Page 32 of Unbroken (Poplar Springs #2)

THIRTY

ELI

“ H appy birthday, monkey!” Fiona sang out as she set a chocolate cake with a number five candle flickering on top down in front of him.

Immediately, everyone began to sing. My son’s eyes were lit with happiness as he blew out the candle, which he managed without adding too much spit.

This was birthday party number two and so far, it has been going far better than the first one.

The first party was supposed to have been at Magiano’s Pizza.

I’d reserved the back room so people could come and go, with room for the kids to run around, but my father had insisted that we have it at his church instead.

He’d pointed out that there was plenty of space and a small playground outside where the kids could play—and that it came free of charge.

I should never have agreed to it. Dad’s controlling behavior had sucked all the joy out of the party, leaving Patrick on the verge of tears and me on the verge of punching something by the time the afternoon was done.

That was yesterday, and when Fiona found out what happened, she’d insisted on putting something together for him at the ranch.

It ended up being the Caffertys along with a few of the hands and my mother in attendance.

Fiona and Zoe had made the cake, which was multiple layers of chocolate and strawberries.

“You guys didn’t have to do all this,” I told Josh who held up his hands.

“This is all my sisters’ and Zo’s doing,” he said. “Besides, you’re practically family.”

I didn’t know what to say to that and I was feeling a bit choked up, so I limited myself to a grunted out, “Thanks.”

“Daddy, daddy, look!” Patrick shouted, running over to show me the coupon book he’d been given. In it were a stack “gift certificates” for things like: learning about horses, getting a portrait done with his head on his favorite robot’s body, advanced riding lessons, etc.

“That’s fantastic, bud. You’re going to look great as a robot.

” I looked over at Zoe, who was leaning up against Josh, and mouthed a “thank you” to her for her part of the gift.

The horse stuff could have come from any of the Caffertys, but I knew the robot portrait was all her.

I hadn’t seen too many of her graphic designs, but I had seen her photos and they were amazing.

I was sure that whatever she created for Patrick would be cherished by him.

He also got a new cowboy hat, a stuffed dinosaur wearing a miniature version of the same hat, and a horse puzzle.

After we’d eaten our fill of cake, Fiona took him outside to play on the swing while Zoe took pictures.

She’d managed to capture some amazing candid shots of my son in absolute heaven, and then gotten my mom and me to sit with him for a multi-generational family portrait, promising me a larger, framed print to hang on the wall.

I was touched by all the effort everyone went to in order to give my son a more memorable birthday that didn’t include tears .

Dustin, Mitch and the other hands weren’t able to stay too long. There was work to be done, after all. When the party started breaking up, I contemplated asking my mom to take Patrick home so I could head out and take care of some work myself, but Josh read my mind.

“Don’t even think about working on your son’s special day,” he said. “Enjoy your time together.”

“Is that an order, boss?”

“You bet it is. In fact, I’m thinking of making it a rule.”

I crossed my arms and rubbed my chin, as if I were in deep thought. “While that sounds like a nice idea, isn’t Dustin’s wife getting ready to give birth to another child?”

“Twins, actually, and … oh. I can see the issue. I might have to think about this rule a bit more. But in the meantime, enjoy the day with your son and mom. We don’t know how much time we have on this earth, so cherish the special moments,” Josh said before clapping me hard enough on the back that I staggered forward.

He walked over to Zoe and took her camera from her, holding it just out of her reach until she agreed to kiss him. I looked over at Fiona to see if she was watching them, but she was in an animated conversation with my mom and Patrick.

I was alone for the moment and I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Josh was right. Patrick was growing up and soon enough, he wouldn’t want to spend time with his boring old dad instead of his friends. My mom laughed at something Fiona said while Patrick jumped up and down in front of them.

I did need to cherish these moments. Not just because Patrick was growing up but also because I didn’t know how much longer I would be here. When I did move on, would I be able to find friends and coworkers as great as the Caffertys? I didn’t think so.