The Promise of Rainbows

by Ava Miles

  The knowledge that he could make a difference filled him with light. He might have originally believed the only lives he’d changed by being alive were his fans, but now he knew better. A purpose in life wasn’t something you had. It was something you gave to the world.

  “Just give me a list, and we’ll get it done.”

  She looked about as happy as she did around her family, and he was thrilled to be the cause. He hoped that would continue when he told her his final wish.

  “You’ve got it. And the last?”

  He took a deep breath, striving for calm. “I want to have a family. Truth be told, I want to have one with your daughter.” He checked to see how she was taking the news, but her smile hadn’t dimmed, which encouraged him. “I know we haven’t been together long, but she’s home for me. I don’t want to be with anyone else, and quite frankly, I don’t want to wait. I love her, and she loves me. Louisa, I’ll abide by your thoughts, but I’m asking for your permission to marry your daughter.”

  She pressed a hand to her heart. “I was hoping you weren’t going to draw that out. I think y’all getting married is a wonderful idea.”

  His breath whooshed out. “You do? You don’t think I need to wait any longer to see if I’m okay?”

  She shook her head. “Jake, how many times do I have to tell you that you’re not broken? You have PTSD, but you’re managing it. Yes, you have things you’re still working through, but the less you lock yourself away in some self-imposed tower, the happier you feel. Am I right? Deciding to love my daughter has been one of the biggest decisions of your life. You have chosen life for yourself.”

  He had chosen life. It still amazed him how much that decision had changed everything.

  “I’m so glad you approve,” he said, wanting to pretty much grab her and hug her. “Louisa…I can’t tell you how grateful I am for everything you’ve done.”

  She rose and held out her arms. “Come here.”

  Embracing her got him all emotional. He was going to marry Susannah. He could hardly believe it. “You’re the best. Do you know that?”

  “You’re pretty wonderful too, sugar,” she said, giving him a final squeeze. “It’s going to be a joy to have you as a son.”

  Crap. Now he was really choked up. “I couldn’t think of a finer mother-in-law.”

  “This doesn’t change anything about what we’re doing here, though,” she told him, stepping away to pour them both some water. “We keep plugging away. Talking about what comes up. Getting married tends to bring up other types of issues.”

  She must have seen something in his face because she immediately added, “For everyone, Jake. Getting married is a big deal. But for you and Susannah…well, it seems like something you’ve both been moving toward all your lives.”

  She understood him so well. “I couldn’t have said it better. I might have to use that in a song.”

  “Imagine that!” She laughed. “One of my comments in a song.”

  “I plan to talk to J.P. too. About marrying Susannah.” It was only right.

  “I suspect I know what he’s going to say,” she said, her mouth twitching.

  All that mattered was what Susannah was going to say. He’d bet his whole career that she felt the same way he did. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep from making love. They’d been pushing the boundaries a bit, but she seemed to want him as much as he wanted her. He couldn’t wait to remove that final obstacle between them.

  “I’d like you to do your pre-marital counseling with a preacher friend of mine,” she told him.

  Yeah, it would be weird to have those discussions with her. “Thanks for suggesting someone.”

  “It’s not someone Susannah knows well either,” she said drinking her water. “It’ll be less awkward that way.”

  He didn’t know what pre-martial counseling entailed, but he was all for it. Thinking about all the counseling he’d had recently, it was almost humorous. “It sounds like I’ll be in counseling three times a week now.”

  Her shoulders shook. “We’ll call you an enlightened man because you’re taking the time to know and love yourself.”

  He almost blushed at that, and he wasn’t the blushing kind. “I just want to continue to feel good and be the kind of man I want to be.” Because Jake was doing all of this for him. Susannah was important, but it couldn’t be only because of her.

  “I think you’re doing great,” she said, shaking her finger at him. “Never doubt it.”

  “Thanks, Louisa. That means a lot.” He stood. “Well, I’d best let you get on. I’m going to visit your son.”

  She hugged him again. “I won’t tell you to give him a kiss for me.”

  Jake made a face. “I’ll give him your best.”

  “I’ll see you in a couple of days, Jake.”

  He left her office with hope burning bright in his chest. When he arrived at J.P.’s house, his friend met him on the porch. Charleston, J.P.’s red setter, nuzzled his hand.

  “Good to see you, bubba,” J.P. said, giving him a man hug. “I’m glad you called. I was about to take Charleston here on a walk to Dare River. You up for that?”

  “That sounds fine with me,” he said, watching as the dog pranced ahead.

  The weather was in the high forties, but the sun shone down on them while they made their way through the gardens Tammy had designed. Most of the flower beds were fallow like his were, but there were a few bushes with bright red berries on them. Jake tucked his hands in his jacket as they strolled down the path.

  When they entered the woods to Dare River, Jake turned to J.P. “As part of my homework, your mama asked me to list the three things I most want in the world going forward. Having a family topped the list. I told your mama this morning that I want to marry your sister, and she gave me her blessing. Since you’re her older brother and my friend, I wanted to ask for yours as well.”

  J.P. stopped and put his hand on Jake’s shoulder, turning him so he could meet his gaze. “You have it. Welcome to the family.”

  He blinked. “That’s it? You’re not going to grill me or give me a speech?”

  “Have I ever?” his friend asked with a chuckle. “I told you that love changes things. As far as I’m concerned, why put off what you want? No need for you to wait as long as Tammy and me.”

  Jake heard the thread in J.P.’s voice. “I’m glad she finally agreed.”

  “Me too, Jake, although I wish we didn’t have to wait until June,” the man said, bending down and picking up a stick. “You ready, boy?”

  Charleston nodded his head, watching the stick and then took off in the direction J.P. hurled it. The dog bounded into the brush.

  “I hope Susannah won’t insist on a long engagement,” J.P. said.

  “We agree there.” Especially given how badly he wanted her. “Do you think I should ask your sisters to help me pick out a ring?”

  J.P. snorted, taking the stick from Charleston and hurling it again. “If you want to become their favorite brother-in-law straight away, that would be a good plan.”

  “But I’ll be their only…” Then he broke off, realizing his friend’s joke. “Ah…I see. Did they help you pick out Tammy’s?”

  “I picked it out with Rory and Annabelle,” J.P. said with a smile. “They needed to be involved, although Annabelle was pretty pushy about me getting her mama a chocolate diamond. Don’t ask.”

  There were chocolate diamonds now? He could barely imagine trying to pick out a plain one out of the thousands of them out there. He definitely needed help. “Can you give me your sisters’ numbers?”

  “I’ll text them to you when we get back to the house,” J.P. said. “I can come along out of solidarity. Shelby doesn’t watch you like a demented fan girl anymore, but I’ve still caught Sadie doing it every now and again.”

  “I like the idea of you coming, anyway,” Jake said. “I think Susannah would like knowing all her siblings helped me.”

  J.P. nodded, scratching Cha
rleston behind the ears.

  “Do you think I should ask Tammy, Amelia Ann, and Tory too?” Jake asked.

  “Heck, bubba, if you’re thinking that big, you might as well invite Rye and Clayton.” J.P. laughed. “I would keep it small for the moment, although I have a feeling Rye would probably have more thoughts about the ring than the women. He was practically a maniac when he took Clayton and me shopping for Tory’s. I’ve never seen the man fret so much.”

  Jake joined in with his laughter. “Only the McGuiness siblings then.”

  They made their way down to Dare River, and the scene reminded him of the mural Susannah was painting on his dining room wall. He’d asked for a deer in the patch of woods and a boat in the water, coming home, the owner’s dock within sight. The rest he had left up to her. She was half-finished, and he liked to pretend he was working on his new song while she painted in her sexy white smock. In fact, that’s probably what she was doing right now at his house.

  She had a key now and his spare garage door opener. He’d given them to her two weeks ago. He loved coming home and seeing her car in his garage. Slowly but surely, she was becoming as much of a part of his home as all of the furnishings they’d selected together. No, that wasn’t quite right. She was the one who made it a home. He would go back to sleeping on a mattress on the floor if it was the only way he could have her. Not that he would. She liked to have things around her, and he found he did too. They meant he had a home, something that was his, something that reflected who he was.

  It was almost like God had a plan all along for them. From the beginning, they’d worked together to make his house on Dare River a home. Now she was going to be living there with him. Together they would raise a family on that land.

  While he wasn’t praying perhaps as often as he should, he took a moment to give thanks whenever he was feeling grateful. As J.P. tugged on the stick with an excited Charleston, Jake bowed his head and took a moment.

  When they returned from their walk, J.P. gave him Shelby and Sadie’s numbers. He called Shelby first at J.P.’s suggestion and got her voicemail. He didn’t want to make such a large request in a message, so he simply asked her to call him when she got the chance because he needed her help.

  He and J.P. were picking up their guitars—he’d thrown one in his truck that morning in the anticipation that he’d see his friend if the meeting with Louisa went right—when Shelby called him back. She was a little too cheery in her greeting. Apparently, they were both feeling a little weird, what with this being their first conversation on the phone. He asked if she might have time to help him select a ring for her sister, and she pretty much squealed on the phone. Then she added, “Of course, I’d be happy to help.” When he asked if she could talk to Sadie for him, she assured him she would do so the minute they hung up.

  “She’s excited,” he told a chuckling J.P.

  “I could tell,” the man said, strumming an intriguing melody. “Wait until Sadie hears the news. It’s best that Shelby offered to call her. Her scream might have deafened you in one ear.”

  Thank God for that. Screaming women—even ones at his concert—never failed to embarrass him. His music was good, he knew, but the screaming… He wasn’t sure it was because of the music.

  Five minutes later, Shelby called him again. J.P. fought a smile and continued to play the guitar.

  Jake picked it up. “Hey, Shelby.”

  “Hi!” she said louder than normal, but this time he was prepared.

  He was holding the phone away from his ear.

  J.P. snorted. “Hey, Shelby,” he called out.

  “Is that J.P.?” she asked.

  “Yes. I came over here. To ask his blessing.” He felt his face grow a little hot. “After asking for your mama’s.”

  “I figured you must have done that, but Sadie and I wanted to ask you.”

  There was something in her tone. “I promise to be good to her, Shelby.”

  “I know you will be, Jake,” she immediately said, but he wondered if she was thinking things were progressing a little too fast.

  Well, that was her opinion, and she was entitled to it. Jake had already sought out the opinions that were most critical to him.

  “Sadie is going to take off early today, and I think I can swing it. Where shall we meet you?”

  Today? He hadn’t thought much past talking to Louisa and J.P. But why wait a moment longer? If he found a ring, he could ask Susannah tonight. Heck, it was only going on eleven o’clock since he’d had an early meeting with Louisa. His manager could help him set up another romantic dinner at his house.

  “That sounds great. I’ve…ah…never bought a woman jewelry before.” Okay, now he was really embarrassed. “Where does one go in Nashville?”

  Now J.P.’s shoulders were really shaking, but he continued to play his guitar quietly in the background.

  “We’ll start at Tiffany’s at Green Hills,” she told him. “And if we can’t find something there—unlikely—we’ll go to Village Jewelers or Genesis.”

  “Do you know her ring size?” he asked, feeling like a complete idiot now.

  “I have a tape measure,” J.P. said.

  Jake muted the phone so Shelby wouldn’t hear. “You’re not helping.”

  All he received was a chuckle.

  Shaking his head, Jake unmuted the phone. “That sounds like a good list.”

  “You might have your manager call ahead to Tiffany’s to see if we can have a private viewing. They do that for stars.”

  Right. If he went in there looking for rings without arranging something like that, it would be all over the papers.

  “Actually, what am I thinking?” she said. “Have your manager call and ask them to send out a selection of rings for you to look at. Duh! I’m thinking like a normal person.”

  He didn’t like being reminded that he wasn’t “normal” anymore, but she wasn’t wrong on this point. “I’ll have him make the call. Does Susannah want a diamond, do you think? She…ah…strikes me as a traditional kind of woman.”

  “Diamond. Princess cut.”

  “Got it.” He’d heard most women had an idea in mind. “Thanks, Shelby.”

  “Give me a holler when you have a time from Tiffany’s. I’m sure they’ll hustle someone out for you today.”

  That wasn’t something he liked to assume. He didn’t like to make people jump simply because he was a star. “I’ll see what my manager can do.”

  They would need to discuss a potential statement for the press once Susannah agreed to marry him. Or maybe they shouldn’t announce it. Maybe they should simply pretend to have a party or something and then get married there. That way the press wouldn’t be stalking them at every turn. He didn’t want their day soured by all that madness. That tactic had worked for other stars, but he’d leave it to Susannah to tell him what she preferred.

  “I’ll call you when I know more,” he told Shelby. “Thanks for your help.”

  “It’s no bother,” she said, “no bother at all. We’d do anything for Susannah.”

  He almost said, So would I, but he simply said goodbye and hung up.

  “Need a beer?” J.P. asked. “Or a whiskey? I changed my mind. Maybe we should invite Rye over. You’re going to need more testosterone once my sisters show up.”

  “I need to get back to the house for a while,” he said, eyeing the clock. “Susannah is painting my dining room, and we were going to have lunch.”

  “How about you call your manager and get him going?” J.P. suggested, setting his guitar aside. “You aren’t going to be able to do much thinking today, I have a feeling. This way you can go and see Susannah and send her home at some point. We can meet you at your house when the jeweler arrives.”

  “Ah…” His brain had pretty much exploded after discussing the princess cut.

  J.P. grabbed his phone and handed it to him. “Call your manager.”

  He did and bumbled his way through the conversation after receiving the man
’s congratulations. As soon as he set the phone down, J.P. put a beer in his hand.

  “One won’t hurt,” his friend said.

  Twenty minutes later, his manager called to convey that he had scheduled Tiffany’s for four o’clock at Jake’s house. J.P., God bless him, took over the task of calling his sisters.

  “Now, go home and be with my sister, but try and act normal, or she’ll know something is up.”

  He pressed the space between his eyebrows. “I don’t know why I’m all stirred up.”

  “Don’t you?” J.P. asked, laughing. “You’ll do fine, bubba. All this flash is because our women like it. In the end, what truly matters is that you love each other. No ring is bigger than that truth. Remember that.”

  As he drove back to his house, he breathed deep and remembered his friend’s words.

  Susannah met him at the door and threw her arms around his neck. “I missed you. I expected you a couple of hours ago. Did you get caught up?”

  “I…um…stopped by to see your brother,” he said, sticking with the truth and trying to keep his face straight.

  “Oh,” she muttered, and before she could ask why, he took her hand.

  “Show me what you’ve accomplished this morning while I was out.”

  They walked to the dining room, and like always, she was shuffling her feet a little like she was bashful. “I don’t know how much I accomplished. You can decide.”

  When he passed through the doorway, he stilled. She’d painted the back of a man sitting on the dock, his feet dangling in the water. Jake knew it was him. He turned to her.

  She was watching his face. “You…well…you had to be there. It’s your land. Your strip of the river.”

  He was so moved by the reality of all his dreams coming true that he brought her against his chest. “I love you. Do you have any idea how much?”

  Her arms came around him. “I was a little worried you wouldn’t like it.”

  “I love it,” he said, and after she agreed to marry him, he’d ask her to add herself to the mural too. “It’s beautiful, Susannah. You have a gift.”

  “You tell me that every day,” she said, shrugging and giving him a quirky smile.