She laughed. “I mean it. And I want them to grow up feeling secure and knowing that we wouldn’t ever… you know, betray their trust.”
“Yeah.” Cooper’s eyes traced over her face sadly. “You feel betrayed by what your dad did?”
“So much.” She took a deep breath, which she released a moment later as a sigh. “I want to be able to see the situation from his perspective, but all I can feel right now is that he let me down. That he let all of us down.”
“I understand that. But try to focus on the fact that he was trying to fix what he’d done, even if you wish he’d told your mother about his situation. It’s a lot to process, but I think in the end you’ll feel as though this is a better reality than the one youthought you were living in before—when you thought that your father simply had all those debts and hadn’t erased them at all.”
“I hear what you’re saying. It’s a good point. I’m just hung up on the trust element. I think the fact that we just welcomed an entirely helpless, sweet innocent little baby into our lives has me feeling this way more than anything else. I would do anything for her, even confess that I’d done a bad thing, if that’s what was best for her.”
Cooper nodded, taking Julia into his arms. “Your dad loved you. He did his best.”
Julia shook her head. “No, he didn’t. His best could have been better than what he did. But I do still love him, and you’re right—I should try to focus on the positive side of all this.”
“Has your mom decided what she wants to do with the money yet?”
“No, she hasn’t. I think that may take a while. Mom isn’t one to spend a lot of money on herself, and she’s right that the pub doesn’t really need anything extra right now. Business has been better than ever.”
“That’s great. Not knowing what to do with a lot of money is a very nice problem to have.”
Julia laughed. “So true.”
“I know she’ll find something to do with it eventually. I’m hoping you all can come to think of it as an unexpected present from your father, instead of a symbol of how he failed you.”
Julia bit her lip. “Yeah. I hope we can think of it that way too.”
He kissed the top of her head, and they went back to watching cartoons. Julia’s mind was far away from the screen, however, as she traced over memories of her father, trying to remind herself of how caring and fun he’d been.
He loved us, that’s for sure,she thought.I still can’t understand how he could hide something so important fromus, but maybe someday I’ll be able to see things from his perspective.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dean sat back in his chair, closing his eyes a little. He felt sleepy, and contented. The surgery had gone well, and he was at home, recovering.
He took a few deep breaths, enjoying the feeling of being in his own home and able to rest. He’d been plagued with anxiety in the weeks leading up to his surgery, and now that it was in the past, he felt significantly better. He felt peaceful and at rest, despite the fact that his body still hurt a little from the procedure.
He opened his eyes and looked around his living room. He smiled when he saw the flowers and box of chocolates that his mother and sisters had brought over for him earlier. As a man, he didn't feel that he needed flowers, but he had to admit the aroma of the bouquet was pleasant. It gave a feeling of summer to his living room, which he had to admit was ordinarily a little bit stuffy due to the fact that he was a bachelor who was seldom home.
Hazel had brought him the flowers, and he felt a surge of gratitude for his twin sister. She always seemed to know what was best for him, as if she understood his needs better than he did sometimes. He smiled when he remembered the fun,affectionate conversation he’d had with the women in his family. They had been intensely protective of him, making sure that he felt all right and that he had absolutely everything he needed. He thought to himself that Noelle fit right in with their caring, loving hearts.
They had also brought over a slew of food for him to eat. There were sandwiches, made with homemade slices of bread, and a box of cookies from Hazel. There was potato salad and coleslaw from Julia, and mason jars filled with pasta and curry and rice dishes from Alexis. Vivian had outdone all of them, bringing over five delicious casseroles that could barely fit inside Dean's refrigerator.
Dean grinned when he thought about how happy Noelle would be to see all of the food. He knew that the Owens women had let her know that they intended to help feed him while he was recovering, but she would be just as delighted to see their generosity as he had been. He felt very loved and taken care of, and he was almost surprised by how deeply touched by their kindness he was, in the midst of his vulnerable post-surgery state.
He turned on the TV and watched one of his favorite shows for a while. It was something that he usually enjoyed very much, and although he was feeling pleasantly entertained, he also felt a little restless. He kept glancing to a window that looked out onto his front yard. It looked like a sunny, beautiful day outside. Although he knew it was too hot for sitting outside and that he was better off relaxing in the air conditioning, he wished he was up for doing something constructive. He felt a little too lazy, sitting in his chair and doing absolutely nothing. He knew he'd earned it and that it was important for him to recover, but the hope of feeling well soon seemed to be making his mind more eager than ever for some work. He wished that he could stroll down to the auto repair shop and help his guys with puttingthe cars together. He was excited about tinkering with vehicles again.
I know it'll be a long minute before I'm up for that kind of work,he thought to himself with a wry smile.But I still wish there was something I could do today. It would be nice to meet up with Noelle and plan the wedding a little bit more. I just feel like doing something.
He sighed, closing his eyes again. He knew that it was important to keep his spirits up, but he felt a rush of wishing that he didn't have to deal with any of it at all. Why couldn't he simply have had a normal life, and had his wedding without any delay? Why couldn't he simply have gone to work day after day like most men, without having to deal with unusual amounts of pain and fatigue?
He shook his head, determined to push away those thoughts. He would rather have had different circumstances, it was true, but there were still many wonderful blessings in his life, and he knew that in the long run, he was luckier than most people on earth. He was determined to keep a brave face on his situation and focus on the joys in his life rather than the difficulties.
At that moment, there was a knock on his front door. Feeling curious, he craned his neck a little, trying to see who it was through the window that was placed near the front door. To his surprise, he saw a few people standing there, but he couldn't see their heads. He frowned in confusion when he saw that one of the people was wearing a shirt with large orange circles printed all over it.
“Come in!” he called, a little dubiously, since he didn't know who was standing on his doorstep.
A moment later, the front door to his house was pushed open and five men stepped inside. Dean burst into laughter as soon as he saw them.
It was Ryan, Jacob, Cooper, Grayson, and Tom Norris, who was one of the chefs at The Lighthouse Grill and a good friend of Dean’s despite the fact that he was much older. Dean stared at them in disbelief, unable to believe what he was seeing. His five friends grinned back at him, looking pleased with themselves and somewhat gleeful.
