And with that, Tank took the prickly comment as praise, and he and Leah went back to opening presents. When they were done, the ladies made everyone play baby shower games, including Tobias, as if he’d been part of their group forever. Even Blaine joked with him a few times. Reba doted on Tobias just as she did everyone else, asking if he wanted more of this or that. They ate and drank and laughed so much, for a little while, Tobias forgot his troubles.

But later, after many of the guests left, when it was just the two families gathered around a bonfire, and he sat with Madigan between his legs, her back against his chest, his love for her growing with every passing minute, thoughts of his sister returned. As he looked at the love surrounding him—couples and longtime friends sharing lounge chairs, as he and Madigan were, little girls curled up in their grandparents’ laps—he wondered if his sister had this. He knew she had friends. He’d seen her climb out of a car full of women one day when he was checking on her. But did her little girl cuddle in her grandfather’s lap? Did their father look at her with as much love in his eyes as Preacher and Conroy looked at their kids? He sure hoped so.

As everyone talked, he looked at Leah sitting between Tank’s legs, his hands caressing her swollen belly, and he felt a pang of guilt. He often wondered what would have happened if Kevin didn’t die. Would he have gotten help? Become a better man for Carrie and their baby? Tobias had robbed her of any chance of that, and that was a hard pill to swallow.

“Hey, Tobias, do you miss fighting?” Gunner asked.

“Yeah, I do. A lot.”

“Think you’ll ever go back into it?” Sid asked.

“No.” He shook his head. “I love the sport, and I wish I could find something in the field, but I won’t fight again.”

“Can you train other fighters?” Evie asked from her perch on a chair with Baz.

“I don’t know, but to be honest, I don’t want to be responsible for some other guy going through what I went through.”

“That’s understandable,” Preacher said. “Have you thought about teaching women self-defense?”

“No, but that’s an interesting idea.” Tobias mulled that over.

“Diesel Black, one of our Nomad members, started a training program in Peaceful Harbor, Maryland,” Preacher said. “Reba’s brother, Biggs, is the president of that chapter, and they do a lot of work with women’s shelters. Diesel’s fiancée, Tracey, was attacked after work one day, and after she and Diesel got together, they decided to help other women learn to protect themselves. They’ve been teaching part time for several months, and they’ve helped a lot of women.”