Page 96 of Damon

I catch him and haul him straight into my lap while he giggles wildly. “How’s my favorite little man?”

“Zoo!” he announces.

“Oh yeah?”

“The elephants werethisbig.” He throws both arms outward dramatically enough that I almost lose my drink, avoiding getting smacked in the face. For the next several minutes, Cooper proceeds to explain their zoo trip in extreme detail—every animal, snack, and single thing theelephants did. By the third—or maybe it’s the fourth—retelling about one elephant spraying water onto another elephant, I stop trying to follow the story coherently.

Instead, I just sit there, holding my grandson while the sounds of everyone I love fill the rooftop around me. And all I can think about is how grateful I am that Gabriel let me back into his life because he didn’t owe me that. Not after everything. Not after the years between us and falling for Mackenzi. But somehow—slowly, awkwardly, and downright painfully at times—we found our way back anyway.

I lean back slightly in my chair, talking with my family, while Mackenzi’s hand rests absentmindedly against my thigh under the table. And for maybe the thousandth time since she walked into my life, gratitude hits me hard enough to almost hurt, because I almost missed this.All of it.

If I had made one different choice…

If she hadn’t challenged me…

If Gabriel hadn’t given me another chance…

I would’ve spent the rest of my life believing this kind of happiness belonged to other people, not men like me.

For years, my life was movement—mission after mission, country after country, always leaving—always running toward the next threat before it could reach the people I cared about.

Being still felt dangerous back then. If I stopped moving long enough, everything from my past would catch up to me. But somewhere along the way, Mackenzi changed that.She took this restless, damaged thing inside me and gave it somewhere safe to land.

Over the next hour, the rooftop slowly empties until eventually only Mackenzi and I remain outside. The city hums softly around us while candle flames flicker gently in the warm summer breeze. Mackenzi stands near the railing, staring out across Chicago with her graduation stole still draped loosely over her shoulders.

God, she’s beautiful.

I walk toward her slowly before sliding my arms around her waist. She melts against my chest immediately. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, Doctor.”

She groans softly. “You’re never letting that go, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

Her laughter vibrates warmly through her body against mine. I press a kiss against her temple before resting my chin lightly on her shoulder.

For a long moment, neither of us speaks.

We just stand there, watching the city lights together.

Then quietly, honestly, I tell her the truth that’s been sitting heavy in my chest all night. “I am so very proud of you for what you’ve accomplished, trouble. You can do anything you want with your life, and you chose to do it with me.”

Her fingers lace gently through mine, where my hands rest against her stomach. “I love our life,” she confesses softly. “Every bit of it.”

The words hit me straight in the chest, and I tighten my hold around her slightly.

“So do I.”

And Christ, I really do.

For a man who spent most of his life running, always prepared to disappear at a moment’s notice, it’s almost unreal to realize I no longer want to. Not anymore. This terrifying, beautiful act of letting people love you has the power to mend all your broken pieces. And standing here with Mackenzi in my arms, I realize I no longer feel like a man waiting for the next reason to run. For the first time in my life, I feel like someone who can finally stand still.