I wasn’t sure how to patch up my heart, so I sat on the couch in the house where I grew up, trying to drown my emotions in an extra-large chocolate shake. It wasn’t working.
The knock at the front door was loud enough to make me jump. I wasn’t expecting anyone. My parents had gone out for the night and wouldn’t be back for hours. No one else even knew I was back yet, and I wanted to keep it that way. I was sulking, hiding out and licking my wounds, too hurt to venture out into the big, wide world again.
Reluctantly, I set down my shake and padded to the front window. But when I peeked through the curtain, my heart did a full somersault. Jace’s truck was parked at the curb.
And he wasn’t alone.
Wren and Eli tumbled out of the backseat, both of them wearing Big Wood t-shirts and sneakers streaked with dirt. Wren clutched a sketchbook to her chest. Eli had a tackle box tucked under one arm. They looked like they'd jumped straight out of one of my favorite memories.
And Jace… he stood at the bottom of the stoop like he was afraid I might meet him at the door with a shotgun.
I yanked the door open before he could knock again.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice a little breathless at the sight of the three of them.
He looked up at me, that familiar furrow between his brows softening. “We’re here for you.”
His voice cracked just a little on the last word, and my heart did the equivalent of a double take. Was he really standing there, kids in tow, willing to admit he’d made a mistake?
“You drove here?
“Straight through, all the way from Tennessee.” His eyes held so many questions, but it was answers I wanted.
Before he could say another word, Wren and Eli pushed past him and ran up the steps. I barely had time to brace myself before they threw their arms around my waist.
“I caught a catfish!” Eli blurted out, pulling back just enough to smile up at me. “And I used the secret bait you told me about!”
“And I finished the new park trail map.” Wren held out her sketchbook like a gift. “Dad said we can print copies and hand them out to everyone who comes to visit.”
So many emotions lodged in my throat as I crouched down and hugged them again, tighter this time. “I missed you two so much.”
“We missed you more,” Wren whispered.
By the time I stood, Jace was on the top step. He shoved his hands into his pockets like he didn’t know what to do with them. I’d never seen him look so unsure of himself.
“I thought you wanted me to go,” I said, trying and almost succeeding at keeping my voice steady.
“I did.” He nodded but held my gaze. “Because I thought it was the right thing. For them and for you. I’ve spent so long trying to protect my kids and myself and make sure no one gets hurt. But someone recently reminded me that love means putting yourself out there. It means taking risks.”
He stepped closer, not just physically but emotionally, too. The man who’d once been all steel and self-preservation was now baring his heart on a borrowed doorstep.
I swallowed hard, too nervous to let myself hope.
“I told you to go,” he said. “But I didn’t mean it.”
He took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eye. My lungs squeezed tight. I was afraid to look away, afraid to even breathe.
“I want you to come back, Delaney. To us. To me.” His voice cracked again. Just enough to let me know he was feeling exactly the same things as me. “Because I love you. And I was a damn fool to let you walk away without telling you that.”
The words rushed over me like warm rain after a drought, unexpected, overwhelming, and everything I’d hoped to hear but hadn’t dared let myself imagine. I blinked against the tears filling my eyes.
The kids stepped back, like they understood something big was happening and didn’t want to interrupt.
Jace moved forward and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “I pitched the state board a new job. Environmental Education Director. It’s a permanent position with a salary and full benefits.”
My jaw dropped. He’d done this. For me. For us. I could see the nerves flickering in the tightness around his eyes, like he was bracing for a no. There was no way I could refuse a man who was willing to move mountains for me.
I didn’t know where to start. “When did you have time to do that?”
