Library

26

Three months later…

A gust of wind whipped my hair across my face. The worst of winter was behind us, but the first week of March was always unpredictable.

I held a box of donuts from the Darlin' Donuts shop in one hand and clutched the collar of my gray coat with the other.

Where was he?

He was supposed to meet me here at five, but it was now ten past. I bounced on the balls of my feet in my black leather boots, scanning the road ahead for any sign of his truck.

A few minutes later, the black SUV pulled into the lot. The sun hadn't yet set, so I could easily see his face inside the truck. His hair had grown out and there was a bit of a curl to it in the front. Our eyes met when his truck approached, and he grinned as he drove right past me.

Oh! The nerve of that man!

He turned the truck around and pulled up next to the curb in front of me. Rolling down the window, he said, "I had you, didn't I?"

I shook my head, "Not even for a second," I said, and he laughed.

I opened the car door and climbed inside.

"You know I would never leave you standing there in the cold," he said with a smile. He'd been smiling a lot lately, and I liked to think I had something to do with it.

I raised an eyebrow at him, remembering the night not too long ago when he did drive by.

He chuckled. "Well, not again, that is."

Leaning over the console, he kissed me, and just like that, my annoyance at having to wait in the cold melted away.

Jake's phone rang. He put the call on speaker.

"Hey, Sarah," Jake said.

"Tell me you have Nikole in there with you and she isn't still waiting outside."

I texted Sarah to confirm the time when Jake hadn't shown up.

"I'm right here, Sarah. All good."

She exhaled. "Thank god. I thought I was going to have to come get you myself."

"I would never leave her standing there in the cold, Sarah."

There was a long pause.

"Not again," he added, rolling his eyes. Sarah and I hadn't let him off the hook just yet.

"All right, Sarah. Talk to you later."

"Bye," I added just before Jake ended the call.

He reached across the cab for my hand and held it over the console. His warm palm engulfed mine and his thumb gently caressed my fingers. It didn't matter how many times he held me; my body reacted to his touch every time. I turned to face him. "How was your day?"

He shrugged. "It was good. I caught up on some paperwork and ran a few background checks to prepare for next week's assignment."

"Did you have any trouble with the background checks?"

He snorted. "None at all. Rodriguez even called me this morning to ask if I was interested in perhaps doing some detective work for him."

"He did?"

"I was as shocked as you are, trust me. But I think after the incident with Chapman he sees me differently, maybe not as his sister's ex anymore but as my own man."

"That's good. What did you tell him?"

"That I was happy where I was right now, but if he ever requires a specialized team, me and my brothers would have his back."

"That was generous of you."

"Not really. As dangerous as it was rescuing your mom, it felt good to do that again."

Jake told me the truth about his ‘peacekeeping' missions. Although he never got into the details, I was glad he was safe and back home. With me.

Home. I finally felt like I was there, in a place where I belonged and felt needed. I'd craved it for so long that some days when I woke up next to Jake, I had to pinch myself. I was so happy.

"Speaking of your mom," said Jake. "How's she doing?"

"Good." I nodded my head, recalling our conversation this morning. "She's started campaigning. She's going to run independently for the White House."

Jake shook his head. "I can't believe your mom's going to be president."

"I don't know about that, but she's definitely going to put her hat in the ring."

"She'll get it. If she's anything like her daughter, she will win even the biggest skeptics over."

I squeezed his hand. He was my biggest supporter. Throughout Ed Chapman's trial, Jake sat next to me the whole time. On tough days, like when my mother had to describe the ordeal in detail, he held my hand. On the days when Chapman justified his actions, he held me down so I wouldn't climb over the seats and smack Chapman upside the head.

My favorite day was when I recalled something Chapman had said to the police in his statement and I reminded the prosecutor of that detail. Chapman had forgotten he'd said that so when the prosecutor reminded him he sat in the box dumbfounded with nothing to say having been caught in a lie. Jake high-fived me that day and the prosecutor gave me an approving nod.

That was why I was so thankful Jake was here with me today, probably one of the most nerve-wracking days of my life.

I inhaled deeply and released my breath slowly as just the thought of what was to come set my heart racing.

"Are you nervous?"

I stared at the country road ahead. "Yes," I admitted.

He squeezed my hand tighter. "You'll be fine. More than fine, actually. It'll be great."

I nodded and inhaled again. "Yeah. It'll be great," I said, a little less enthusiastically than Jake. It wasn't that I wasn't excited about today, it was that I had built it up for so long that I was worried the fantasy wouldn't mirror reality.

"No matter what happens today, I'm here for you. Always. I will be by your side to cheer you on or pick you up. Whatever you need. And if a trip on the yacht will make you feel better, I'll be happy to oblige."

I laughed. He'd been hinting at taking a trip on his yacht for some time. It just never seemed like the right time, but I realized sometimes you just have to do it anyway. "Let's plan it."

He chuckled. "Leave the planning to me. Now that I've got the go-ahead, I'll take care of everything."

My smile faltered a bit when Jake turned onto the suburban street and I recognized the name. We were almost there.

Large trees lined the street, and children rode their bikes along the sidewalk. It was exactly as I'd pictured it in my mind.

My stomach dipped when Jake pulled into the driveway of the two-car garage home with rose bushes out front.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

I nodded, "Yes."

He turned off the car, and I got out. My boots landed on a cobblestone driveway and I followed it to the front door. A porch swing sat still while the flowers in the pot next to it swayed in the breeze.

Finally, I raised my fist and knocked on the wooden door.

My heart hammered in my chest and my whole body shook from the anticipation and nerves coursing through my veins. Just when I thought I would throw up, a tall middle-aged man with a few strands of silver in his jet-black hair opened the door.

He inhaled sharply and smiled. "Nikole," he breathed, and his voice cracked.

I steadied my voice and tried to keep calm, but the tears rushed out anyway.

"Hello, Daddy."

He reached across the threshold and pulled me into his arms. There were no more bad dreams and no barriers between us. He'd been so moved when I had reached out to him wanting to reconnect, and now here I was in his embrace with tears streaming down my face.

His body trembled next to mine, and he pulled me away to look at me. "I'm so happy to see you," he said, and the utter joy on his face was exactly as I'd pictured it.

Jake's hand on my lower back reminded me that there was no need to have worried.

With him standing beside me and my father smiling in front of me, my reality had surpassed even my wildest dreams.

◆◆◆

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.