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tone.
 How do you think I feel, Erik? I can t have that woman planning my wedding.
 Have you told that to your wife?
 Not yet. I wanted to talk with you you know since you had a similar situation with Cassie as I
had with Pilar.
Erik raked his fingers through his hair. There was no point tiptoeing around the subject.  You can t
punish Desire for Victoria s crimes, Bryce. Don t make the same mistake I made by punishing
Michelle for something her father did.
 It s not the same thing. I m not marrying Desire.
 It s the same concept. By not allowing Desire to plan our wedding, you re punishing Kaya. Kaya
had nothing to do with Pilar s death, no more than Michelle had to do with Cassie s. But in order to
build a life with Michelle, I had to forgive her father.
 That man was not Michelle s biological father, Erik. You didn t need to forgive him.
 The devil is in the details, my friend. Timmy Gleason raised Michelle. For twenty-four years of
her life, she thought he was her father. The hardship she endured at his hands helped mold her into the
strong, sweet, forgiving woman she is a woman who identifies with and advocates for children
who re suffering the same neglect and abuse she did. A woman who forgave me the greatest error of
my life and showed me that even an imperfect ass like me can be loved. As horrible as it may sound,
that awful man was responsible for bringing Michelle and me together. He was part of her life the
only father she ever knew. There comes a time when we just have to let go, and move on.
 That s easy for you to say. Timmy Gleason is dead and you don t have to worry about running into
him around the next corner. But every time I see a member of the Summers family, I remember the
sound of the gunshot, the sound of Pilar s body hitting the floor, and her dying in my arms, and I get
angry all over again.
 I understand, buddy. I used to hyperventilate each time I heard a car tire screech. But you re going
to have to decide if your anger is more important than your happiness. Michelle told me that the true
test of forgiveness and moving on is when we have no feelings of resentment toward those who ve
wronged us. Erik paused to send up a silent  thank you as the jet touched down and began taxiing
down the runway.  I never met Gleason, but I had to forgive him, not for his sake, but for mine, and
my family. Desire didn t kill Pilar, Bryce. Her sister did. Your anger is misdirected, just as mine
was.
 You sound like my wife.
 Maybe you should listen to her. Erik unfastened his seatbelt as the jet came to a stop and the
pilot announced that it was safe to disembark.  I m sure if our wives didn t have their hearts set on
Desire planning this wedding, they wouldn t have begun this discourse. We are blessed to have these
remarkable women with whom to share our lives and create beautiful families.
 Yeah, I know. Our lives would be pathetic without them, especially where you and I are
concerned. Neither one of us thought we d ever be this happy again.
 Exactly. So if we want to maintain the level of bliss we ve had so far, we need to keep our wives
happy. They say a mother is only as happy as her saddest child. I say a husband is only a fraction as
happy as his wife. I don t know about you, brother, but I like the fraction of happiness I have. My
advice, Bryce, is that you find it in your heart to forgive, and let Desire plan our wedding, because if
your wife isn t happy, none of ours will be. I like my wife happy.
 I guess I should have a talk with the Summerses, then.
 You should. Not just because of the wedding, but for your emotional, mental, and physical health,
as well. You ll never experience ultimate joy in life until you eliminate your demons. Take it from
someone who existed in a fool s happy paradise for years until I found the real thing with Michelle.
Bryce s sigh of resolve echoed in Erik s ear.  Look, Erik said, vacating his seat and pointing out
some bags to the skycaps who d come aboard,  my jet has landed. We can chat some more about it
when we get together with Adam and Mass tomorrow. I ll be reuniting with my wife until then.
Bryce laughed.  I hear you. I had my reunion last night, and this morning. Have fun.
 I plan to. See you around. Erik slipped his cell phone into his pocket, descended the steps of his [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]