by Blake York
“Etta doesn’t need a dog to protect her—she’s got me.” I take Etta, and her feet churn faster with excitement that I’m picking her up. I nestle her in the crook of my arm, and it feels more natural than I ever thought possible.
I look over my wife still in her silk robe. “You go get dressed for your sister’s graduation. Etta and I will go downstairs and see what everyone else is doing.”
She leans in and kisses me on the jaw. “I love that you’re taking time off to come with me to Melody’s graduation. It means a lot to her, you know. We’re the only family she’s got.”
There’s no darkness in my wife’s eyes when she says that. Her family is all gone now, her uncle taken out and her mother overdosed six months ago. No one missed her, but the event did bring Everly and her sister even closer together. Melody has spent a lot of time here with my family, and she fits in like one of us now.
The events of that night all seemed to have played out to the best advantage for everyone involved. Even Detective Bly managed to pull through from his gunshot wound and has since closed the case involving the murder of Everly’s father, with Nick Moretti named as the murderer.
“I wouldn’t miss her graduation,” I tell her with a smile.
Etta smacks her little hand off my face again, and we both laugh at her. Then I leave my wife to have a few minutes of peace to primp while I take the baby downstairs.
As I reach the bottom step, a small dog zips by my feet. Etta leans forward in my arms to see the pup, so I squat to let her see it up close.
Zoey rounds the corner with baby Dimitri on her hip. The one-year-old boy is a handful, just like his father and his uncles. “See, Dimitri? Your dog is okay.”
“Down!” the boy demands.
With a roll of her eyes, Zoey sets the boy on the floor, and he takes off as fast as his short legs will carry him toward the dog. When the dog bounds away from him, Etta giggles in my arms.
Zoey and I share a grin. But a wail coming from the dining room has us both turning toward the sound. Then I see something I never expected to see in a million years.
My father, mafioso of Chicago, walks out carrying Anders’ and Avery’s small daughter. She’s named after our mother, who was the love of my father’s life. He’s never been the same since her death, but I think he’s found peace with it, and the little girl has helped him heal more than any of us ever suspected it would.
My brothers enter the living room right behind him. As soon as they see the dog zipping by with a toddler hot on his heels, they stop discussing business and take in what’s happening.
The rest of the wives come in chatting about naptimes and trips to the park. In the past year, every single one of my sisters-in-law have popped out kids too. Seeing my brothers turn from husbands to fathers has been a trip for me. I know they probably feel the same.
Upstairs, Avery’s cockatiel Jellybean is squawking as if it needs to make noise to be included in this impromptu party that seems to happen on a daily basis these days.
I sink to the arm of the sofa and settle Etta on my lap. When she starts flapping her arms, I look up to see Everly descending the stairs like a movie star, wearing a summer dress for the occasion, her glossy hair waving around her face.
I get up to greet her and take the diaper bag she’s carrying over her shoulder.
“I’ve got all Etta’s things in the bag. I’ll dress her once we arrive at the graduation. I don’t want her spitting up on her new dress.” She boops the baby’s nose, and Etta squeals in delight.
“See you assholes in a couple days,” I toss out at my brothers and dad.
I receive various nods and chin raises of farewell. Then taking my wife’s arm, and carrying my daughter in the other, I walk to the door, leaving a new kind of chaos in the Rossi family behind me.
I have to say…we’re fucking thriving on it.
THIS CONCLUDES THE BLOOD EMPIRE SERIES. I HOPE YOU’VE ENJOYED READING ABOUT THE ROSSI BROTHERS AS MUCH AS I’VE ENJOYED WRITING THEM. SEEING HOW MUCH THEY’VE GROWN AND CHANGED THROUGH THE 5-BOOK SERIES HAS ENTERTAINED ME SO MUCH, AND I HOPE YOU AS WELL.
The next in series will spotlight Irish cousins of the Rossis…
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