Wildflower (Colors #4)

by Jessica Prince

My thumb hovered over the end button as the other man sputtered loudly. “But sir, you’re mentioned in the will as well.”

  I brought the phone back to my ear. “Uh, what? Why?”

  “Well, that’s why I’m calling to schedule a meeting. So we can go over that.”

  Curiosity needled at me as I thought about what Lucille could possibly have willed to me. “You said three, right?”

  “Yes, sir. Three o’clock.”

  “I’ll be there.” I hung up without giving the guy a chance to say anything else. I loved Lucille. We even managed to maintain a friendship after Harlow took off for New York. But I knew the woman, and she was always up to something.

  There was no telling what she’d gotten into before she passed, and I had to admit, I was a little leery about finding out.

  As I stepped out of Grammy’s beater truck—a truck that I had no choice but to trade-in before the baby came, I saw a familiar SUV pulling into the parking lot. I stood frozen in place as Noah parked and climbed out, looking unbelievably sexy in a pair of faded jeans and dusty old work boots. I couldn’t see his shirt through his thick winter coat, but I was sure, whatever it was, it looked good. He always looked good.

  “Hi,” he spoke as he met me on the sidewalk, pulling me out of my lustful daze.

  “Hey,” I offered with a shaky grin.

  “So… you ready?”

  My head cocked in confusion as I regarded him. “Ready to go in.” He pointed to the door leading into the office of Lawson and McMillan, Attorneys at Law.

  “Wait, what?”

  Noah stuffed his hands in his pocket and rocked back on his heels. “That Lawson guy called me last night. Apparently Lucille mentioned me in her will so he asked that I come down. I hope that’s okay.”

  I shook bewilderment at the sight of his adorably anxious expression. “Oh! Yeah, sure. Totally okay. No problem at all.”

  Noah’s lip twitched with humor at my rambling and nostalgia flooded through me. God, I missed that lip twitch. And his smirk, full smile, and his chuckle, and his hearty laugh. I missed everything.

  “Okay, then. Shall we?” He waved his hand, letting me step in front of him and take the lead out of the cold and into the nicely heated building. Noah was there for the reading of my grandmother’s will. What could she possibly have left him? It wasn’t like she had all that much to begin with. As we sat in the reception area and waited for George Lawson, I couldn’t help but think that my afternoon was starting off strange.

  I couldn’t have possibly guessed that in just a matter of minutes, it was going to get even stranger.

  “She did what?” Noah shouted at the same time I said, “I’m sorry. Could you repeat that? I must have stroked out there for a second.”

  Mr. Lawson folded his hands together and placed them on his desk as he focused on us. “Lucille informed me this would be a shock to both of you. I understand the confusion, but it’s all here in black and white. The house and the land it sits on is deeded to Mr. Murphy and Mrs. Prewitt.”

  “Why would she do that?” I cried as Noah asked, “Is that even legal?”

  “I can assure you, it’s quite legal Mr. Murphy. And as for her motives, well, I’m sure this next bit will shed some light on that for you, Mrs. Prewitt.”

  I fell back against my seat, my head suddenly starting to spin as I tried to wrap my brain around what was happening. Grammy had given the house and land to me and Noah. Why? Why, why, why, why?

  And why does this dude keep calling me Mrs.?”

  “Ms. Ms.!” I said in frustration, “For the last time. It’s Ms. Prewitt!”

  Mr. Lawson remained the picture of calm as he lifted a sheet of paper from the folder in front of him. “I apologize for how this must seem, but I promise, Lucille, had the best of intentions in everything she did. I have a letter here that I’m to give you, with the instructions that you read it together. It will clear up any misunderstandings you two may have.” He slid a sealed envelope across the desk. “But before you read it, I was instructed to make you aware of one last thing. This too, shall be addressed in the letter.”

  “I feel like I just jumped down a rabbit hole,” I whispered as I rubbed my temples.

  “You and me, both,” Noah agreed. He waved his hand at Mr. Lawson impatiently. “All right, go ahead. Can’t be any more confusing than what you’ve already laid on us.”

  Mr. Lawson cleared his throat and tugged at the collar of his button down shirt, appearing somewhat uncomfortable for the first time since we stepped foot into his office.

  “Now, what I’m about to tell you will be quite shocking. All I can say is the answers to all of your questions are in the letter. I haven’t read it so I will not be able to answer anything you will undoubtedly ask.”

  “Just say it!” I shouted a little too loudly.

  “You’re still married.”

  “We’re what?!” we both yelled at the same time, shooting to our feet in unison.

  “You two are still married.”

  “That’s not… but that’s not possible,” I objected. “They were signed.”

  “But never filed. So you’ll forgive me, but you are still very much a Mrs.” Mr. Lawson stood from his chair and began rounding the desk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just give you two some privacy to read your letter. I’m sure you have many questions.”

  We both watched in disbelief as he left the office, closing the door behind him.

  The moment it latched, I spun around and snatched up the letter, ripping the envelope open and pulling out my grandmother’s neatly folded stationary. At the sight of her familiar handwriting my knees grew weak and I began to wobble.

  I was so overwhelmed by everything that I started at the feel of Noah’s hands on my arms. Looking up, I saw his studying my face in concern. “Sit down, wildflower. You look like you’re about to keel over.”

  I did as he instructed, lowering myself into the chair with his gentle assistance. “I don’t understand what’s happening,” I whispered softly.

  He gazed at me with understanding as he moved his own chair closer to mine and took a seat. “Well, it would appear all our answers are in there,” he pointed to the letter I held in my trembling hand. “Why don’t we find out?”

  I nodded in agreement and turned my attention back to Grammy’s letter, feeling Noah lean in close to read over my shoulder.

  My lovelies,

  I know what you’ve just been told must come as a shock, but if there’s one thing you two know about me, it’s that there is a reason for everything I do. By the time you finish reading this, you may be mad at me for everything I’ve done. I understand that. I’ll give you a few minutes with your anger. Take it, sit on it, but then you need to move on. It might take a while, but you’ll eventually get why I did what I did.

  I’ve lived a long enough life that I was blessed with many gifts.

  The first gift was the love of a good man. A man I cherished until his very last breath, a man who took my heart with him when he left this earth, a man that I’ll soon be with for the rest of eternity.

  The second gift was my son. Harlow, sweetie, your father was the light of my life. There isn’t a mother on Earth who could have been more proud of her son than I was of mine.

  The third gift I was blessed with was my two beautiful grandbabies. I’ve been lucky enough to watch you grow into a strong, amazing woman. And, while I won’t get the privilege of seeing Ethan grow into the man I know he’s destined to be—a man just as loving and caring as his father and grandfather, I thank my lucky stars that I got to see him as he is today.

  With all of that being said, I’ve also lived long enough to experience the heartbreak that comes with the loss of two of those things. I know what it’s like to lose the love of your life. I also know what it’s like to lose your child. And watching the both of you struggle with each of those things at such a tender age was the reason behind everything I’ve done.

  I have so much love
for both of you, Harlow and Noah, that watching you lose your way broke my heart right along with each of yours. I hated having to sit back and watch you struggle, but you had to learn for yourself. It’s a part of life. It’s a part of growing up. If I could have made the decisions for you, to spare you both the pain, please believe that I would have. Unfortunately, that isn’t how life works.

  A person who’s lucky enough to meet their soul mate in their lifetime is gifted with the ability to see that in other people as well. That’s what I saw each and every time I watched you two together.

  You are soul mates. There isn’t a fate on Earth great enough to break that bond. And although I had to stand back and watch you make your mistakes, there was at least one thing I could do to guarantee you would get back on the path you were destined for. I could stop you from severing the tie that connected you to each other.

  Even though I believed you were too young to be married at the time, I never doubted for a second that you would end up back where you belonged. With each other. And even though I’m not there to witness it, I believe in my heart, that if you haven’t managed to find your way back to each other yet, you will.

  And seeing as you’re still husband and wife, you don’t really have much of a choice now, do you?

  You’re welcome.

  Now, since I’m not there to keep you on a straight path, you have the choice to finish what you started years ago and, in the process, deal with the house and land as you see fit, or you could take the advice of a wise old woman and leave everything as is.

  I really hope that’s the choice you make.

  I’m not above using guilt to achieve what I think is right, so I’ll just add, I’ll be watching from Heaven and will be extremely disappointed if you don’t do as I say. You wouldn’t want that, would you?

  Is the guilt working yet?

  Oh, who am I kidding? I know you both like the back of my hand. Of course it is.

  Again, you’re welcome.

  It’s time for me to leave you now, my precious babies, but I’m leaving you with this. Find your way back. Love each other. Cherish what God has seen fit to bless each of you with, and I promise you, you won’t regret it. Things got tough. Life got hard. But a love like yours can get through anything.

  I know.

  I had a love just like that.

  Take care of each other and Ethan. Give him a hug for me and remind him that he’s forever in my heart. And always know that I’m with you in spirit. I love all three of you more than words could ever say and I’ll see you again.

  But not for many, many more years.

  All my love,

  Grammy.

  By the time I reached the end of the letter, tears blurred my vision and ran heavily down my cheeks.

  I had the best grandmother.

  No doubt about it.

  The sound of Noah’s deep chuckle pulled my attention away from Grammy’s fancy handwriting. It was a sound I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear again and I watched in amazement as he smiled brightly at the letter before turning all that beauty my way.

  “Always said she was the wisest woman I ever knew.”

  “The smartest,” I agreed with a smile of my own.

  He stood from his seat and extended his hand to me. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  I placed my hand in his and basked in the feel of his warm, calloused fingers wrapping around mine as he led me out of the office and through the building, back into the cold, winter day. Our fingers stayed tangled together the whole time as we came to a stop on the sidewalk by our cars.

  “This has definitely been an afternoon I’ll never forget,” he chuckled, giving my hand a squeeze before dropping it all too soon.

  I pasted a fake smile on my face as I said, “Tell me about it. I think I need to sleep for a week from mental exhaustion alone.”

  A sense of dread crept up my spine as Noah reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck then stuffed both hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Look,” he started, his gaze trained somewhere over my shoulder as he spoke, refusing to meet my eyes. At that moment, I’d have given anything for those warm honey eyes to look at me. “This has been stressful enough. I know we need to talk about everything that just happened, but I think it would be best if we took some time to let everything sink in before we take action.”

  “Take action…” I mimicked as that dread began clawing at my stomach.

  “Yeah. You know, file the papers or whatever. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m up for anything heavy at the moment.” He tried to laugh, make the situation seem lighter than it was, but it fell flat.

  My heart sank, the pain registering in every bone in my body, even as I tried not to let it show. “Yeah, sure,” I answered quietly, unable to say anything else past the massive lump that had suddenly taken up residence in my throat.

  “Okay,” Noah replied as he took a step back. “Then I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Later…” I mumbled as he turned and walked away.

  It was the most miraculous thing. As I watched him go, it hit me with the force of a Mack truck. The courage I’d been lacking for so long roared to life inside of me, giving me the strength to do what I wanted to do.

  What I needed to do.

  What Grammy had known I was going to do all along.

  Stepping off the sidewalk in his direction, I opened my mouth and said the words I should have said years ago.

  “I don’t want a divorce!”

  At those five words, Noah’s entire body froze solid. It felt like an eternity before he finally turned my way.

  “What?

  “I don’t want a divorce. I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I want to stay married to you. I want us to be a family, you, me, Ethan, and this baby,” I told him as I placed my palms on my stomach. “I want a future with you. No one else. And I’m so sorry I ruined it. I’m sorry I pushed you away. I want you to forgive me.” My voice broke on a sob, but I pushed on. “Please forgive me,” I pleaded. “I don’t want a life without you in it. I’ll do whatever I have to do to make you trust me again.”

  I barely got the last word out before he charged me, getting so close the heat of his body bled through the layers of clothing and seeped into my bones. He cupped my face in his hand and stared down at me, his eyes shining brightly with longing.

  “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it,” he gritted through clenched teeth.

  “I mean it,” I promised. “I love you so much, Noah. Please don’t leave me. Give me another chance. Please.”

  “There was never anything to forgive. I just needed you to admit you still loved me,” he growled. Then, right there in the parking lot of an attorney’s office, Noah’s mouth crashed down on mine, fusing our lips together in the most passionate kiss I’d ever experienced. I wanted to cry as the taste of him hit my tongue. I’d missed everything about him. And I finally had him back. It all seemed too good to be true.

  “I love you,” I panted once the need for oxygen forced us to break the kiss. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, baby,” he said reverently as his forehead rest against mine. “Never stopped. Never will.”

  “I want you forever.”

  I watched on in awe as he squeezed his eyes closed tightly, as though my words gave him so much relief he couldn’t handle it.

  I understood the feeling.

  His eyes opened once again and he declared, “I’m moving in.”

  “Okay,” I readily agreed.

  “Tonight. We can go home and talk to Ethan about it, but this is happening no matter what.”

  “All right.”

  “And you’re changing your last name to Murphy.”

  “Okay,” I repeated with a laugh.

  “Tomorrow. My wife isn’t going to go another day without carrying my last name.”

  “I can do that.”

  He grinned against my lips, it was so contagious I felt my own smile spreading ac
ross my face. “God, I love you.”

  “I love you too, Noah.”

  “Forever.”

  “Forever. I can’t cook for shit, and I’ve been a hormonal, emotional mess lately, but you’re stuck with me. There’s no going back.”

  Warmth flooded my veins as his head fell back. Deep, beautiful laugher rumbled up from his chest and filled the air around us.

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way, wildflower. Now let’s go home.”

  Home. From here on out, every day for the rest of my life, my home was going to be with Ethan and Noah.

  I couldn’t ask for anything better.

  Just like Grammy, I had been blessed.

  “Push, baby. You’re doing great. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Will you shut the fuck up!?” I bellowed as the nurse on my other side stopped counting. “This is all your fault! I hate you!”

  Another contraction ripped through me and I feared my body was being torn apart from the inside. “Another push,” the doctor between my thighs ordered, and I wanted nothing more in that moment than to take my foot out of the stirrup and kick him upside the head.

  Bearing down, I began to push with all my might as the nurse on my right began counting to ten. Noah held my hand like a champ, even though my grip was likely crushing his bones into dust.

  On ten, I fell back to the bed, out of breath and exhausted.

  “I’m sorry,” I cried as my sweet, loving husband wiped my sweaty hair from my forehead. “I don’t hate you. I love you. This just hurts so damn bad.”

  “I know, baby,” he soothed. “I know. But you’re doing so good. Just a few more pushes, okay? All we need is a few more. You’ve got this.”

  I didn’t have this. Not even close.

  “I don’t want to push anymore,” I pouted belligerently. “You get down here and fucking push if you want to so badly!”

  “Don’t worry, sir. Mood swings are totally normal. They’ll be over soon enough.” the nurse on my other side assured Noah.

  “And you can just fuck right the hell off!” I yelled at her. “You try having a perfect stranger standing all up in your business like he’s about to hike a goddamned football and tell me you don’t get a little moody.”