Fighting Solitude (On The Ropes #3)(83)

For loving such a broken boy who had been so angry that he couldn’t even figure out how to love himself but had somehow found a woman who would love him anyway.

For accepting Liv and healing her timid soul in a way I never would have been capable of doing.

For being so strong in the face of death that she’d still had the foresight to offer Liv and me peace in a world where she no longer existed.

And, most of all, for just being the type of woman who loved with wild abandon even in the middle of utter chaos.

She’d been gone for almost five years, and I could have stood there for five more, trying to find those words of gratitude, but that wouldn’t have been living. Right then, the woman Mia had all but given to me was at home, curled up next to a fire, waiting for me to come home, so that’s what I did.

With a simple nod, I signed the words I love you and then headed back to my car.




“Leo, come on, man!” I complained.

Liv shifted in my lap, passing me her empty wine glass to set on the end table. “Let him talk,” she scolded, burrowing into my side.

It was Christmas night, and we were all over at Till’s house, relaxing after a huge dinner. Slate and Erica had come over with their kids, and Leo and Sarah had driven down the night before with Liv’s little brother, Ty, so we could all be together on Christmas Day. I had personally invited Leo with one thing on my mind, but as he stood in front of my entire family, preparing to tell this story, I knew I’d made a huge mistake.

“Jesus, how old were you, Q?” Leo asked, but I refused to answer.

“Thirteen!” Till called out with a huge smile from the couch, his arms securely anchored to Eliza’s thigh. His other was wrapped around a beer.

“Right. Okay, so he was thirteen. You have to remember Quarry didn’t look anything like a kid back then. I knew grown men who would have cowered if he’d approached them in a dark alley.”

“Damn right!” I yelled, causing the whole group to laugh.

“So there I was, doing some paperwork in Slate’s office, when the door swung open, and lo and behold, there stood this mutant teenager. I shit you not, the light flowed in from behind him like he was the grim reaper coming to take my soul.”

I groaned, knowing that, if this was the sensationalized spin Leo was giving it, this story was going to get a whole lot worse in a few minutes.

Liv looked back at me and giggled. I found not one thing funny, but her exuberant reaction still made me chuckle.

Leo continued. “When my eyes adjusted, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The Great ‘Stone Fist’ Page, king of amateur boxing, was standing in front of me with tears streaming from his eyes.” He raked his fingers down his face to exaggerate the tears.

“It was, like, one tear!” I shouted.

“Bullshit! I’ve seen rivers that contained less water.”

I cursed under my breath, and Flint decided to chime in.

“Little baby Q always has been good at the waterworks.”

I flipped my brother off before turning my attention back to Leo. “Can you just f*cking get on with it?”

“Language!” Sarah yelled with a grin, tossing an empty water bottle at me.

I quickly caught it and then hurled it at Flint. He easily caught it and acted like he was going to retaliate, but I ducked my head behind Liv.

Erica scowled and then confiscated the bottle like we really were the kids we were acting like.

Leo started up again. “You should have seen him. His chin was quivering and everything. I’d heard all the trouble he’d been in since coming home from Till’s fight in Vegas. Hell, I think it’s safe to say we were all having trouble adjusting to life after that.”

A solemn air blanketed the room at the mere mention of that day. We all recognized it, and Liv went stiff in my arms at the memory.

Flint decided to lighten the mood. “Not me,” he said. “I had a blast in Vegas. Came home with a set of new wheels and everything.”

Ash tapped her foot against the bottom of his cane and shuffled under his arm, tossing him a glowing, white smile that visibly eased him.

A warmth washed over me when my kiss on Liv’s temple seemed to have the same effect on her.

“Right. Well, at this point, Quarry had been skipping almost every day at school, and the few days he did attend, he’d somehow managed to get into so many fights that he’d gotten expelled. Oh, and even though he seemed to truly love brawling, he’d decided to quit boxing. He was one step away from being a juvenile delinquent, and there he was, standing in front of me, begging me to let him see my daughter.” He laughed, but the humor fell from his voice as he swung his angry gaze to mine. “The same daughter who was never the same after that day in Vegas, either.”

“Daddy,” Liv warned when Leo’s glare lingered for a few uncomfortable beats.

It sucked, but I deserved far worse, so I squared my shoulders, held Liv on my lap, and took the heat.

Still holding my gaze, Leo puffed his lip out in an exaggerated a pout, “‘But…but, Leo,’” he mimicked in a baby voice. “‘I…I love her. I’m a Page man… We know love.’” His scowl turned into a grin as the room started laughing.

Liv quickly looked at me. Her eyes were wide and downright hopeful. “Did you…” she trailed off.