“Cool.” Cora hops off the couch to the floor. “Are you two going to get married? I’ve seen you kiss Mama. You love her, don’t you?”
Cole and I stare at each other, a look infused with hope, reconnection, lost and found love.
I shift my gaze to my daughters. “We haven’t spoken about that yet.”
Cora bounces on the soles of her feet. “Okay. Can we go now? We really need to finish the fort.”
“Sure,” I say.
She quickly hugs Cole, and then does the same to me. Then she dashes up the stairs. Joce stands up, leans forward and hugs her father, then kisses him on the cheek. After giving him a shy smile, she walks toward me with a huge grin, embraces me and kisses my cheek.
“I’m sad that Daddy is not here anymore. But I’m really happy that your prince came back. I’m happy Cole is here,” she says, before trailing after her sister.
And then I burst out in tears at her words. The couch sinks as Cole settles next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to him. He just holds me to his chest and rubs his palm on my back until my sobs turn to sniffles.
I place my hands on his chest and push away from him. “I’m such a mess, aren’t I?” I try to smile but it feels like a grimace.
He nods, smiling. “You actually look really cute. A cute mess.”
I chuckle and sit up. “Thank you for being here. You are so good with the girls. You are a natural”
He shakes his head. “I’m always afraid that I might be doing the wrong thing. You and the girls are patient with me, so thank you.” He pulls me to him and kisses my forehead, and then tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
I bite my lip and look away. After Cole left, I never thought, even for a second, he would come back home.
I’m really happy that your prince came back. Joce’s words give me confidence and I lift my face.
Cole cups my jaw and tugs it gently to face him. “What is it?”
I clear my throat. “I thought I’d never see this day. You sitting here next to me, or Cora and Joce finally getting to know who you are. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you hated me or didn’t want anything to do with me.”
Cole leans forward, his gaze holding mine captive. “I could never hate you. I said those words in a moment of anger, but it wasn’t true. I will always regret not opening those letters. It was stupid of me. There is something my dad said to me a few weeks ago. Something that Josh said. Things worked out the way they did for a reason. You were there for Josh when he needed you the most. He was there for you and the girls when you needed someone to lean on, and I’m thankful for that.” He shrugs. “Life is never meant to be easy.”
He is right. Life is never meant to be easy, otherwise, there wouldn’t be any challenges to face.
I lift his hand to my lips and kiss his palm. “Tell me about New York, your tattoos, everything.” I trace the ‘Silver lining’ tattoo and lift my eyes to his. “I can’t believe you did this one. How did you even get the image?”
He grins. “I took a photo from your doodle book. I had no idea why I did that. I just know that every time I looked at the photo, it gave me courage. I had it tattooed on my skin after I left prison.”
I sit across from him as he fills me in on the years we were apart. By the time he is done, I feel gratitude and respect for this man. He hasn’t let anything stand in the way of his dreams, he even didn’t let the lack of money to finance his education pull him down.
Finally I ask what has been simmering in the back of my mind. “You said that you are not leaving. What will that do to your internship program at Lawrence & Barnes?” I don’t want him to give up his dreams just to take care of us.
“I’ll finish it in my dad’s firm. I just have a couple of months left, then I’ll be done and after that, take the exams to get my licence. So you see, I’m not leaving. Ever. You and our daughters are my dream.” He grips my shoulders and kisses me softly, before pulling back.
“I’m glad. I’m sorry for everything that happened.”
He shakes his head. “I am sorry for believing that you’d hurt me intentionally and for ignoring those letters. Forgive me?”
“How about we forgive each other?” We laugh and fall silent.
I purse my lips. “I was thinking about something. Josh’s birthday is coming up on May ninth and I wanted to check with you first. We could invite a few friends and your parents, and have a get together in his honor? How does that sound?”
He stares down at me, tears gleaming in his eyes. “I think that’s a brilliant idea. Josh would love that.” I take in a deep breath. “Tate and Simon were supposed to fly in in a week or so for a visit. I will ask him if it is possible for them to postpone the trip until the birthday.”