part0028

Stone and I were sitting across from Wes and Zane. The minute we boarded the plane, the girls decided they needed to have a girl-talk session. The guys and I knew we’d be wasting our breath if we tried to talk them out of it. With everything that had gone on since the New Year’s Eve celebration at Lou’s, the girls hadn’t had a chance to get together.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, Nikki had been spending most of her free time with her father. There was that one weekend that she surprised me at my place and gave me her undivided attention for the entire weekend. I had been missing her immensely and was so grateful for that time she carved out for me without me having to ask her for it. I realized she had lost out on so much with her father and needed to make up for as much of it as she could before he went back to California, but it still killed me to not see her regularly .

Before that weekend ended, I told Nikki that I was more than happy to get together with her and her father whenever she was ready for that to happen. I realized in the beginning that she needed that time alone with him, but I also wanted her to know that I was more than prepared to work on having a relationship with him since he was so important to her.

Nikki was immediately receptive to the idea and insisted on the three of us having dinner the next two nights. Dinner with her father went well. The conversation wasn’t ever awkward and I could tell he was making a real genuine effort to get to know me. It was after our first dinner together that I finally understood why Nikki had such a difficult time with the idea of her father’s abandonment. Of course, I only knew from what she told me how he was when she was younger; however, seeing his interaction with her now and adding that to the way he was treating me only confirmed the truth that he was a really great guy.

Following our second dinner, Michael asked to speak with me alone. Nikki made herself scarce and went about cleaning up the kitchen.

“I figure there’s only one thing I can do that will even come close to me offering you the thanks you deserve.”

I shook my head. “I don’t need any thanks, Michael.”

He barely let me finish that statement before he insisted, “No, son. You do. And there are two reasons for that. The obvious reason being the fact that you listened well enough to Nikki to know that it didn’t make sense that I’d just leave her. Realizing that something was off and having Cruz investigate it resulted in you giving my daughter back to me. I’d have gone to my grave believing that she hated me over a lie. Unsettling isn’t even the word to describe that feeling.”

I felt it was necessary to offer him an explanation, “As much as she tries to put on a brave face, I could see under it. Nikki was in agony. In fact, it was so bad that she was hurting herself every day by not allowing herself to fall in love or allowing anyone to love her. I did what I thought I had to do to help her heal. Seeing her happy now is really all the thanks I need.”

Michael gave an approving nod and added, “That’s my second reason, Luke. It’s one thing having my daughter back in my life, but it’s another knowing that despite me not being around she still managed to find someone who would treat her the way she deserves to be treated. I see the way you are with her. I couldn’t have hand selected someone who’d be better for her than you. And that is what I was referring to when I said there was only one thing I could do that would come close to giving you the thanks you deserve.”

He paused a moment allowing his words to sink in before he went on, “I’ve already told Nikki, but I think you should know, too. I completely approve of your relationship with my daughter. And over the last few weeks, don’t think I haven’t noticed what you’ve given up for her. Allowing her the time she needed so that she and I could do what we could to make up for what was taken from us. And if everything you’ve done up to the point you reunited us wasn’t enough, what you’ve given us the last few weeks indicated to me how much you love her. You’ve put her needs before your own. That’s all a father can ask for.”

I wasn’t sure there was much to say after that. Michael knew it and didn’t expect a reply. Deep down though, I had to admit to myself that while I genuinely didn’t feel the need for any thanks in this situation, it felt good to know that he saw what she meant to me and he approved. A minute later, Nikki walked into the room and she instantly sensed the good vibes. That only served to make her even happier.

I didn’t see Nikki the next day because she spent that entire day and night with her dad. He was leaving early the next morning to go back to California and I wanted her to have uninterrupted time with him.

Now, we’d been in the air for about ten minutes when Stone made his observation. He was referring to Nikki’s mood. One of the girls had said something and they all started laughing. It wasn’t unusual to see the foursome having a good time, but much like I had noticed shortly after Nikki learned the truth about her father, Stone was also seeing the transformation in her. She’d always been fun to be around, but now anyone could see that she was fully present in each moment. Her mind was carefree. Her eyes were no longer dubious and her laughter was intoxicating.

“I know,” I agreed as I looked to the part of the plane where my girl was sitting with her friends and her face was lit up. She was positively joyful. “It’s fucking beautiful.”

“It’s been a month,” Wes chimed in. “I’m happy to see she’s doing remarkably well, but I still can’t believe her own mother and sisters did that to her.”

“And her dad is such a good guy that he doesn’t want to waste effort or energy dwelling on it trying to prove his innocence,” Zane added.

“Monroe said Nikki’s been bothered by that, though” Stone started. “There’s no doubt that having him back in her life has been good for her. It’s obvious just looking at her, but Monroe told me that Nikki has expressed her frustration over what was done to her father.”

“She wants justice,” I explained. “I can’t say I blame her, either. They took a lot from her…and from him. I get where her dad is coming from, though. He can’t get back the time they’ve already stolen, so what’s the point in wasting more? Besides, now that Levi has offered him a good job, it’s not like the felony conviction will be a factor in him being able to make a decent living anymore. He just needs to finish working out those details so he can make that move here.”

“Do you think she’ll let it go?” Wes asked .

I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. I had no idea. “I don’t know, honestly. I bought those plane tickets to go from Salt Lake to Ventura after the Olympics. Obviously, I did that before Cruz found her father and we learned the truth about what happened. When I asked Nikki about it a couple nights ago, she said she was still undecided on whether she wanted to go and confront her mother and sisters. I don’t expect they’ll just fess up to it, so I can’t imagine how beneficial the trip there would be for her. In fact, I get the awful feeling that if she chooses to go, the trip there will tear her apart again. Regardless, I can’t be the one to make the decision for her.”

“I don’t envy you, bro,” Stone admitted. “It can’t be easy watching her go through that.”

“It fucking kills me, but somehow, she manages to keep going. All I can do is be there when she needs me.”

None of the guys responded with words. They all nodded and looked over to where the girls were sitting, laughing, and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The truth of the matter is, I didn’t need a response from them because I already knew what they were thinking. They’d been in my shoes and they knew. None of them had fallen in love and not needed to be there for woman they loved when she broke down. It was part of what I knew the four of us would spend the rest of our lives doing. Being there for each of the women who brought us to our knees whenever the situation called for it.

And in the meantime, I’m sure each of us was thinking some version of the same sentiment: How did we get so lucky?

I knew that’s what was going through my mind. How was it possible that I’d found the woman I’d go to the ends of the Earth for? What had I done so great in my life to be given the honor and privilege of calling her mine?

When it came down to it, no matter how many ways I posed the question to myself, the fact remained that I vowed to myself that I’d protect that gift. Nikki gave me the purest love of all when she, someone who made it very clear she could stand on her own and didn’t need anyone else, trusted me with her heart. I’d never take the gift she gave me for granted and I’d walk through fire a million times over to protect it.

I didn’t get much deeper into my musings before the guys snapped me out of them. Stone caught my attention by elbowing me.

“What do you think?” he asked.

I blinked and retorted, “About what?”

Stone just laughed while Zane piped up, “Welcome to the club, Luke. You know you’ve officially made it when you completely zone out and focus on your girl and everything she means to you instead of staying present in the conversation with your friends.”

“You’re in good company,” Wes reassured me. “We won’t hold it against you.”

That’s when Stone explained, “We were just talking about the Olympics. It’s a big deal for all of us, obviously, but especially for you. This is the first year for Big Air to be part of the Winter Games. We know how hard you’ve been training, but do you think you’ll be able to stop daydreaming about Nikki long enough to focus on getting the gold.”

“I’ve got it,” I insisted. “You guys know you don’t spend your entire life training for something like this only to lose your focus when the time is critical. I’m good to go.”

The guys and I spent the rest of the flight making small talk, focusing mostly on the upcoming competition we were facing. That is, until the girls moved their seats and came over to sit with us and I realized the guys were going to kill me.

“Wes, honey?” Charley called after she settled herself in his lap.

“What’s up, gorgeous? ”

“The girls and I made a decision about you three boys,” she started pointing to him, Zane, and Stone. “You all need to take a page out of Luke’s book.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was certainly intrigued.

Charley explained, “When Nikki gave Luke his gift…you know, the gift, do you know exactly what he did?”

“I’m not sure what makes you think I’d know exactly what he did, but I can probably guess what the gist of it was.”

Charley rolled her eyes.

“It was so sweet,” Emme added.

Stone nudged me and asked, “What did you do?”

I gave him a puzzled look and shrugged my shoulders. “The obvious.”

“A little clarification please, ladies,” Zane requested.

Monroe explained, “He offered to take pictures with her and do a couples’ boudoir session. How sweet is that?”

The guys looked to me. I cocked an eyebrow and offered a half-grin before I turned my attention to Nikki and gave her a wink.

The remainder of the flight resulted in the girls trying to convince their men to do a session with them. Even though they all initially protested, I had a feeling they’d all cave.

Roughly an hour and a half after we left Rising Sun, we landed in Salt Lake City. The entire Winter Games would take place over the course of about two and a half weeks. It was two days before the Winter Games started and nearly two weeks before I’d need to be fully prepared to compete in qualifying for Big Air. Zane and Stone needed to be ready to go in four days for the Men’s Halfpipe qualifying. The day after that would be the Men’s Halfpipe finals.

So, Zane and Stone would be done relatively quickly and could spend the rest of their time in Salt Lake relaxing. I’d have the time in the beginning of the trip to relax since I wouldn’t be competing until so much later.

After we got our bags, we loaded ourselves into two separate rental vehicles. Stone and Monroe rode with Nikki and me as I drove the four of us to the home Blackman Boards rented for the time we’d be staying in Utah.

We had just stopped at a grocery store to pick up food and were about not quite ten minutes from the house when I heard a phone ring in the backseat.

“Hello?” Monroe answered.

There was silence while she waited for the caller to speak.

Monroe laughed before she spoke again, “Yes, Vaughn, we landed a little bit ago and did a grocery store run. We’re on our way to the house now.”

Vaughn was one of Monroe’s three older brothers. They were very protective of her, so it wasn’t surprising to me that Vaughn was calling to make sure we had arrived safely.

“I’ll be sure to let him know,” she said. “Make sure you guys watch it on television so you can celebrate when he wins a medal.”

I had to admit that not only was it nice hearing Monroe’s confidence in Stone, but also knowing that her family completely supported him. After everything he’d been through when we were teenagers, it was good to know he finally had people beyond Wes, Zane, me, and our families, who cared about him.

Monroe spoke again, but this time it was through laughter, “You can tell Deacon he knows Stone better than that. Baby boy Stone is being well fed.”

There was silence again while Vaughn spoke to her. That is to say, Monroe was silent. While I couldn’t make out what he was saying, I heard Stone mumbling in the seat behind me.

“Ok, Vaughn. I’ll check in throughout the week. Thanks for calling and for the positive vibes. I’ll be sure all the guys know you’ll be rooting for them. Give everyone my love. ”

She paused a moment.

I knew Monroe disconnected the call because she spoke to all of us when she shared, “I can’t imagine what will happen when my brothers finally settle down. They were so protective to begin with and now that their nephew is in my belly, they’ve become borderline uncontrollable.”

“Monroe, angel?” Stone called.

“Don’t try to stop them; it’s in their nature. Besides, the way I see it, the more men we’ve got being protective of our daughter, the better.”

“I don’t disagree with you on that, which is precisely the reason why it’s a good thing this baby is a boy. This way, when we do have a daughter, she’ll have her big brother there to protect her. All of that said, if our son is anything like you, I’m guessing he’s going to cause a lot of trouble by not listening to a word I say.”

“Fucking hell,” I finally bit out.

I glanced over to the passenger’s seat to find Nikki in a fit of giggles.

“I’m sorry, Luke,” Monroe lamented. “Stone’s having a hard time accepting reality right now. And really, the sex of the baby is not the reason Vaughn called. He wanted to wish you guys luck while we’re out here and to let you all know that the Archer family is going to be cheering for the Blackman Boards’ team.”

I nodded, acknowledging the kind words from her brother.

“I have a question,” Nikki chimed in. “In all honesty, is either one of you going to be disappointed if you get the opposite of what you’ve been hoping for?”

“I’m not hoping, Nik,” Monroe offered. “I know it’s a boy. That said, I do hope that Stone won’t be disappointed. ”

I looked in the rearview mirror to see Stone shaking his head and smirking.

My eyes were back on the road when he confirmed Nikki’s suspicion. “It’s not going to matter to me. I’ll be just as happy with a boy as I would be with a girl.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Monroe responded. “Speaking of relief, do you know if we are close because if I don’t empty my bladder soon we’re going to have a problem?”

“We’re here,” I declared.

I’m not sure if Stone was prepared to go another round with Monroe on the son versus daughter debate, but he didn’t get to because we pulled up in front of the place we’d be calling home for the next couple weeks.

Stone and I got out, helped Nikki and Monroe out, and walked them up to the front door. There was a lot of snow on the ground and having one of them slip and fall was not an option. Wes was already there opening the door for everyone. After the guys and I saw to it that the girls were safe inside, we went back to the vehicles to unloaded the suitcases and groceries.

Everyone chipped in to get the groceries put away before dinner was decided on and the suitcases were moved to the bedrooms.

I had to admit that Wes was smart in picking a place to stay. There might have only been four couples staying in the place, but he made sure the house had more bedrooms than were needed so that we could spread ourselves throughout the house. Just as I sat the last of the suitcases down in the bedroom I’d selected for Nikki and me, she walked into the room.

“Hey, babe,” I greeted her as she walked over to me.

Something in her expression was off.

“Hey,” she responded, sliding her arms around my waist and nuzzling her face in my neck.

Keeping one arm wrapped around her waist, I ran my other hand through her hair. “What’s wrong?”

She was quiet a moment before she finally answered by way of an apology. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s just me and my dad,” she started. “There’s nobody else from my family who will cheer for you the way that Monroe’s family will for Stone.”

My hand stopped moving through her hair, grabbed a lock of it, and gently tugged. I looked down at her beautiful blue eyes and gently reassured her, “I don’t need anybody but you, baby girl.”

She didn’t seem convinced that I was more than content with just her supporting me, so I continued, “Your father is in the mix now. He called wished me well before we came out here and he’s your family. I’ve got all the support I need. Besides, I also have my parents, Lexi, and Logan. That’s something Stone doesn’t have, so it’s good Monroe’s family is there for him. I’m happy he has that and I don’t feel that I’m missing out at all.”

Nikki didn’t respond. She nuzzled her face back in my neck again and squeezed her arms around me a little tighter.

I held on to her and kissed the top of her head.

After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. “I think I might still want to go to California after we leave here if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, I think so. I understand my dad’s position and why he believes it’s not worth it to give them the time of day, but I can’t help it. There’s still a part of me that wants…no, needs to let them know how I feel about what they did. Even though there might not be any justice for my father, I want them to know that I know exactly who they are. I want to see my mother and my sisters face-to-face and tell them what I think of them. I also want them to know that it’ll be the last time they’ll ever see me.”