“Bri’s friends?” Jenna asked as her eyes filled with tears again. “Oh my god, I love them. And I love you so much.”
He gave her a kiss on the temple. “Ditto, kiddo.”
The back screen door opened and Foster knocked on the doorjamb before stepping out. “Dad just called,” he said, keeping his voice down as he smiled at Ethan. Then he put on a serious face for Sam and Jenna. “One of the girls was Brandon Stewart’s sister, Allison. The other girl is named Sierra Watson. Before her lawyer showed up, Allison confessed to taking Ethan during the party. She said Brandon made her do it. Sierra said they paid her ten thousand dollars to help.”
Sam checked Jenna noticing her shaking more violently now, her face even redder. “I knew it,” she said. “What about Brandon? Did they get him?”
Foster blinked rapidly at Jenna, shifting his stance. “Um, yeah, but….” He tilted his head toward the door, now focused on Sam. “Maybe we should speak in private.”
But before Sam could move, Jenna sat forward. “What’s happening? I have to know.”
Foster backed up and leaned against the railing, still seeming uncomfortable. “He, um, I mean…. His grandfather, and their lawyers, had him protected at the Stewart estate. They were waiting on a warrant, but apparently, Brandon locked himself in a room. He had a gun.”
Both Sam and Jenna sat back in surprise. “He killed himself?” Jenna asked. “He’s dead?”
Foster only nodded.
Jenna stared off, breathing heavily. Sam rubbed her back, wondering if he needed to take Ethan inside. But their son was exhausted and slept on peacefully. “I can’t believe it,” she said.
“I guess he knew he was going to jail,” Foster said. “He probably couldn’t face it.”
Sam knew that was probably true, but he also knew Brandon’s problems dated far back to his own childhood. Problems he’d tried to blame on Jenna. “None of this was your fault,” he told her, sternly, before she tried to blame herself.
But she didn’t even glance his way. “I know,” she said. “He stole my son. I don’t care what happened to him.” But she didn’t sound very convincing.
Maybe sensing his mother’s agitation, Ethan woke up and stretched his arms free from the blanket. He tried to sit up but Jenna didn’t seem to notice.
Taking that as his cue, Sam lifted Ethan from her arms, wanting to hold his son for a while, anyway. “You awake yet, buddy?”
Ethan sat on his knee, blinking and looking around.
Jenna leaned over and gave Ethan a kiss on the cheek. “I love you more than anything in this world, my sweet, sweet baby,” she whispered in Ethan’s ear.
Foster fled and Jenna stood, dropped the blanket to her chair, and walked down the porch. She kept going toward the pond and stopped at the end of the pier.
Ethan leaned against Sam’s chest, still half asleep, and Sam rocked him, knowing Jenna needed a little time to absorb all that had happened recently. But finally, he couldn’t stand seeing her standing there all alone, hugging herself.
He got up, propped Ethan on his hip, and went to check on her.
She smiled palely at them as Sam stepped up beside her. “I just realized something,” she said, staring out over the water. “Almost everything my father told me about you and your family was really true of our family. Of him. Of us. Of people like Brandon Stewart. What does that mean?”
Sam wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Holding a grudge only holds you back?”
She moaned softly. “Probably.”
“Duckies, Daddy,” Ethan said, pointing as the ducks noticed them on the pier and came swimming up.
Sam couldn’t help but laugh. He knew he’d never get tired of hearing his son say that word.
Jenna smiled tenderly at him. “That night really was beautiful, Sam. The best night of my life. And I don’t regret a moment of it. It led us here. You, me and Ethan, together.”
He nodded in agreement and gave her a heated kiss. “I’m glad you finally remembered it right.”
Jenna pointed across the pond where some deer had come up for a drink. “Look at that,” she whispered. “An albino fawn.”
Sam followed her direction and saw the brown mother and snowy white baby. He pointed out the deer to Ethan. “See that, bud? Look over there.”
“Horsey!” Ethan yelled and the deer all lifted their heads.
Fascinated, they watched the beautiful wild animals as they trotted and hopped into the woods.
“That’s a good luck sign,” Sam told Jenna, smiling with wonder. “In all my years, I’ve never seen an albino deer.”
Jenna rested her head on Sam’s shoulder and reached over to hold Ethan’s ankle. “I can feel it now. Everything will be all right. I never want this moment to end,” she said with such longing Sam tightened his arm protectively around her.
“Then we won’t let it, honey. We’ll make it last for the rest of our lives.”
EPILOGUE
Sam’s parents’ house was filled to bursting with family and friends for the anniversary party. The house had been professionally decorated with banners and flowers. Uniformed waiters strolled around offering hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Jack and Angie had arrived for the event, as well as Munday relatives from Texas.
People lingered around the living room and spilled out onto the back patio around the lighted pool. The new band Mike was managing was playing lively music off to the side, away from the splashing of the waterfall his mother had had added on to the pool.
Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Toasts had been made, cake and champagne had been served, and now everyone was mingling and enjoying the evening. He’d lost Jenna somewhere as she’d traveled off with Crystal to meet new people.
Sam made the rounds, chatting with family and friends and catching up with those he hadn’t seen in a while. Spotting Boone, he stopped to hand his brother a folded sheet of paper. The results of the DNA test.
“Check that out,” Sam said. “Ninety-nine percent match.”
Boone chuckled, but checked the results for himself. “Never had a doubt, bud.”
Sam gave his brother a jab in the arm and moved on. He checked in on the kids in the playroom where Ethan was having a good time. He spotted Frankie sitting on the sofa there holding her newborn boy, Braden, named after their grandfather. She was surrounded by family all anxious to fawn over their newest member. The baby was round and pink with a thin layer of blond hair, reminding Sam of pictures of Ethan as a newborn.
Maybe one day he’d be holding a new baby of his own. He didn’t know anything, he had no news to share, but he and Jenna had been reckless the night in his childhood bedroom. He wouldn’t be disappointed if one day soon Jenna did have news for him. She was right when she’d said it was impossible to have too much family. He left Frankie and the baby to their admirers and went to find Jenna.
He spotted her outside by the pool listening to the band and moved up behind her to wrap his arms around her. She turned and grinned at him, taking a sip of champagne, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. He backed her up, wanting to get her away from the crowd. He nodded toward the waterfall at the far side of the pool. He took her glass away from her and set it on a nearby table. “Let’s go over there.”
She turned and went with him, holding tight to his hand.
“I’ve decided on a date,” she said. “August seventh.”
Fine with him, except that meant he had to wait almost two more months to marry her. “Any special reason?”
“That was the night Ethan was conceived. Three years ago.”
“Then that’s the right night.”
At the edge of the waterfall, she sighed and turned again to look over the water, and at the crowd, and to enjoy the night and the music. “Your parents are awesome. I’m having a great time,” she said softly, crossing his arms around her chest.
“Then let’s add some sparkle to it,” he whispered in her ear.
She tuned and raised one e
yebrow, but didn’t question him. He lifted her hand to his lips then slid the engagement ring over her finger. The one matching the bracelet sparkling on her wrist. Neither was as beautiful as the woman wearing them.
For the longest time, she stared down at the ring on her finger, not moving, not breathing, it seemed. Then she lifted her head and gazed at him with eyes he’d never seen before. Blue eyes that belonged to an older, wiser Jenna. A woman who had suffered enough to truly appreciate the joys in life. The woman he knew he’d spend the rest of his life with.
“It’s all real, isn’t it?” she asked. “It’s not a dream?”
He pulled her in tight against him, determined to never let her go again. “Look over there,” he said, as his parents clinked their champagne glasses and once again toasted their forty-five years together. “That’ll be us someday, baby. Count on it.”
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