Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
Grovel for Forgiveness
Noelle
Days had gone by, and Jack had been relentless in his pursuit of forgiveness.
The flowers I had delivered back to him didn’t end his determination to win us back, and he had boxes of chocolates sent to my workplace—hundreds of them.
I ignored his gesture and instructed the delivery man to gift them to the local food pantry instead.
Jack didn’t stop there. He sent a band to my doorstep, singing holiday tunes to remind me of the time we went caroling together for charity. The fond memory had sparked a flame, but the light quickly fizzled out when I saw him on his front lawn with Chip.
Jack had waited to see if he had broken down the walls I had built back up, and I slammed my front door to send him an obvious message. I wouldn’t accept his lousy, bullshit apologies. He had to do better, but the groveling only got worse.
Jack hired a landscaping company to plow out my driveway every morning. I had to ensure my car remained parked in my driveway twenty-four-seven. I had to take a damn taxi to work!
When Jack caught on to my change of habit, he hired a personal limousine driver who begged to drive me wherever I needed to go. I guess Mr. Timber, the big mean boss, had ordered the chauffeur to take me wherever I wanted to go or else he wouldn’t have a job.
I felt terrible for the poor driver and had him drive Faith to school instead, and she thought the idea was cool.
Her peers loved the limousine, and they got daily tours with free chocolate in the early morning hours.
The teachers hated the sugar fix because the kids were hyper for class, and Jack ended up receiving a phone call.
Jack wouldn’t take no for an answer, and now my doorbell rang, but I contemplated whether I should answer. What would he send this time? Thousands of dollars for me to take a goddamn shopping spree? I’d donate all the money to the nearest charity.
“I got it, Mommy!” Faith hollered as she ran down the stairs and beat me to the front door. “Pizza!”
Pizza?
I didn’t order a pizza. The delivery driver had the wrong address. Christ, another issue to deal with.
“I didn’t get a pizza...” I walked toward the door and sniffed the delicious aroma in the air. “I have fish thawing in the fridge.”
“Mom! It’s pineapple pizza in the shape of a heart!” Faith exclaimed beside me as she placed her hands over her heart. “That’s so romantic.”
“What? Don’t be ridicu—” I gasped when the delivery guy showed me.
There was an extra-large pizza in the shape of a heart with pineapples on top.
“You have got to be shitting me?” I sighed out loud.
“Mommy. Don’t swear,” Faith scolded me.
“I’m sorry.” I winced.
“I shit you not.” The delivery man pointed at Jack’s house. “The guy next door paid me a ton of money for you to accept the pizza. Please don’t make me take it back or else my boss will kill me.”
Goddamn it, Jack Timber! Why are you torturing me?
I couldn’t let this young delivery kid get in trouble. Christ. This was unfair!
“You too, pizza delivery boy. Swearing is bad.” Faith glared at him and pointed her finger. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
My God. Faith sounded like me. She listened to me. I must be doing something right.
“Okay, kid. I’m sorry.” He thrust the pizza box at me. “Gotta run.”
“Hey! Wait! No!” I hollered out the front door and watched the pizza guy get into his car. “I don’t even like pineapple on my pizza!”
“Mom, you’re a terrible liar.”
The car tires spun, and the engine backfired, but I watched the young man speed off for the next delivery.
“I know. I suck.” I put extra emphasis on the K and blew the hair away from my mouth. “Here. I give up. We’ll have pizza for supper.”
I passed an excited Faith the pizza box because Jack had worn me down enough to win this round. He still hadn’t earned my heart and had much more groveling to do. I wouldn’t give in yet. Possibly never.
“Um... There’s something for you to see...” Faith held the pizza box wide open. “It’s inside the box.”
A piece of paper with a quote on it was taped to the lid of the cardboard.
Love is a pineapple - sweet, unique, and worth treasuring.
Sneaky, cheesy Jack Timber.
Suddenly, a bright glow caught my eye, and I covered the unexpected glare with my hand. My sight slowly adjusted and left me in shock. I gasped.
Jack hated anything classical Christmas, but he had his front lawn littered with everything festive.
All of his green decorations were gone. There wasn’t a single one left, except for the colorful array of the rainbow mixed in with the envious green.
A cheerful mix and nothing mean about the wonderful display.
“Cool!” Faith exclaimed with pizza hanging out of her mouth and a twinkle in her eyes.
“Is this a joke?” I wandered outside and had to examine the scenery. “No way Mr. Timber did all of this.”
“Oh, but he did...” Jack popped out from behind a giant inflatable Santa Claus. “And he did all of this for you.”
“Sure.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And I’m freaking Mrs. Claus.”
The house was illuminated more than mine and shone vividly, to the point where it was almost blinding.
Jack hopped over a tether line before he tripped on it, and the sleigh beside him swayed.
The reindeer followed with the same motion, and he nearly collided with some glittery presents near a Christmas tree.
“No, you’re the woman I love, and half of my heart struggles to beat without you.” Jack ambled down his version of Candy Cane Lane, which was lined with a bunch of lollipops, and stopped at the property line. “I need you in my life, Elle.”
“What about the other half?” I asked sarcastically. “Did you lose it in the mail?”
“No. The other half belongs to you,” Jack said.
“Cheesy.” I snickered and turned my back to Jack. “Same as your dang pizza!”
“I see you accepted my gift,” Jack voiced over my ignorance. “It’s good pizza, isn’t it, kiddo?”
I froze. Faith gave Jack a thumbs up with a string of cheese hanging out of her mouth. Damn it!
I glanced over my shoulder, but I couldn’t look at Jack. “The pizza doesn’t change the facts, Timber. I haven’t forgiven you for all you’ve done.”
“Fair. But your acceptance is a start,” Jack said.
“Holy Christmas! What is going on out here?”
I spun around at the sound of my dad’s voice, and he walked up in between the property line. He wore a black housecoat and slippers, but he was angry. Great.
“Grandpa Gabe!” Faith ran up to him and gave him a great big hug. “You made it back home!”
“A delayed flight of a few days can’t stop me from getting back to my beautiful granddaughter.” Gabriel smiled down at Faith. “Have you grown more since I left?”
“No.” Faith giggled and stuck her fingers in her mouth. “But I have a wiggly tooth.”
“A visit from Santa Claus in a few days and the Tooth Fairy?” Gabriel tapped Faith on the nose. “What a lucky girl.”
“Come inside, Grandpa. I’ll show you the Christmas tree Mr. Timber got for us,” Faith announced with excitement. “Mommy and him went out to chop one down together, and we all decorated it.”
“He did”—Gabriel glared at Jack—“did he?”
Faith beamed while nodding her head. I blushed bright red. Jack appeared uncomfortable, with his hands in his pockets, looking completely guilty.
“We should talk,” Jack expressed.
My father sighed. “Faith, dear, why don’t you run along inside, and I’ll be in soon.”
“Okay!” Faith beamed and held up her pizza crust. “You can have a slice of pizza too. Mr. Timber got some delivered to Mommy as an apology for being a jerk.”
“Faith!” I hissed.
“No, kiddo. You’re right,” Jack grumbled, with the tip of his boot drawing a line in the snow. “I’ve been a jerk, and I’m sorry about everything.”
“I know, Mr. Timber. I forgive you.” Faith flashed Jack a small smile and ran inside.
“Oh, boy, do I need to watch what I say around her.” I laughed nervously and gazed at my dad. “Kids say the darndest things. Don’t they?”
“Children reveal the truth,” my father claimed as he glanced between me and Jack. “Unlike the two of you, who tried to hide your relationship.”
“There’s nothing between us, Dad.” I walked toward my father with my hands out in front of me. “I swear. Whatever there was is over.”
“Bullshit,” Jack hissed.
“Don’t listen to him, Dad, he’s delusional.” I shook my head.
“I’m in love.” Jack stared intensely straight at my father. “With your daughter.”
Jack fell to his knees in front of my dad right on the property line, but he didn’t cross it. He didn’t break any rule I’d laid out for him. But he wouldn’t back down either, and my heart yearned for him.
Gabriel sighed. “Jesus Christ, Jack.”
“No, listen, Gabe, please. I want to be with Noelle because I love her so damn much. Yes, I hurt her, and it was fucking wrong, but I’ll never break her heart again.
” Jack held his hands together, his eyes full of regret, and he gazed at me.
“She means everything to me, and I’ll do anything for her. ”
“Even staying away from her?” Gabriel asked.
“Believe me, I tried that. I pushed Elle away when I didn’t want to, but the feelings I have for your daughter are far too strong.
She has a fucking goddamn chokehold on me, and I can’t let her go.
” Jack clenched my dad’s housecoat. “Please, I’m begging you to let me be with her, and I promise to always put her first. To love her, cherish her and her daughter too.
Faith means everything to me because she’s a piece of her mother, and I’ve grown to love your beautiful granddaughter too. ”
I couldn’t breathe while Jack expressed his confession of love for me to my father while he groveled down on his knees. He meant every word. Jack Timber wanted to be part of my family.
“Get up.” Gabriel huffed and grabbed Jack by the collar of his shirt. “Enough.”
My father’s reaction shocked me, and I exhaled, but a tear slipped out. I brushed the wetness away with the back of my hand before Jack could notice his words had touched me. He had crawled back under my skin, but in a good way. Not in a mean, insufferable one.
Jack had wet pant legs from the knees down, but he didn’t appear to care. He put his hands back together, and I gathered more begging was to come. He wouldn’t give up on me, and I wasn’t sure if he ever would.
“I want to be with Elle, Gabe.” Jack locked eyes on me. “Forever.”
Wow, Jack sure knew how to fucking grovel. The whole breathing thing had gone straight out the window. Again.
“It’s not me you have to convince now, my friend.” Gabriel sighed as he winked at me and whispered in Jack’s ear, “It’s my little girl.”
I narrowed my eyes in confusion. “But Daddy, you said—”
“I know what I said, but I was wrong, Noelle. Love is love. Age doesn’t matter, and Jack adores you, sweetheart.” My dad shrugged and came over to me. “I never should’ve interfered. You bring out the best in Jack, and he loves Faith too.”
I shook my head and trembled. “I’m scared, Dad. I don’t want to get hurt.”
My father turned to Jack.
“Am I making a mistake by giving you my blessing to be with my daughter?” Gabriel questioned.
Jack glanced at me with undeniable love and back at my father. “Never.”
“Good luck, my friend.” Gabriel patted Jack on the shoulder.
My father turned back to me with a smile of acceptance. “I’ll leave the choice in your hands. But my advice? Don’t let fear impede true happiness.”
My father’s approval of me being with the person I loved more than anything else in this world other than my daughter shook me to the core.
He permitted our affection, and the limitations had vanished.
Tears glistened in my dad’s eyes as he stepped out of our way and went inside to his grandchild.
No one stood in the way of our unknown future any longer, and there was a decision I had to make.
One that would change our lives forever.
Jack glanced down at the property line separating us, and his eyes locked on me. He reached out for my hand, and I let him touch me. His caress with the pads of his thumbs across my skin made me tingle with electricity and the searing passion I had missed.
“I hurt you, Elle, and I see the error of my ways, but I never wanted to cause you pain. Love should come first. I should’ve stood up for you in the beginning, but I was a fucking coward.
Goddamn terrified of my fucking affection for you and your persistent daughter.
” Jack chuckled softly, and I laughed through the tears.
“You’ve changed me, princess. I promise to be the man you’ve thawed and live every day for my girls.
I love you so much, and there’s no amount of distance that can ever ruin the devotion I have for you.
Please let me be a part of your family because you and Faith are my world. ”
I tapped the tip of my boot on the ground. “Will your grumpy side come along too?”
Jack grinned. “Anything for my girls.”
Screw the property line. I had waited too long for this moment. I grabbed Jack by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. A tender, sweet, and lovable heat seared between us until we parted.
“Good. I kinda fell in love with the grumpy side of you, and I missed him.” I smiled as our noses brushed, foreheads touched, and our lips caressed.
“We can’t have that, can we, little Elle Evergreen?” Jack dipped me.
I squealed, thrown off by the romantic side of Jack. The lovable, caring, and grouchy neighbor I never intended to love, but my happily ever after had always been with him. We were complete opposites, but opposites attract.
I giggled, “Never.”
I kissed him with undeniable passion.