The sun was peeking over the water as he drove to the three-story beach home. To Jazmine. He was not going to let them get on that plane tomorrow without laying his heart on the line like she had done for him. He had been a coward that night.
Stepping out of his truck, Elijah looked to the top of the three-story beach house. He closed his eyes. Please, God, give me the words and the strength I need to do this work. For the last few days, he had gone back and forth on and circled every word his sister had said.
Letting Jazmine go had not been for the good of her and their daughter.
He could give her one day, each day. Together they could watch the sun rise and make a new vow each morning to love one another. The same as he vowed to God each morning to turn his problem over to him.
He stood at the door, wiping his hands over his jeans. Had he waited too long?
Before he knocked, the front door opened. “Elijah?”
Jazmine’s mother stood on the threshold.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She stepped farther out and closed the door behind her. “They’re not here.”
All the blood drained from his body, and his head went blank. They couldn’t be gone. “No. It’s too early.”
“She got a call yesterday. There was an emergency at work, and they asked her to come back. They left on the next flight out. Didn’t she call you?”
“I had a missed call from her and a message she wanted to talk, but...” She hadn’t want to tell him over the phone. “I had Lane cover my charter today and came over to talk.” It seemed she had decided to move on just like he told her. What did he do now?
He looked Azalea in the eye. “I love her. I love them both.”
“I know.”
“You also know I don’t deserve her.” He stood before her with his hat in his hands.
“My daughter loves you. She never stopped. I don’t want to see her hurt, and I trust you want the same. That’s what I’ve seen this summer, anyway. In God I trust. If you do the same, this will be good for everyone.”
There was a new lightness in his chest. “I won’t take her for granted. I need to talk with her.”
“Wait here a moment.” She wasn’t gone long and when she returned, she handed him a box.
“A ring box?”
“It’s her great-grandmother’s. It has an incredible love story attached to it. The world didn’t think they belonged together, but they proved everyone wrong by loving each other for over fifty years and filling their days with happiness.” She picked up his hand and wrapped his fingers around the box.
“You’re giving it to me?” He had no clue how to react, what to say.
“I’m not saying you should give this to her right now. You probably have a few things to talk about, but I can’t imagine anyone else giving this to her. She asked for it the first time you got married. I didn’t think you were right for her, so I refused to let her have it. Of course, that didn’t stop her from marrying you.”
Tears gathered in her long eyelashes. His own chest felt as though a vise grip was squeezing his ribs. “We rushed the first time. It was a mistake.”
“No. The alcohol was the mistake, not the marriage. You told Jazmine it was fear that led you to drinking. That’s the reason you lost her.” Azalea placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’ve had my own recent lesson. Fear is a lie you believe. That lie will mess up your future.”
“Being an alcoholic is not a lie.”
“You didn’t beat the odds because of luck, but by faith. Leaning on God, you’ve fought hard to stay sober. The man standing at my door decided he wanted to own the largest fleet of boats in Port Del Mar, and he made it happen.”
She clasped her hands in front of her and took a moment to search his eyes, her gaze firm and intense. “You wanted a real relationship with your daughter, and despite my best efforts—” a chuckle softened her words “—you’re not just her biological father, you’re the daddy she loves. You even won over a mother-in-law who was letting bitterness blind her. With each goal set, you’ve not only achieved, you’ve exceeded.”
“I didn’t do it alone.”
“No. None of us survive this life by going it alone.”
Elijah looked down. A few more arrows of doubt hit him.
“She’s seen you at your worst and knows you at your best. She’s willing to put her trust in God that together you’ll make the family she has always wanted.”
Raising his head, Elijah took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. “I think God’s been trying to talk to me. And, as usual, I’ve been stubbornly ignoring Him.”
“God’s good. He won’t give up on you. And I don’t think she will, either.” Sincerity softened Azalea’s dark brown eyes.
“I’m starting to see that.” God had put so many people in his life who had helped him find the right path. “I keep hearing Jazz, Miguel, my sister, all telling me the same thing. God might be bringing in the big guns to pop me on the back of the head.”
“Me?” Her eyes twinkled.
Elijah nodded.
“I hope you’re listening.”
“You think I should go to Denver?”
She rolled her eyes. “Why are you still standing here?”
With the tip of her finger, Azalea patted the corner of her eye. “Go get her. Love them like they’re the most precious things in your life.”
“They are.” Certainty pulled every nerve taut. On impulse, he hugged her. “I’ll always protect them, even if it’s from me.”
She nodded against his shoulder and patted his back. “I know.”
He was ready to lay it all out there. As he pulled out of the drive, plans started forming in his head. He would do whatever it took to prove to her that he was worth the risk. Would it be groveling or a big gesture? Maybe a little of both.
Hopefully, she still wanted him.