A few days later, Burlington Vermont
Elizabeth woke up and felt Nathan's side of the bed. Cool. He hadn't been next to her for a while. She wrapped her robe around herself to ward off the chilly Vermont morning and headed to find him.
He hadn't been sleeping well at all since returning there. It wasn't surprising. Colleen and her husband had insisted that they stay with her which was very uncomfortable for Nathan. Not to mention the funeral the day before.
"Honey?" she said softly, when she saw him looking out the window with a cup of coffee in his hand. "Nathan?"
She touched his bare back. "Aren't you freezing?"
He looked down at her, expressionless. Then it was like he woke up. His eyes sparkled even though he didn't smile. "Good morning."
"Morning. How are you?"
"I don't know." He did know that having his Bess close these past few days helped him survive the loss of his mother. He also knew that he hadn't fully survived either. His heart was broken again. "Bess, I wish I had been here," he admitted, tears rolling down his cheeks. "She was alone."
"She passed in her sleep, my love. Even if you lived here, you wouldn't have been with her."
"She was the best mother to me and Colleen. She was so easy to talk to and she never went a day without telling us she loved us. Until her Alzheimers wouldn't let her remember anymore."
"She remembered," Colleen said from the doorway.
"Not when I spoke with her."
"Nathan, one of the last times she and I spoke, she asked about you. Asked about King. Told me to mend fences between us."
"I wish it were that easy," he said, walking down the hall to get a shirt.
Colleen wiped a tear of her own as she poured a cup of coffee for herself and Elizabeth. "My stubborn brother…"
"Not to overstep but I believe you both have that trait."
Colleen looked at her for a moment and then gave her a sad smile. "I suppose you're right."
"Morning, Mum," King greeted, walking out shirtless like his father.
"Morning, honey."
"May I try coffee?"
"No, I don't think so. Eleven year olds don't need caffeine. You have enough energy." He just shrugged.
"Alright then, I guess I'll just make breakfast. Is it okay, Aunt Colleen?"
"You can cook?"
"Yes, ma'am. Mum has been teaching me."
"Sure. There are eggs in the refrigerator."
"I'd like to make French toast. Do you have cream or milk and cinnamon?"
"I sure do. I'll show you."
Elizabeth walked into the guest room with another cup of coffee for her husband. "Babe?"
"Its time to go home, Bess." She handed him his coffee.
"Our flight is tonight. Before we go, I think you and Colleen need to talk."
"About what?"
"Whatever it is that's caused this huge rift between you."
"Is that your way of asking what happened?"
She shrugged. "If you want to tell me."
He thought back to about fifteen years before. "I met Faith at a party that Colleen was throwing. Colleen worked with Faith at the hospital. Faith had previously been fighting an addiction to painkillers after a car accident she had been in. She had major surgery on her shoulder and arm and that led to her addiction. Anyway, the minute Colleen found out I was interested in her, she made it known that she didn't agree with our relationship. She refused to come to our wedding. Never visited after we moved to Beesands. We still talked when it came to Mom though. Until about two years ago when Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimers. I couldn't come right then. King had school. I worked. I couldn't just fly back to Vermont."
"So you just stopped talking."
"It was easier than fighting all the time."
"Did you ever forgive her for not coming to your wedding, Nate?"
"No. I guess not. My older sister is supposed to support me, right?"
"Sometimes. It doesn't always work out that way."
"Am I neglecting you?" he asked, changing the subject.
"What? Of course not."
"I mean...we are newlyweds and I've been so lost…"
She raised her finger to his lips. "Honey, you are grieving and besides, yes we are newlyweds but I am fifty years old, not twenty. We don't have to be intimate for me to feel loved completely by you." She kissed his cheek and smiled. "And if you remember, husband, our honeymoon was pretty darn full of intimate moments."
He smiled, even though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah. It sure was, love."
"Go easy on yourself. I'm just fine."
He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. "I love you, Elizabeth Grant."
"I love you too. Now, go talk to your sister. Go for a walk or something. I'll hang out here with our son."
He pulled his jeans on and found a clean shirt in the suitcase. She loved how long and lean and strong he was.
"What?" he asked, knowing what her gaze meant, but wanting to hear just the same.
"It will be nice to be home again. Our own home, our own room." She blushed and decided to change too.
"It will." He kissed her cheek and smiled. "I don't know how to thank you for being here with me. I'm not sure I could have gotten through it without you."
"Sweetheart, you don't have to thank me. I'm your wife. I'll always be here for you."
His eyes teared up. "Love you. I'm...going to go see if Colleen wants to take a walk."
"Alright."Colleen agreed on the walk and as they strolled, it was quiet for quite a long time, but Nathan wanted to make up with her. They needed each other now that Mom was gone.
"I wanted you at Faith and my wedding. I know it's been a long time but I'm having trouble forgiving you for your lack of support," he admitted.
She put her hand in the crook of his elbow and they kept walking. "I'm so sorry, Nathan. I've regretted the past with all of my heart. I...I see now that trying to protect you from getting hurt wasn't what you needed. I should have just seen how much you loved each other and pushed past it."
"When I lost her, I felt so alone. I had a toddler and this big rambling house that was too big and too rambling. I had no one to talk to. No one to help me. Faith was my best friend and King's mom and our dreams died with her. I wanted you to come. I needed you at that funeral."
Colleen stopped walking and wrapped her arms around her little brother's waist. "I'm so sorry. I know that doesn't take away the past but with all of my heart, I need you to hear that."
He found himself wrapping his arms around her too. His big sister was there and something about that knowledge made him feel loved. Now that Mom was gone, Colleen was there for him.
"I love you, Nathan."
"I love you too and I'm so sorry for everything."
"I'm so very happy for you and King. Elizabeth is wonderful."
"She is," he nodded, his eyes filling with tears. "I'm a blessed man."That afternoon, the siblings promised to keep in touch and to see each other very soon. Both knew it would take effort but they were willing to do it.
Now, King, Elizabeth and Nathan were on their way home and they were ready.
Elizabeth turned her head and smiled, earning a wink and a soft kiss from her husband. "I love you," he mouthed, kissing her again.
"I love you."
As soon as they got back to the Inn, he was going to submit that adoption application that had her name on it. He was ready for everything that their new life together entailed.
He was ready for coffee-in-bed mornings and living together in her cottage. He was ready for days and months and years of loving each other and King of course and whatever children God saw fit to bring into their lives.
When their eyes met as they relaxed in their cramped airplane seats, he could see she was ready too.Henderson, Nevada
Gracie smiled at her laptop screen. Perfect. She had finished her latest story on a woman who had just moved into Kate's House.
In the story, her name was Randi. Honestly, Gracie didn't know her actual name and no one would. Anonymity was key to keeping her safe.
She had taken a shot of Randi from behind as she stared out at the sunrise over the desert. It spoke to how lonely she felt after leaving her abusive boyfriend but also how blessed she felt to be alive, appreciating the sunrise.
Gracie's phone rang so she turned it over to see who was calling her.
"Hi, babe," she greeted.
"Gracie...I think Kylie is sick." Gracie's stomach dropped.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Her fever...it's 104. She's so tired and she won't eat. I don't know what to do."
It was 8pm. "Let's take her to urgent care, babe. Have you given her any Tylenol?"
"I don't have any."
"Alright. This is what you need to do. Strip her down to her panties but cover her in a light sheet. See if she'll drink water. I'm going to get her some Tylenol and I'll be over."
"I'm scared," he admitted. "I don't know what I'm doing."
"Babe, get her undressed and get some liquids into her. I'll be there soon."
Gracie grabbed Children's Tylenol and some apple juice because she knew Kylie loved it. Then she drove straight to Jude's house.
"Its up to 105," he said in a panic when she walked in.
"Let's get her to the ER," Gracie told him. "Has she had anything to drink?"
"A sip of water."
Gracie ran into the kitchen, grabbed a sippy cup of ice and added some apple juice. "Alright, let's go."
Kylie's lethargy concerned Gracie. She kept looking back in the rear view mirror at her in her booster seat, leaned over, eyes closed. She felt her nose burning as the tears threatened to fall. Jude was struggling. She needed to be the strong one in this situation.
Jude got out the moment Gracie pulled up to the doors and scooped Kylie into his arms. "Come on, baby. The doctors are going to fix you right up."
"Daddy? I don't feel good," she mumbled.
Gracie's tears fell, hearing Kylie finally call him Daddy. "Please help her," she prayed as she pulled away to park the car.
"My daughter!" he said loudly inside the doors. "Please help her!"It was a long night. Poor Kylie endured needle pokes and scans of her brain and body. Jude calmed and kept his worries inside because he didn't want Kylie to feel his distress.
Gracie sat next to her bed and held her tiny hand and Jude's, making sure they both knew she wasn't leaving. She was their support.
"Daddy," Kylie whimpered, a tear falling down her cheek.
"Yes, sweetheart? How are you feeling?"
"I'm so hot."
He uncovered her legs from the blankets while Gracie put a cool cloth on her head.
"I want to go home," she told them. "Please. I want my bed."
"We can't go home yet, bugs," Gracie told her. "The doctors need to watch you and make sure your fever keeps going down."
Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks faster now and the sound of her sobbing broke their heart.
"Oh, sweet girl, we just need to be patient so we can find out how to make you feel better," Gracie told her, kissing her wet cheeks and warm forehead.
A nurse walked in and checked her temperature which had gone down to 103 in the last few hours. Then a doctor walked in.
"Well, now, Kylie Wyatt. It says here you're not feeling too good. Wanna tell me about it?" Dr. Shepherd asked, sitting next to her on the bed as he listened to her heart.
"I'm so hot."
"Does anything hurt? Your head or your neck?"
"My ears. Can I go home, please?"
"Soon, I promise." He checked her eyes and ears and throat. "I'm going to get you started on some medicine to see if we can get your fever to keep going down and your ears to feel better." He told the nurse to give her a certain medication in her IV.
"Kylie, may I borrow your parents for a minute?"
"Will you give them back?"
He smiled down at her. "Absolutely. They will be right back."
"Okay."
Once they were in the hall, he smiled again. "Kylie seems to have a double ear infection. I hear a little congestion in her chest as well. We will get you a prescription for some antibiotics and she should feel a bit better by lunch tomorrow."
"So she's okay?" Jude asked with immense relief.
"Yes. She will be just fine."
"Thank you, doctor," Gracie said, giving him a quick hug. "Thank you so much!"
Jude walked away and she could see him shaking. "Babe?"
Dr. Shepherd left the area so she walked over to Jude.
"Sweetie, it's okay. She's okay."
"I was so scared, Gracie. I love her so much."
She hugged him tightly and rubbed his back as he cried it out. "She loves you too. I do too. You are such a good father."
"I can't do it alone. I found that out tonight. I need you."
"You have me, Jude. Forever. I'll always be here." His lips kissed hers with such emotion and desire and then he said the words she'd been longing to hear.
"Will you marry me, Gracie?"
"Of course I will."