Page 143 of Deacon

He didn’t dodge it. The bruised look that crossed his face when he glanced at Jade told me he had been carrying the moment with him all week. “I was already planning to.”

I gave him a short nod. “Good.”

Dad exhaled through his nose. “Can we not do this right here in the foyer?”

“We can do it right here in the foyer, or Jade and I can get back in the car.” I looked at Matty because he had a better chance of getting Dad to listen tonight than I did. “You better get him on board with keeping his mouth shut about Jackson. If he can’t manage that, this dinner ends before it starts, and we won’t be trying again anytime soon.”

Matty nodded once. “Alright.”

I held his gaze long enough to make sure he understood, then looked at Jade. “Come on. Let’s go check dinner.”

We left them in the foyer and headed for the kitchen. The smell of chicken casserole and roasted vegetables met us before we reached it, warm and familiar enough to pull at memories I didn’t need tonight. Dad cooked when he wanted to repair something he couldn’t talk about. It had taken me years to recognize that as one of the few forms of softness he trusted.

The casserole bubbled gently on the stove while the vegetables finished in the oven. Jade stopped beside the counter and lowered her voice. “I'm still wondering if this is such a good idea.”

“Yeah, doesn't remotely feel like it.” My answer earned the smallest smile from her.

I leaned one hip against the counter. “But I want there to be peace. Or at least less war.”

She folded her arms. “That depends on whether they can act right.”

I checked the casserole mostly to give my hands something to do. “Don’t you want to have a good relationship with your grandpa and your uncle?”

Jade’s expression sharpened with the same blunt honesty that had gotten me through more than one difficult conversation lately. “Not if they’re not going to respect my relationship with my dad. Or yours with him, Mom.”

That landed harder than I expected, mostly because some part of me had hoped my daughter saw less than she did.

Footsteps sounded behind us before I could answer. Matty came into the kitchen alone and went straight to Jade.

He stood in front of her for a second, all the defensiveness gone from his face. The weight of what he had said seemed to have settled where it belonged, and for once he wasn’t trying to explain it away.

“Doodles,” he said, his voice catching on the nickname before he pulled her into his arms.

Jade stiffened for half a second, then folded against him. For all her attitude, she had always loved deeply and forgiven faster than most people deserved.

“I am so sorry,” Matty said into her hair. “I mean that. In no world did I have the right to say what I said to you. None.” He eased back enough to see her face. “You are the brightest thing in my life. The brightest thing in this family. And I feel like absolute shit that I darkened that light for even one second with my own crap.”

Jade blinked hard but held herself together. Matty kept his eyes on her. “What I said had nothing to do with you,” he went on. “It had everything to do with me and what I haven’t worked through where your dad is concerned. That is not your burden, and I had no right to dump it on you. None. I would not blame you if you never forgave me.”

Jade sighed with the long-suffering patience of someone deeply inconvenienced by sincere emotion. Then she squeezed him back. “Yeah, well. You’re lucky I’m deeply compassionate and annoyingly mature.”

The laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Matty’s followed, rougher around the edges.

Jade pulled back and pointed at him. “But you do need to man up and work your crap out with my dad, because the rest of us are getting tired of being collateral damage.”

Matty stared at her for a beat before shaking his head. “Sometimes you are wiser than your years.”

I scoffed. “She definitely gets that from me.”

Jade looked over. “Questionable.”

Matty managed a small, tired smile before turning to me. “I got Dad under a promise to keep talk of Jackson off the table.”

I studied him long enough to decide I mostly believed it. “Good,” I said. “Dinner’s ready. Go tell him to get to the table. Jade and I will bring everything out.”

He nodded and left. The kitchen door swung closed behind him, and I caught Jade watching after him with more softness than she would ever admit.

“You already forgave him before he walked in here, didn’t you?” I asked.