Chapter Text
I'm not your son, you're not my father
We're just two grown men saying goodbye
No need to forgive, no need to forget
I know your mistakes and you know mine
And while you're sleeping I'll try to make you proud
So, daddy, won't you just close your eyes?
Don't be afraid, it's my turn
To chase the monsters away
Monsters – James Blunt
CHAPTER 1
The Drive
The Pacific Coast Highway stretched out in long, lonely curves, the kind of road that always made Mark McCormick feel both free and haunted. The late sun spilled across the hood of the Coyote, painting it blood-red and gold. He rolled down the window and let the wind slap his hair, the salt air thick enough to taste. He’d been driving for a while when his phone buzzed on the seat beside him. Gracie’s name lit up the screen.
“Hey, babe,” he said, his tension easing the moment he heard her voice.
“You still on the road?”
“About thirty minutes out.”
A pause, and then her voice, a tremor of joy. “Mark . . . we did it. The test’s positive.”
He blinked, the road blurring for a moment. “You mean . . . “
“We’re having a baby.”
He laughed, a rough, surprised sound that cracked open into a grin. “You sure?”
“As sure as those two pink lines can make a girl.”
He could hear her smiling through the phone, and suddenly the car didn’t feel so small. “Guess that no-plan plan worked out,” he said.
“It sure did. You okay?”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Yeah, I’m great.”
Gracie laughed, bright and warm. “You’ll tell the judge?”
“He’ll give me hell about when I’m marrying you.”
“He’d be right to.”
“I know,” Mark said, grinning. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Promise me you’ll tell him,” she said. “He deserves to know.”
“I will.”
He ended the call and set the phone down, the smile lingering as the miles rolled by. The Coyote’s engine purred beneath him, steady and alive. For once, everything in his life lined up just right. New life ahead. Old debts behind.
But as he neared Gull’s Way, that easy feeling faltered. He knew why he was really here. The doctor’s call had been clear. Judge Milton Hardcastle didn’t have much time left.