Chapter 28

Iwas shaking when I went back into the cabin after my conversation with Dillon, unable to control my hands as I went to our room and sat down on the bed.

Maybe I shouldn't have told him in that way, coming out as baldly as that, but I just hadn't been able to hold back any longer after he'd told me everything he'd been holding back.

I'd figured that his story would be something like what he'd told me; there was nothing quite like guilt to work on you and compound your trauma into something even greater than what it needed to be. I knew that better than anyone. And if that guilt was allowed to fester and build, to become a living weapon inside you… well. It was no wonder he hadn't let anyone close in over two years.

I knew he knew that this was his opportunity to step up and step forward. And I also knew we both understood the opportunity that sat before us. There was a very real potential for love here, and it was up to us to seize it, if we felt so inclined.

There was only one thing to do, and it was a risk… but there was nothing else I could think of. I wasn't willing to give up on him—on us—that easily.

I put on my shoes and headed out to the living room, looking out at the porch. He was still sitting there, staring out at the forest the way I had been half an hour before. My abandoned breakfast was sitting on the bench next to him.

Fine. I would be able to take advantage of this time while he was distracted to get what I needed before I asked him to help me enact the last part of my plan. Shuffling through the papers on his desk, it wasn't long before I found what I was looking for and quickly pocketed it before I reached into his desk and pulled out his second phone, which I also pocketed.

Having gotten everything I needed, I went back out to the porch and stood in front of him, waiting for him to finally look up at me.

"Will you please call Hank and ask him to bring my car back up here so I can go to my apartment?" The wonderful man had come that morning to bring Dillon his truck back.

Dillon shook his head and stood up. "I'll take you."

"It's okay, you don't—"

"Yes, I do. Just give me a few minutes."

I stood out there, unsure of myself for a few minutes before Dillon came back out with Bucky in tow and motioned me toward his truck. We were silent as we headed down the hill, and I felt every hair on my body standing up as I thought through what I was about to do.

"What are you thinking of doing?"

I blinked, thinking for a second that he might've read my mind… but then I remembered the conversation we'd just had and how I'd told him that I was carrying his child.

"I know I want to keep this baby," I said, keeping my gaze out on the forest as we drove. I wasn't able to look at him. "I also would like to be with you, but I don't want you to feel pressured into anything. We don't really know each other, Dillon."

"Yeah, you've said."

"Because it's true. And if we try to stay together, then we're going to have to get to know each other around raising a child."

He went quiet again, as if he was trying to effectively process what I was saying, but he didn't say anything else until we pulled up to Hank's garage.

I turned back to him, looking at him intently. "Just so you know, I took the spare phone from your desk in case you need to get in touch with me."

He nodded, and I climbed down out of the car, heading toward the storefront.

"Macy!" I turned back, surprised to see Dillon coming toward me, and I stopped in my tracks as he came up to me. "Just promise me that you won't leave or do anything drastic like that until we have a chance to talk more."

I swallowed hard but nodded at him. I didn't have time to do more than that before he pulled me toward him for a crushing kiss that left me breathless.

A few minutes later, I was in my car, and then I was at my old apartment. I didn't think a lot about the mess that Alex had made when he'd been here, which had gone untouched since Dillon had last been here.

Not thinking of my surroundings, I sat down on the couch and pulled out the phone and the piece of paper with the phone number on it that I'd swiped from Dillon's desk. Taking a deep breath, I dialed the number, thankful that, according to the phone, it was a Sunday.

"Hello?" answered a friendly voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hi," I said. "Is this Jackie?"

"Yes," she said warily. "Who's this?"

"My name is Macy," I said. "I'm a friend of Dillon Ford's."

* * *

Afew hours later, I was sitting in Maria's café, feeling nervous as I waited for Jackie to show up. She'd been shocked on the phone to say the least, but when I'd asked to meet her, she'd said that she would come meet me that day. And when I offered to come halfway to Nashville, she'd insisted on coming all the way to me. I'd told her where to meet me, and then I'd packed another bag for myself, on the off chance that this might actually work.

And, if it didn't, I would need to take a bag with me to make a quick getaway.

"Macy?"

I looked up to see a sweet-faced woman, her hazel eyes wide and genuine with wildly curly hair piled on top of her head, probably in her late thirties, closely followed by a young boy.

"Jackie." It wasn't a question.

She nodded. "This is my son, Patrick."

He blinked at me with eyes the same colors as his mother's. I stood up and held out my hand to him. "It's nice to meet you, Patrick. I heard that you were a great soccer player."

He looked at his mom for a second before looking back at me. "I'm team captain at school, ma'am."

"Honey, will you please get me a cappuccino, and get yourself whatever you like," Jackie said, handing him a twenty-dollar bill before looking at me. "Do you want anything?"

"Thanks, but I already ordered," I said, gesturing at the cup on my table.

She looked at me for a second. "Why don't you get some chocolate chip cookies for all of us?"

He nodded before smiling at me and turning to walk up to the counter.

Jackie and I turned to look at each other, and I felt the tears in my eyes mirroring the ones in hers. "I'm so, so happy that you called," she said, walking forward to hug me. I wrapped my arms around her and accepted the embrace, smelling lavender and a powdery, soapy scent as she hugged me.

"How far along are you?" she whispered in my ear. I pulled back, shocked, and moved my hands to my belly. It still felt flat.

"How did you—"

"You've got that glow that all expectant mothers have," she said, smiling at me before her face fell. "It is a happy occurrence, right?"

I swallowed hard before nodding. "It is, as much as it was a surprise."

"Is Dillon the father?"

I nodded again.

"Good," she said, smiling even wider. "You'd be hard-pressed to find a better one."

We took seats next to each other, holding hands tightly. "How do you feel about him now, given how everything happened with Neil?"

She swallowed, a tear coming to her eye. "It hurts that he's felt so guilty for so long. I know exactly how my husband died, and I've never once blamed him. I also know that the only reason why he would've walked away the way he did is because he feels like he did something wrong, and he didn't."

I held her hand tighter. "Do you know what he's been doing?"

She blinked at me. "What do you mean?"

Patrick walked up just as I finished telling her about Dillon's financial support, and the tears were running steadily down her face as he sat down and took her other hand. "Mom—"

"I always wondered if he was the one sending that money," she said, her voice thin. "Things have been—very different from how they might've been because of him and his generosity."

I turned to Patrick. "Do you remember Dillon, Patrick?" He was so young. I wouldn't blame him if he'd forgotten.

He nodded, though. "I remember that we watched a ton of movies together and that he always used to sneak me cookies when Mom wasn't looking. And Mom still talks about him a lot when she tells me about my dad."

My throat tightened a little, but I smiled at him. "Would you like to see him?"

* * *

Ipulled up to the cabin a little while later, and I heard Bucky start barking as soon as I parked my car. Jackie pulled up behind me, and I motioned at her to stay put for a few minutes as I walked into the house. Dillon was lying on his couch, holding a book there without reading it, but he sat up straight when I walked in, keeping himself deliberately still.

"You have to promise me that you won't freak out," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

His face went from impassive to suspicious. "Why does that make me automatically want to freak out?"

"Just promise me."

"Fine," he said, "I promise."

I nodded and went outside, motioning for Jackie to come inside. She and Patrick came in closely behind me, and I would've thought that Dillon turned to stone if I hadn't heard his heart beating at double speed.

"Hello, Dillon," Jackie said, her hands on her son's shoulders. "We've missed you."

He looked from the two of them to me and back, his eyes switching furiously. "How the hell—" He paused and looked at Patrick apologetically. "Sorry, Pat."

Pat rolled his eyes. "As if I don't hear worse swear words from my own coach."

"Still." Dillon looked at me with burning eyes. "I think I need an explanation. Why would you do this?"

"Don't you dare blame her," Jackie said, stepping forward. "She was just trying to prove something to you."

He swallowed. "What's that?"

"That you don't have anything to be sorry for."

He started shaking, and Jackie was there to wrap her arms around him when the first sob broke through him. I almost took Patrick aside, but to my surprise, the kid followed his mom's lead, going to wrap his little arms around his godfather's waist.

What happened over the next few hours was impossible to describe, but I could see the weight coming off Dillon's shoulders in real time as he got to know these people—his found family—all over again. He and Pat talked about soccer and about how Pat had auditioned for the play because of a girl he thought was cute but had gotten the lead and was shocked to realized how much he liked acting. Jackie thanked him profusely for the money, and he refused to accept her thanks.

When they got up to leave that afternoon, there was a light to Dillon's eyes that had never been there in the short time I had known him, and he hugged Jackie and Patrick tightly before they left. Jackie came over and wrapped her arms around me before walking out to get into her car, whispering into my ear, "Thank you. I'll never be able to thank you enough."

When the door closed behind them, Dillon and I stood, looking at each other.

"Look," I said, sighing, "I know I invaded your privacy, but you had to know that—"

My words were cut off as I was swept up into his arms and my mouth claimed in such a deep kiss that I almost forgot my name. He put me back down, sliding his hands down my back as he pulled me close.

"Thank you," he said, running his thumb over my cheekbone. "Thank you. You don't know what you've just given me." The tears started flowing out of my eyes, and he wiped them away. "No more tears, babe. That's done."

"Blame it on the hormones," I said, laughing through my sniffles.

"Right," he said, picking me up so that he could put me on the counter of the island. "We need to discuss that. You can't actually think that I would let you walk away from me, do you?"

"Have you thought this through, though—"

He kissed me again, swallowing one of my tears as it slid into his mouth. "I was going to ask you to stay before you were even taken. I decided a while ago that I wanted you around for good. Now I have even more of a reason." His eyes got wide, and I had a sudden vision of the baby we'd have, with his eyes and his huge heart. "Let's do this, Macy. Stay here, with me. Let me give you everything you need."

I swallowed and nodded. "Okay."

We kissed again before he rested his forehead against mine. "I guess you should go get your stuff from your apartment."

I thought of the bag in my car. "Actually…"