Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
On Christmas morning, everyone got to the house early, and Jude appreciated that. His brothers weren’t used to small kids, but they’d jumped right in to give Cody the best possible holiday.
Ava had her own family events, so she couldn’t come, but she’d stopped by the night before with her famous strata. “This way, you can just pop it into the oven and not worry about breakfast. Just enjoy being together and opening presents.”
He pulled out his phone to text her.
Jude: An easy breakfast was a great idea. Thanks for the strata. Hope you have a great Christmas.
After sending her a picture of the family gathered around the tree and taking turns opening presents, he pocketed his phone.
“Mister, look what I got.” Cody raced over, his whole body vibrating with excitement.
It was a Lego Emergency Responder set. “That’s cool.” He gave his firefighter brother a chin nod. “Good one.”
“Come on,” Boone said, waving Cody over. “Let’s get started.”
“Can I?” The boy looked up at Jude with anticipation.
Warmth spread through him. This was the moment it happened, and he mentally recorded it. It wasn’t the baths or reading before bed. It wasn’t making Cody brush his teeth or even holding his hand as they walked across the park to join their team for Snowfest.
No, the moment he felt like a dad was when his boy asked permission, exactly as he would’ve done with a parent.
And you know, it’s a pretty good feeling. At once, it held the weight of responsibility and the joy of being the one who got to give this boy a beautiful life. “You bet.” As Cody ran off, Jude pulled on his shoulder. “Make sure you thank your uncle Boone.”
“I will.” He ran the obstacle course around presents, boxes, and balled up wrapping paper to get to his uncle.
As the two of them settled on the rug near the huge, twinkling tree, Jude watched the scene with an unbelievably full heart. Christmas carols played on the speakers, a fire crackled and snapped in the hearth, and his family—except for Decker, who had a game—sat around his living room.
This moment erased the uncomfortable feelings of his childhood and replaced them with love. Love for his brothers, his dad, this little boy who drank up every drop of his family’s attention. And her.
Finlay.
I love her. With all my heart.
She was busy opening gifts, so he didn’t want to bother her, but he couldn’t keep it all inside. So he sent a text instead.
Jude: You’re so beautiful. I’m watching you talk to Wyatt, and the heat from the fire’s making your cheeks rosy. And all I can think is I want this forever. Us. You and me.
She clutched the gift certificate his dad gave her to a high-end soap-making supplier and got up to hug him. Her curls tumbled down her back, one lock dipping into her cleavage. When she smiled, his heart thundered, sending a rush of blood through his body.
He loved Finlay O’Neill, and he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
If he could, he’d propose right then. But she wouldn’t like that. She’d want something private and meaningful. Just between the two of them.
Also, he should probably wait till the dust was fully settled after her wedding.
Soon, though.
His dad glanced over, saw him watching, and came over to Jude. “She’s the one.”
“She is. Always has been.” Jude grinned. “I’ve wanted her since I was a kid.”
“Took you long enough.”
“Yeah, well. I wasn’t ready for her back then.”
“But you are now?” There was something watchful in his dad’s eyes, something probing in his tone.
Sure, he got it. His dad was worried he’d mess up. Because the only version of Jude he’d known was the fuck-up. “I am.” It was time to talk to him. “Dad, I’m not that same kid. I don’t get into trouble anymore.”
“I know.” But he sounded wary.
“I’m sorry for how hard I made things for you. I don’t know why I was such a piece of shit.”
Even though his dad lowered his chin, Jude couldn’t miss the color rushing into his cheeks. He tugged at his scruff.
Jude rarely saw his dad upset, so he didn’t know what to do. He panned the room. Cody worked intently, taking Boone’s guidance. Fee gestured with her hands while Wyatt listened to her story. The fire popped and crackled, and Christmas carols played softly in the background.
But not a single thought came to mind that would convince his dad to believe him. “If I can adopt Cody, I’ll raise him here. You’ll see I’ve changed.” There was no other way to prove himself.
His dad’s head jerked up. “You didn’t fuck up. I did.”
Oh. That was not what he expected to hear.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t wish I’d done things differently with you,” his dad said.
“After your mom passed, I panicked. I had a newborn, three toddlers, and no income. Nothing but student loans.” He looked gutted. “I was not a good father.”
A fierceness took hold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.
You were great. You put up with all my shit.
So many times, I thought you’d kick me out, but you were patient and worked hard to get me on the right path.
I don’t know why I couldn’t find it. I don’t know why I had to fuck up all the time. ”
“What were you supposed to do? Sit at the table and learn the multiplication tables in a bike club?” his dad snapped. “You were unsupervised and unprotected.”
“I had Ava.”
“When we got there, Ava was getting her master’s degree. She’d help out when she could, but she had classes and student teaching gigs. After she graduated, she got a job. You and the boys were alone a lot more than you remember. You needed a father. You needed guidance, and I wasn’t there.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You had to make a living. And the moment you got stable, you moved us out.”
“That’s right, but you were twelve when we left.
Too young to understand that. All you knew was that you went from having a mom and dad to having to fend for yourself.
And thank fuck you’re such a good person because you protected your brothers.
You did what I should’ve done. So if you want to know why they didn’t get into trouble like you did, it was because of you.
You watched out for them. You were a confused, scared kid, so yeah, you ran wild.
But even when you did that, you were always a good man at heart.
And I’m damn proud of you.” His dad hauled him up against his chest and hugged him.
It was the first time they’d shown each other affection in years, and he hadn’t known how much he’d needed his dad’s love until he finally allowed himself to feel it.
Jude squeezed him hard, digging his face into the crook of his neck.
His dad pulled him back. “Makes me real happy to see you with Finlay and Cody. The whole time you’ve been away, I’ve blamed myself.”
“What? No. It wasn’t your fault. It was because of the mess I made of my reputation here.”
“You were a mama’s boy.” His dad’s soft grin was reminiscent. “And that comfort got taken from you. But maybe now, you’ve got it back.” His gaze slid to Finlay. “Did you open your gift from me?”
Jude had forgotten about that. It was a plain white envelope shoved into his stocking. He pulled it out of his back pocket, wrinkled and bent. “This?”
His dad nodded. “Do with it what you want. It’s my way of letting you know you’ll always have a home here. I hope you’ll give me the chance to be the dad you should have had back then.”
His heart cracked, and sorrow bled from the fissures. “Dad—”
“Open it.”
All these years, they’d both gotten it wrong. So much lost time. Tearing it open, he pulled out a legal document. “What is this?”
“Go on and read it.”
Jude scanned the legalese until a picture formed. “A deed? You’re giving me land?”
“Over the years, I’ve been buying up acreage around my property. With four boys, it just made sense.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m giving you some of it.”
“Fifty acres. You’re giving me fifty acres in Calamity Falls? Dad, I can’t accept this.”
“I want you here. I want you to raise Cody here.”
“I don’t know what to say. All this time, I thought I’d made life harder for you than it needed to be, and here you are, apologizing to me.”
“Let me ask you something. If you got a call from school, telling you Cody put a snake in someone’s mailbox, are you going to think he’s a piece of shit? Or are you going to try to figure out why he’s acting out and find ways to get him on the right track?”
A tide of relief crashed over him because he fully understood what his dad was saying. “I’ll always stand up for Cody, the way you did for me. Thanks, Dad.”
“I know Finlay’s got her dream house, but maybe this can be a weekend cabin or something. Maybe you can build her a studio to make her soap. Either way, might be good for Cody to grow up fishing and snowboarding and running wild in the woods with his dad and uncles.”
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do. Which makes no sense, considering I was planning to flip a bar in Florida and remain single and childless two weeks ago. And, Dad?”
His dad swallowed, still fighting emotion.
“Thank you. For accepting Cody and bringing Finlay into the family. All of it. It means a lot.”
The front door opened, and Ava walked in, arms loaded. Wyatt headed over to relieve her of a platter.
His dad watched her intently. “What’re you doin’ here?”
“Dad.” Wyatt’s tone held a warning.
“She knows I don’t mean it like that. She’s part of the family, but she said she’d be with her folks.”
“Holidays are hard when I don’t have my girls,” Ava said with a sad smile. “Makes me happy to be with my boys.”
Boone ambled over, Cody right behind him. “Well, we love you, and we’re glad you’re here.” He reached for the shopping bags. “Let me get those.”
His dad helped her out of her coat. “The girls having a good Christmas?”
“Seems like it.” She sighed. “I guess it just never gets easier. They won’t be home till after New Year’s.”
“Sucks.” He said it gruffly. “You staying for dinner?”
“I ate with my family, and I’m stuffed. But I have room for Finlay’s cake. She’s an amazing baker.”
“Let me get the Yorkshire pudding into the oven.” His dad started for the kitchen.
Jude checked his phone. “Well, hang on. We’re waiting for Finlay’s parents.”
“What time are they supposed to be here?” his dad asked.
“Her mom’s working, but she said she’d try to stop by. I told her dad what time we eat, so hopefully, he’ll be here.”
“Well, text ’em, and see when they’re coming. Don’t want a dried-out prime rib.” His dad and Ava headed into the kitchen.
Boone, Wyatt, and Cody returned to the Lego set, and Jude went straight for his woman, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her close. That floral scent threw him back to the two of them alone, under the covers, his hands on her warm body. “Good Christmas?”
“The best.” She leaned into him, but he didn’t like her troubled expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just don’t want you to wait for my parents. My mom gets paid triple time for working on Christmas, and my dad—” Her jaw snapped shut.
“Your dad?” He waited for more.
“You know what?” She looked around the room, resolve tightening her features. “I’ll text him right now.”