Learning to Let Go

Andrew Hartford loved his family. And when his wife Serena died when their son was only four years old, he became even more protective of Mack.

Mack was fully grown now, and responsible for the fate of the world, a heavy burden on the shoulders of a young man only eighteen years old. But Mack had four teammates who were there to help him, and Andrew wasn't worried about the world coming to an end.

And Andrew knew that Mack would always have Rose by his side. Because he had noticed how close his son and the pink ranger were, and he knew that Rose would never hurt his son.

But Andrew was still protective of his son. He knew he always would de, but Mack was not a child. He was grown up now and had every right to make his own decisions. And so he'd let Mack keep the Red Tracker in an attempt to let him live and learn.

It was just hard, sometimes, to watch Mack run off in pursuit of the magical jewels, knowing full well that there was an off chance that his only child might not be coming back home.

He had almost lost both of them the day Serena's car had been totaled by a drunk driver. Andrew knew how close he'd come to have to bury not only his lovely wife, but his eager little boy as well. Mack had escaped with only a few deep scratches on his face and arms, a large purple bruise on his forehead from slamming into the dashboard. But all that had mattered to the elder Mr. Hartford was that he still had his little boy.

And he kept Mack sheltered but not spoiled, telling himself that it was all for Mack's own good.

He was learning to let go, even telling Mack not to doubt himself when the delivery man had almost been killed.

So when he walked into the lounge to see his son on the couch, a curled up Rose resting her head on Mack's shoulder, his left arm wound tight around her waist protectively, Andrew merely nodded and promptly headed out again. Had this moment been another point in time, he would have demanded that Mack let go of the pink ranger.

But he was learning to let go.