chapter Twenty-Eight
Emily
I couldn’t have made the drive without Jake. I would have tried, but I probably would have stopped somewhere along the way. Having the conversation I needed to have with my dad would be hard. Doing it knowing he had almost no time left would be nearly impossible.
Mom greeted me with a hug. She didn’t let go for a minute, and I was once again grateful for Jake. He carried a sleeping Noah inside.
Mom let go of me long enough to notice we weren’t alone. “Hi, you must be Jake.”
“Hi, Mrs. Taylor. I’m so sorry about what you’re going through.”
She sighed. “Thank you for coming up with Emily. I felt better knowing they weren’t on the road alone.”
“Is there anywhere I should put him down?” Jake adjusted Noah in his arms.
“Of course. I still have the crib set up in Noah’s old room.” I led Jake upstairs, pausing for a second in front of my parents’ room before continuing down the hall. I kissed Noah before Jake set him down. We left the room, closing the door behind us.
“Emily, can you come here for a second?” Mom called from downstairs.
Jake put a hand on my arm. “I’ll get our stuff from the car. Which room are we in? Or do you want me to stay on the couch or something?”
“No. I need you with me. My room’s that one.” I pointed to my door.
“Okay, go talk to your mom.” He kissed me, before walking downstairs.
I was glad Mom wanted to talk first, because I certainly wasn’t ready to talk to Dad yet. Not that he was awake. It was after two a.m.
“I’m so glad you came. Your father needs this. You need this.”
“I know.” That’s when the tears started. I wanted to be strong for Mom, but I couldn’t be.
I heard the door swing open and closed as Jake brought in our stuff.
“He seems nice.”
“He is. He’s wonderful.”
“And he’s good with Noah.” She smiled. Mom had been really supportive when I’d finally told her about him. She said she hadn’t heard me so happy in years.
“Noah can’t get enough of him.”
“I’m glad you’ve found someone.”
“Me too.” I still couldn’t believe I’d gotten so lucky.
I sat with Mom for a while longer before heading upstairs. She decided to stay up a little later. I had a feeling she wouldn’t be going to bed at all. The light was on in my room, but it was empty. I glanced into the bathroom, but that was empty too. I was about to go back downstairs, when my parents’ door opened and Jake walked out.
“Jake? What were you doing in there?”
He closed the door and walked into my room. I followed.
When we walked inside, he closed my door. “I heard your dad calling out for Noah. I assumed he was confused and was asking for your brother…”
“Oh…”
“I was going to get your mom, but I heard you guys talking. I looked in to see if he was okay.”
“Was he awake?”
“Yeah. He asked who I was.” Jake smiled. “We had a long talk about football. I think I won him over when I told him I coached it now.”
“Won him over?”
“He wanted to make sure I was good enough to date his daughter.”
“Is he still awake?”
“No. He fell asleep while we were discussing the sorry shape the NFL was in.”
I smiled. “Now that sounds like Dad.”
“Do you want to try to talk to him, or wait until tomorrow?”
“I’ll wait.” I was too exhausted to see straight let alone have the hardest conversation of my life.
“All right, let’s head to bed then.”
“That sounds great.” We dug out toothbrushes and changed. Twenty minutes later, I was curled up in Jake’s arms.
“Dad?” I stepped into the room quietly. Mom said he was awake, but I didn’t want to disturb him if he was sleeping. Jake was giving Noah breakfast, and I knew it was now or never.
“Come in, Emily.”
I tentatively moved toward the bed. “Hi, Daddy.” I tried to choke back the tears, but he looked so weak. He never looked weak.
“Daddy? You haven’t called me that in years.”
I smiled through the tears. “I know.”
“You can at least sit down.” He raised his hand to gesture to an empty chair.
I sat down on the edge of the chair.
“I met your boyfriend.”
“What did you think?” I asked nervously.
“I like him. He’s real, and he cares about you.”
“And he coaches football…”
Dad smiled. “That too.”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I scooted my chair closer. “I’m sorry, Dad. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. You were right about Tim. You were right about everything, but I was too stubborn to admit it.”
“I wish I wasn’t right. I just wanted what was best for you.”
“I thought marrying Tim was the right thing to do. That’s what you’re supposed to do if you get pregnant.”
“Sometimes doing the right thing means doing what some people might consider wrong.” Dad always gave advice like that. He sounded like a sage, but really it’s just the way he viewed things.
“I love you.” I got up and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I love you too, Emily. I love you too.”
I cried. I cried, and I cried. I cried for all the time I’d wasted, all the chances we gave up just because we were both too stubborn to apologize.
He patted my back, and I sat back down.
“I raised you to be strong, and I’m so proud of you. But I also want you to know it is okay to lean on someone sometimes. It’s okay to need someone.”
I nodded. “It’s so hard, Dad. It’s so hard. I want to be the perfect mom for Noah, and I don’t know what to do half the time.”
“First of all, you can’t be perfect. Give that up now.”
I laughed. “Okay.”
“You’re going to make mistakes, just don’t be afraid to move on from them.” He paused for a moment. I think he needed to catch his breath. “Don’t forget about your own happiness. That’s just as important to Noah as anything else you do.”
I nodded.
“You had to grow up fast, and I don’t just mean when you got pregnant. Your brother’s death hurt us all, but I don’t think I gave you enough support. You got through it though, just like you got through Tim’s death. But you’re not just getting through with Noah. You’re thriving. Your mother and I are so proud of you.”
“I should let you go back to sleep.” I kissed his forehead and walked out of the room. Mom was waiting out in the hall. She gave me a huge hug before walking into the room. I went downstairs and found Jake and Noah playing with the dog. I stopped by the stairs, just watching them.
Noah turned and saw me, running into my arms. I held him close, reveling in how good it felt to have him in my arms. Jake joined us, hugging us both. I’d never felt so lucky before.
Dad was stable, and Mom insisted we go down to Clayton Falls to spend Christmas with Jake’s family. I argued at first, until I realized she wanted time alone with him. With a heavy heart, I said goodbye to my dad knowing it was probably the last time I’d get the chance to. Jake held my hand the whole way home. I didn’t have to say anything, he knew I needed it. Saying goodbye to Dad was hard, but finally talking to him about everything was like having a weight removed from my chest. I could finally look back at the good memories, remember the amazing father I’d grown up with.
I’d never spent Christmas outside of Ridgeview. Even in all the chaos of Tim’s death, I’d made it home. I expected Christmas Eve to be depressing, but Jake made sure it wasn’t. We went to dinner at his parents’ house before we came home to decorate the tree. We hadn’t had time to do it before leaving for Ridgeview. Noah and I hadn’t officially moved in, but we had enough there that it really did feel like home. Jake and I stayed up late preparing everything for Noah before finally turning in well after eleven.
“Merry Christmas.” I opened my eyes to find Jake watching me.
“Merry Christmas. How long have you been up?”
“A while. I had to make sure everything was ready.”
“But we did all of that last night. The stockings, Noah’s gifts—”
“But I had to get yours ready.”
I sat up. “It’s the kind of gift you had to get ready?”
“Look down.”
I admired the necklace Jake had clasped around my neck. “It’s beautiful.” It was a simple chain with a small diamond on the end.
“I’m glad you like it.” He shifted nervously. “But there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay.”
He took both of my hands. “I know I haven’t earned it yet, but one day I’m going to earn your forever, and Noah’s too. I’m going to be the man by your side through everything, the one you come home to, the one you wake up with for the rest of your life.”
“You’ve already earned our forever.”
He smiled. “Good. That means I can give you the rest of your present.”
I held my breath as he went down on one knee in front of me. He took my left hand. “You’re my angel, my love, my everything. You make me a man I can be proud of, a man I never thought I could be. Marry me, Emily. Make me the luckiest person alive.”
I could barely get the word out. “Yes.” He slipped a ring on my finger before standing up and wrapping his arms around me. His lips crushed against mine, and I savored the feel, and the taste.
“There’s still one more question.”
“What is it?”
“I said I want both your forevers. I need Noah’s too.”
“Are you saying you—”
“I want to adopt him.”
I nodded. “Yes.” There was no one else who could possibly be a better father to my son.
“Just so you know, your dad gave me permission.”
“What? You asked him?”
“There are some things I like to do traditionally.”
“You asked him that first night, didn’t you?”
Jake smiled. “Yeah. He asked if I was serious about you, and I told him as serious as I could be. It was the perfect time to ask.”
I hugged him. “Thank you. Thank you for asking.”
“Of course. Do you like the ring? It was my grandmother’s. I’d be more than happy to buy you a new one, but when my mom showed me this last night, it just seemed like you.”
“It’s perfect.” I ran a finger over the beautiful diamond and pearl stones. I loved that it was a family ring. There was nothing more important in life than family.
“Should we go find Noah?”
I nodded.
Jake took my hand, and we walked into Noah’s room. He woke up when he heard the door open and leapt out of bed.
“Merry Christmas, baby.” I picked him up and hugged him.
“Em, Noah, come here,” Jake called excitedly.
“What?” I met him at the window. A light flurry of snowflakes fell from the sky. “It’s snowing.”
Jake smiled. “Let’s get coats.”
“We’re in pajamas.”
“So?”
I laughed and got Noah in his coat, putting on mine as well. We all walked out into the light flurry. It probably wouldn’t amount to much, but it was still amazing to see.
“This has to be a sign. I can’t remember it ever snowing on Christmas here.”
“What’s it a sign of?” I looked down at the sparkling ring on my finger.
“An incredible future.”
Jake leaned down to kiss me, and I knew I’d be kissing those lips for the rest of my life.