Sitting on the bed, I placed my arm around Imogen, pulling her to me. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?”
“I’m just so happy he’s back, but it hit me when I was here that he almost wasn’t. It just makes me hate my father even more.” She turned to me, her face hardening further. I wiped her tears, clasping her face between my hands.
“Your father will pay for what he’s done, for the things he’s taken from us.” My words were strong, with no ounce of fear or doubt in them.
“How are you so sure?” she asked, searching my eyes.
“Because he doesn’t know that everything he’s done has only made us stronger, not weaker. We keep rising up. We keep moving forward. We keep trusting in love. A man like Dayton can never understand the strength it takes to do that. He thinks he’s breaking us down, but really, he’s just making an army of people who want to destroy him. And we will. I have no doubt. Whether by my hands, yours, or your brothers’, Dayton Mascro will not get away with this.”
Her back straightened, and she nodded. “You’re right. I am strong. We all are.”
“Yes, sweet girl. We are.” I kissed her forehead, pulling her into a hug. It was crazy how my boundaries had kept me from doing the most natural thing in the world a few months ago. Now, it wasn’t that I didn’t care about ethics, because I did, but I understood that there were some things that the ethics board didn’t understand. This was one of them.
“When are you going to tell him the news?” she asked, pulling back and wiping her face.
“Tell me what?” Jude asked, stepping into the room under Wells' arms. He looked between Imogen and me, trying to figure it out. Standing, I took his other side and helped him to the bed. I walked over to the dresser and pulled out some clothes for him.
“I’ll let you change, and then if you want to know, I’ll tell you.”
“Okay.” He nodded, swallowing, and I realized he looked nervous, and I wondered what he was thinking. I tried to figure out what conclusion he would’ve jumped to, but as I stood out in the hall with Imogen, I couldn’t.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and Wells nodded for us to enter. Imogen walked in, hugging Jude one more time, and then kissed his cheek before she left.
Sitting on the bed next to him, I grabbed his hand, running my thumb across the top of it. As I tried to find the right words, he buckled under the pressure, spitting out his fears.
“I’m leaving, aren’t I? I promise I didn’t say anything to Immy’s father. I kept my mouth shut, but I understand if I’m too much of a burden now.” He hung his head, my mouth opened in shock at his words. Before I could reassure him, Wells stepped in, knocking his shoulder.
“Don’t do that. Give your mom a chance to explain before you jump to conclusions. It’s been a tough four days for her, and she’s barely slept or eaten, so if she needs a moment, give her a moment.”
“Mom?” he asked, looking between Wells and me, his eyes shiny.
I nodded, the words not needed as my tears fell. “It’s official.”
I pulled him into a hug as we cried into one another’s arms. Wells was right that I’d been worried, and exhaustion filled my entire being as I held Jude. I think a part of me still worried it wasn’t real. After a few minutes, we pulled back, and a tissue box appeared between us. Laughing, I looked up at Wells, thanking him.
He nodded, but I caught the sheen of tears around his eyes. Seemed the surly man was just as affected.
Blowing my nose and wiping my eyes, I grabbed Jude’s hand. “Of course, it was the worst timing. The day after you were taken, the papers were delivered. It was a blow to my heart, but I'm glad they're here now that I have you back. You’re officially my son, Jude.”
“Wow, I missed so much while I was gone. I still don’t even really know who the purple-haired chick is.”
I laughed, nodding. “Pixel. That’s a whole other story. The other thing that I think you need to know tonight is about this.” I held up my hand, showing the ring. “It was Atticus' idea. Getting married helped secure everything where his father couldn’t take it. I don’t know how it all works, but it’s been willed to all of us now, and he turned over ownership to me so that it was out of his name.”
“So, does that make me a Mascro?” he asked, his face scrunching up at the thought.
“That depends on what you want, JuJu. With how you might be feeling toward a certain younger Mascro, having the same last name could be problematic. Nor do I want you to feel you have to change yours and lose your family identity. If you want to be a Carter, you can; if you want to be a Wells, Young, or Franklin, you can. It doesn’t change the fact that you’re my son. Okay?”
“Okay.” He smiled, some of the stress leaving him. “I’m sad I missed the wedding, though.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. We’re going to have a huge one this summer. How about you get some rest, and we can continue more of our conversation tomorrow?”
“Sure thing… Mom.” His cheeks reddened, but I loved its sound, tears forming in my eyes.
“Ah man, come on. I just got her to stop,” Wells sighed, pulling me up. He stopped after a step, holding his fist up to Jude. “I’m glad you’re back, man. I missed you.”
Jude lifted his own, meeting Wells, and then they did some blowing-up thing that made me shake my head. “After the Doc sets your IV up, I’ll bring in Barkley if you want? She’s been missing you.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” His eyes started to close, and I knew he’d be out soon. We stepped out of the room, Wells pulling me into him, and I let myself think that for a moment, everything was okay. We were all safe. We were all here. And we were all home.
Everything else could fucking wait until tomorrow.