Beloved: A Henry Dawncraft Novel |boyxboy| Sequel to Lover for Pay

XXI - Prepared

Henry had cried the entire drive home in the Rover, and by the time he arrived home, he had to sit in the driveway for several minutes to gather himself before going inside. He'd been so shaken by the sincerity of his father's actions at Darrah's apartment, and even though he received nothing less than a positive experience with Travis, he couldn't get a portion of heaviness out of his heart. For the first time in all his life, he could honestly say he felt the true love of his father, and that alone was certainly something that also shook him from the inside out. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world, but he also felt a hint of shame for thinking so.

When he was growing up, Travis had been such a terrible figure in his life, and even though the man had gone through years of reform and had come to personally condemn his wrong doings, there was a part of Henry that wanted to tell him it didn't matter how much Travis had changed. For the rest of his life, his father would be the man who'd driven his first sense of fear into his own son, had become a monster and a symbol of terror to his children. So, did he deserve forgiveness? Then again, there was another part of Henry telling him to give Travis a shot at full redemption.

After going to prison for ten whole years, an amount of time that could have definitely felt like a century to him, he'd come to quickly realize how horrible his actions had been - not toward the man he'd certainly put in the hospital for a good long time, but he'd become aware of the pain he'd put his own children through. All Travis desired most in the world right now was a single chance to show his family he was not the same man from years ago.

Maybe...maybe it was worth giving him this one opportunity to show his improvements.

Just one.

___

One Week Later.

"You're really letting Travis meet the kids today?" Henry asked through the phone. He was talking to London as he pushed a shopping cart through a department store. "I've been thinking about it off and on this week, but I keep backing out at the last second. Mom has even been calling me to talk about him. I swear, that woman sounds like she's in high school again or something. They seem to be hitting it off pretty well. "

"I know," London answered through the cell phone. "But, yeah, not only is it going to be the first time my kids are meeting Travis, Marbell has never seen more of him than a picture from when me and you were little." He chuckled a little then, "Marbell said he doesn't know whether he should put on the tough husband act or be his usual self. He even skipped shaving for an entire week to build up a small beard in hopes of looking more intimidating."

Henry huffed, dropping two huge packs of diapers into the basket he was pushing. "The only way Marbell and intimidating work in the same sentence is if the word 'isn't' is between them."

"I heard that!" Marbell's voice could be heard from a distance, having heard his brother-in-law's remark since the call was on speaker.

"Anyways," London added after another light round of laughter, "Since it's been a while that Darrah has seen the kids, I'm taking everyone over to her place. She's cooking dinner, too, so if you do end up changing your mind and build up some courage, let me know by about 4:30pm so I don't leave beforehand."

"Yeah, thanks," Henry said, "I appreciate it."

"And, Henry," London added, "Don't feel bad if you decide you're not up to it. Travis understands."

After hanging up with his brother, Henry finished up his shopping and drove home in the family Range Rover. This whole week that went by after seeing Travis for the first time in years, that man was someone he couldn't stop thinking about. Their interaction on that day, the words his father spoke, they were like a record in his head on repeat. Even though he hadn't been back since, hadn't planned on a time when he would introduce his family to Travis, Henry still oddly appreciated how their short reunion turned out.