“You told me in that driveway that I would change my mind. That I would wake up in five years and grieve something I wouldn’t even know I missed. You told me you’d been hurt, and it had happened before. You set me free because you thought that’s what I wanted. Am I right?”
She nodded imperceptibly but Jonah made a mental note to never tease his brilliant sister again.
“I am here to tell you I won’t hurt you. I won’t leave you. I won’t…live my life without you, if I can help it. I want you as you are, every inch, unchanged. Just stay with me and let me…cook for you and bring you coffee and fill your gas tank and be a good man and not waste a minute of life on things that don’t matter. We have each other and Atlas. We’re a family and a unit and we can be forever, I know we can.”
“Jonah…”
“Will you at least try? Will you at least give me a chance? Will you let me show you that there is no version of life better than one with the two of us together with that boy…” He turned to Atlas.
She made a soft sound, fighting tears.
“I’m not asking you for anything today. I’m not asking you to marry me—not yet, anyway. I’m not asking you to move in. But I am asking you to let me love you and see where that takes us.”
“I know where it’s going to take us,” she whispered, a tear escaping.
He smiled. “So do I and that place? Is right where we belong. So what will it be, Pepper Broussard? Will you be my girlfriend, my best friend, and maybe love me someday?”
She closed her eyes. “I already do.”
“Oh!” Margaret let out a soft cry of joy.
Pink Shoes did a twirl.
Virgil, in the bowtie, clapped once, then twice, then started a slow clap that nobody joined because they were all crying.
And the little old white-haired woman pulled a handkerchief from her sweater sleeve and dabbed behind her glasses.
Jonah pulled Pepper closer and kissed her right on the lips to the utmost joy and entertainment of their audience. When he pulled back, Pepper said against his mouth, “You are a terrible dancer.”
“I’m aware.”
“But a really, really good man.” She leaned into him. “Plenty of time to teach you. C’mon, let’s dance with your son.”
He let her take him to Atlas, who, he hoped, would someday betheirson. Someday soon.
Tessa stood at the bathroom counter of her mother’s hospital room on Sunday morning, rolling her fuzzy socks into the tote. While she busied herself with packing for the expected discharge, Tessa listened through the open door to the people she loved being happier than she could currently afford to be.
Lynda’s deadline loomed…and they had no house, no solution, no compliance. Tomorrow morning at eight, she had to turn Olive over to strangers in a strange land.
Their voices were low as Jo Ellen drifted in and out of sleep in the center of the room. Vivien was telling Eli and Kate all about how she set up Jo Ellen’s temporary rehab room, with minimal stairs and plenty of space for the nurses who would visit throughout her recuperation.
Eli repeated his mantra for the week, assuring them that “all the balconies have been secured and inspected.”
Kate gave him grace for the tenth time, her voice tender toward him. Something about the trauma of the past week had fundamentally changed Tessa’s sister, and she and Eli seemed to be firmly “together” and on the same page again.
Dusty had taken Olive home to the Summer House for a brief stay, because even the “regular” hospital room was no place for a child, which just tore Tessa in half because she wanted to be with her motherandher little girl. She’d stay one more hour here, then Dusty would come back for her.
“Oh, Maggie just texted!” Vivien called out to everyone. “She’s coming back with Dusty to supervise the discharge process.”
“Of course she is,” Eli cracked, making them all laugh.
Yes, the mood was jubilant and not just because they’d cheated death. The worst of the hurricane had hit east of them and spared Destin. Far fewer homes than expected had sustained damage and they had all the power restored.
Sadly, Tessa and Dusty’s wasn’t one of the lucky ones. And worse, the bill they had to pay wasn’t just financial—it was the biggest emotional hit Tessa could remember.
Dusty had turned this town and the surrounding areas upside down trying to find a suitable house, but they simply couldn’t buy anything in a week. And a rental, which he could find, was only good enough for Lynda—and the state—if they’d been there a year.
Without another miracle like the one Kate had shared with her about their mother, Olive was going to be living with a stranger in Milton, Florida. She’d sleep there tomorrow night.
