Worth It All(89)
—
Showered and dressed in a casual blue sundress, Paige checked the brownies she was taking to dinner. She went to straighten the table and picked up two sheets of white paper Casey had colored on. She looked at the first one. There was a big figure with black hair and another one with yellow hair. Then a small figure standing in between them.
“That’s me,” Casey said, coming into the room and stopping beside her. “And that’s Jake.”
The little girl in the picture had two legs just like the man. There was no water or castle hiding them. “I love it,” Paige said, feeling tears gathering in her eyes.
“Me too.” Casey leaned against Paige’s leg. “I miss him.”
Me too. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life missing him. She’d only wanted to do the right thing for her daughter, but she was afraid she didn’t know what that was anymore.
“Mommy, can I tell you something?”
“Sure, sweet pea.”
“I love the horses, but I love Jake more.”
Paige knelt down and pulled her daughter close. “Me too.”
—
It was late afternoon when JT climbed the steps to Rachel’s home. He rang the doorbell and waited. He’d already secured a table at one of Virginia Beach’s finest restaurants and overnight babysitting for Casey with Matt and Abby. He couldn’t wait to see Paige, hold her. It’d only been seven days since he’d said goodbye, but still he felt like he’d spent the week under a shadow. That was about to change, he thought, smiling. But there was one more thing he needed to do.
He hadn’t seen Rachel in over eight years, not since that day in the hospital. She was married now, that was all he knew about the woman he’d once created a life with. Paige and Casey had already healed that wound. Casey had shown him the man he could be. Paige had made him see the man he was, but he needed to do this. He needed to look in Rachel’s eyes and tell her he was sorry. That’s all. Just that he was sorry because he’d never said that. It was the right thing to do.
A shadow passed behind the beveled glass before Rachel swung open the door with a dark-headed toddler on her hip. “JT.” She stared at him a long moment, obviously shocked to find him on her doorstep. She looked the same in a lot of ways, and in some ways so different.
“Hi.”
Her gaze fell to his right leg, and there was a second that she looked uncomfortable before she covered it. “Oh, sorry. Do you want to come in?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
She stepped back to let him in and closed the door. There was a staircase right off the foyer and a wall lined with photos. He followed her through the dining room and into a bright and airy kitchen with windows overlooking a perfectly green backyard.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thanks. I’m good. I won’t stay long.”
She set the boy down, and he went to work pulling off the plastic letters that covered the refrigerator, dropping them to the floor.
“Cute.”
“Thank you. His name’s Lukas.” She smiled when she said his name, her eyes full of pride and peace.
That’s what was different. Where her eyes had always been wild with excitement or hot with anger, they were now just warm and…happy. Serene. “How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“Good, busy,” she added with a laugh as the child moved on to a cabinet and began pulling out plastic bowls. “I’m married.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you.”
She nodded, smiled again, and they were both silent.
“I’m glad you came by,” she finally said. “I’ve been wanting to say something to you and I just…I don’t know why I never did. Or I guess I do know. I was embarrassed, ashamed.”
“Rachel, you don’t need to—”
“No. I’m sorry, for what I said to you in your hospital room.” She glanced at his leg again. “It was a terrible thing to say and…I’ve regretted it.”
Her words were genuine and although he’d finally forgiven himself, he appreciated it. “I came to tell you the same thing.” His eyes met hers. “That I’m sorry.”
She nodded, accepting his words as well. “We were young. My reaction wasn’t exactly rational.” She looked down, then back up. “I wasn’t thinking of you, or about the baby. I was young and in love and thinking about getting my boyfriend back.” She paused and handed her son a wooden spoon from a drawer, getting a toothy grin. “You know, people thought I wasn’t with you because of your leg.”