Return to the Darkness - Ripley Proserpina Page 0,39

might be an entire existence where you continue to exist. But I need to go back to my own. I can’t stay here like this, and it’s wrong for you to make me.”

He was quiet, glancing away from me to study his sons. “They’re happy?”

“Yes,” I answered. “Oliver is a vet. Aaron writes. All of us are together, and though we’ve had some challenges, we’re happy.”

“Is Erdirg dead in your reality?” He stared at me. I couldn’t lie to him, but I didn’t want what I said to push him toward keeping things as they were.

“No,” I answered. “I put him back to sleep. Or at least, I think I did. You—with all your good intentions—might have woken him up when you started this whole thing. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get a chance to kill him again. How did you kill him?” Seemed like a good piece of info to have if I had to fight him again.

Mr. Chee shook his head. “I went someplace really dark. If you can put him to sleep and keep him asleep, do that. There’s no returning from what I did.”

Sighing, he pulled out a chair and sat. He put his head in his hands before lifting it to stare at me. “Since I haven’t messed with time in this reality, I’m not sure I can help you. But I do want my sons and daughter to be happy. I want my wife to be happy. Will you help me with that? If I can get you back, can you try?”

I thought about the Oliver I left behind and glanced at the one here who was opening his second bottle of beer. “Yes.” It was probably going to take years, but I would work at it. Families weren’t perfect, so I didn’t need to shoot for that. “I’ll try.”

There was a bang in another room, and I jumped. “It’s just Jacinda,” Mr. Chee informed. “She was standing on her head when I came in.”

I chuckled. Sounded like maybe the quirky Jacinda I knew hadn’t changed as much as everyone else. Robby yawned hugely, stuck his fist in his mouth, and laid his head on my shoulder.

I melted a little, rocking side to side. “I really like this baby.”

Mr. Chee snorted. “He’s a good baby. Very easy going. He has to be with a mom like Kelly.” A change came over him. He rapped the table with his knuckles and stood. “Let me get some stuff together and we’ll see what we can manage.”

Chapter 12

I sat on the couch in the Chee’s living room. My feet were draped over Thorn and my back was against the arm. Robby was asleep, conked out and drooling a little on my neck. Every so often, he made these tiny little grunts, but he was so warm and sweet.

“You know,” Thorn said, twisting a little to face me. “If we’re together in that other reality, you should really bring up the topic of having a baby.”

I glanced at him sharply. He was smiling, his gaze on the baby and how I rubbed slow circles on his back. “I wasn’t sure I wanted kids.”

“Wasn’t.” He gave me finger quotes. “You seem like a natural. I don’t want kids. My kids are on my team. And once you were gone…” Trailing off, he broke eye contact and stared out the window.

“Me either.” Colton sat in one of the easy chairs, foot propped on one knee. “Never wanted to get married. Never wanted to have kids. Not that I thought much about it in high school, but in the last few years, I realized that when you died—that was when everything changed for me.”

Aaron shook his head. “Things get so fucked up. I don’t want kids.” He eyed me with his nephew. “But I’ve never seen someone just hold a baby like you’re doing. I guess my mother begrudgingly holds Robert when Kelly takes off. I haven’t seen anyone want to before. Do people just like holding babies?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You could hold him. It’s not a female thing. Men hold babies.”

He shook his head. “I’d break him.”

“You would not.”

It was a dead end with this conversation. Aaron was so not going to hold the baby. And at some point, Robby was going to need to be held, and much as I liked holding him, I didn’t have what he needed to be fed. Unless they used formula. In fact, I hoped they did, considering Kelly wasn’t here. Could I feed