Blood Brothers (41 page)

“Whoa,” Michael said. “What’s all that?”

“Dinner,” she said as she handed Michael the
largest of the bags. “Christal, run out and get the drinks out of
the car, will you?”

Michael and his daughter exchanged a critical
look before jumping into action. The bag was heavy in his hand and
he placed the other underneath in case the already drenched paper
gave out.

As soon as Christal was out the door, he
stopped. “What is this Stephanie? Why…”

She was doing her best to balance the
remaining bags of food. “Listen, Michael. Let’s not make too much
of this. I know you haven’t had a decent meal here since you moved
in. I was hungry; I figured you two were, too. So let’s eat, and
then we won’t be hungry anymore.”

“Does this mean…” he began saying, hating
that he was ruining the moment. Thankfully he was cutoff before he
could finish.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” she breathed
deeply. “Just eat. One bite at a time. One step at a time.”

Those sentences meant a lot more to him than
Michael could or would ever admit. Since the events that had wadded
his life up like so much paper and tossed it away so smugly, he
often thought back to when he and Jerry had taken the blood oath.
He’d wanted a brother so badly back then. Needed a family so
desperately, when his own mother and father turned a blind eye
towards him, or worse, a hard hand. But in the years since, he’d
gained a new family. A true family, which required no slitting of
flesh, no mingling of blood on a side of a creek. He had been
blessed with a woman who had loved him and a daughter who adored
him. It had been his choice, his and his alone, to throw all that
away. In a funny way, he had Jerry to thank for showing him
that.

So come what may, whether a step at a time,
or none at all, Michael Cole had a lot of rebuilding to do. As
Christal sauntered into the kitchen with the cardboard holder full
of paper cups, he knew that this time, right here, right now, was
the best place to start.

About the Author

Keith is happily-married, a father of one,
career-minded and a little bit of a square. Nonetheless, at times,
he finds himself looking to the stars for orbiting alien spacecraft
and has been known to carry an enchanted sword in the trunk of his
car. Oh, and that hockey mask and machete in the backseat...that's
just for Halloween...

Visit him online at
http://www.keithlatch.com