“We needed something to do, now that the fires are out,” Joe replies, flashing me a grin. I clasp a hand to my chest, not sure I can even begin to put into words how much this means to me.
“I…I…” I feel tears spring to my eyes, and I blink them back at once. It’s not just that they’ve done this for me, it’s the certainty that they’ll be sticking around long enough to make sure that this work is done. A few months, at least, and the legacy this school will leave behind is enough to make their mark on the town for good.
“Hey, you alright?” Callum asks, frowning, as he steps forward and takes my hand. I can already imagine the gossip that will explode from even that brief little touch, but honestly, it’s hard to give much of a damn about it. I look between the four of them, my heart pulsing in my chest, and I nod.
“Yeah, I am. Better than alright,” I assure him. “I just can’t believe that you would do this for me. I mean, not just me, but the whole town. The kids…”
I glance back toward my own little ones, who are staring on in confusion, no doubt wondering what has gotten me so emotional all of a sudden. I don’t know if I can communicate the enormity of what’s going through my head right now, but I just lift a hand and wave at them, a silent assurance that everything is going to be alright.
“You know, this isn’t the only building site we’re working on right now,” Dylan adds, cocking an eyebrow. “You think I could borrow you for an hour? Show you what else we have planned?”
I bite my lip, heart fluttering at the thought of being alone with him, with any of them.
“Let me just check that it’s okay with Nathalie,” I reply. “And then you can take me anywhere you want.”
He chuckles. “Hey, now, don’t start giving me ideas…”
But even as he lets the suggestion hang in the air, I find it hard to care about anything other than finding out exactly what they’ve done for me—and exactly what it means that they intend to stay for at least a little while longer.
20
DYLAN
“Can I look yet?”
I keep my hands clamped over her eyes, not breaking my grip on her for a second. No way am I going to ruin the surprise before the time is right. It might be little more than some land and a few markers where we intend to start building soon, but I want to make sure she enjoys the full effect of it as best she can.
It was Carlisle’s idea, all of this.
I could tell that there was something on his mind the second he walked into the cabin a few days ago, his face lit up like there was so damn much he wanted to tell us that he didn’t have a clue where to start.
And sure enough, when we got it out of him, for a moment, I thought he was downright crazy. Building a new school? And a new home for Angelie and the kids? It’s an enormous undertaking, to say the least, and one that we would be carrying out without so much as running it by her first. But Carlisle told us he was confident that he knew what she needed. Regardless,it’s what we owe her and the quads, given that we were so pointedly absent from their lives for such a long time.
And I’m not going to argue with that. It’s been bothering me no end, after she broke down to us the other night, thinking of all she had to go through in raising them alone. Regardless of which one of us is the father, I know none of us would have chosen that for her, not if we’d known—no, we would have done everything in our power to make sure that she had everything she needed. All the support, all the care, all the love.
And perhaps most importantly, all the space, given that Joe spent some time at her home the other day and told me that there was barely enough room for the two of them, let alone Angelie and the four kids. And they’re growing quickly too—it won’t be long till they’re in school, running through clothes and shoes as they age up and out of them in a matter of months at a time. It’s not the kind of thing Angelie can manage on a teacher’s salary. At least, not for long, and certainly not while she’s still paying rent on that house that’s way too small for them in the first place.
I whip my hands back at last, and for a moment, Angelie just stands there, staring at the land before us, completely nonplussed.
“What is this place?” she murmurs, casting her eye around as though it might hold some clue as to what’s going on here. A frown digs her brows together. “The land up here costs a fortune, and it’s not like we need an extra schoolhouse if the new one is?—”
“This isn’t for the school, Angelie,” I tell her softly. “This is for you.”
For a second, I’m not sure that she’s heard me. She stands, frozen to the spot, like she has no idea what to do with herself. Slowly, she turns to face me, her eyes so wide they look as though they might fall straight out of her head.
“I’m sorry,whatdid you just say?”
“This land, it’s going to be your new home,” I explain to her. “For you and the kids. We’re going to build a house here, at the same time as the school. It should be finished in a few months. I have the plans in the car, if you want to see them—five bedrooms, and a garden, plenty of space for them to run around as they grow up…”
Finally, her face softens, like she’s just beginning to make sense of what she’s seeing—as though she can almost see the house taking shape as I explain it to her.
“Can I see the blueprints?” she asks, a smile spreading over her face. “Just so I can get a better feel for how it’s going to look when it’s all done, I mean…”
“My pleasure,” I reply, and I head back to the car, leaving her standing there. As I pull the plans from the back of the car, I steal a glance in her direction. I can only imagine how much this is for her to take in, and I hope it’s not overwhelming her. I just want her to be happy, after all the struggle she’s been through trying to raise those kids alone, after losing the place that she poured so much of herself into. It might seem mad, the lengths we’re going to for her, but to me, it seems like the most natural thing in the world.
I walk back to her side with the plans and hold them out to her, and she takes them from me, squinting down at them for a moment—and then sighing and shaking her head.
“I don’t even know why I asked for these,” she admits with a slight laugh. “It’s not like I have any idea what any of it means.”
