“Ahhhh,” Amelia says with a knowing grin as the sound of Ryan’s chuckles come from beneath my jacket, making us all wonder what the hell could be so funny on YouTube.
“Can we get the show on the road?” Chief says, impatiently getting us back on track, always the first to keep things serious.
Jet turns back to Ryan and gets into position, and a second later, Chief fires up the grinder. Ryan flinches, and I place my hand down on her back, holding her still to avoid any more fucked-up situations.
The grinder cuts through the metal, and the sound is enough to terrify nearly anyone. I glance up at Amelia who’s watching in fear, but there’s a strong determination in her eyes. I guess that’s a mom thing, allowing herself to step back and focus on what’s best for her children despite her overwhelming feelings of needing to be right by her side.
The metal breaks free a second later before Chief gets to work on the other side.
As the second metal rail is cut, Chief steps out of the way to give Jet and Ax space to get in and pull the rails away from Ryan.
I use that as my chance to scoop Ryan up and remove her from the confines of the metal railing. The jacket comes off, and she instantly looks up, pulling the headphones from her ears.
I place her down on her feet while taking my phone from her hands before the excitement of her freedom gives me a cracked screen. I only got that shit fixed last week. I expect Ryan to run for her mom, but when she turns around and wraps her little arms around me, my heart explodes. “Thank you,” she whispers, holding me so tight her little face goes red.
“It’s alright, pretty girl,” I tell her, placing my hand on her back. “It was my pleasure.”
Ryan grins up at me, and just like that, the moment is over, but it was more than enough for me to realize that a world without this little girl would be a devastating place. Her father is one lucky bastard.
I look around for Amelia, assuming she’s falling at the boys’ feet and thanking them for saving her little girl like most moms do. But when I find her staring at the metal railing with a hollowness that tears me apart, I instantly begin gravitating toward her. “All good, Angel?”
She shakes her head, still watching the railing. “That was the very last thing my dad built before he passed. He wanted to make the yard safer for the girls.”
“Your dad?” I ask, hating that she looks so broken.
“Yeah, Jackson DiGiorgio,” she tells me. “You probably know him as Old Man Jackson.”
No shit. Old Man Jackson did have a daughter, after all.
He was the best damn carpenter this town ever saw. In fact, he owned DiGiorgio Property Developments and practically built half the town. He was as passionate about his job as I am with mine. No wonder she’s so torn up about it. This railing was his final job, and we’ve just torn it apart.
That knowledge has me promising myself that no matter what time I finish work tonight, whether it be in a few hours or after midnight, I’ll be back here, and I will make this right.
No matter what.
CHAPTER 5
AMELIA
My phone gets jammed between my ear and shoulder while I busily stir dinner. Glancing at the clock, I turn down the stove as I try to track down our missing Zoey. It looks like we’re in for a slight delay tonight. Dinner should have been fifteen minutes ago but surprise, surprise; she’s late … again.
Zoey picks up on the third ring. “I swear, I’m nearly there,” she rushes out. “I got held up, but I’m just turning into Reading Avenue now. Start dishing it up, and I’ll help you get the girls into their highchairs when I get there.”
“No, no. Don’t rush. We don’t need to call the fire department again today.”
“What?” she gasps, a slight panic to her tone.
“Long story,” I grumble. “Just get your ass here. You know what the girls are like. I’m starting to fear for my life. Feeding time at the zoo was fifteen minutes ago.” I look over my shoulder to assess the situation. I’ve clocked Ryan playing with her Legos, but the other one is too quiet. Way too freaking quiet.
I can practically hear Zoey rolling her eyes, and it draws my attention back to