“What does it matter how well I’m taking care of her when it’s my fault she’s where she is?”

“Now you can’t think like that.”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

Virginia shook her head. “I’m not here to judge you or chastise you about what happened, Aidan. That’s between you, the good Lord, and Emma. And if I know my baby girl like I do, the greatest stress on her came with what happened to your daddy. Riding in that ambulance, hearing those sirens, I know it brought back everything that happened with Emma’s daddy.” She cupped Aidan’s chin. “So don’t run yourself down so much, okay? If you’re in the pits, no one is going to be there to bring Emma up.”

A hesitant smile played at his lips. “I guess so.”

“Well, I know so.” She waved him towards the house. “Come on in and let’s get the food. I don’t want to keep you away from Emma too long.”

“Not that she would care,” he muttered under his breath.

Virginia cast a knowing glance over her shoulder at him. “She cares a lot more than you think she does.”

That sentiment made Aidan’s heartbeat accelerate and gave him a little more hope. As he stepped into the living room, he locked eyes with Earl who was lounging in the recliner. He gulped and steadied himself in anticipation for a showdown. “Hello, Earl.”

“Howdy Aidan,” Earl said, muting the television.

“How are you feeling?”

Earl shrugged. “I’m getting around a little better.”

Virginia huffed out a frustrated breath. “He’s trying to do too much, and he’s going to land himself back in the hospital.”

He shot her an exasperated look. “I hate sitting on my ass all day and being waited on hand and foot,” Earl lamented.

“You sound like Emma,” Aidan mused.

“Bless Emmie Lou’s heart,” Earl said.

As Virginia swept by Earl, she kissed his cheek. “Trust me, darlin’, no one wants you up and about more than I do.”

Earl grinned up at her. “You’re an angel, Ginny.”

An almost girlish giggle escaped her lips before she turned to Aidan. “Sugar, you just have a seat, and I’ll go pack up everything.”

Aidan glanced uneasily between her and Earl. “Are you sure I can’t help you?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I need to take out one last casserole from the oven.”

After she headed into the kitchen, Aidan reluctantly eased down onto the couch. He swallowed hard when he eyed the gun cabinet only a few feet away.

The sound of Earl’s voice caused him to jump. “What’s wrong with you?”

“N-Nothing.” When Earl’s brows shot up questioningly, Aidan sighed. “I was actually contemplating how much of a jumpstart I could get on you if you went for the gun case.”

Amusement twinkled in Earl’s eyes. “Son, I’m not going to shoot you for what you did to Emmie Lou.”

“You aren’t?”

He shook his head. “First off, I want my great-grandson to have a daddy, and if you were maimed or six feet under, that wouldn’t do him much good.”

Aidan gave a shaky chuckle. “No, I suppose not.”

Earl glanced past Aidan to the kitchen before turning his attention back to him. “Second off, I’m a lot of things, but a hypocrite ain’t one of them.”

“Excuse me?”

With a deep sigh, Earl said, “Let’s just say when I was young and stupid, I made a mistake much like you did.”

Aidan couldn’t keep his mouth from dropping open in shock. “So you, um…”

Earl rolled his eyes. “How plain you want me to make it for you? I was a cocky twenty-five year old bastard who just because Ginny couldn’t give me all her attention anymore because of our two sons, I let some cheap floozie almost ruin my marriage.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty plain.”

“Thankfully for me, Virginia gave me a second chance, and I’ve spent the last fifty years making it up to her.”

Leaning forward, Aidan asked, “How long did it take her to forgive you?”

“A long, long time.”

Aidan exhaled in frustration. “I just hope Em will be that forgiving.”

“Depends on how much work and effort you put into it.”

“Seriously? I swear that I’m working my ass off.”

Earl harrumphed. “Trust me, until you’ve dug ditches in ninety degree heat to earn the money to buy your wife the pearls she’s always wanted, you ain’t got no room to talk.”

With a wince, Aidan said, “I guess not.”

Virginia’s voice echoed from the kitchen. “Okay, honey, it’s ready.”

When Aidan stood up, Earl held up his hand. “Listen, son, you just gotta keep tryin’. Emmie Lou comes from a long line of stubborn, hard-headed women. But I do know that she’s crazy bout’ you, so if you really want her, then you just keep on tryin’ to win her back.”

Earl’s comforting words sent a smile stretching across Aidan’s face. “I sure as hell will.”

***

Once he got back into Atlanta, Aidan made a grocery stop and finished up a few errands before heading home. When he swung the car in the driveway, his heart shuddered to a stop. Becky’s car was gone. His mind whirled with out-of-control thoughts. What if Emma had started having contractions again, and Becky had rushed her to the hospital? Tumbling out of the car, he didn’t bother closing the door. Instead, he rushed through the garage door and skidded into the kitchen. “EMMA!” he cried.

The sound of gunfire and explosions assaulted his ears. Craning his neck, he saw John and Percy sitting on the couch each with a game console in their hands. “Where’s Emma? Where’s your mother?” he demanded without even a hello.

John glanced up and rolled his eyes before looking back down at his game. “Dude, hold your ball-sack. Mom got called to some emergency department meeting at the university, so we’re babysitting Emma until she gets back. Georgie’s back in the bedroom with her now watching Finding Nemo or some shit.”

Aidan’s relieved emotions were too jumbled to call John out for his mouth. “Oh, well, good.” He jerked his thumb towards the garage. “Can you guys come and help me get in all the groceries and stuff from Em’s Grammy’s?”

“Seriously?” John asked.