by Mary Manners
She thought of Cade…the determined set of his jaw and the assurance he offered as he drove away from the church parking lot and into the night. “I’ll find him and bring him home, Brooke. I promise.”
Just tonight…merely a few hours ago, he’d said he never left a promise unfulfilled. She prayed this wouldn’t be an exception. Why had she ever doubted him?
Because he broke your heart. You broke his, as well. And this is the ripple effect of pride, stubbornness, and impulsive choices.
Brooke’s phone buzzed, startling her from her thoughts. She lifted it to her ear and engaged the call.
“Mrs. Gannon?” A female voice. Young, familiar.
“Anna?”
“Yes. Jayden’s going to be mad at me, but I had to call you and let you know where you might find him.”
Her heart raced. “Where, Anna?”
“At the creek near Cade’s house. Jayden likes to go there sometimes, to think. And sometimes I go with him. When the house was vacant we’d sit on the porch and talk. But now…the creek is the place to hang out. But it’s raining hard and sometimes the rocks…they get slick. Jayden fell not long ago when we were there together and twisted his ankle. He fell into the water and had trouble climbing out, because the bank was so slippery. I’m worried. Maybe I should—”
“You stay put. Don’t go out in this. We’ll find him. Cade and I…we’ll find him.”
~*~
Cade waded through sodden grass as he made his way around to the back of the house. Tiny plodded at his side, seemingly unaffected by the rain. Brooke’s call less than half-an-hour ago concerning Jayden’s possible whereabouts had alerted him, and he’d immediately changed course and headed this way.
To his place. The Lockridge Place.
Home.
“Jayden!” He called. “Jay, can you hear me?”
No answer. The wind had kicked up, and he imagined the creek chattered loudly as it rushed over swollen banks. Cade stooped to gather Tiny’s jowls in his hands. He looked the dog in the eye as he spoke calmly, yet forcefully. He hoped the tone of his voice conveyed the urgency in his message. “Find Jayden. Go find Jayden for me.”
The dog tilted his head to the side, hanging on every word, Cade could have sworn he nodded before he broke free and galloped off toward the creek. After only a few moments, the darkness made it impossible to track the dog’s exact location.
But Cade heard Tiny bark. He followed the sound, flashlight in hand, as he slowly made his way through the overgrown grass.
Help me, Lord. Help me to find Jayden. Guide the way.
Light slashed the darkness. Over the howl of wind, ever so faintly, an engine roared.
Brooke. She’d made it.
He turned back for a moment to wave his flashlight, hoping she’d notice the beam. Then he carried on forward toward the creek, and hopefully toward Jayden.
Cade considered the wild look that had flashed through Jayden’s eyes as he’d processed the information he’d overheard earlier. The kid was upset. Freaked out. Cade understood that. He couldn’t imagine the thoughts racing through Jayden’s mind. In the blink of an eye, Cade had gone from friend and mentor to father. Mind-blowing.
Cade had discovered the truth nearly a week ago, and he was still trying to wrap his brain around it. Not an easy task. But, for Jayden, also hopefully not impossible.
Cade empathized, yet a glimmer of irritation flashed through the empathy. Jayden had run from them. Brooke was out of her mind with worry. There had to be a better way to handle this. Cade had to take the lead, show the way, if the situation was ever going to have a chance at a positive sense of closure.
Have patience. Be calm. Slow and steady…
The words filtered through Cade’s racing, swirling thoughts. Tiny suddenly let out a string of raucous howls, alerting Cade. He stumbled through overgrown, gnarled grass and then righted himself as he ran toward the sound, keeping his flashlight pointed forward. It hit on something. A mound at the water’s edge.
Jayden.
9
“Mom?” Jayden stirred in the hospital bed.
He spoke with a groggy slur as Brooke held vigil.
“I don’t feel so good.”
Brooke rose form her chair and stepped over to the bed. “That’s because you have a concussion, honey.”
He turned his head to face her and winced at the effort. “Where am I?”
“Children’s Hospital. You fell near the creek and hit your head on a boulder. An ambulance brought you here, and you’ve had a few stitches.” She forced a smile, though her heart felt heavy with regret and worry. “But you’re going to be just fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
A moment or two passed as he scanned the room. “Where’s Cade?”
“I’m right here.” Cade had moved from his chair to the opposite side of the bed. He smoothed the hair back from Jayden’s forehead with hands that Brooke had grown to trust again…and to love. Strong, capable hands.
He’d found Jayden. He’d brought her son—their son—home safely.
“Hey,” Jayden murmured. Both of his eyes were dusky and a sharp bruise rose along his temple. “Is Tiny OK?”
“He’s fine. But you really gave us a scare.”
“I’m sorry. It’s all…really fuzzy. I remember rain…lots of rain. And you’re my…dad? Was that a dream?”
“No. It’s real.” Cade’s voice cracked. “We’ll talk more when you feel better. Rest now. Everything’s going to be OK.”
“My guitar. Where is it?”
“Right here.” Cade had propped the acoustic along the ledge by the window, in plain sight. He thought it might encourage Jayden. “When you feel better, you can play a song.”
“Will you play one for me now?” He closed his eyes, but not before Brooke saw the shimmer of tears that brimmed. “I’d really like you to play me a song.”
“Sure.” Cade took up the guitar. He strummed lightly and added a soft, low hum. “Here you go, son. Rest easy now.”
~*~
Two days later, Jayden was released to home care. He was feeling considerably better, and as a result he’d morphed into a terrible patient. Brooke was having a hard time keeping him in his bed, so she made up a resting place on the sofa, in front of the TV.
Anna had stopped by for a visit, and Brooke was relieved to see that Jayden harbored no animosity toward the girl for giving up his hiding place. They’d actually laughed together. It was good to hear the sound of Jayden’s laughter, even more so since Brooke realized how close she’d come to never hearing it again.
Now that Anna was gone, Jayden grappled with restlessness.
“I’m bored with movies and magazines. Can’t I go outside?” He jabbed the power button on the remote and the TV went blank. A stack of thumbed-through magazines sat on the end table.
“Cade’s coming soon.” Brooke set a plate filled with a grilled cheese sandwich on the coffee table. “He’s bringing Tiny….and his guitar.”
It was a trade-off she could live with. Not exactly bed rest, but the closest manageable thing. Cade had offered up the support. He’d been through it all with her, helpful to the nines.
“I guess now that I’m feeling better, we need to talk, right?” Jayden grimaced. “And you have to chew me out and ground me for running off and hiding. How long am I in deep trouble this time?”
“I’m giving you a pass on this one.”
“A pass?”
“Yes.” Brooklyn sighed. “Maybe I need to ground myself instead.”
“Well, that would be something.” Jayden chuckled. “Mom in time out.”
“Yes, it would.” He had her laughing, too. “But seriously…I’m sorry. Keeping the truth about Cade from you…I thought I was doing the right thing…the best thing for all of us—especially you. But in hindsight I messed up. I should have been honest with you.”
“Parents aren’t perfect. It’s OK.” He said it with all t
he wisdom of a newly-minted teenager. “Did Dad know…I mean, you know….about Cade and you…and me?”
“Yes, your dad knew and he loved you just the same. It never made a difference, Jayden. Not to him, not to me.”
“And what about Cade? How long has he known about me?”
“He found out just before you did. Had he known earlier, he would have been here for you. That’s on me, not him.” Brooke stroked his hair back from his forehead, glad to see the bruising was beginning to heal. Perhaps the invisible wounds had also begun their healing process. “I’m so sorry.”
“You know what you tell me all the time?”
“No. What?”
“You always say you love me no matter what. I feel the same about you. And Cade. Can we be a family now? A real family?”
~*~
Cade stood at the front door, listening. Jayden’s voice was rough and raw with emotion. It arrowed straight to his heart.
My son. My family.
The next move was his to make. And he’d make it wisely.
Help me, Lord.
Tiny padded into the room ahead of him. He followed with the acoustic clutched in his hand.
“Cade!” Jayden sat up on the couch. He was bundled in a flurry of blankets. How was the kid not sweltering? A grin was plastered to his face. “You came. Mom said you would.”
“Yes. I promised.”
“And you always keep your promises.” Jayden nodded to affirm. “Guess what? I’m not grounded. But Mom says she should be.”
“Maybe we should all be in time out together.” Cade propped the guitar along the coffee table, planted a kiss on Brooke’s cheek, and settled onto the edge of the couch. “Because I carry some blame in all of this. It’s not just your mom’s doing.”
“And I ran away, so I’m wrong, too.”
“And three wrongs don’t make a right.” Cade patted Jayden’s knee. “But maybe, just maybe, with God’s help this time they do. Because I love your mom, and I love you.”
“We love you, too.” Jayden tapped the couch and Tiny, as if he weighed only a handful of pounds, leapt up to curl beside him. “I think we should write a song about it. It would be a hit, for sure.”
Brooke blanched. “I don’t know about that.”
“I know a perfect title.” Cade winked.
“Tell me.” Jayden rubbed Tiny’s head. “Something cool?”
“The coolest.” Cade took Brooke’s hand and pulled her down into his lap. “I’ll call it ‘Will You Marry Me, Sweetheart?’.”
Brooke gasped. “That sounds like a chart-topper.” Her eyes welled with tears. “Yes.”
“Then we’ll really be a family?” Jayden whooped and threw his arms around both of them. “Oh boy, Tiny…we’re gonna be a family. All of us.”
Epilogue
Brooke adjusted her wedding veil as she peered out the bedroom window of the Lockridge Place, soon to be her home along with Jayden and Tiny. Her vows were only moments away.
Autumn leaves in a mesmerizing palette of colors danced across a backdrop of clear blue sky. The scents of sawdust and freshly-painted walls blended with wood lacquer. Cade had finished all the major renovations on the house, and most of the minor ones, in record time. Brooke and Jayden had moved in most of their things over the past few days, welcomed by Cade and a giddy, rambunctious Tiny.
Music filtered over speakers, which Cade had built into the gazebo he’d constructed especially for their wedding. The structure was set off to the side of the yard, overlooking the spot where Jayden had been found that fateful spring night not so long ago.
As she made her way down the sweeping staircase to the first floor, Brooke marveled at how much her life had changed in the six months since she’d run into Cade in the grocery store pizza aisle and discovered he’d returned to Cedar Ridge for good.
God had a way of unknotting mistakes of the past and putting things back to rights in a manner that was unfathomable to a human way of thinking. She was living proof.
Brooke smiled as she came to the first floor landing. Cade had left the double French doors wide open for her, and she spied him standing at the gazebo with best man Josh. Jayden and Tiny were there, as well. The smile on Jayden’s face spoke volumes.
Brooke stepped into the sunshine and walked toward them, marveling at a future set before her with the man she loved.
A new beginning…a second chance by the grace of God’s unending love.
The song in her soul crescendoed.
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