by Jamie Hill
"I told them I couldn't stay. I had to come here. I needed to get home to you and daddy." She glanced over Natalie's shoulder. "Can those wait a bit? I'd like to talk to the two of you. I'll help you finish the pies later."
"You'll help me?" Natalie blinked again. Gigi took after Dean in matters of the kitchen. "Uh, sure, they can wait. Let's go find your dad." She linked arms with Gigi, and they strolled down the hall to his office. "Look who's here," Natalie called before they entered.
"Geege! What are you doing home? Everything okay?" He stood from behind his desk and gave her a hug.
"Everything is fine, Daddy. I just needed to talk. Can we go somewhere private?"
"The boys are out," Natalie assured her. "We can go in the living room."
They settled on the sofa with Jake planted firmly on Gigi's feet. "I've been doing a lot of thinking. I said some things to both of you—awful things—and I don't know if you can ever forgive me."
"Nothing to forgive, baby." Alex brushed a lock of hair from Gigi's forehead. "You were upset. We understood that. I would have done anything in the world to spare you that pain."
"I understand now," she said softly. "I figured it out when we were in Dr. Arkin's office. I saw the look on your face, on both of your faces, when he was talking about 'my father'. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Don't be mad, but I went home and called Aunt Dean. She confirmed my suspicion that you were raped, Mom."
Natalie's heart lurched. "I begged her not to say anything! She promised me—"
Gigi held up one hand. "Don't be mad at her. Let's just say I'm a better beggar than you are. The point is, I understand now. She didn't tell me everything, but she did say you were Christmas shopping, and that's why you still don't like to do that, to this day. It makes so much sense, now."
"We wanted to spare you this, Geege." Alex grasped her hand. "We never wanted you to live with the stigma of the rape hanging over your head. Honestly, I was really angry with your mom for mentioning anything at all. Turns out she was right, and I was wrong. Because of the diagnosis, this is something you needed to know."
"Dean told me you two were fighting about it, and that made me really sad. I was up all night thinking things over. I called in sick today and finally got some sleep this afternoon."
Natalie rubbed her hands over her arms. "I never wanted you to know the truth. Somehow, I thought I could tell you a half-truth and that would be the end of it. It never occurred to me that you'd keep digging until you found out what you wanted to know."
Gigi smiled. "I am my parents' child. You wouldn't want me any other way, now would you?"
"No, we certainly would not," her mother agreed.
"All these thoughts and realizations have been going through my mind. How you must have felt, Mom. And Daddy, how you had to feel when you found out Mom was pregnant. I'm really surprised you two actually kept me. Most people wouldn't have done the same."
"We wanted you from the very first minute," Natalie assured her.
Alex wasn't sure he should speak up, but decided he had to. "As long as we're being honest, here, I should tell you that your mother wanted you from the very first minute. I had doubts about raising another man's baby, especially a man who could do what that guy did. It took some convincing on your mom's part to make me see that you were an innocent bystander in the whole thing. And that you'd never be 'his' baby, only my baby. And you have been, from the second they handed you to me when you were born. I loved you without question then, as I do now."
Gigi brushed away tears. "Thanks for admitting that, Daddy. You had to feel that way, no sane person would feel differently. I'm just glad mom convinced you to see things in another light."
"So am I!" He swiped away tears of his own.
Natalie didn't try to hold back her waterworks. Tears fell freely down her face and splashed everyone during their big, group hug.
They eventually wiped their faces and Gigi asked, "So who knows about this? Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Dean and Uncle Roger, is there anyone else?"
"No one." Natalie shook her head. "Grandma Jane knew, of course, but we never told Grandpa Sam. He didn't come into the picture until you were about two. We just never saw a reason to tell him."
Gigi smiled. "Grandpa Sam. I always miss him at Christmas time. He loved the holiday so."
Alex snorted. "Yeah, loved pointing out the burnt out bulbs in my light strings. He was a stickler for that kind of stuff. I never was. I worked hard at my job during the day, and when I got home, I just wanted to spend time with my amazing family. The little stuff never mattered."
"You always had your priorities straight, dear." Natalie beamed at him. "You've been a wonderful husband and father."
"Am I going somewhere?" He glanced around, obviously embarrassed by the compliments.
"Better not be." Gigi gave him a hug. "Mom and I are going in the kitchen to bake pumpkin pies."
"You are?" He blinked with wonder.
"We are." Natalie nodded. "This is going to be the best Christmas ever."
"One more thing," Gigi said as she rose. "I've given a lot of thought as to what we should tell the boys. Of course I'd rather they didn't know about my paternity, but I feel like they should know about the Alport's. Both of them are going to Google the syndrome and that will lead to more questions than answers. I'm tired of the secrets and lies, you know? I think we should just tell them the truth and get it all out in the open."
"Oh, I don't know, Gigi." Natalie's gut churned. She was terrified what her sons would think about her after they learned the truth. "That's going to—they're going to—I don't know."
Alex stood and pulled Natalie into his arms. "They aren't going to feel any differently about you when they find out, sweetheart."
She blinked at him. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
He smiled. "This is our twenty-fifth Christmas together. After all these years, I think I know you pretty well." He kissed her temple. "Dave and Matt will be angry about what happened to you, and pissed as hell that the guy was never caught. They'll be overprotective of you for a while, then life will get back to normal. I know this because that's how I felt, and they are their father's sons."
He pointed at Gigi. "And you are my daughter, their sister. They're going to feel awkward at first, and feel bad for you. Then slowly they'll start teasing you again, and life will really be back to normal. I know our boys. They can handle this."
Natalie sighed. She didn't want the boys to know, but didn't see a way around it. She glanced at Gigi and finally nodded. "Not on Christmas, though, okay? Can we wait until the day after before we say anything? I don't want such a heavy conversation on Christmas."
"Let's not wait too long," Alex suggested. "Lana will be arriving the day after. We need to talk before she gets here."
"Oh, definitely," Natalie agreed.
"The next morning, then," Gigi said. "We'll make cinnamon rolls and talk about it then." She nodded. "It's the right thing to do." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as well as her parents.
* * * *
Natalie's prediction about the best Christmas ever came true. All three kids were thrilled with the tablet computers Alex had picked out for them and seemed to love the clothes Natalie chose, as well. They enjoyed a lively morning opening packages around the tree, and just when Natalie thought it was over, Alex handed her one more gift. "What's this?"
"Christmas present, duh," Matt teased.
"But I already got too many presents." She motioned to the stacks of items surrounding her.
"One more," Alex encouraged her. "Open it."
Natalie ripped the red and white striped paper apart gingerly and was surprised to find a backpack inside. "This is for me?" She unzipped the bag and saw it was full of pens and notebooks.
"Just for you. You'll need something to carry around campus when you go back for that last year of interior design."
"Oh, Alex!" Tears welled and she didn't try to stop them. "How did you kno
w I was thinking of going back to school?"
He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Didn't I tell you, I know you pretty well by now? I wanted to get you a course catalog, but it's all done online now. And guess what, no more standing in line to register or pay fees. It's all done with the click of a mouse."
She widened her eyes. "Isn't that something?"
Matt groaned. "You used to have to stand in line to register? What, did they make you park your dinosaur by the curb, too?"
"I'll have you know, I drove a cherry red mustang convertible with a white top—"
"Yeah," Dave interrupted, "and Mom drove a piece of crap Mercury that you had to start with a screwdriver. And if she hadn't locked her keys in the car that day, you two would never have met."
Alex and Natalie grinned at each other. He shrugged. "So I've told the story a few times, sue me. It's a great story. And it has a great ending."
"So Mom's going back to college? Interesting!" Matt smiled slyly. "Do you have any pre-reqs left to take? Maybe we can get some classes together."
"She still needs to take Speech," Alex teased.
"Speech! Hurl! I haven't taken it yet, either." Matt made a face.
The others laughed, and Dave said, "You and Mom can take it together."
"Want to?" Matt's eyes twinkled.
"I'm not doing your homework for you," she teased back.
"Yeah, well, don't be asking me to write your speeches, either. Sounds like a hoot. I already have my schedule lined up for spring. Let's work on that for next fall."
"Spring?" Natalie glanced at Alex. "The new semester starts in just a few weeks. I can't get signed up that quickly."
He shrugged. "It's totally up to you, of course, but I thought you might want to start with just a class or two this semester. Get back in the swing of things. Then you can take more hours in the fall, or not. You might find a class or two at a time is enough to keep you busy."
"That sounds wonderful." She felt tears threaten again but tried to swipe them away. "Thank you so much. Thanks, everyone, for your support."
"You'll do great, Mom." Gigi winked at her.
Dave cleared his throat. "While we're making announcements and since Mom's already crying, I guess I should tell you that I asked Lana to marry me and she said yes. We'd like to get married in Lawrence in June, once school lets out. Then we'll both be moving to Kansas City for Pharmacy College."
Natalie had known this was coming but hearing the words made it real, and she couldn't help but continue crying. They all stood and took turns hugging Dave and wishing him well.
After thirty minutes of wedding plan speculations, he finally waved his hands and said, "No use discussing any of this without the bride. She'll be here tomorrow, we can start the planning then. Right now, I'm gonna go see if that burnt pumpkin pie is edible." He headed toward the kitchen.
"It is not burnt!" Gigi called after him.
Matt laughed. "Put enough whipped cream on it and no one will ever know. Pie for everybody?"
"Yes, please," Alex answered for them, and Matt was off.
"Don't eat it if it's so burnt!" Gigi yelled, but before she left the room, she paused in front of Alex and Natalie. "Hey, guys, I was thinking. Let's not say anything to the boys just now about my problem. There'll be time later."
"There's never a good time for news like that," Alex reminded her. "Remember what you said about no more secrets and lies? I'm afraid if we don't tell them now…" He trailed off.
Gigi smiled sweetly and shrugged. "Davey looks so happy. I don't want to spoil this time for him. It can wait." She planted a quick kiss on each of their cheeks then jogged into the kitchen after her brothers.
Natalie and Alex gaped after her, then stared at each other. Slow smiles spread across each of their faces.
Alex sat in his overstuffed chair and pulled Natalie down on his lap. "I believe that was the most unselfish, thinking-about-someone-other-than-herself moment Gillian has ever had."
"She's growing up," Natalie agreed.
"And figuring out her priorities."
"Like her dad." Natalie leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Their quiet moment was interrupted by three raucous, laughing children returning, hands loaded with plates. Besides covering the pie, whipped cream dotted each of their faces in various spots.
"Matt made a mess in the kitchen," Gigi tattled as she handed plates to each of her parents.
"I'm sure Matt knows how to clean it up," Natalie replied, plucking two forks from Dave's hand.
"I'm sure Matt will have some help," he said of himself as he chased Gigi around the room with a spoonful of whipped cream aimed right at her.
Natalie leaned her head against Alex's and murmured, "You know what you said about our story having a happy ending?"
He nuzzled her cheek. "Yep."
"It's not over yet. And I think it's just going to keep getting better."
"I think you're right."
Jake entered the fray, tail wagging, furiously attempting to lick a dollop of whipped cream off his snout.
Natalie and Alex burst into laughter.
~The End~
About The Author
Jamie Hill was born and raised in a beautiful, mid-sized town in Midwest, USA. At various times she wanted to be a veterinarian, teacher, cheerleader, TV star or a famous singer. The one thing she always wanted to be was a writer. Starting at about age ten, she penned romance as she envisioned it in one spiral notebook after another.
When she's not working at the day job she loves, Jamie enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and watching movies (the scarier the better!) In her 'spare time' she can often be found writing, editing, or doing something more mundane like housework. After that, she's probably taking a nap. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to drop her a line.
Website: http://www.jamiehill.biz/
Also Published By Books We Love Publishing
Family Secrets
Family Ties
Family Honor
Hide and Seek
Run to Me
Impulsive
On the Edge
High Maintenance
Playing With Destiny
All That Jazz
Note from the Publisher
Thank you for purchasing and reading this Books We Love eBook. We hope you have enjoyed your reading experience. Books We Love and the author would very much appreciate you returning to the online retailer where you purchased this book and leaving a review for the author. Best Regards and Happy Reading, Jamie and Jude
Books We Love and Books We Love Spice
Top quality books loved by readers,
Romance, Mystery, Fantasy, Young Adult
Vampires, Werewolves, Cops, Lovers.
Looking for Something Spicier
http://spicewelove.com