by Alexa Davis
“However, that doesn’t mean that you need to carry the burden, either. You are your own man, as well, and the choices that you’ve made are your own. You can’t blame that on anyone else.”
“You know nothing,” he spat back. “Don’t you dare come in here all high and mighty when you have no idea about my life.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” I replied simply. “You never wanted to share yourself with me, so I didn’t ever stand a chance.”
It hit me how he’d lived with me for all those years, carrying all that weight on his shoulders and I never noticed it. We might have been there together, but there was never any real support going on. I was wrapped up in the business, and Garrett was on a downwards spiral that had consumed him.
“Look, I know that you don’t want me here, so I won’t come again. But please know I’ll be there at your court case, and that I’m always willing to come and visit you, whenever you need me to. All you have to do is ask.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” he shot back coldly. “Just go.”
I did as he asked, but I felt much lighter as I left the prison this time. He would be in one place for years, contemplating what he’d done. He would come back to me when he was ready, I was sure of it. And when he did, I would be a better big brother. I would make up for all the mistakes I’d made the first time around.
Now it was time for my meeting with Lucia, to see what she thought about the future of the company.
***
“So, that’s my plan,” I smiled at Annie across the dinner table. She hadn't been expecting me to come until tomorrow morning, I hadn't told her about it, but after my amazing meeting with Lucia where she told me how willing she was to help with the next step in the company, it felt like the right thing to do.
“I’m going to start looking for managers now and spend as long as it takes to train them up, then I will be free to move down here. I’ll still have to go back to Portland for things now and again, but mostly I’ll be here with you…if you want me, of course.”
“Oh my God,” she gasped loudly, clapping her hand across her mouth. “Are you serious? That’s incredible.”
“I want you to come and live with us!” Rae squealed excitedly. “You can have my bedroom if you want; I’m hardly ever in there.”
That made us all laugh appreciatively. The future wasn’t here yet, and it would take a while for all of that to happen, but the fact that we were planning for it was enough. It showed Annie just how committed I was to making this work.
“I just can’t believe you would do all of that for me. I mean, I know that I said I wanted to stay in Florence, but I didn’t expect…” She was starting to lose her words now as she welled up with tears. “I don’t know, it’s all just so much.”
This was it, the moment was here, no time would ever feel quite as perfect as this one. Sure, it was chaotic and slightly messy, but so was our relationship, so actually it felt really right. I took her hands in mine and stared deeply into her eyes.
As I looked at her and smiled, I wondered what had taken me so long. I should have known that any declaration of emotions would only please Annie, not push her away. Honesty was what she needed, especially after all that she’d been through.
“I love you,” I told her quietly. “I love you, and I love Rae, too. You’re both the best people that I’ve ever met.”
Annie was gone, tears streaming down her face, but luckily Rae was there to jump right in. “I love you, too, Justin,” she smiled excitedly while bouncing up and down in her seat. “I liked you the first time I saw you.”
“Me, too,” Annie eventually managed to blurt out through the tears. “I liked you from first sight, too.”
“No you didn’t,” I teased her playfully. “You thought that I was arrogant and annoying…I know I came off that way.”
It still made me cringe how weirdly show-offy I became around Annie the first time we met. I thought that I’d impress her by letting her know how successful my company was, when really what I should have been doing was showing her who I really was deep down. “But I don’t blame you for that. I’m just glad that you stuck around for long enough to see me.”
“Well, admittedly that was only because I wanted your money,” she joked back. “But I’m glad, too. I don’t know what I would do without you in my life now.”
The same was true for me. Being here with her in Florence made me feel peaceful in a way that I never had done before. It was like I belonged there. Sure, Florence was the place I’d planned to retire to much later in life, but places could always change. I was nothing if not flexible. I loved it here, and if I could find a way to keep my company mostly running with me working from a virtual location, then everything would be perfect.
Then, if one day I could make things right with Garrett, my life would be complete.
“Wow, so you’re going to be busy for a while, then,” Annie interjected, shaking me from my thoughts. “Getting everything sorted with the company.”
“True, but I’m not the one who has more books to write. I guess you’ll just have to make time for me somewhere…”
She tugged me from my chair and planted a kiss on my lips, not even caring who was watching. “I’ll always have time for you,” she told me sincerely. “No matter what.”
“Even if I have to sit there and watch you write books?” I asked through a smile, feeling so special that I clearly meant so much to her.
“Even if you have to write them for me!”
In that moment, I felt complete, like I finally had a properly functioning family that wanted me. All the past simply melted away, and all that was left was me, Annie, and her adorable daughter, Rae. And that was perfect, all that I would ever need.
Epilogue
Annie
2 Years Later
“Oh my God,” I muttered as I gathered up the letters from the front door. There was a redirected envelope, which was common now that Justin lived with me permanently, but this one was different. It was addressed from the prison.
Garrett…it had to be. After all this time.
I clutched it tightly to my chest, wondering how this was going to change things. Justin was hurt by Garrett’s rejection, even if he would never say it aloud, I could still see it.
He’d done his best to channel it into something positive, though, by working on his business and new manager, to get everything in place for him moving, but I could always see it there, haunting him in the back of his mind. How will he feel now that his brother wanted him back in his life?
Justin now had someone amazing running the company for him, meaning that in the past six months where he’d been living in my apartment, he’d only had to go back to Portland a handful of times because he could do most of what needed to be done virtually.
We were also working really well, too. Boffees was going from strength to strength, with Justin running the place when I had writing deadlines to meet, and my second book was on its way out. With the way that sales had gone with the first one, it seemed that the second one would be just as successful, so that was really exciting.
Of course, there was the third book to think about, but I was getting there with that one.
Rae was also doing really well at school, using her bright nature to succeed and making a lot of friends, too. If I’d ever been worried about her struggling there, I was so wrong. She thrived in that environment.
I also hadn't ever had to worry about Nancy, either, because she was now a married woman. She still came in to help me with Rae whenever I needed her, but her life was now a whirlwind of trips and excitement. She’d found true love, and I was happy for her…especially as I had it in my life now, too.
Everything was so great, going so well, and I honestly had no idea how this new development was going to change things. I leaned my back against the wall for a moment and slid my eyes shut, praying for the best. I hoped that whatever was inside this envelope would be a good thing. I just loved how wonderfu
l everything was, and I didn’t want any of it to go back downhill.
Then I took the long walk back to the bedroom, to show Justin what I had in my hands. Well, it wasn’t exactly a long walk. Justin was always making jokey remarks about how the place was too small. I got the impression that he wanted to move us all to a bigger place, but for the time being, I was happy enough where I was. This was the home where I’d risen from the ashes and started again; I wasn’t quite ready to give that up yet.
“…yeah, and he’s so cute,” I hear Rae chatting away to Justin, sounding far too grown up for my liking. She was already involved in fights with other girls over boys – the sort of problems I hadn't been expecting for years yet. “And he likes me, too. He told Tiana that he thinks I’m the prettiest girl in class.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself. This had to be Dan, the latest boy they were all obsessed with. I knew that he’d only be the flavor of the week, but Justin always got far too overprotective.
“Well, I think I might have to come into school with you on Monday, to check this boy out,” he said sharply. “I don’t know if I’m too happy about this.”
“Oh, you will be,” she replied dreamily. “He’s lovely. You’ll love him.”
I chose that moment to walk in and interrupt them before things got too heavy. Justin would always take these things to heart, and I had more important things for him to be focused on.
“Justin?” I said quietly. “I have something for you.”
He didn’t look too bothered as he grabbed the letter from me, until he saw what was written on the outside. “Is this what I think it is?”
I nodded slowly and watched as he rose and went into the other room to read it in private. I held Rae in my arms as she looked on in confusion. “What’s that?” she asked quietly.
“It’s a letter from his brother,” I told her, being as honest as I could be. “They haven’t always been very good friends, so this is a big thing for them.”
It reminded me of Billy, and the truth that I still hadn't revealed about him. Rae hadn't asked, and it didn’t seem like anyone else in her life had mentioned it either, but that wouldn’t last forever. That day was coming nearer, but it wasn’t upon me yet.
Luckily, Billy still wasn’t getting out any time soon, so that was another plus to add. If he was ever to be released, that would speed things up for sure.
“He’s asked me to visit him.” Justin returned to the room with a very pale look on his face. “It seems like he’s finally coming back around, out of the black cloud, and he wants to see me again.”
We’d been getting constant bad reports about how Garrett was acting in jail, but those had dried up recently – maybe this was the explanation for that. Maybe he really was improving.
“So, are you going to go?” I asked cautiously. “I mean, I’ll support you whatever you decide…”
“I will,” he confirmed as he folded the letter back up. “But not yet. It took him over two years to be ready to write to me; he can wait a while for me to be ready, too.”
That seemed fair to me, so I shot him a smile and patted the bed for him to get back in it. We didn’t have many opportunities for a lie in, so I wanted to take advantage of it.
“Are you still going to do it?” Rae asked, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room. “Or has that letter changed things?” She still hadn't quite developed the filter needed to be considered polite.
“No, the letter hasn’t changed anything,” Justin promised, and I focused on that part rather than the fact that I had no idea what they were talking about.
Hopefully he was right, and the letter hadn't changed anything. Nothing would make me happier. I did want him to have his brother in his life; I just wanted things to stay the same for us, too. “I’m still going to do it.”
“Shall I go and get it then?” she started bouncing on the bed, shaking us all about. “Can I? Can I?”
“You can,” Justin sent her a knowing smile which finally piqued my interest. Something was going on here, and I needed to find out what.
As Rae raced from the room, I turned to Justin and demanded to know more. “Okay, what’s going on here? What are you two up to?”
“I can’t tell you,” he replied stubbornly, but there was a cheeky smile on his face that meant I could bend him to my will if I wanted to.
“Please,” I fluttered my eyelashes at him. “You know I hate being left out of things.”
“Okay,” he turned his whole body around to face me and grinned brightly. “Well, I think you know by now how I feel about you…” Oh God, I got the sense that this was going to be another ‘we need another place to live’ talk. I had to really resist not to roll my eyes. “And I think that things have been going really well between us. But now I want everyone else to see how much I love you. I want the world to know how you make me feel.”
Wait…this feels different; this isn’t how the chat normally went. I needed to start paying attention just in case this was actually something really important. I sat up straighter and ensured that I was looking right at him. “What are you saying?” I asked curiously, furrowing my eyebrows at him.
“Well…” he started, but Rae was back in the room like a shot, before he even got the chance to talk.
“Here,” she gasped out excitedly, handing me a small box. “Justin wants to marry you, so what do you say? Will you make him my dad?”
I opened the box slowly to find the most incredible princess-cut diamond inside. It wasn’t the most romantic proposal in the world, but it was just so us. Rae had actually been integral to us getting together, so it was no surprise that she’d been a massive part of this, too.
Justin treated her like his own daughter, he gave her everything that she needed, and he always had time for her…even more than me some of the time, so I was utterly grateful that he’d got her involved in this moment.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” she asked, staring at me like there was actually something wrong with me. “You’ve gone too quiet. Are you having a heart attack or something?”
“No, no, I’m fine,” I eventually managed to get out through the emotions. “This is all so unexpected.”
“No it isn’t,” she scoffed playfully. “Justin has been in love with you forever, and you love him, too. Marriage is the next step, so actually it isn’t surprising at all.”
“Oh God, don’t be so clever, you,” I giggled. “Of course, I’ll marry you, Justin.”
With that, he wrapped us both up into a family hug, making me grin happily against his chest. The way that our family had come to be wasn’t exactly what I’d planned when I found out that I was having a baby, but it was so much better than I anything could have had.
I had a man who liked me for who I was, who encouraged me to become more, who wanted the world for me, and that felt incredible.
“So, when are you getting married?” Rae immediately jumped in, making plans far before we were ready it. “I’m going to be bridesmaid, right? I’ve already seen a dress that I love.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Justin smiled apologetically. “Ever since she found out, she’s been dress shopping. I think she might end up with something more expensive than you. And if not, well then this day is going to cost me the Earth.”
“It’s okay, we’re worth it,” Rae replied with a shrug and a smile. “You know it’s true.”
“I know,” he replied, with a wistful look in his eyes. He grinned at me and held me closer to him, making me feel special and loved. “You really are. Whatever you want, you can have it.”
“Ooh, you might not want to say that to Rae…” I started, but it was too late. She was already thinking of everything she was going to get to make the day amazing.
I didn’t really need anything, only Justin. He was the only thing I wanted to make me happy: his love and my daughter. So Rae could do what she wanted. Well, within reason; I didn’t want her going too wild. Whatever happened, it would be the wedding of th
e century to me, just because it would change my life forever.
“I really do love you,” I told him with a grin. “And, I can’t wait to be your wife.”
“Me, neither,” he snuggled into me and held me close. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ll love you forever.”
Forever…
That was just about long enough for me.
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THE HOT COWBOY
By Alexa Davis
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 Alexa Davis
Chapter One
Rachel
The light was blinding after being stooped over a lab table for the previous two hours, but I was just grateful to finally be enjoying the perfect, spring day as I checked the final class off my list. I was done school for the summer! I texted Tracy and asked if she was done with her math final yet, then headed toward Veterinary Medicine Complex. I wanted to drop by the dean’s office and pick up another list of prospective summer internships, just in case the interview I had Saturday didn’t pan out.
Dean Green was out, but her admin, Carol, had already printed a short list of ranchers and veterinary clinics, waiting for me to swing by. She handed me the envelope before I managed a “hello,” which made me laugh out loud at myself.
“Am I that obvious?” I asked as I slipped the list into my oversized purse. The dean’s assistant shook her head and smiled.
“The dean doesn’t understand why you’re even looking for other options. She swears up and down that you’re perfect for the Lago Colina ranch, and she’s willing to break heads to make sure they see that,” Carol replied. I laughed and shook my head in the negative.