Chapter 19
S everal weeks later, with the kids laughing and giggling at her side, Taryn got off the plane and looked around at the tarmac. She expected to see Alex, or at least she hoped to. He’d told her that he would be there to pick them up. He’d gone back to England a little earlier to set up living accommodations for her and the kids. She was desperately hoping that she would see Bruce too. He’d gotten stronger, and, as soon as he’d woken up enough to realize what was going on, it had been a fight to keep him in bed. He’d been so adamant about healing as fast as he could.
She had hoped he might be here at the airport with Alex, but she would totally understand if he wasn’t. As she disembarked, she was busy keeping the kids together, as they wanted to run and play, actions that she completely approved of, considering everything they’d been through. Jack and John were doing just fine now. Both boys had healed, but these head injuries would still be a concern for her every time she saw them.
Yet Jack and John were really doing well. They had been released from the hospital, after staying a couple weeks, while Alex got their visas and passports and other legal paperwork together. With that done and dusted, they had come over to England as soon as they could. Even then, it had taken longer than Taryn had wanted, but, hey, that was life, and now they were here.
As she walked along the tarmac, leaving the small plane they had ended their journey on, crossing to the nearby building, she heard a shout and looked over to see Bruce standing right there, tears in his eyes, as he looked at the four of them.
“Oh my God,” he whispered.
She ran toward him, but the kids beat her to Bruce, racing up ahead and jumping into his arms. She didn’t know how recovered he was, but they hit him with their combined full force, and Bruce didn’t even appear to jerk from the impact. Tears streaming down his cheeks, he held them tight, as they all cried.
She was aware of her own tears, as she walked up and wrapped her arms around the four of them. Bruce opened his arms, then quickly snagged her into one big group hug and whispered, “Thank you, Taryn. Thank you. Oh my God, thank you so much.”
When she finally extricated herself from his grasp, she looked around, and there was Alex. He gave her a slow, smoldering look that made her heart race, and she ran to him. He opened his arms, and she flung herself into them. “Finally,” she whispered.
He nodded. “Yeah, you’re not kidding. It seemed like forever.”
“It has been,” she murmured. “It’s amazing, but Bruce looks almost the same.”
“He’s been to hell and back,” Alex reminded her.
“So have they.” Taryn pointed to the three children.
“Absolutely, and now they’ll all get the chance to heal together,” he added, with a gentle smile. He walked over to see the kids, and, when they noticed him, they all gave him big hugs.
With the joy of being reunited, all six of them laughed all the way to an awaiting SUV, and Taryn was so glad to be a part of it. The three adults sat in the front seat, with Taryn in the middle, while all the kiddos had the back seat to themselves.
“So, are you guys ready to start a whole new life?” Alex asked them, and such a bright smile filled his face that they all were soon grinning like fools.
“Definitely,” Cassie said, grinning at him. “We’ll go live in a castle .”
Even Taryn had to laugh at that. “At some point in time that castle won’t be big enough.”
“Well, Terk’s renovating an awful lot of outbuildings too,” Alex shared, “so I don’t think they’ll run out of space anytime soon.”
“And you’re sure it’s okay that I’ll be there?” Taryn asked Alex.
“It’s totally okay.”
Even Bruce looked at her askance. “Of course you’ll be there,” he declared on a laugh. “Besides, no way I’m letting you out of my sight ever again, not when you did what you did for these kids.”
Taryn shook her head. “I have it on good authority that a certain special someone may be around too.”
He flushed, but a glint of anger now filled his gaze. “Maybe, but we still have some issues to resolve. We’ll have to see how that works out.”
“There will always be issues to resolve,” Taryn shared comfortably. “The trick is to forget about them and focus on the happy things.”
He looked at her in surprise, and then his big booming laugh filled the vehicle. Bruce smiled at Alex and added, “She’s always been my best friend.”
“Glad to hear it,” Taryn replied, “and I would certainly agree with that statement. I’m glad to see that you and Alex here are getting along too. I want my family to be close.”
“Yeah, I hear that it’s pretty serious between you two,” Bruce noted, with a twinkle in his eyes, pointing a finger between Alex and Taryn, as she flushed a bit.
Alex nodded. “Taryn and the kids will love living here. The whole castle is just buzzing.”
Bruce burst into a fit of laughter. “Are you kidding? There are babies everywhere,” he shared. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s an incredibly warm and loving environment, and, even better, it’s perfect for people like us.”
As they pulled up to the gates, Alex gripped Taryn’s hand and said, “Welcome home.”
She considered that phrase, remembering all the times that a home wasn’t something she had ever really had, and then Bruce, almost as if he realized just how momentous this was, grabbed her other hand.
“This is how it should be,” Bruce declared. “Our home . I can’t even believe we’ll be under the same roof again, the way it was always intended to be,” he whispered. “I’m so damn grateful to have you back in my life.”
With tears in her eyes, Taryn gave him a big hug and nodded. “It’s been a pretty rough couple years,” she muttered.
“Only because you’re stubborn and had to work out things by yourself ,” Bruce noted.
She burst out laughing. “And you are perfect?”
“Of course I’m perfect,” he replied, with a grin, and, with the tone he took, even Alex started to laugh.
“Seems we have a perfect new beginning,” Alex announced, and, with that, he drove through the castle gates.