Knox stopped a few feet away, his hand still holding mine. The two men faced each other, eight years of history heavy in the air between them.
"Knox." Cal's voice was gruff.
"Cal."
Silence. I held my breath.
"I was wrong." Cal said it like it cost him something. Like each word was being dragged out of him. "Eight years ago. I was wrong about you. And I was wrong to make the choice I made."
Knox didn't move as his hand tightened around mine.
"I watched you change," Cal continued. "Over the years. I watched you become someone different. Someone I'd trust to have my back in a crisis. Someone the whole town respects." He paused. "Someone my niece deserves."
"I don't need your approval," Knox said quietly. "I stopped needing it a long time ago."
"I know." Cal nodded. "But you're getting it anyway. Not because you need it, only because she needs to see that I can change too."
He looked at me. And I saw something I'd never seen in Cal before. Humility.
"I'm not going to ask for forgiveness," Cal said. "From either of you. I don't deserve it. But I'm asking for a chance. To do better. To be the uncle you needed me to be eight years ago."
Knox was silent for a long moment. I could feel the tension in his body, the war between old anger and something that wanted to let go.
"You hurt her," he said finally. "Your choice hurt her. More than you know."
"I know." Cal's voice was raw. "I'm starting to understand how much."
"And you hurt me. You made me believe I wasn't good enough for her. That I never would be."
"You proved me wrong." Cal met Knox's eyes without flinching. "Every day for eight years, you proved me wrong. I should have seen it sooner. I should have said something sooner. That's on me."
Knox exhaled slowly. Then he released my hand and stepped forward.
For a terrifying second, I thought he was going to hit Cal. Eight years of anger, finally released.
Instead, he held out his hand.
"Clean slate," Knox said. "For her. Not for us. For her."
Cal looked at the outstretched hand. Then he took it.
"For her," he agreed.
They shook. It wasn't forgiveness. But it was a start.
I stood there, tears streaming down my face, watching the two men I loved most in the world take the first step toward something new.
It wasn't perfect. Nothing about this situation was perfect. But it was real. And right now, real was enough.
Chapter 12: Knox
Eight years of anger. Eight years of hating him for the choice he'd forced me to make. And here I was, standing in his living room, offering him a clean slate.
For her. Everything I did now was for her.
Cal's grip was firm, his eyes tired but steady. We held the shake for a beat longer than necessary, two men acknowledging the weight of what had passed between us.
"I should get some sleep," Cal said, releasing my hand. "Early shift tomorrow." He looked at Daisy, something soft and sad in his expression. "We'll talk more. When you're ready."