“And I can be your kid forever, right?”
Evan cleared his throat and nodded. “Forever. And you know what? I always wanted a little boy. And you’re the best little boy I could have ever asked for. And I’m so happy and so proud to have you as my son, Christopher.”
Christopher threw himself into Evan’s arms, and he picked him up, standing. Grace sat on a bench and watched them as tears poured from her eyes. Her son was a remarkable little boy, and it was in his responses to Evan that she knew how badly he’d secretly wanted a father. But he’d always made her feel good enough. And Evan. He was the man she always knew existed. Christopher and Evan held onto each other tightly, and Christopher pulled back to look at Evan. Grace was mesmerized by the sight of them together. Her men.
“You’re crying?” Christopher asked. Evan gave him a nod and swiped at the tears that he’d shed. “I didn’t think dads cried.”
“Well, I don’t usually. But I’m really happy today. I’m the happiest I have ever been, because I have you and your mom,” he said gruffly.
“Oh, me too. Sometimes I cry,” Christopher said.
“Yeah?” Evan said, smoothing his hand over Christopher’s head.
Christopher nodded. “I try not to because I’m a big kid now, but sometimes if I get in trouble I cry. Like last month, I found all these toads at the pond by the park and put them in my pocket with dirt and grass, and I thought it would be really cool to have them sleep in my room with me. But I just knew Mom was going to say no, so I sneaked them. So when mom was emptying my pants to do laundry, all this dirt came out, and she asked me what I’d been doing. I was scared I was going to get in trouble, so I lied and said I didn’t know. But then mom almost stepped on a toad and then she got all scared and screamed, and I got into huge trouble. We had to search for all the toads and then I had to bring them all back outside.”
“Wow. That sounds pretty crazy.” Grace could tell Evan was trying to keep a straight face as Christopher talked his head off. “I did something like that once,” Evan said, sitting at the table. “Except my older brother, Quinn, found all the snakes before my parents did and helped me bring them back out into the field.”
“Cool. I wish I had a brother,” Christopher said.
Grace tried not to gasp. She made eye contact with Evan, and he smiled at her, but didn’t say a word.
“Well, you have uncles. And aunts. And you have two cousins.”
“Cousins?”
“You know Ella and Michael?”
Christopher nodded rapidly. “They’re my cousins?”
Evan smiled. “Yup. And their parents are your aunts and uncles. Their dads are my brothers.”
“This is so cool. The coolest day I ever had in my whole life. Are we all going to live together like a family? And do all the things that real families do? Like are you going to read me stories at night? And then we’re all going to have dinner together? And you can show me how to pick up snakes and stuff? Mom hates snakes! And she doesn’t like spiders either.” Christopher looked over at her, and she smiled at him. Then he whispered loudly in Evan’s ear. “She pretends she’s not afraid of them, but I know she is.”
Evan laughed and squeezed Christopher to his chest. “We’ll do all of those things. And lots more. You’ve got to tell me all about your favorite things, okay?”
“You’re going to be a really cool dad. Wait till I tell my friend, Will, at school, that I have a dad now, too. His dad takes him fishing. Do you like fishing? I started taking swimming lessons, and my mom said when I know how to swim we could go on a boat and fish. But I don’t really think she likes fish. I mean, she’s scared of spiders, so I don’t see how she’s going to like slimy fish, you know?”
Evan’s face was filled with pride and wonder as he listened to their son.
For the first time since her mother had been alive, everything felt perfect. Everything as it should be. For the first time in her life, she felt that anything was possible. She was going to pursue her painting. Her dreams. She was going to conquer the last of her demons. And their son would know, through their mistakes, that love was enough, more than enough to inspire even the most difficult dreams.
…
After a long day in the waiting room with Claire, Jake, Evan, and the kids, a haggard but beaming Quinn had come out with the news that Holly had safely delivered a healthy baby girl. They all cried and hugged, and Grace shared in their joy.
“It’s a good thing Holly had that baby so quickly, or I think Quinn would’ve been the next patient,” Evan said, as they walked toward the maternity wing of the hospital.
“So this baby is my cousin, too, right?” Christopher was walking beside them, insistent that he be the one to carry the pink dinosaur while Evan carried the pink roses.
“That’s right. Baby Jennifer Manning is the newest addition to the family, Chris.”
“What a pretty name,” Grace said.
“It’s in honor of Holly’s sister, Jennifer.”
“How special. I’m so happy for them,” Grace whispered as they reached Holly’s room.
“Me, too, sweetheart,” Evan whispered, kissing her temple.
Evan grabbed the back of Chris’s shirt, laughing as he was about to burst through the door. “Knock first, Chris.”
Christopher nodded, knocked, and seconds later, Quinn swung open the door with a huge grin on his handsome face.
Grace looked around the hospital room, holding onto her breath, because the emotion that coursed through her was so powerful when she saw Holly in bed, holding her baby girl. Claire was in a chair beside her, and Jake was standing next to her. Grace was amazed by how perfectly comfortable she was with everyone.
“You know that this means?” Ella asked, jumping up and down as she spotted Chris. Michael toddled over to stand next to Chris.
Christopher crossed his arms. “What?”
“Now it’s two girls against two boys! We’re even,” she said with a mischievous smile.
Everyone laughed, and Grace focused her eyes on the family that filled the room. The people that had accepted her unconditionally and without judgment. These were people that wouldn’t leave, that wouldn’t walk out when the going got rough. Once you were their family, they were there for the long haul, and you wouldn’t be able to get rid of them if you tried. They’d have her back, and she’d have theirs. She had never known family like this, until Evan. She leaned back against him, his arms instantly wrapping around her, like she knew would happen. But it was a feeling she would never tire of.
“Maybe my mom and dad can have a kid,” Christopher whispered loudly to Ella.
“I didn’t know you have a dad!”
Christopher nodded, his chest swelling. “Yeah. Nevan’s my dad.”
Ella’s eyes grew wide. “Uncle Evan is your dad? Why am I always the last to know?”
“It’s okay. I just found out, too. So we’re going to be living here now. I heard them talking and Neva—Dad said that he’s going to ask your dad if he can buy that house beside the one we’re living at. And he said, that he was going to ask for a family discount.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
…
While Grace walked over to chat with Claire and Holly, Evan went to stand next to Jake.
“I, uh, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
Jake turned his head sharply to him. “For what?”
He needed to do this in a way that wouldn’t reveal anything that would hurt Jake, but enough that he could finally feel like he could clear his conscience. “For doubting the kind of man you were. For not being there for you.”
This time, he did hold his brother’s gaze, and he looked into the eyes that were so similar to his. Similar, yet different because of what their eyes had seen. He saw it for a second—the flash of the kid he once was. “You don’t owe me an apology, Ev.”
“I do. I just want you to know that for what it’s worth, you and Quinn are right up there. The best guys I kno
w.” Jake didn’t say anything for a moment, but a sheen of moisture appeared and then was blinked away quickly.
Jake punched his arm. “Of course we are. Right alongside you.”
He could have reached out to hug his brother, but the way Jake was standing, it didn’t really look like it would be welcome. And that was fine. Easier that way.
Instead they both looked over at Quinn who was wiping his eyes.
Jake nudged his chin in Quinn’s direction. “Freaking fiftieth time I’ve seen him cry today.”
“Pfft. Tell me about it. We should buy him a box of tissues for his next birthday. A pink box.”
Jake snorted. “Good idea.”
Evan cleared his throat, eyes on Quinn’s dopey expression. “Something about babies I guess.”
Jake sighed this time and looked at Michael. “I think I cried when Michael was born.”
Evan cleared his throat, watching Quinn kiss his new baby girl. “Yeah. I guess I might have cried when Christopher called me Dad.”
“I’m glad you’re staying in Red River. And I, uh, think you’ll make a good father and husband. Maybe a little anal, but…”
He laughed. Things were back to normal. A new normal anyway.
Evan walked over to Grace and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled, and he kissed her, thinking he’d never get tired of this. He’d never get tired of them, and he didn’t know what kind of fool he was before to think that nothing could come as close to his career.
He looked down at his new niece as he held the woman who’d changed his life in his arms.
“Holly,” he said, his voice loud enough that everyone ceased their chatter and looked at him. He stared into his sister-in-law’s exhausted but sparkling eyes and remembered the night he’d gone to help her when Ella had been sick. How long ago that had seemed. How afraid and how different Holly had been. But the woman he was looking at today was strong and courageous. And he knew the daughter she was holding in her arms would one day be the same. Holly was smiling at him, waiting.
“You once—actually no—you told me many times that everything happens for a reason. And I disputed your theory over and over again. Well, I’m officially telling you that you were right.”
He tightened his hold around Grace and extended his hand, until he felt his son’s small hand grasp his. In his touch, he felt the trust and the love and he knew that he and Christopher were connected in a way that could never be taken away. And as he looked down at Grace, at the unconditional love that made her eyes sparkle and her smile even more beautiful, he knew that she’d saved him.
Epilogue
Grace blinked back tears as she and Christopher stood at the top of the altar. She signaled for him to remain here for a moment. She wanted to savor this, before it was all over. She wanted to embrace where she had come from, where Christopher had come from, and their journey to this place today. To the man that was waiting for them at the altar. Evan’s blue eyes held hers, down the rose-petal-filled aisle, his gaze locked onto her and wouldn’t let go. Like the first day they’d met.
There wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t remember that accident. The burning smell of exhaust and oil still haunted her dreams at night, and the sound of that man’s cry still had the power to stop her heart. Sometimes she relived that day as a reminder of all the things she had to be grateful for. And sometimes she relived that day as a reminder of what she’d come so close to losing. Something so beautiful sprang from something so horrible.
Grace took a deep breath as all eyes slowly turned to look to the back of the aisle. The outdoor ceremony was the perfect setting for them. The property, the beautiful New England- style home was now theirs, the vast yard sweeping down to the river the only place she’d wanted to be married.
Dusk had settled and rows of gold Chiavari chairs had been laid out on the grass. Oversized white lanterns flanked each row, and a white runner led to the gazebo Evan had custom-built for today. The air smelled of spring blossoms and lilacs.
“Mommy, I think we’re supposed to walk to Daddy now,” Christopher whispered.
She smiled down at him and squeezed his hand. His little tuxedo made him look ever more the man, and she’d fought tears as she’d gotten him dressed for the wedding this afternoon.
They slowly walked down the aisle, toward the man that made them a whole family. He’d claimed Christopher as his and loved him unconditionally. Evan had made her dreams for Christopher come true.
As she passed faces of people that only a few months ago had been strangers, a warmth and sense of gratitude enveloped her. All these people, this town had swallowed her, taken her and Christopher in and given them what they’d always really wanted—a home. Grace’s eyes were firmly locked on Evan’s.
She clutched her bouquet of roses tightly as Evan gave her a slight smile. Her body came to life as his eyes wandered over her. He was breathtaking in his dark suit and white shirt, with a blue tie that only intensified the color of his eyes.
Evan Manning had rescued them once, he’d restored her faith, and he’d given them all of himself. He was the man in her sketchbook, in her heart, in her soul.
…
Evan smiled, blinking past the emotion that clouded his eyes as Grace and Christopher walked toward him. His entire family stood at the altar. Family. They were all his family. The people that he’d been so quick to dismiss at one point in his life, were now his entire life.
Jake’s hand briefly touched his shoulder as Grace and Christopher appeared at the top of the aisle. Evan looked past the smiling faces of the guests, the pink and white flowers lining the aisle, Eunice Jacobs’s bright orange hat, passed Dr. Chalmers, to the two people that encompassed his entire world. Grace’s eyes were steady, locked on his, the love brimming from the emerald depths obvious even with the distance. She looked down at Christopher for a moment, who gave her a smile, and then they walked toward him. His son smiled at him and gave him a wave as he held Grace’s hand and made their way down the aisle.
Jake leaned forward. “And here we are, at yet another wedding. What was it you said about Eunice’s being the last wedding you’d ever attend with us?”
Evan grinned and turned his head to look at Jake. Today, he didn’t need a smart-ass retort. He could give one, but he didn’t need to. Today was all about Grace and Christopher and the new life they were officially starting.
Quinn slapped him on the back. “I knew the second those words came out of your mouth you were screwed.”
He smiled as his brothers stepped back and Grace and Christopher stepped forward.
Evan knew that despite everything, all the times Grace claimed that he’d saved them, the young woman and child walking toward him had done the saving. They forced him to be the man he truly wanted to be. These people, this town, they were in his blood. He had no reason to run anymore and all the reasons to stay here forever.
Grace and Christopher finally stood in front of him, and he stepped down, grasping each of their hands in his.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered in Grace’s ear. She smiled up at him, and he knew. He knew he’d found his salvation in Grace.
…
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Acknowledgements
To Tracy, my editor:
Thank you for your endless patience, diligence, and enthusiasm. You truly understood Red River and all its quirky characters. It was such a joy to work with you!
Victoria
xo
About the Author
Victoria James always knew she wanted to be a writer and in grade five, she penned her first story, bound it (with staples) and a cardboard cover and di
d all the illustrations herself. Luckily, this book will never see the light of day again.
In high school she fell in love with historical romance and then contemporary romance. After graduating University with an English Literature degree, Victoria married her own hero, pursued a degree in Interior Design and then opened her own business. After their first child, Victoria knew it was time to fulfill the dream of writing romantic fiction.
Victoria is a hopeless romantic who is living her dream, penning happily-ever-afters for her characters in between managing kids and the family business. Writing on a laptop in the middle of the country in a rambling old Victorian house would be ideal, but she’s quite content living in suburbia with her husband, their two young children, and very bad cat.
Victoria loves connecting with readers, and you can find her online at www.victoriajames.ca and on Twitter @vicjames101
Also by Victoria James
The Rancher’s Second Chance
The Best Man’s Baby
A Risk Worth Taking
The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby
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