her for only a few minutes at a time. I spent two weeks sitting outside her small bassinet, watching her every move. I’d reach in and let her hold my finger. To have Edward be bigger, I have to remind myself to share him with the rest of his family.”
Edward’s small fingers closed around one of mine as she had described. Smiling, I looked up. “He has a grip like his sister.”
Ruby beamed.
“How is Dad doing?” I asked.
“He’s downstairs working in the command center while everyone is at some important meeting.” Madeline sighed. “When it comes to Edward, Patrick’s a natural.”
“He hasn’t changed a diaper yet,” Ruby announced.
Madeline patted her daughter’s knee. “He has. You forget time passes when you’re asleep.”
I imagined Patrick helping in the middle of the night. “You know, these men work all hours. Maybe it was all training for three a.m. diaper changes and feeding.”
“I appreciate that Patrick doesn’t want to leave the tower. It makes me feel...” Madeline sighed.
“Safer,” I said, finishing her sentence. “Believe me, I get it. I’m so accustomed to Reid being near, even when things are tense.” The baby in my arms stretched, his little arms moving above his head as his legs straightened, and still he slept. I couldn’t stop a chuckle. “Obviously, Edward isn’t concerned about the newest Sparrow fire.”
A cloud passed over Madeline’s green eyes.
“Are you all right?”
She patted Ruby’s knee again. “Could you go make me a cup of coffee?”
“You’re trying to get rid of me. You know the kitchen is right over there.”
“Maybe you could make it in the penthouse?”
After kissing her mother’s cheek, Ruby pulled a pair of earbuds from her pocket. “Talk, pretend I’m not here.”
“I really would like that coffee,” Madeline replied.
As Ruby walked away, Madeline met my gaze. “Edward will though, one day. I mean, I know that. Is it ridiculous that as a mom I’m scared for what my four-day-old son will become, the decisions he’ll face, the choices he’ll have?”
It was difficult to look at the innocent little baby and imagine that one day he could be a Sparrow in the dangerous sense of the name.
“You know, there are other options. Maybe he could work at his uncle’s real estate company.”
Madeline nodded. “You’re right.”
As Ruby returned with a mug of coffee, her head bobbed to whatever tune was playing within her ears. Setting the mug on the table, she plucked an earbud from one ear. “Is it safe? Are you done talking about Edward’s future in the Sparrow mob?”
“It’s not a mob,” I replied.
“Oh, okay,” Ruby said with a grin.
It was clear this teenager was too knowledgeable for her own good. “What are your thoughts, big sister?”
“I think I’ll teach him Russian to broaden his prospects.”
“Ya lyublyu tabya,” Madeline replied. Looking at me, she added, “Bilingual isn’t a bad thing.”
I peered down at Edward. “You know what, Edward Kelly, you have a world full of prospects, and I’m certain that no matter what you choose, your dad, your mom, your sister, your aunt, your uncle, and everyone here in this tower will be there to cheer you on.”
After all we’d been through, sitting in Madeline and Patrick’s apartment with Edward in my arms and Madeline and Ruby right next to one another felt like a dream. Staring down at his little sleeping face with the fine dark peach fuzz on his head, I knew that we would all be all right. We’d have our hurdles to jump and times when we were tested, but we, the Sparrow family, would survive.
For only a moment, I thought back to the day Mason brought me to this tower. Tears prickled my eyes as I recalled how insecure I’d been, how scary Sparrow seemed to me. If I’d been asked after we were told Mason died if I’d be here nearly a decade later, I would have laughed or maybe I would have cried. Looking up at the bond Madeline and Ruby shared, it was almost impossible to deny the fact that despite our last names or the blood in our veins, we were family.
I looked back at Madeline. “So, has Uncle Sterling held Edward?”
Ruby giggled. “He did.”
“Really?”
“Araneae,” Madeline said, “may have encouraged it, but he did it without arguing.”
If I knew Sparrow and Araneae’s relationship as well as I believed I did, the arguing occurred upstairs before they came for the visit. And if that’s the case, it was pretty clear that the king had not won. Then again, maybe he was willing