Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

EMMA

S everal hours later, the door opens and my man is standing there. He's changed into a plain T-shirt and jeans. He walks right up to me, past Angelica lying on her bunk and his mom. When he pulls me into his arms, I let out a surprised moan of relief. Feeling his warm body and strong heartbeat is enough to drum it home. He's here. He's safe.

From the doorway, Dad watches with a smile on his face.

"It's time to leave," my man says, moving his hand down to mine, holding it with Dad right there , and Dad is still smiling. As insane as it seems, he actually looks happy for us.

"Then what?" I ask.

"Then… we figure out what to do with the rest of our lives."

A tingle dances over me. The rest of our lives … That sounds dangerously close to all my dreams coming true.

Dad walks into the room, scooping Angelica to her feet. As soon as I see their joined hands, something clicks. The age gap melts away, and I see the genuine love blazing between them. They couldn't hide it if they tried. They stop before they embrace, both of them looking at me anxiously.

"I won't stand in your way," I say.

They embrace like magnets and metal, just like Dad's best friend and I always do. Maybe people would look at them and make judgments. Perhaps they'd think they have it all figured out. However, they'd be wrong, just like with me and my Jacob.

"Mom…" Jacob turns to her.

"It's okay." Isabell lowers her gaze. "I know I'm not a part of this."

A tapestry of complex emotion dances over Jacob's features. I wish I could paint him right now, capture all his complicated, handsome perfection . Despite the blood, the fear—so much of which my man hid me from—there's a flood of love in my heart. "The past is the past, Mom," Jacob says. "You tried to make amends before. I told you I didn't owe you a damn thing, and that was true. It's also true that people change. We can try again if you want."

"I'd like that," Isabell mutters, and they both just stand there.

I laugh, but I'm also crying, laugh-crying, as I gesture them together into an embrace. Jacob hugs her, but it's quick, and I can tell there will still be much work needed between those two. Jacob looks around the room, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"I can honestly say I never thought the trip would end like this," he says, and we all burst out laughing. It's as much relief as humor, probably more relief. It's like we're turning a valve and letting out all the fear: Dad's fear that we'd judge him, Isabell's fear that Jacob would turn her away, mine that Dad would disown me, and Jacob's that he'd lose the best friend he's ever had.

Rafael and his guns and henchman seem petty compared to all that, but that's only because my man got me to safety first. It's easy to have this perspective when I didn't have to face it— him —like my man did. Even as they laugh, they're all looking at him a little distantly, still shell-shocked by whatever violence they witnessed.

I'll never be scared of him. I know he's got a beast inside his muscled body, but that's only for when he needs to use it. There are so many more shades to him than I ever would've dreamed.

"What now?" Mike asks.

"Now," my man replies, "we burn this place to the ground."

Two Weeks Later

Mom stands at the kitchen counter, fussing with the flowers in the jar. I'm trying my best not to freak because this is the day I promised I would tell her. I promised myself and promised my man—my Jacob . Since coming home, I've been mainly staying with Dad, so it's been no biggie seeing Jacob. He and Angelica have been staying in the guest house, meaning we have the place to ourselves if Jacob comes over. Most often, I'll go to his apartment. I sleep there a lot, and every night, every kiss feels so natural and right , but I can't keep putting this off.

Xavier jogs into the room, wearing his full-length Lycra running gear because, apparently, it's best for maximum efficiency. Mom turns and smiles at him with the same love I feel glowing in me—the love you don't have to question. It's the same thing I see when Dad looks at Angelica. True love, we've all found it. How much more can we ask than that?

We survived Rafael and that madness. I know I can survive telling my mom.

"Do you need anything from the store?" he asks my mom.

"No, thank you."

Xavier leaves the room, and Mom keeps fussing with the flowers. Finally, she wipes her hands on her apron and walks over to the coffee machine. I chew my bottom lip and look out the window. It's a steely-blue sort of day, with no sign of snow.

"Coffee?" Mom asks.

"Uh, sure."

"Are you okay?" she says. "You seem a little… not yourself."

That's an understatement. Every day since the cabin has changed me. Nobody knows what happened out there in the snow. Jacob's cleanup crew—an ex-military mercenary firm that specializes in high-end corpse disposal because that's a thing, apparently—got rid of the bodies. We stood in the snow, watched the cabin crackle and burn, and then we came home. Angelica came with us. Isabell lives in an apartment in the city where Jacob has put her up. It's like I'm building this whole second life separate from Mom.

She doesn't demand an answer and continues with the coffee, giving me time to work up to it. All I need to do is start . Once I make the first move, I'll know where to go naturally from there, but getting over that hurdle is difficult. I can tell Dad still finds it a little weird, but he lived through the cabin. He saw how much Jacob loved me— loves me . Not that we've used that word. Mom saw none of that. It would come out of nowhere.

Mom has always been there for me, just like Dad. Their problem was with each other, not me, though I could never imagine leaving Jacob. I know it's forever. We've said that . "Forever," whispered when our bodies are intertwined, when we get that melting-together feeling we've both talked about, like our hearts are becoming one. I can't ever imagine leaving him or him leaving me. I can't imagine being without him.

Mom places my coffee down and sits opposite me at the kitchen bar. Her hair has a purple bow, making her look somehow younger. She's never pressured me about anything, but I know she wants grandkids one day. She's made jokes about it, but they're not really jokes. I see the excitement in her eyes.

Maybe that's the route I should take, but is that fair? Jacob and I talk about the future , but we don't go into much detail. It's more him huskily saying it as I cling tightly to him toward the end of a shared crescendo or me moaning it into his ear as we rock together.

"I want your mother's blessing," he said the other night.

"Blessing for what?"

He was standing in the kitchen, holding a frying pan, somehow making the act of frying steak look so manly and handsome. My body was still sore from where he'd spanked me, doing it in that obsessive, hungry way he has, like he can't stop himself.

"For being with you," he said, turning away, but I could sense more. Yesterday, I caught him and Dad talking, looking suspicious, giving me major cabin vibes. That's what I've started calling it whenever my suspicious alarm starts going off.

Cabin vibes . I'm probably giving off some cabin vibes of my own right now.

"Mom," I say.

She looks up. "Yes?"

"I… I might need to tell you something."

"Anything."

Under the bar, I squeeze my hand into a tight fist, trying not to think of all the ways this could go wrong. She's only ever known Jacob as the enigmatic friend of Dad. She didn't see him at the cabin, the things he did for me.

"I just need to say it," I tell her. "Just let me get it out."

She folds her arms and leans back. "That's fine…"

"Jacob Jennings and I are in a relationship."

"Oh… my… gosh! " Mom springs up from the chair in a wild, theatrical way. She walks over to the window like she's auditioning for a role in a play. "Are you kidding? "

"Uh, Mom. Did you already know?"

She glances at me and gives a slight nod. "I told your father I wouldn't say anything."

"When did Dad tell you?"

And how much? I want to add, but I can't risk talking about the Cartel and all the bloodshed. If Mom doesn't know anything about that, I want to keep it away from her.

"When we divorced, we made a pact. Whatever happened between us, we'd do what was best for you. A few days ago, your father called me. He told me you and Jacob had been seeing each other. It was serious, and Jacob was taking it very seriously. It's not some fling, is it, Emma?"

"No," I say without hesitation, my heart fluttering. "It's the real thing, Mom. I don't know how to explain it. I just…" I've always known . "… know he's the man for me. I know we're going to …" Spend the rest of our lives together .

"… make it. I know we are."

"I believe you," Mom says, walking over and pulling me into her arms. "You took time off to find out what to do with your life. Well, isn't this the start of an adventure?"

"That's how I see it, too," I say, almost sobbing. "I thought you'd be mad. I thought you'd tell me I'm throwing my life away."

"What? Why?"

"It's what… it's what moms say in situations like this."

"But this isn't just another situation," she says fiercely. "This is something unique. I can see how much you've changed since returning from Maine. I can see how much happier and more confident you are. The only thing is…"

"Mom?"

"Are you certain ?" she says, holding me tightly. "Certain he feels the same?"

"One thousand percent," I tell her. "I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for him, and he feels the same."

"Then I'm happy for you."

Mom holds me tightly. I finally give in to the tears, thinking about calling Jacob and hearing the relief in his voice. Nothing is stopping us now. We don't have to wish we were trapped in the blizzard anymore. We'll never be trapped again as long as we have each other, and we will. Forever.