Chapter 37 Lily
Lily
Two Weeks Later
Max lies on the porch, his paws out in front of his face as he basks in the sun. I sit next to him, opting to sit on the porch deck instead of a chair. It’s chilly, so I wrap a blanket around my shoulders and gaze out through the railing to the pasture.
The horses are near their barn today, so the field is empty aside from the swaying trees.
I inhale. “You’d love the weather today,” I whisper to Ms. Sullivan as the clouds roll by. “He’s doing better, too.”
Noah was discharged a week and a half ago, after being in the hospital a couple of extra days. He allowed me to take him back after he was sure I wasn’t going to leave town, or him for that matter.
Damn law enforcement. Always trying to get their way.
He needed to know, though, and I’m grateful he told me—really told me.
Not the polished half-truth about Brent and his past, not the careful edits, but the raw, uncomfortable truth.
It makes him feel more human somehow. Like beneath the strength and control, he struggles, too.
He’s not perfect, and maybe that’s what makes me trust and love him even more.
My cell phone dings, and Max lifts his head to give me a death stare before lowering his head once more. This time it’s on my lap, and I scratch behind his ears.
Opening the message, Liam has responded to my text message about our trip to Ruin next month. Noah thinks he’ll be up for traveling, and since he’s still on leave from work, he said it’s time.
I’m nervous to go home. To see my parents.
But as much as I’m scared, I’m equally excited.
Liam told me so much about Fleur, and I’m excited to pick her brain about renovations. Especially since Noah and I have decided to renovate this home and stay.
We both love it here. The childhood home he grew up in, that Ms. Sullivan worked so hard to purchase—we couldn’t let it go.
I look down at my phone.
Liam
Fleur says she emailed you paint colors. Knowing her, it’s probably twelve pages of color combinations. Sorry.
Actually, it was thirteen pages. I smile at that. I never had a sister, but I’m gathering I have one now.
“I knew it!” Noah’s voice yells through the house and I scramble up to find him shuffling through the sliding glass door.
His limp has improved a lot over the past two weeks, and while he still has a long way to go, he’s on the “upward trajectory” as the doctor called it.
Noah raises a wide-mouth mason jar at me, filled to the top with cash. Ones, fives, tens, twenties—all piled to the lid.
“What’s that?”
He pads over to me, not stopping until he collides with me and pulls at my grungy T-shirt until I topple into him. He kisses me long and hard, then nips at my nose where a fresh thin hoop pokes through.
“I knew you paid her. Here I was thinking you just had the special touch with my mother. Turns out you really were bribing her.” He laughs, then produces a letter, tapping me on the ass twice before handing it to me.
With a final kiss to my cheek, he beckons Max through the door into the living room, leaving me alone with the envelope and jar.
The pasture stretches wide and golden, the sun painting soft amber hues. The porch creaks as I spread my blanket out and tuck my legs beneath me.
My fingers tighten around the envelope, and I run my thumb over the printed handwriting of my name on the front.
I open it, the lump in my throat growing larger, and I wonder if Noah should be here for this, but as I unfold the letter, it’s addressed to me, my name punctuated with an exclamation mark.
I swallow hard, blink away the sting behind my eyelids, and read.
Lily!
If you’re reading this, I’ve kicked the bucket and got drafted to the afterlife, or met the reaper. Either way, these words are my last, and I figure you or my son won’t find this until you’re forced to go through all the shit I’ve accumulated over my lifetime.
I hope by now you’ve come to know that you were always meant to be part of our family.
The moment I saw my son look at you, I knew.
You weren’t just another puzzle in his life—you were it.
The reckless love to challenge him, the force to encourage him to break a few rules, and the person to make him a better man.
The money in this jar is yours, literally. Remember all your bribes for me to take my medicine and eat? You clever thing. But the jokes on you, while you thought I was being stubborn, the truth is … I was saving it for you. Every single dollar.
I won’t be there to help you pick out your wedding dress or see if you sell the house, but perhaps this is a way I can be. The money you paid me—I’m giving it back.
Remember: love is about taking the leap even when you’re afraid.
Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but I know for you and Noah, the love you share, it doesn’t hold back.
It doesn’t wait. It’s not something you wait to fall in to.
It’s something you both jump for. So, take the leap, and know wherever I am, I’ll be watching.
P.S. If that sounded creepy … well, good.