39. Tucker

“Do you think she’s going to like this?” Riley stares up at me with wide eyes.

Skylar’s been working like crazy recently. She’s trying to organize special things for the students, making them more excited to go to school.

Most nights, by the time she gets home, she’s already falling asleep. I miss spending time with her. I miss cuddling on the couch after Riley goes to bed, but I understand this pregnancy is taking a lot out of her.

“I think she’s going to love it.” I boop Riley on the nose.

“Does she even like raviolis?” Riley scrunches up her nose. She glances at me like she’s not sure she can trust me.

“She loves them. Skylar used to beg Nanny to make her raviolis every time she was over for dinner.”

“But Nanny doesn’t make raviolis with green stuff in them.”

“It’s called pesto and Skylar loves this. I created this recipe right before she left. She said it was her favorite.”

A car door shuts outside. Riley’s eyes widen to a comical level. She jumps off the stool and rushes into the living room. Flinging the curtains open, she looks out the window and squeals

“She’s here!” She yells, rushing back into the kitchen. She quickly sets the table and fills the cups with ice water.

The front door opens and closes. Footsteps move down the hall, then a tired Skylar appears.

“Hey, baby.” I move around the island, sweeping her into my arms. “How was work?”

“Can I quit?” She sighs, melting into my embrace.

“No! You’re the best principal ever! You can”t quit!” Riley rushes towards us, throwing her arms around Skylar’s legs.

“Thank you, sweetie.” Skylar runs a hand up and down her back.

“C’mon, let’s eat before Skylar falls asleep.” I lead them both to the table.

Riley plops down in her chair, resting her chin in her hand. She giggles and pretends to fall asleep, letting her head fall to the table.

Skylar and I laugh, because we both know that’s exactly what my fiancée will look like in about twenty minutes.

“Don’t judge me, Riles! I”m tired from making a baby.”

“I can”t wait for Duke to get here! Are you and Daddy going to get married before or after?”

Skylar’s gaze snaps to mine and we stare at each other. Her brows furrow the slightest bit and I know there’s a million things running through her mind.

“I can hear you thinking, baby. What’s wrong?”

“I… I always thought I’d have my dad walk me down the aisle,” she whispers.

“You could still have him do that.” I take her hand in mine, trying to reassure her.

“I haven’t talked to either of my parents since I left. I”m sure they want nothing to do with me now.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Why don’t we go visit them tomorrow? What’s the worst that could happen?”

“After you get married, would that make them my grandparents?” Riley peeks up at me, pesto sauce smeared all over her face.

“Yeah, it would,” Skylar answers, still lost in her own mind.

“I wanna come! Can I meet them?”

“We’ll see, sweetheart. Let’s eat so Skylar can rest. We can discuss it later.”

Skylar blows out a long, slow breath. Her hands shake the slightest bit, but I don’t think she even realizes it.

I’ve never seen her this nervous. Skylar’s always been a pillar of strength and confidence. She’s what every girl wanted to be when we were growing up. I have no doubt there would’ve been a line of guys begging to date her if any of them thought they had a shot. I made it very clear she was mine and anyone who tried to make a move on what was mine would end up regretting it.

“Are you going to be ok?”

“Let’s just get this over with.” She shoves open her door and heads straight up the walkway to the front door. Riley and I follow closely behind.

It opens before she’s even able to raise her hand. She stumbles back a step, knocking into my chest. I wrap an arm around her waist, steadying her.

“It’s going to be fine, baby,” I breathe into her ear.

Pastor Barren blinks at Skylar several times before he motions for us to come inside without a single word. He leads us into the living room and tells us to make ourselves at home. Mrs. Barren enters the room a moment later.

“Phil, who was at the doo-” she trails off when her gaze lands on Skylar. “Skylar…”

“Hi, Mom.”

Mrs. Barren races towards Skylar, throwing her arms around her daughter. She squeezes her tight and doesn’t let go.

“Marie, let her go. You’re going to kill her if you keep that tight of a grip on her.” Pastor Barren rolls his eyes.

“It’s just… it’s been so long. We heard you were in town, but I didn’t think you’d ever show up on our doorstep… I have a feeling I should thank Tucker for that.” Mrs. Barren gives me a watery smile. I nod my head, confirming her suspicions.

“Can we sit? I need to talk to both of you.” Skylar wrings her hands together. She settles onto the cushion next to me, stiff as a board. I take her hand in mine, squeezing it gently. I wish I could make this easier for her, but she needs to do this herself.

“Why’d you leave, Sky? One day you just disappeared and we had no idea where you went. If it weren’t for Colton, we probably would’ve thought you were dead,” Pastor Barren says softly.

Growing up, Pastor and Mrs. Barren were the strictest parents in town. It’s amazing how much trouble Skylar was able to get into because of that. She was grounded more days than not and it was always hard for her to get out of the house. But that never stopped my girl. She wasn’t going to let anyone stop her from living her life.

She’d sneak out and climb into my waiting truck down the street. Most days she’d sneak back in her bedroom window in the early hours of the morning.

“I was pregnant and had a miscarriage,” she whispers in a broken voice. The loss of our baby will never stop affecting her. I can”t blame her; it will never stop affecting me either.

“What!” Mrs. Barren flies from her seat next to her husband. “You were pregnant? And I guess you were the father?” She pins me with a glare.

“Yes, I was. Just like I”m the father of this one.” I place a gentle hand on Skylar’s growing belly.

“Marie! Calm down or you can leave. Our daughter is speaking to us for the first time in over a decade, I for one don’t care what she hid from us when she was eighteen.” Pastor Barren turns a loving gaze to Skylar, surprising everyone.

Skylar opens and closes her mouth several times, but nothing comes out. Her dad was always the enforcer of the rules. Always the one to ground her. This is quite the turn of events.

“I knew you were pregnant in high school,” he says softly.

“But… you didn’t say anything.”

“No, I didn’t. I wasn’t going to punish you. The moment I found out, I realized being strict with you wasn’t the right course of action. I planned to be supportive of you, of the pregnancy, but then you left. I didn’t know what happened, but then I found out about the miscarriage.”

“You did? And you never tried to find me?”

“I know you so much more than you believe, Sky. If I had tracked you down, you still wouldn’t have come home. You needed to leave, I understood that.”

“You could’ve called me! You could’ve let me know you were there for me! You could’ve done a thousand different things!”

“I tried. You didn’t answer and I wasn’t about to leave something like that on your voicemail… Sky, who do you think kept putting money in your bank account?”

“What?” She blinks at her father several times.

“You left with a good size bank account, but not that good. Every week I put money into it. Every week I’d check your balance and make sure you had enough. I knew where you were because I saw where the money was being spent.” Pastor Barren leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I”m so sorry about everything, Sky. You were my entire world. We were wrong. We shouldn’t have punished you or been so strict with you. We should’ve supported you and let you know you always had a loving family at your back.”

“I”m such a horrible mother! I didn’t even know about everything you were going through!” Mrs. Barren’s sorrowful gaze is focused on Skylar. So much regret and remorse shine in her watery eyes.

“How’d you know?” Skylar focuses on her dad and no one else.

“Sweetheart, you were on my health insurance. I get an explanation of benefits in the mail for every doctor’s visit. When you left, I was confused until I got the next one. When I saw the second ultrasound so soon after the first, I put two and two together.”

“I… I can”t believe you’ve known all along.” She stares down at her hands, processing this information she’s learned in the past five minutes. She glances up at her father. “Why didn’t you reach out to me when I came back?”

“Because I wanted you to initiate it. I knew if I showed up on your doorstep, you wouldn’t have been happy. You wouldn’t have spoken to me and nothing would’ve changed. I’ve been praying for you your entire life. When I found out you were pregnant, my prayers doubled. When you had the miscarriage and left, they tripled. Now, I feel like I spend more time praying for you and begging God to bring you back to us than anything else.”

“He answered your prayers,” Skylar whispers.

“That he did, but it was in his timing, not mine.” He nods his head, never taking his eyes off of Skylar.

“Wait… you said you’re the father of this one too.” Mrs. Barren gasps. “You’re pregnant?”

Skylar nods her head, tears filing her eyes once again. “And engaged.” She holds up her left hand, showing off the ring I put there. “That’s why I”m here… I always dreamed of having you walk me down the aisle and perform the ceremony, Dad… Will you do it?”

Pastor Barren pinches his lips together as his own eyes glisten. “Of course. I’d be honored to,” he chokes out.

“Which means you’ll be my grandparents!” Riley claps her hands.

I honestly forgot she was here. She’s been sitting so quietly. When everyone else jumps, I realize they forgot she was here too.

“I”m going to be a grandma!” Mrs. Barren steeples her hands in front of her mouth, emotion overwhelming her. She fans her face, trying to get the tears to dry up, but at this point it’s useless. We’re all teary messes.

“When do you want to get married?” Pastor Barren keeps his focus on Skylar.

“As soon as possible.”

“Sweetheart,” he smiles sweetly at her, “I’m a pastor, I could marry you and Tucker right now.”

Skylar’s wide eyes turn to me and I can”t help but chuckle.

“I think we’ll need a little bit more time than that. You don’t even have a dress.”

“I don’t need one,” she whispers. “Let’s get married, Tuck.”

“Don’t you want a big wedding?” My brows pinch together. Malory wanted a huge wedding. She said everything had to be perfect because it was her day.

“No, I just want your family, Colt, Maverick, and Leslie. I don’t care about anyone else.” She searches my eyes, looking for hesitation, but she won”t find any. This is what I’ve wanted my entire life.

“I’ll make some calls and see if I can”t get them all here in an hour.” I squeeze her hand before walking onto the front porch.