“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” Jake couldn’t have heard him right.
“I know it’s silly, but that’s what you’ve been to my brother and me since the day you stitched him up.” Alex swiped a hand across his eyes, wiping away the moisture as he turned to his father’s grave. “I know he wouldn’t mind. He told me before he died he just wanted us to be happy. To be a family.” He turned back to Jake. “And you completed our family.”
Jake pulled Alex into his arms.
Dear, Lord, he loved this boy—and his brother-–like…
Like they were his own children.
That’s when it hit him.
Having a child didn’t mean having a baby. It meant loving unconditionally.
All this time, he’d searched for a woman who would be willing to give him a child. To give him his family back.
But nothing would bring back his parents, or his brother and sister. Nothing.
But, like Donna said, he did have memories. Videos he hadn’t been able to bring himself to watch. He would be able to hear his sister’s laugh again, see his mother’s smile.
All he needed were loved ones to help him through the tears that were sure to come.
Loved ones like Kate, Alex, and Drew.
A car screeched to a halt, cutting through the peaceful cemetery. Kate hopped out from the passenger side and hurried toward them. God, he missed her. Missed her smile, her laugh, her touch.
The feeling of belonging to someone, even though he never really was hers to begin with.
Alex released his vise grip on Jake and wiped his eyes. “I’m in so much trouble.”
“Just say you’re sorry and you love her.”
He nodded and went to meet Kate halfway. She stopped a few feet away and opened her arms.
“Mom, I’m sorry!” Alex rushed into them.
She hugged him tight. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m sorry, too.”
“But I made you worry.”
“I’m a mother. I always worry.”
He let out a small laugh. “Yeah, you’ve told me that before.”
She pulled away and caressed his face. “We need to talk, but not here. Let’s go home before Drew goes crazy from waiting.”
“After all the times he made me sit in the ER waiting room, it’ll serve him right.”
With a low chuckle, her eyes shifted to William’s gravestone. She stared for a moment, a slow smile forming on her face. Then she did the oddest thing.
She nodded.
Turning to Jake with her lip between her teeth, she said, “Thank you so much. For everything.” Then back to Alex. “We need to go home. We obviously have some things to talk about.”
“Kate.” Jake reached out and grabbed her wrist when she headed back to the car. “I think I need to be there, too.”
Her eyes shifted between him and Alex before saying, “Yes, I think you do.”
***
“You have some nerve making us worry like that!” Drew punched Alex’s arm the second he walked in the house.
“Ow!” Alex rubbed where he hit. “Well, now you know what it’s been like for me all these years.”
“At least I never went missing.”
Jake chuckled as Drew scolded his brother. He’d had a similar relationship with Arthur. And for the first time since they died, the thought of his family made Jake smile.
“Let’s all go into the family room,” Kate said.
After they were all settled into their seats, Kate faced her sons. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Jake and me. If I had been more open, we probably could have prevented what happened.”
“Yeah, and Alex wouldn’t have gone all emo.” As always, Drew’s charm broke the tension.
After that, the conversation flowed. Jake’s heart broke from hearing how Alex had carried so much on his shoulders and how he had helped him deal with it all.
And then how he felt when Jake had all but disappeared.
There was laughter, a few tears, but in the end, it felt good to know the boys didn’t hate him.
Before Alex and Drew went to their rooms, Jake promised them he would never disappear again. No matter what.
“Well, that was an eye-opener,” Kate said as she wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks.
“I’m sorry I hurt them.” Jake couldn’t look at her for fear he’d see the accusation in her eyes. “I wanted to be there for them. I guess I overstepped.”
With a pat to his thigh, she stood. “I’ll be right back.”
Jake watched her leave, a thousand emotions running through his head. No argument? No anger? Could she forgive him that easily?
He needed to tell her. Now. Convince her that it didn’t matter if they created a child or not; she and her boys were all the family he needed. But would it be enough? She had let him go without a fight. Their age difference hadn’t changed. In her heart, she was still married to William. Jake couldn’t live being married to another man’s wife.
But he wanted to be a part of her, Alex, and Drew’s lives, even if it meant his heart breaking every time he remembered their time together. Every time he went to reach for her and reminded himself he didn’t have the right.
But would she let him?
Dread engulfed him as he waited for her to return. Seconds later, she entered, holding a small piece of notebook paper.
He stood and faced her, not surprised to see her spinning her wedding ring.
Then he did a double-take.
Her finger was bare.
“Oh, no. Did you lose your ring?”
“No, I took it off.” She rubbed again where the gold band used to be, the piece of paper still clutched in her hand.
“Why?” he choked out, not daring to hope.
Kate pressed her lips together. “Because I can’t ask you what I’m about to ask while wearing another man’s ring.” Kate stepped closer, her eyes finally meeting his. “You asked if I believed we could make it work.”
“And you said yes, in another time and place.”
She held up the piece of paper for him to read. His eyes scanned the page, and all his hopes were dashed.
Her damn list.
She’d written her name at the top of the page, and underneath that she’d itemized all her reasons they couldn’t be together. As if he didn’t know them by heart already.
With her eyes holding his, she grabbed the paper with both hands and violently ripped it into shreds before throwing the tiny pieces in the air to rain down on them.
“Let’s make this that time and place. I’ve torn up my list for you, and now I want to know if you would tear up yours for me?” She swallowed. “I love you, Jake, and I want to be the mother of your child, but my age and—”
“Yes!” Jake’s heart pounded in his chest. If he ever wondered how she felt about him, she made it clear with that one sentence.
She paused, her eyes reflecting shock. “No, you need to listen. The chances of me conceiving a child—”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does. I know how much you want a family.”
“I already have one. You and your boys are all I need.”
“Really, Jake?” She covered her mouth with shaky fingers. “Are you sure?”
“Completely. I love you, Kate.”
Letting out a tiny sob, she closed the distance between them. “In that case, you need to kiss me.”
And he did. Until pounding footsteps echoed from the stairwell to come to an abrupt halt.
“See? I told you they’d get back together!” Drew said.
“So you did, dude. So you did.”
Jake grinned at his soon-to-be-stepsons. “Do I have permission to ask your mom to marry me?”
They both rushed over.
“I’m good with it.” Drew pounded Jake’s fist.
“Me, too,” Alex agreed, “but I think Mom gets the last word.”
Kate laughed. “As if I have a choice here.”
“You do. Kinda,” Drew said.
She turned to Jake. “I’ll marry you on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Joy burst from every cell in his body, but he held his breath, waiting for her response.
“Grow a beard, so it doesn’t look like I married my kids’ babysitter.”
Jake let out a laugh and hugged them close. “For my family, I’d do anything.”
THE END
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed your visit to Seashore Cove, Long Island. Look for Sean and Dianna’s story next with a little taste of the supernatural in Angels in Seashore Cove, Book Two in the LOVE AND LAUGH IN SEASHORE COVE SERIES.