Never Giving Up

Chapter 23

I laugh and reach for his hand. It's warm and his hold is firm like he doesn't want to let go.

He turns his head to look at me and I smile.

"I'll leave you all to it," Dr. Watts voices after writing up his notes. "Everything is looking good. I'll be back later to check on you again."

"Thanks," Luca nods.

Dr. Watts leaves, the door closing quietly behind him.

"I don't say it as often as I should but I love you, baby girl." My dad whispers, his eyes glistening over.

"I know you do and I love you. You're saying that like you know you won't be getting out of here."

"I'm getting old, baby girl. I don't know if I will be getting out of here after my old ticker decided to go haywire again."

I shake my head and shuffle closer to the bed. "Don't say that. You will be getting out of here and you'll enjoy your life with all of us. Your doctors will make sure of that."

"Even with the best doctors in the world . . . you can't predict how long my heart will continue to go for now after that operation." He looks over at Luca. "Thank you for getting the best surgeons here, Luca. You didn't have to do that after how I've treated you when it came to my daughter."

"I wanted to do it. You don't need to thank me," Luca tells him.

"There's been more ups than downs for the two of you since you got back together. Things have been thrown at both of you from all angles and you've both stayed together. You're each other's rocks and that's how a relationship should be. Both Yvette and I have been through our fair share of ups and downs but we're still going strong."

My dad looks back at me.

"The key is to not let others get between you to pull you apart from the inside. Trust only yourselves and as long you've got that, you're unstoppable together. Never give up on each other because you'll need each other like you do now. You need Luca and even if he doesn't say it to you, he needs you."

"Dad," I whisper, "please don't talk like this."

"I told your brother to drop the grudge he's been holding against Luca. I told him that sooner rather than later, my baby girl will marry him and he'll be a part of our family as well as you'll be a part of his. Luca will become Declan's brother-in-law and he'll be present at our family events which means he'll have to be civil. He's held a grudge for too long and its time to drop it whether he likes it or not.

"We call ourselves family and yet one of us isn't as accepting as the rest. After all of this, he's still not changing his mind. If I could argue with him, I would. If I could yell at him, I would but I can't. There's only so much talking that my brothers can do to drum it into him but he won't listen. I need him to be here with the two of them and my dad to get it superglued into his mind that Luca isn't going away this time. He's here for good and he's family."

He looks at Luca again.

"We protect our family like no other. We protect our own and that includes you and your family."

"God, you're making it sound like the mafia or something," I comment.

"You know what I mean," my dad sighs.

"I get it," Luca nods. "I have the same values for my daughter. She's my family and I'll protect her till my dying days and beyond. I told Kaylee I'd do the same thing for her and I will. Not just for my family but for hers, too."

"We're on the same page, then."

"We are," Luca agrees.

The room falls silent and my dad tugs lightly on my hand, bringing my attention back to him.