Beautifully Knight (Jordan Knight Fanfic, Liadan #5)

Chandeliers and Children

-JORDAN-

The gleam of my front porch lights danced along the golden frame of the foyer chandelier as I made my way inside from the rain and back into the cozy dryness of my home with Finn cradled in my arms.

Yawning, I squinted at the large hall clock and suppressed a groan at the realization that I'd been awake for almost 21 hours straight. Once upon a time, I'd had no problem pulling all-nighters without a second thought, but those days were long gone. I could barely keep my eyes open and every muscle in my body was tired, but somehow I was forcing myself to keep going anyway.

For just a moment, I paused to take in the wedding portrait hanging on the entryway wall and my mind traveled far back in time to many years ago when Lia and I had first remarried and decided to make this place our home. From our first dance in the foyer, we'd both been delighted to start over with a clean slate and create a strong foundation that could weather anything. Together, we'd believed that nothing in the world could ever bring us down and we'd happily welcomed every challenge that would come through the years. After all, if we could survive a divorce, we could survive anything.

Some might say we were young and naive—two kids in our mid-twenties with no real clue what we were doing, but thirty years later, I was older and wise and the general sentiment remained.

Time had been good to me—I'd been blessed with an amazing do-over with a woman I loved more than words could ever say and a family that had grown beyond my wildest dreams. It was hard to believe that one rash decision on a drunken night had blossomed into such beauty, but it had and ever since I'd been a firm believer that the greatest things in life come from following your heart.

I'd tried my best to pass that belief on to my children and so far, it'd never failed them. They'd had their share of twists and turns in their life paths and times when they weren't sure what their hearts wanted, but ultimately they'd all ended up where they belonged. My three oldest children had created beautiful families with loving spouses and I was certain my youngest was on his way to doing the same.

Logan was the same age that I'd been when Lia and I had remarried and much like my own journey, he'd fallen in love and learned that he was becoming a father in an unexpected way. I was certain he had his fears and worries, but I had faith it would all work out in the end. I realized that may be a rose-colored view of a messy situation—the bits and pieces of conversation I'd overheard from Lia and Jack's discussions of Hailey's divorce didn't make it sound like a simple case—but at the core of me, I was still a hopeless romantic and that was one part of my youth I never planned to lose.

The feeling of moisture on my nose pulled me from my daydreams and I glanced down to see Finn licking my nose and gazing at me.

"You want to go upstairs to your daddy?" I asked the tiny, chocolate lab. "I guess you've got a mommy now too and a little brother or sister, huh?" He wagged his tail and I couldn't help but smile. "Okay, c'mon, let's dry you off."

I carried him to the kitchen to dry him off from the rain and was surprised to see Jason coming up from the basement steps in a dark blue uniform with a medical kit gripped in his hands.

"Everything okay down there?" I asked and he nodded.

"Oh, yes sir, everything's fine. Cece is asleep. I talked with my best friend who's a flight medic today about putting my name in with his supervisor to consider me as an alternative to cover shifts if somebody calls in sick. I thought it'd take a while to get approved, but it turns out they already need me tonight."

"I thought you were working for Tony?"

"Monday through Friday. This will just be weekends and maybe some nights."