by ink, but now, it would hold the most important tattoo of his life.

“Perfect,” he said.

As the man got down to it, Finn ignored the pain, and focused on Gabby.

“What would you like to bring back for food tonight?” he asked.

She considered it.

“I’m kind of in the mood for pizza. Do you think we can make that happen?” she asked.

Oh, he’d make it happen if he had to find a recipe online and make it himself.

Fortunately, he knew a place.

“We can,” he said. “Or, and hear me out, we don’t bring food back, and instead, we bring Tony out for a night at the pub. You know he wants to go back out after the first night here.”

She smiled.

“You know what? He’d love that. Do you think Graham would join us?” she asked.

He laughed.

“Uh, probably not a good plan to bring him to a pub with a hangover. We might need to pick him up some food. I’d bet my next paycheck that he won’t want to join in with that fun.”

He was probably right.

Because he was excited, he told her what he’d been doing while she was getting inked.

“I have my vacation time cleared. It looks like it’ll be three returning to the States.”

She leaned down to kiss him.