by Eva Luxe
“You’re a good father now,” I said. “And that means just as much.”
“A boy needs his father growing up.”
“He also needs him when he’s grown.”
He turned his eyes back to me, and a tear trailed down his cheek. I could see my father’s lip trembling, the emotion encompassing his entire body. His shoulders began to shake, and without thinking, I got up and stood in front of him. I helped him out of his chair and pulled him into my arms, feeling him hold me close as he cried into my shoulder.
Tears I didn’t know I needed to shed barreled down my face, and as the ocean crashed behind us, we cried over our past. We cried over the death of my mother, and we cried over his wasted life. We cried over what had happened between us, and we cried over the hurt and anger we carried.
I kept hearing my father murmur “I’m sorry,” over and over again into my shoulder, and with every apology that poured from his lips, I hugged him tighter.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too, son.”
I helped him back into his seat before I quickly wiped at my tears. I cleared my throat and sat back down, my eyes peering out over the ocean again. I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I felt the last of the rift between my father and me finally close. His hand was resting on the table between us, and I reached out to take his hand within mine.
“My prayer every morning is that you are able to do the things for your family that I couldn’t do for you and your mother,” he said.
“That’s what I try to do every single day,” I said.
“Every morning, I wake up and hope that you guys will get your feet underneath you. That something will give and that the lumber company will see the asset they have with you.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said.
“But from the sounds of it, they aren’t going to see that.”
I sighed heavily as I released my father’s hand.
“I’m not sure if they will, no,” I said. “That’s the next step, actually. I wanted to talk to you about the house and get that settled. Now, the next step is to look for a new job.”
“I’ve got one for you, if you’re interested,” he said.
“What job?” I asked.
“Take over Kent Enterprises.”
I whipped my eyes over to him, and my lips parted in shock. “What?”
“Zach, I’m tired of people telling me I’m going to get better. I might improve, but I’ll never be better.”
“Dad, don’t say that,” I said. “We’ll have you back to work in no time.”
“I’m honestly not sure I want to go back,” he said, shrugging. “I’m tired, son. I worked myself into a stroke, and now I’ve compromised the only time I have left with a family I never thought I’d have again. I’m just not willing to go back to work and miss out on that.”
“Dad, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll take the job,” he said. “Say you’ll take over Kent Enterprises. It’ll solve all your difficulties. You could have my home in Seattle. I’ll sign it over to you. Seattle is full of wonderful schools for Blithe to attend. It’s full of places for her to go and have fun and meet new friends. You’ll have a job that’ll support Paige’s passion for art, even if she never sells a thing. You’ll have the income you deserve, and you’ll be running a business you can pass on to one of your children. I still think you should take your full inheritance, but I know that making your own money is important to you, so you’ll have the job on top of that. And I’ll be here, near the beauty of the ocean. Recuperating and trying to be a better grandfather than I was a father.”
“You’re a good father now,” I said. “I want to hear you say it.”
“Only if you tell me you’ll take it. My home in Seattle and the business.”
I sat there in shock, unable to speak.
My father smiled. “One word, and it’ll solve everything, Zach. Take it, son. Reach out and take what you deserve.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “I’ll take it. I’ll take over Kent Enterprises.”
“And the house,” he said.
“And the house. I’ll take the rest of my inheritance too. We can disband the trust and start a new one that gives me all of it in the best way possible. However your accountants and lawyers set it up. Now, I want to hear you say it.”
I held my father’s stare, and a lopsided smile crossed his cheeks.
“I’m finally a good father,” he whispered.
Chapter 14
Paige
I pulled into the driveway and began unloading the groceries. Having Blithe out from underneath my feet gave me the ability to get some things done that I needed to get done today, like grocery shopping and a much-needed trip to the doctor.
I knew my hair loss was because of all the stress we had been under these past couple of months. Kent having a stroke almost broke this family. I could still remember Zach’s eyes, how wide they were with fear as his entire body shook next to mine in bed.
I was just glad Kent had agreed to come stay in his condo in Brookings so we could watch over him.
I wasn’t sure how long Zach and Blithe would be gone, but I decided to make dinner anyway. I tried to center my mind after the long day I’d had, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to tell Zach. The doctor’s appointment about my hair had been eye-opening, to say the least, but I wasn’t sure how he was going to react.
I cooked up everything in a pan before I threw in the noodles. I loved all these one-pan noodle recipes I was finding online. I kept my eye on the clock as it quickly approach five in the afternoon. I was about to reach for my cell phone when I heard the front door unlock.
“Paige! Paige! Guess what?”
“I hear a Blithe!” I said, smiling.
“Grandpa’s doing a lot better,” she said.
“He is?” I asked as I looked up at Zach. “What’s going on?”
“He’s getting up out of chairs without his walker and hasn’t needed help eating at all today,” he said.
“Oh my gosh, that’s fantastic!” I threw my arms around his neck and giggled into his skin. “When did that start happening? I just saw him yesterday.”
“All new developments as of this morning,” Zach said. “It’s still early, and he might revert back tomorrow, but for now? It’s a good sign.”
“Good, good. Did you, um, have a good talk with him?”
Zach grinned at me as Blithe climbed into her seat at the table.
“Why don’t we talk about the good news over dinner?” he asked.
I squealed and clapped my hands as a rush of relief washed over my body. Good news meant he talked to his father about the house, and if it was good news, it meant we were about to go house-hunting.
Which meant my news might not be so bad after all.
“Want me to set the table?” Zach asked.
“If you could, and I’ll get the drinks,” I said.
“Grandpa and I watched a movie,” Blithe said.
“Ah, so that’s why it took so long,” I said as I winked at Zach.
“Aren’t you gonna ask what we watched?”
“What did you guys watch?”
“Snow White,” Blithe said, smiling.
“Again? I bet that man knows that movie by heart now.”
“He does,” Blithe said.
I giggled and shook my head as the three of us sat down to eat. I spooned some food onto Blithe’s plate, and she ate it quickly, slurping down the noodles and laughing when they hit her nose
“Slow down,” Zach said. “You’ll get a stomach ache if you don’t.”
“But it’s so good,” Blithe said
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said.
“So, about the conversation with my father,” he said.
“Oh! Yes. Tell me all about it.”
“It didn’t quite go as planned,” he said.
I felt my stomach drop to my toes as I stared at him from across the table.
“But I thought you said it was good news?”
“It is, but you have to promise to wait until I’m done before you interrupt me.”
“Fine,” I said. “Continue.”
“My father doesn’t want to go back to work.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but I shut it quickly when Zach shot me a look.
“He’s tired. He’s convinced the stress of work is what caused his stroke.”
“What’s a stroke?” Blithe asked.
“It’s what Grandpa’s sick with, sweetheart,” I said.
“Is that why he smiles funny now?” she asked.
“It is,” I said.
“I told him about work,” Zach said. “About how they wouldn’t give me extra hours. He asked about your artwork, and I was truthful with him. I told him all about our financial situation.”
“You did?” I asked in shock.
“He said he couldn’t help me if I wasn’t honest with him, so I went out on a limb, I guess.”
“So, how did he react?”
“I could tell it hurt him that I didn’t come to him sooner. He started calling himself a bad father, and I finally got him to admit out loud that he was a good father now.”
“That sounds like a nice moment,” I said, smiling.
“It was. It was a moment I think the both of us needed. So, his plan is to stay in Brookings in the condo that overlooks the ocean. I think he’s gonna keep Miss Pinkett around.”
“I still think she’s more than just his nurse,” I said.
“Don’t worry,” Zach said, chuckling. “You’re not the only one. He says he doesn’t want to waste the time he has left. He wants to recuperate by the ocean and be as healthy as he can for his family.”
“That’s admirable, but if he’s not going back to work, who’s gonna run Kent Enterprises?” I asked.
I watched as a grin slowly crawled across Zach’s face.
“Shut up,” I said.
“He offered the position to me.”
“Shut. Up!”
“He told me he would admit he was a good father if I took over Kent Enterprises and his house.”
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“Yep. He offered me a chance to take over the company and to take over ownership of his home in Seattle. Plus, I can have the rest of my inheritance too, of course. Which he’s been trying to give me this whole time.”
“You’re messing with me,” I said.
“Not one bit.”
“Where are the cameras?” I asked.
He took my hand. “Paige, I’m serious.”
I was in absolute shock. Zach running Kent Enterprises? Our family living in that massive mansion of his? There had to be a catch.
“There’s no catch,” Zach said. “I can see that question running through your eyes.”
“There has to be,” I said breathlessly. “That’s too much.”
“Do you trust me?”
I swallowed deeply before I nodded my head.
“Then trust me when I tell you that there are no strings attached. This is real, and this is happening.”
“When?” I asked. “When in the world is this all taking place?”
“I get to live in my playroom?” Blithe asked.
“If you want your bedroom to be the playroom, then that’s where your bedroom will be,” Zach said, grinning.
“Yay! I get a slide in my room!”
I giggled and shook my head as tears of relief rose to my eyes.
“My father was on the phone with people when I left. He said he was going to organize movers to get his stuff and bring it down to him. Then him and Miss Pinkett will sort through everything together.”
“Uh huh, I’m sure,” I said, grinning.
“He said once he got his stuff out, the place would be free for us to move in. By the end of the week, I’ll be the new head and majority stockholder of Kent Enterprises.”
“We’ve got a week to do this?” I asked.
“Just calm down. It’s okay. I still have to get everything set up with payroll and H.R. You know, fill out the W-2 forms and stuff like that.”
“I guess even the top of the food chain isn’t immune to paperwork,” I said.
“Blithe will be in a wonderful school system. She’ll make new friends and have her choice of afterschool activities. You’ll get all the sauna time you want, and we’ll convert one of the rooms in the house into your art studio. We’ll have the door installed with its own lock and key so Blithe stays out of it. It’ll be all yours.”
I felt tears cresting my eyes as I pulled his hand to my lips to kiss.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” I said breathlessly.
“Well, believe it. Everything we were worrying about is fixed. We’ll have a home big enough for however many children we want. I’ll have a paycheck worthy of the work I put into a company, and Blithe will have the best education the West Coast can give her.”
“Speaking of children,” I said. “I have something to tell you.”
I watched Zach’s brow tick with curiosity as he gripped my hand tightly. “What’s going on?”
“I went to the doctor today. You know, to see about why my hair was falling out.”
“I thought you said it was stress.”
“I figured it was. But I was reading online about some things and got paranoid. Hair loss can be indicative of many things. Hormonal imbaCadens and thyroid conditions. All of which affect a woman’s ability to get pregnant.”
“What did the doctor say, Paige? Are you okay?”
“I’m more than okay. Zach, I’m pregnant.”
Zach got up from the table and walked to me. He took my hands within his and pulled me up from my seat. Suddenly, his arms were around me, pulling me into him as his lips crashed down onto mine. Blithe was squealing and clapping her hands in her chair as I melted into his body, and tears rushed down my cheeks as he cradled me close.
“We’re going to have a baby,” he whispered.
“Yes, we are,” I said, smiling.
“Paige?” Blithe asked.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
I turned my gaze and found that Blithe was crying. “Sweetheart, what’s the matter?”
“I just, um, well, with the baby. Will…”
I wiped the tears off her cheeks with my thumb as Zach wrapped his arm around her.
“What is it, princess?” Zach asked. “Do you not want to be a big sister?”
“I do! I really do. I promise. I just… won’t the baby call you Mommy?”
I nodded my head as I swiped my thumb across her cheek. “It will, yes.”
“But I can’t call you Mommy.”
“Who said that?” I asked.
“Well, no one, I guess,” Blithe said.
“Do you want to call Paige Mommy?” Zach asked. “You’re going to be adopted soon, which means she will be your mother.”
I watched Blithe nod, and I wrapped my arms around her little frame. I pulled her warm body into mine as her arms wrapped around my neck. I picked her up as Zach moved behind me, his hand pressing into the small of my back as he kissed Blithe’s forehead.
“Could I call you Mommy, Paige?”
Her question filled my chest with warmth as a smile crossed my face. “Yes, you can, sweetheart. Of course, you can.”
“Mommy, will you love your baby more than me?”
My heart burst and broke at the same time as I looked into Blithe’s scared little eyes.
“I’m going to say this, and I want you to listen, okay?” I asked.
“Okay,” she said.
“My blood might not run through your veins, but that doesn’t mean you’re not my child. You might not have come from my tummy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you. This baby that is going to grow in my body, it might be my first baby. But it is not my first child. You are my first child. Even before the adoption is finalized, I feel that way in my heart. I will love you just as much as I love this baby, but
you will always be my first.”
I felt Zach’s hand press deeply into my back as Blithe buried her face into my neck.
“I love you, Mommy.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
“And I love you both,” Zach said.
My husband was now a true billionaire. But he would always be my rugged, handsome mountain man.
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Copyright © 2017 by Eva Luxe and Juliana Conners; All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 1 – Willow
I hated this.
There was nothing worse I’d ever experienced in my entire life than having to visit my brother in the hospital. I didn’t even know— no one knew— whether Sam was going to pull through or not. Every time I came here, it was one big question mark with no answer in sight.
And yet, I loved my brother. I believed in him and wanted him to get better. So, I continued to come see him, even though being here was very difficult, to say the least.