Second Chance at Forever (Forever Book 2) (44 page)

SHORTLY AFTER WALKER and Jackson arrived, Riley and Granddaddy returned from their excursion. Granddaddy was carrying a bucket full of freshly caught fish.

“Oh sweet lord, Thomas, you’ve been fishing this entire time?” asked Nana.

“Well, woman, what did you expect? My lucky charm is here, and she always brings good luck when she visits her Granddaddy. The fish must smell that fancy perfume she wears, because I have enough fish here to feed an army.”

I interrupted their friendly banter and tried not to shock my grandfather into a heart attack at the sight of Walker. He was so excited to announce his catch that he was totally oblivious to others in the room. I was about to say something when Walker beat me to it.

“I guess I picked the right day to visit. Got any trout in there?” Walker asked my grandfather.

Granddaddy turned around and nearly dropped his bucket of fish, but Riley was quick to grab it from his hands. I thanked her as she took it into the kitchen. Jackson remained by Walker until introductions were made and the shock wore off.

“Walker Reed. How the heck are you son? And how are you standing in my living room?”

“A very long story, sir, but nonetheless, I’m happy to be here and to see you again.” Walker extended his hand, and Granddaddy shoved it away.

“Come on now, son, you’re in a man’s home that you’ve already been welcomed in. Handshake will not do. Get over here, and give me a hug.”

I watched the two men in my life embrace, and I couldn’t help but stop my tears from falling. It was like I was back to the very first day Walker had met my grandparents. He instantly loved them, and they mutually cared for him. They never treated Samuel this way, and he was the man I married.

Riley returned from the kitchen and was apprehensive around Jackson, until Jackson slowly walked up to her and asked if they could take a walk. My girl smiled and took his hand in hers. They excused themselves after Jackson was introduced to Granddaddy and also given a round of hugs to.

“MY FATHER TELLS me that this path leads to a meadow filled with flowers and it ends by a huge oak tree,” Jackson says to me.

“Your father has quite the memory for only being here twice in his life.”

“It’s no wonder why he hasn’t forgotten. This place is beautiful, and the feeling of love and family hits you like a runaway train the minute you cross over the threshold of your grandparents’ home. My dad told me all about his time spent here and how much he cared about your great grandparents. I’m so happy to be here too.”

“Are you, Jackson? Or are you just here to support your father and his romance with my mom?”

“You know that’s not true. How can you say that to me after all that we shared with each other?”

We reached the tree, and the swing under it caught his attention. On my Nana’s seventy-fifth birthday, Granddaddy had a swing built under the tree with an inscription engraved on it:

“For my best friend and love of my life.

From Thomas, who will forever sit beside you

in this life and the next one we will share.”

Jackson sat down on the swing and gestured to me to sit beside him. He turned me to look at him, and I was on the verge of tears. I knew I was being unfair to him, but I was so unsure of myself lately and questioning every decision I made. My mom tirelessly kept talking with me, helping me understand her reasons for divorcing my father. Deep down, I did understand but I felt my loyalties were being challenged, and I knew one of my parent’s would be hurt with my choice.

Jackson gently lifted my chin so I could look into his beautiful green eyes. “Riley, please talk to me. Every time, I think we are close to being back where we were, you seem to pull away from me again. You’re breaking my heart, baby, and I don’t understand why. Don’t you love me anymore?”

That did it, and my tears began to fall. I couldn’t hold back any longer, and I fell into Jackson’s arms. He let out a breath and held me for as long as I needed. Taking my face into his hands, he took his thumbs and wiped away my tears.

“I love you so much Riley, but you need to talk to me and we are not leaving this spot until you do. Now answer my question. Do you still love me?”

“Yes, Jackson, of course I do.”

“That’s a start. Now talk to me. I can’t help you if I don’t know what is hurting you.”

“If I tell you, Jackson, then you will hate me, and then not want to be with me anymore.”

“Not a chance, baby. Why don’t you give me the benefit of the doubt before you try and convict me.” Jackson once told me that those were the words his father had said to him. He also told me that if his father had taught him anything, it was to always be fair, show kindness, and try to find understanding. I needed all of that from him at that moment.

“I’m spinning out of control because of your father and my mother. It’s like the past eighteen years have just been a layover to the next stop of their romance. How can my mother so easily just walk away and divorce my father? How can your father just reunite with my mom and forget how much she had hurt him? I just don’t understand it at all. Maybe I don’t understand relationships at all anymore. Maybe I never did.” He placed my head gently on his lap, and I took a few breaths.

“Riley, we’ve been over this already, but hopefully I can find the words to make you understand how the two people that we love have come together. My father has been alone since the day my mother died. He never connected with any other woman in all of these years that passed. He privately mourned the loss of the two women that mattered most in his life. His feelings were divided and compartmentalized. He tried to be loyal to both loves without desecrating the other’s memory. Can you understand that?”

I silently nodded.

He continued, “I’m the dreamer of my family, the idealist. For so long my father believed in black and white, no colors in between. Your mom is his kaleidoscope of colors, and she has given him a new sense of purpose. He now has hope and believes that fate has given them a second chance at love. It’s a miracle to find love once in a lifetime, but twice? I think they need a new word for miracle. Riley, my dad and your mom are meant to be, and they deserve this chance to find out what the future holds for them. I love my father, and he has never asked anything of me until now. I can’t turn my back on him and not support him.”

I lifted my head. “What about my father, Jackson? Does he get a say in all of this? He’s the one that’s getting kicked to the curb, and I’m just supposed to be okay with it? I don’t know how I can do that.”

“Yes, you do, Riley. You just don’t want to say the words out loud because if you do, then you feel you would be taking sides and being disloyal to the other. Your parents had their problems long before my father ever reentered the picture. You told me countless times how unhappy your mom was and how you feared leaving for college would leave her completely alone.”

Jackson continued, “You don’t have to choose sides, Riley. Just support both your parents. You can love them both and still be happy with me. My dad and your mom were cheated out of something that was always meant to be. Second chances don’t easily come around, and the two of them had to wait nearly two decades for this one. Do you even know what a gift that is? Their relationship doesn’t have to reflect on us. I told my father how I feared his choices would endanger my relationship with you, but he told me that we would be fine if we believed in what we have.”

He held my hand and asked, “So, Riley, are we fine? Do you love and believe in us? Because if you don’t, then you need to tell me right now. I’m preparing to close one door and walk through another in a few months, but one question remains.”

“What’s the question?” I asked him through my fallen tears.

“Will you take my hand, and walk through with me?”

Oh my god! How can I resist him?
My heart was beating at a rapid rate. Jackson had never been calmer and was giving me an ultimatum. Of course, I loved and trusted him, but how would I convince him that my feelings were real for him? I’d been so confused over my parents’ divorce. My mood swings had nothing to do with him, but yet he’d been the bearer of my anger.

I could only do what seemed fitting at that moment. I sat up and pulled him to me. I kissed him with all I had to give and prayed it was enough for him to feel how much I loved and wanted him. After a lingering pause, he pulled me closer and held me tighter. He let me hear his desire for me with soft moans. My body was easily responding to him. I began to pull up his t-shirt from the hem, when he stopped me.

“No, baby, not like this.”

“I want you, Jackson. Please make love to me.”
Did I really just ask him that?

“Not here. Not now. I love you…so much, but I want our first time to be special and belong to us. This is not that time, but please believe that I’m not rejecting you. I want you more than anything else in the world right now.”

I threw my hands around his neck and held him as close as I could. He was amazing, and I closed my eyes to silently say thank you to the universe for giving me Jackson. The Mitchell and Reed love story had finally rubbed off on me. I believed, and I believed in Jackson and his love for me. Finally he knew my readiness and intentions of wanting to make love with him. He hadn’t pressured me about sex, so I never really knew how he felt about it until just then. Was Pottersville magical? I was beginning to believe in that tale as well.

“I love you, Jackson. I am so sorry for hurting you and being a royal pain in your ass. I can’t always be sparkly.”

Holding me, Jackson laughed out loud and cradled me onto his lap.

“Oh, baby, that’s my girl. I love you too. Are we okay now? I need to know before anything else is said here today.”

“A part of me will always worry about my dad, but I promise not to let my parents’ problems become my own. Yes, Jackson, we’re okay.”

I HELD MY girl for a little while longer until it was time to head back to the house. I took a huge chance today by pushing her and having her admit her feelings. It was a rough few weeks questioning the unknowns and having to deal with my headaches that I have kept from my father. They tended to hit me hard when I was under stress. My father had to witness the one I had in New York when I thought Riley had broken up with me. It was a bad one, but I lied to him and said it wasn’t. I was so tired of him worrying about me, even though he had no reason to. I kept telling myself that, because if I believed it, then he would too. Dr. O’Larien gave me a list of ways to calm myself if I felt a headache was on the rise. Most of the exercises worked, and I didn’t need to take my medicine.

With Reese back with my father, he hadn’t argued with me about attending NYU in the fall. His mind had been pre-occupied with Reese and my grandfathers, which gave me hope that he was coming to terms with my decision. In a few weeks, Riley and I would be graduating and beginning what I hoped to be the summer of our lives. She hadn’t mentioned it since New York, but I hoped she still wanted to join me out in California. We talked about many things today, and I didn’t want to push my luck with her. She was very sensitive and required patience and understanding. I vowed to always be those things with my girl, and so much more, as long as she didn’t shut down again. We took our time walking back, stopping to pick flowers along the way for her grandmother and mom.

This place was beautiful and quiet. I would have loved to have my camera with me to take a few scenery shots of the meadow. We were out here for hours with no interruption. My girl smiled as she looked up at me.

“I love you, Jackson.”

“I love you too, Riley.”

My mind flashed forward with visions of Riley looking beautiful and breathtaking under the Georgia sunshine in her wedding dress. I saw us marrying under the oak tree, surrounded by our family and friends. I couldn’t help but think of her that way. I saw her by my side in all things. I just smiled and remembered my father telling me the same wish about Reese. This girl took my breath away with her smile, and I couldn’t help but feel complete happiness.

I believed I may have loved at first sight and when she held my hand the first day we met, staring at my mother’s portrait and mourning her loss. I only knew her through stories, photos, and home movies. It didn’t change the fact that it still hurt not to have her with me, but Riley, simply being kind, reached out to hold my hand that day. It made me feel better. I was happy to know that the universe could know us better than we do ourselves. After all, our love story was unique and filled with all the trappings of the Happily Ever Afters.

Riley was the one who held my heart. Walking hand in hand now, she was innocently oblivious to my thoughts. The light returned to her beautiful smile, and to know that my love had put it there made me smile too. I told my father that I wanted him to get his Happily Ever After with Reese. They deserved it and waited long enough to have it. I also wanted mine with Riley. I hoped today was our new beginning of Our Forever Promise. The house was in sight now, and my girl had walked enough. I bent down, and I scooped her onto my back for a piggyback ride.