And I fucking want that too.
One thing at a time, Henley.
“Today I watched Remy’s mom leave her daughter behind without blinking. She chose to continue her life without her, acting like she never existed, and something hit me as I watched it unfold. My parents did the same thing to me and Dilynne. We were an afterthought, forgotten kids that got tossed around in the foster system until we met you.”
“I remember the first time I saw you,” Nick chimes in. “You were so angry.”
I huff out a laugh. “Turns out I still am, but I’m working on it.” He nods, so I continue. “When I wrote that letter for us to stay with you, I did it for Dilynne. I knew she was happy here, but deep down, I realized I did for me too.” My eyes start to sting. “You showed me what it was like to be loved for the first time in my life, and even said the words to me, but I didn’t want to believe it. I—I didn’t want to accept it.” Looking at my daughter, I smile. “But Iget it now. I get what it feels like to love someone more than you ever imagined you could, to want to protect them from pain and a life without someone to lean on.” My eyes cast back to Carol and Nick, who both have tears in their eyes. “You two always let me be me. You never tried to change me, you accepted me for who I was, and I’m not sure where I would have ended up if it weren’t for the two of you.”
“Henley,” Nick says, wiping under his eye. “You and Dilynne put us down a path we didn’t expect either, son. You showed us parts of ourselves that never got the love we couldn’t give to children of our own, so we gave it to you.”
I take in a deep breath and prepare to say what I should have said that night when my sister graduated from high school and I thought that running from my past would make me feel free. My daredevil days were how I tried to forget it. That adrenaline I needed to chase was so I could fucking feel something other than disappointment.
Turns out, it was the love from a woman with a beautiful voice that I needed to thaw the ice walls I’ve been hiding behind.
“I—I love you both very much, and you deserve to finally hear that.” Carol’s bottom lip starts to tremble. “I get what that means now, to want to put someone’s happiness above your own, to go to the ends of the earth to make their life better.” My hands are shaking as I say, “I’m just sorry it took me so long to tell you.”
Nick chuckles. “We know you love us, Henley. You never had to say the words because you showed us with your actions and your heart.”
Carol chimes in. “I’m so proud of the man you’ve become, and certainly how much you’ve grown since becoming a father.” She glances down at Remy on her lap, who’s smiling across the space at me. “You may not be our son by blood, but you are a part of our family.”
“And now Remy has you too.” My little girl has a family that Meghan never could have given her, and that makes me feel even more relieved that she’s gone.
Carol bounces her on her lap. “We never could have kids of our own,” she says, looking over at her husband. “I remember when we were struggling to get pregnant and I saw that quote in the infertility doctor’s office. Do you remember what it said?”
Nick nods. “Children don’t always come when you plan for them—they arrive when your soul needs them the most.”
Carol turns back to me as a tear slips down her cheek. “You and Dilynne came into our lives and transformed us too, just like Remy did to you. And now look? We have two people in our lives that we consider our own, and still ended up with a grandchild. Who would have thought, huh?”
“Best twist of fate, ever.” Nick kisses her lips and then turns to me. “Your capacity for love is far greater than you think, Henley. Saying the words is only part of it. And even though I can’t deny that hearing them fills something inside of me, what would make me even more content in this moment, is you admitting that Elodie is someone that you want to show that love to, and doing everything you can to fight for her.”
His words light the fire under my ass that’s been smoldering for the past twenty-four hours. “Actually, there’s a favor I need from you two.”
Carol throws her hand in the air while rolling her eyes. “Ohhhh…so now that you’ve told us that you love us, you’re just gonna start asking for favors and think we’re going to agree to any and everything, huh?”
An amused smile forms on my lips. “Well, yeah.”
Nick laughs and grabs Remy from Carol’s lap. “If it involves watching this little one so you can go get your girl, then I think the answer is clear.”
“I really do love you both,” I say, my voice cracking as I soak in the moment right in front of me, the strongest urge to take a picture overwhelming my senses.
And that’s when it hits me.
I know just how to show Elodie that she’s worth the fight, the memories, and the words I’ve never told anyone else.
I just hope I’m not too late.
Chapter 24
Elodie
Is it a Murderer?
No, it’s…
“You’re really sure about this?” Lennon asks me through the phone as I lean against the headboard of my hotel bed. It’s been four days of non-stop meetings, parties, and calls. I now have contracts lined up for a publicist, an agent, a record label, and I’m still not done putting everything in my new life into place.
“I’m sure. These past few days have been eye-opening.”
