They called it a patella fracture, and it had been the cause of many career ends in professional sports. While I was happy that he would at least walk again, West only saw the bad. Football meant so much to him. It had been his dream for as long as I’d known him, and now that dream was over.
For the week he was in the hospital, West became a man I didn’t recognize. He was angry and bitter, and he seldom spoke a word to anyone. I sat next to him every single day despite the fact that on more than one occasion he’d tried to make me leave.
I knew he needed me. He might not have said it, but I knew. So, I wasn’t going anywhere and he was just going to have to learn to accept that.
He was cleared to go home at the end of the week just like the doctor had promised. We were given the number for a really good physical therapist and with that, we went back home. West withdrew even more once we left the hospital. He would sit on the couch for hours just staring blankly at the TV. I tried to help out, but he was pushing me away more and more frequently.
My heart broke for him, but I was determined to wait it out. West and I had been through a lot over the years on our journey to finding each other. To me, this was one more storm we would have to get through to get our happily ever after.
One dark day about three weeks after the accident, West was being particularly bitter. I had been in the kitchen making dinner for the both of us when I heard him curse loudly. I rushed into the living room to find him sitting on the floor by the couch. His crutches were on the other side of the room since he absolutely refused to use them, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he’d fallen when he tried to put pressure on his leg.
I rushed over to help him, but the second I touched his arms, he shrugged me off. “Leave me alone, Len,” he hissed. He grabbed the back of the couch and hoisted himself back onto the cushions.
“Do you want your crutches?” I asked, despite knowing the answer.
“No, I don’t,” he snapped.
“The doctor says…”
“Fuck him.” I flinched at his harsh words. I wasn’t used to hearing him use them, but they seemed to be coming a bit more frequently as of late.
“Do you need anything?”
“Just go, Len.” I hesitated and he looked up at me. “Go.” I turned and went back into the kitchen.
That night while West and I ate dinner and listened to the rain fall outside, he almost broke me.
“This isn’t working anymore,” he said simply. I looked over at him and raised a brow in question.
“What isn’t?”
“This,” he repeated. “Us. We aren’t working anymore.” I sat my fork down gently on my plate and stared back at him. His face remained stoic.
“What?” The surprise in my voice was evident.
“I think we should break up.”
“Why?” My voice wavered. I tried to keep myself calm. I was sure this was just bitter West talking. He didn’t really want to end things.
“I need to figure some things out. I had a whole plan, Len, and now…well…we know how that turned out.”
“I can help you. I want to help you.”
“No.” My eyes watered and I tried like hell not to cry right then. I just needed to remind myself that this wasn’t the real West. My West was in there, but he was hurting. “I don’t want you here. You need to go back to Texas. Go back to school.”
“I want to be here with you,” I told him honestly. School was the absolute last thing on my mind.
“This is for the best Lennon. You’ll see that too. I’m not the guy for you. Not anymore.” I was angry. I stood up from my chair and walked over to him. He watched me, but still kept his face blank.
“Stop that,” I told him. “Just stop. I’m not going anywhere. You are my happily ever after West. No matter what happens, you are who I’ve always been meant to be with. So what if you can’t play football anymore. You’ll do something else. You told me once you wanted to open a sports shop. Do that. You aren’t dead West. You got hurt, and I know that playing pro football was your dream, and I’m so sorry that it got taken away from you. I wish more than anything that you could still be that guy, but just because you can’t doesn’t mean I’m going to stop loving you. You are the only guy for me Weston Blake and don’t…” I didn’t get to finish my rant before West cupped my face in his hands and pulled my mouth down to his.
It was the first kiss we’d had in weeks. My toes curled and I melted into him as his tongue slipped inside my mouth and danced with mine. I clung to him like my life depended on it because in a way, it did. West was it for me, and my life would never be complete; I would never be complete without him.
When we pulled back, West smiled that dimpled grin at me. I felt like crying. He stroked my cheek tenderly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry, Len. You’re right, and I didn’t mean any of what I said. I don’t want you to go anywhere. I don’t think I could handle it if you left me.” I smiled back at him as he held me close.
“I won’t ever leave you. I’m so completely, utterly, and hopelessly in love with you West.” I looked into those stormy blue eyes of his. “I want to marry you.” He grinned back at me.
“You will. You’re my everything Lennon Cooper.” Then our lips met again in a series of sweet kisses. In that moment I knew we were going to last. We had been through everything life had thrown at us, and still came out smiling. He was it for me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I smiled against his lips and kissed him with everything I had.
Epilogue
January 12, 2015
“This place looks amazing Len,” Katie said as she cradled her growing baby bump. In just a couple of months, there would be a new little boy in our group for me to love and spoil. I couldn’t wait. Parker walked over with West at his side and he leaned forward to give Katie a kiss on the cheek while West came to me.
“I’m so proud of you,” West beamed. I grinned in response and he wrapped an arm around my waist. I looked over my small bookstore at all the people that had come for my grand opening. It was a pretty impressive turnout for such a small town. My sales team had been busy checking out customers since the doors opened and I felt confident that we would do very well for our first day.
“We should all go out for dinner tonight to celebrate,” I suggested. Parker looked down at Katie and she seemed a little hesitant to answer. I wasn’t sure what was going on.
“I wish we could Len, but I’m exhausted,” she said apologetically. “I’m so sorry.” I waved her off.
“It’s fine, you need to be taking care of my favorite nephew first.” She smiled back at me before she pulled me into a hug.
“I’ll make it up to you the next time we come up, I promise.” I nodded, but I didn’t expect that to happen anytime soon. Since she had hit the seven month mark of her first pregnancy, they only left the house for special occasions. Add that to the fact that it was at least a five hour drive from their home in San Antonio, and I knew that meant I probably wouldn’t see her again until little Paxton was born.
“Okay, I’ll call you later.” She smiled before we both gave each other one last hug. West and Parker both told each other goodbye as well and then they were gone. West pulled me into his side as we looked around.
“Can I show you something?” He asked. I looked up at him and he was watching me expectantly.
“Now?” He gave a single nod.
“Yeah, come on. They have a handle on things, and this will only take a second.” I gave him a skeptical look.
“If this is some way for you to try and get a quickie, I’m going to punish you later,” I warned him in a low whisper. He just grinned that dimpled smile at me.
“Promises, promises.” Then he took my hand in his and he led me out to the little covered patio that was set up in the back of my store. Originally, I had wanted to make it more like a garden, but with the weather being what it was in Texas, that was a little unrealistic. So, instead, I went
with a patio that I had placed several different plants in. It was a nice peaceful little spot, and I could already imagine people sitting at my little tables with a book in their hand.
West led me toward the back wall of the patio.”Don’t move,” he said. I raised one brow up at him. “And close your eyes.”
“What are you doing?” He ignored me as he moved around the room. He peaked my way and saw that I was watching him. He pointed a finger at me.
“Close your eyes.” I obeyed immediately. I could hear him rustling around, and my curiosity was definitely piqued. I tried to crack one eye, but I’d never been all that good at it. I was seconds away from opening them up completely, when I felt West take my hands in his. “Okay, open your eyes.”
I did and I was amazed at what I saw. He had strung up several twinkling white lights all over the room. It looked beautiful. I looked back to West and he released one of my hands to grab a remote from his pocket. He pressed a button and what sounded like rain filled the room.
“Lennon, the day I met you, it was raining,” he said. “The day I first kissed you, it was raining. The day I first tried to let you go, the day I became yours, the day I told you I loved you and you said you loved me, it was raining.” I thought about all the days he had mentioned. I’d never even realized before that it always rained. “All of our biggest moments, were under a raining sky. So, it seemed only fitting that tonight have that too, but it’s actually not really going to rain anytime soon so I had to improvise.”
I still wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. That’s when West slowly lowered himself down to one knee. I hands went up to my face and the tears were almost immediate. West smiled as he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small ring with a purple stone. It was stunning.
“Lennon Christine Cooper,” he began, and I held my breath. “I am without a doubt, head over heels, madly, passionately, and every other kind of way, in love with you. I told you that I was going to marry you one day if you’d have me. So, this is me asking, begging, and pleading on bended knee for you to say that you will. You are the most incredible, talented, beautiful, intelligent, and strong woman that I have ever met. I want everything with you. I want little girls that look just like you, and little boys that act nothing like me. I want to love you until I’m a wrinkly old man, and I want you to love me despite of it. Yours is the face that I want to wake up to every morning. The voice that I want to fall asleep listening to.”
I smiled wide as a fresh tear rolled down my cheek.
“Be with me Len. Forever.” I couldn’t actually speak because my throat was filled with unshed tears. So, I just nodded my head enthusiastically. West smiled before slipping the ring onto my hand and standing back up. He wrapped me up in his arms and kissed me with everything he had.
“So, that’s a yes, right?” He asked when he pulled back. I laughed as I smiled.
“Yes.”
July 18, 2015
I turned to the side and inspected my reflection for what had to be the millionth time in the last twenty minutes. I frowned as I turned slightly the other way. It was so obvious. Anyone that saw me today would know instantly what West and I had been keeping to ourselves for the last month and a half.
Our family was expanding.
I could still remember the day I’d first told him. We hadn’t really been trying, but we also hadn’t been doing much to avoid getting pregnant either. I’d been feeling a little ill for about a week and West finally had enough. He all but forced me into my car before giving me a tender kiss and telling me goodbye.
So, he went off to work and I went to figure out how much longer I would be putting up with the annoying stomach bug that had plagued me for the last two weeks. The last thing on my mind when I went into Dr. Samuels’s office that day was a baby.
I even laughed when he asked if it was a possibility. While we hadn’t used a condom every time we were together, we were kind of good about them. Plus, I was still using the pill. What I didn’t know until that fateful morning was that when a woman was on the pill and took antibiotics, they sometimes canceled out that little white baby stopper.
That was apparently what had happened to me. Dr. Samuels congratulated me while my brain continued to replay those two words over and over. You’re pregnant. I couldn’t believe it. I had always wanted kids and I knew that West was going to be over the moon excited about it. We had both discussed at length the fact that we wanted a big family one day.
As soon as I left the doctor’s office, I ran around town looking for the perfect little surprise gift to let him know what our next adventure would be. It came in the form of the smallest little onesie decorated to look like a football. Across the butt, it said end zone. It was perfect. I bought that as well as a home pregnancy test and a small gift bag.
The next three hours felt like torture. I don’t remember ever watching the clock quite as much as I did that day. Finally, five rolled around and I heard the lock click into place. A second later, West opened the door and I stood up from the chair to greet him. His eyes landed on me standing there and a bright dimpled smile spread before he crossed the room and picked me up off the floor.
I held onto him tightly as his lips met mine in a passionate, toe curling kiss. When he sat me back down, it took a second for my mind to clear.
“Dinner smells nice,” he said before he made his way into our kitchen. I’d gotten a little better at cooking since we had moved in together. I still wasn’t that great at it, but I was trying and that was the important thing. I followed after him, making sure to grab the little gift bag on my way.
West walked over and lifted the lid of the spaghetti pot and inhaling. When he closed it again, he glanced my way. I must have had a funny expression because he quirked one brow up and gave a lopsided grin.
“What’s going on babe?” He asked.
“Nothing,” I said a little too quickly. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I pulled out the gift bag from behind me and handed it over. West smiled as he took it.
“What’s this?”
“Just a little something for you.” He smiled even wider before he started to pull out the tissue paper. My heart hammered in my chest as I waited for him to discover the onesie. He reached in and pulled it out first and not surprisingly, his face was one of pure confusion. He looked over at me and I let out a breath.
“What’s going on?” He asked.
“There’s something else in there.” He was still watching me, but then he reached into the bag and pulled out the little stick with a smiley face in the window. I saw it the moment it dawned on West. His eyes widened and his head snapped up to look at me.
“Are you serious?” He asked. I grinned and nodded and he immediately set the things on the counter before coming straight toward me. He cupped my head in his hands and wouldn’t stop kissing me. We celebrated that night by making love on the kitchen floor. Afterward, West placed his hand over my nonexistent belly and talked to our future child for the first time. It’s a memory that still warms my heart to this day.
“Len, what are you doing?” Katie’s voice asked bringing me back to the present. I turned away from the mirror and tried not to look guilty. It had been killing me not to tell anyone about our little bundle especially Katie, but West thought we should wait just a bit longer. He wanted us to be able to tell them exactly what we’re having. I really didn’t think I’d be able to keep it to myself for another few hours, let alone another six weeks.
“Nothing. I thought I saw a stain,” I lied. Katie frowned.
“For heaven’s sake, there’s not a stain. You look absolutely perfect. It’s kind of annoying actually.” I laughed.
“It’s my wedding day. I’m supposed to look nice.” She made another face. I smiled even wider just as there was a knock on the door. I turned my head and my Dad stepped into the room. He smiled wide as his eyes took me in from head to toe. My eyes immediately started watering, and I couldn’t make them stop. Damn hormones.
“You look absolutely beautiful Lennon,” he told me.
“Thank you Daddy.” We chatted for a little bit before we were told it was time. Katie went out ahead of me while I stood back with Dad. I let out a deep exhale and he looked over at me.
“Nervous?” He asked with a happy smile on his wrinkled face. I looked his way and beamed.
“Excited. I can’t believe this is finally happening.” There were some days where it felt like West and I would never make it to this point. Then there were others when it seemed inevitable.
“I think he’s feeling the same way. The boy wouldn’t quit fidgeting up there.” I smiled as I thought of West waiting for me at the end of the aisle. It had taken us a long time to get here, but we’d done it. We’d gone through everything life had thrown at us, and still found a way back to each other. I hoped that’s how we would always be.
I shifted on my feet just as the wedding march began. The doors opened and Dad and I took our first steps toward my only future. I kept my hand holding my bouquet protectively over my stomach while my gaze latched onto West. He had that dimpled smile in place and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so incredibly happy before.
I think I might have dragged Dad the last few inches, but I swear he slowed down on purpose. There were a few chuckles among the crowd, but I ignored them all as West took my hand in his and pulled me toward him.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered today to witness the union of Miss Lennon Christine Cooper and Mr. Weston Gabriel Blake. Now, who gives this woman to this man?”
“Her mother and I do,” Dad said from beside me, and I didn’t miss the way his voice thickened with emotion. It made my eyes start to water all over again. I knew right then my makeup was going to be a complete disaster at the end of this.
“The couple wishes to recite their own vows. Mr. Blake, would you care to go first?”
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