“Sounds like your little lady’s snagged your heart.” She waved to the patio chairs and said, “Why don’t we sit down and chat. Would you like some lemonade or a soda, honey?”

“No. I’m fine, thanks.” He leaned forward, elbows on knees, watching Lincoln plop down in the grass and toss a ball. Tinkerbell picked it up, ran around the yard, and brought it back to him.

Biggs walked outside, his cane in one hand, baby Axel in the other, and said, “How’s it goin’, son?”

Son. He wondered if Biggs knew how much that endearment meant to him every damn time he said it. “Things are a little complicated right now, Biggs.”

“Then this ought to make your day. Nothing’s simpler than a baby. Feed ’em, change ’em, love ’em up.” Biggs handed him Axel, bundled up in a thick sweater with a blanket around him. Wisps of dark hair stuck out from beneath a cute black beanie with MINI DARK KNIGHT embroidered on the front. Biggs sat beside Red, leaned in for a kiss, and said, “The boy looks good with a baby in his arms, doesn’t he?”

“Aw, Biggsy, don’t go rushing him into parenthood.” Red’s expression warmed as Quincy cradled Axel. “But yes, all our boys look good lovin’ our babies.”

Axel yawned, his tiny eyes squeezing shut.

“You know, I never knew what a family was supposed to look or act like, beyond Tru,” Quincy said, stroking Axel’s cheek. “I always knew he loved me, and I knew our mother had it out for him. But as a family, we were so broken. Tru showed me how to love, but you two and your family showed me how to love like a family loves. You showed me what a family could and should look like.” He looked at Lincoln rolling around on the grass with Tinkerbell, then at Biggs sitting with his arm around Red, her hand on his leg, and Quincy’s chest constricted. “I want that one day—a real family, kids of my own to love, teach, and be there for. I want to be a man my family can rely on, like you, Biggs, and Tru, and the rest of them. A man people respect and want to be around. Not anytime soon, of course. I’ve got a lot of ground to cover before I can be that man. But maybe five or six years from now, after I’m done with school and have several years in recovery under my belt.”

“You’re doing all the right things, Quincy,” Red reassured him. “Do you want to tell us what happened?”

“I told Roni about my past.” He looked at Axel. If he was lucky enough to have his own family, one day he’d have to tell his children about his past, too. “I didn’t sugarcoat it. I told her about the guy I killed, the kids living on the streets, and everything else, and for the first time in my life, I wish I was one of those guys who could lie.”