The Prince

Part 34

"Hey, Pappie!" Skye called stepping into his parents' house. After what his dad had said, he realised how selfish he'd been, hurting the one person who was always in his corner trying to make things better, even when they couldn't.

"Little One, is that you?" Jackson called from the kitchen, rushing to the front door to see Skye taking off his coat. "You're back!" He cried rushing to pull Skye into a tight hug.

"I was so afraid that you'd never come back, Little One," Jackson whispered, still not letting go.

"I'm sorry for making you worry Pappie," Skye whispered wrapping his arms around Jackson. "But I thought we could make some pizzas," he stepped back to hold up a white grocery bag for Jackson to see. "Only the best salami and pepperoni for my dad ."

 Kicking off his shoes he followed Jackson to the spotless kitchen.

"Where's Papa?"

"In his study, why don't you go say hi to him? He'd be happy to see you back," he said while taking some bowls off the shelves.

With a nod, Skye left to find his father, hoping that their conversation would go better than before. Taking a deep breath he knocked on the door before entering.

"Dad, do you have a minute for me?" He took a seat when Raymond smiled and nodded.

"Of course, it's really good to have you back, son." Raymond smiled at him, watching as he sat down.

"Dad, I was thinking about what you've said,"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I, it's still hard for me to accept your decision, but Pappie had said that you made it together and that people were counting on you."

"Yes, in a nutshell, that is about right. I wouldn't have left if it was avoidable, I'm sorry for that, son. I should have explained  better."

"Will you tell me what it was about?"

"It was a confidential case and many people could be compromised, so I can't tell you much." Raymond sighed before sharing what he could of the case. He also realised that while Skye knew that he was a detective, he never told him about what he did for a living. Maybe he should take Kelley's advice and take the leap to tell Skye more. 

"I know it isn't the answer that you wanted, but believe me, I'd tell you much more if I could."

"I suppose you're right," he said in resignation. He knew his father well enough to know that he'd never give out information that could harm others, so there was no real point in pushing the matter.

"Skye, I didn't mean to leave the two of you in the middle of the mess that our family should have dealt with together, but I'm here now, ready to listen if you need me. Also, I'm sorry that I interfered with you and Noah. You knew what you were doing and I should have trusted you from the start."

"Thanks, Dad. I appreciate you saying that." He gave his father s quick smile. "I thought we could make some pizza tonight, do you want to join us?"

"I'll go rescue the dough from your father's hands," he chuckled getting up to follow Skye to the kitchen.

When they got there, Jackson was elbow-deep in flour, kneading dough. He looked up grinning when the two entered.

"I'm almost done, then the two of you can finish them off."

"Are you sure? You don't want one of us to help with the dough?" Raymond asked slightly alarmed. With all the time he'd spent at the bakery, his baking had improved, but it was always touch and go when it came to his food.

"What, you don't think that I can do it?" He asked swiping the back of his hand on his cheek, leaving a smear of flour across his face.

"It's not that Pappie," Skye tried to intervene. "I thought we could all do it together."

"Nice try," Raymond whispered under his breath, grabbing an apron to help. "Are you sure this is good to go?" He asked Jackson one last time before he finished them up.

"Don't you two trust me?" He raised an eyebrow looking at them suspiciously.

"It's not that, it's just that we've experienced your brand of cooking before," Skye informed him in good humour.

They spent the rest of the day together and Raymond could feel that Skye was more open toward him and that they were getting back into their old rhythm even though he could still feel a slight strain. Jackson seemed to have had the most fun while they were together, taking every opportunity to ask Skye to move back.

"I wanted to move back once the new semester  started, but I have lodgers at the moment."

"Lodgers? When did you become a landlord?" Raymond sat up from where he was lying on the couch on his stomach.

"Well, Grandma came around and forced one of her friend's kids on me. Now I can't get rid of him, because Gran is watching."

"That's the price for trying to be independent in this family," Raymond laughed. "Don't worry, if you want to move back, we can easily accommodate two more. It would certainly improve your Dad's mood."

"I'll think about it, it's already crowded with the three of us alone, can you imagine the chaos Dad would create?"

"Hey, I'm still in the room you know," Jackson made himself heard. "And having all the boys here would be great! It'll certainly give that louse something to do other than annoy me," he sourly referred to Josh.

"Let's not rush, since you've got your grandpa's blessing, I can't argue. But we're always here, you know that and we're always ready to help, no matter what."

"You're being soppy Papa, that's Pappie's job," he laughed making light of the moment. He knew his parents would always be in his corner, and so would the rest of the family.

This realisation gave Skye a moment's pause, why had he felt so alone for so long if he had all these people around who loved him? Was it his fault that he spent so many miserable nights alone when help was a breath away? There was a lot of truth in what Noah had said, he thought in surprise.

His experience since his parents had died must have changed his life completely, he thought. He couldn't imagine going through life without his family around. No matter how much they annoyed or teased him, their love was the one thing that he could count on.

Maybe there was something he could learn from Noah afterall.