Chapter 11 #2
This is a whole lot better than sitting here alone and wishing I was doing something else, he thought. I don’t think there’s anything I’d rather be doing right now than this. It feels so good to know they care about me this much.
“How are you feeling, Dean?” Jacob asked after a while. “You look good.”
“Thanks.” Dean grimaced good-naturedly. “I do feel pretty good considering. And everything appeared to go well with the surgery, so I’m really thankful for that.
I’m still a little worried about my recovery time, though.
We really want a quick recovery so that we know for sure I’ll be ready for our wedding. ”
“You can only take it one day at a time,” Tom said, and Dean had a moment of being surprised by how seriously he could take his older friend despite his outlandish outfit.
“Stay optimistic and do everything they advise you to in order to recover. But the body and the mind are connected, truly. The more you have faith that it’ll all work out and stay positive, the better your chances are for recovering quickly. ”
Dean nodded. He'd heard that before, and he knew that it was excellent advice—although he also knew that it was the kind of thing that was easier said than done. But he knew that being surrounded by caring, hopeful people would help him keep his mind in the right place.
“I appreciate you all coming by so much,” he told them, meaning it with all his heart.
“I have been struggling with staying positive today.
It's hard to just sit here and not really be able to do anything.
I'm worried about my recovery time being too long, and I've had to stop myself from fretting about the wedding a couple of times now. I just really want to be completely well by then.”
“I really do think you will be,” Cooper said, punching him gently in the shoulder.
“Julia told me that the doctors believe it's more than possible, and we're all rooting for you. Just envision the outcome that you want and do your best to believe that it will happen. We all know how tough you are, Dean. I have no doubt that you can keep your chin up during this healing process.”
“I agree.” Jacob smiled warmly at Dean. “You've handled this whole thing like a champ. And if you're ever feeling too down in the dumps about it, know that you can come to any of us and we'll help cheer you up.”
“What? Cheer me up? I don't think you people know how to do that,” Dean teased, grinning and feeling loved.
Tom laughed his big booming laugh. “I second that,” he said. “And before you know it, Dean, we’ll all be dancing together at your wedding. I feel completely confident that you're going to feel as right as rain and better when the day arrives.”
“You wouldn't believe how much adrenaline you get from marrying the woman of your dreams,” Jacob said.
“Agreed,” Grayson and Cooper said at the same time.
Tom and Dean laughed, and Dean noticed that Tom had a slightly starry-eyed expression. Dean wondered if he was thinking about the woman of his dreams, Delilah Bates, the movie star, who had won his heart when she filmed a romance movie in Rosewood Beach.
Knowing that it was much too soon in their relationship for him to be teasing Tom about wedding bells, Dean turned his attention to the other unmarried man in the room. “So, Ryan,” he said with a grin, “how about you? Have you thought about asking our wonderful cousin to marry you?”
“I think about it all the time,” Ryan said with a laugh.
“I always used to swear that I would never get married, but as soon as I started dating Faith, I knew that she was going to change my mind about that.
We've talked about getting married, and I know that's what she wants for our relationship.
It's definitely what I want for our relationship, too, but I don't feel that now is the right time to ask her.”
“How come?” Jacob asked, reaching for one of the delicious cookies that Hazel had made.
Ryan shook his head. “This whole business with me taking over the brewery is totally consuming my time right now.
I know I'll get settled into it soon enough, but most days I’m up to my ears in stress and up to my eyeballs in paperwork.
I want to propose to Faith when I have the bandwidth to make it really romantic, and then be able to spend quality time with her afterward. I can't do any of that right now.”
“I hear that,” Cooper said. “Don't worry, I'm sure she understands. You'll propose to her when the time is right.”
“Being busy definitely makes everything more difficult,” Dean agreed out loud, but as he watched Ryan's face, he had a cheerful suspicion that Ryan wasn't telling them the full story.
His friend had a look in his eyes that seemed to say there was more to it than he was letting on, and that he wanted to propose to Faith as soon as possible.
“What about you, Tom?” Jacob teased, clearly having decided to ignore the fact that Tom and Delilah's relationship had only started recently. He grinned gleefully. “Do you think you're going to propose to everybody's favorite movie star now that she lives here in town?”
Tom's ears turned a bright shade of pink, and he coughed delicately.
“I'm definitely not going to tell you that I have plans to propose to Delilah at some point in the future if our relationship continues to go well,” he said slowly, “but I'm also definitely not going to tell you that I don't have plans to propose to Delilah at some point in the future if our relationship continues to go well.”
All the men laughed at his carefully worded response, and Grayson thumped him on the back.
“It's clear she cares for you just as much as you care for her,” Grayson said. “When you know you know. I'm sure you and Delilah will figure out your futures together soon.”
“Well, I know who isn't going to get proposed to anytime soon,” Jacob said, shaking his head.
“Who?” Dean asked curiously.
“Samantha,” Jacob said with a slight growl.
Cooper threw back his head laughing. “Oh, I forgot, that's right. Julia told me that Samantha has a boyfriend now.”
“Does she?” Tom asked, incredulous. “I can't believe that. I swear she was in diapers less than two years ago.”
Dean chuckled at Tom's joke. “I also feel like she's still a little kid, but she is fast approaching her teenage years. I take it you're not thrilled about her new boyfriend, Jacob?”
“No,” Jacob groaned. “I don't know how to feel about it. And don't laugh, Cooper. Your time is coming. Just you wait until Macey and Quinn start dating.”
Cooper's expression changed from one of mirth to one of dismay so quickly that everyone burst out laughing.
“Is he a nice kid at least?” Dean asked, once they’d all finished chuckling.
“He is,” Jacob said. “He’s a really nice kid.
I’m grateful for that at least. And I wouldn’t expect Samantha to be silly enough to date a bad guy, but it can be hard to tell when they’re so young, you know?
But I definitely interrogated this poor little guy, and now I feel confident that he’s a good egg. ”
“Interrogated, huh?” Grayson laughed. “What did you do?”
“Oh, I was nice about it. I took him out fishing.” Jacob took a swig of his craft beer. “I think he knew that the purpose of the outing was for me to grill him, though. He looked pretty sweaty.”
“It is summer,” Ryan quipped.
“No, like nervous.” Jacob tossed a cookie crumb at Ryan. “Oh. Sorry, Dean. I shouldn’t be throwing food in your house.”
“Hey, I’m still a bachelor. Someday you’ll have to apologize to Noelle, but for now, throw away.”
“Oh, well, in that case –” Tom pretended to get ready to throw his entire cookie across the room.
Dean shook his head, amused. “I’m glad he’s a good kid. Thanks for checking on that, Jacob. I’m really glad Samantha has a father.” He and Jacob shared a warm smile. Dean knew how much Jacob’s mentoring of Samantha meant to Hazel. “Hazel’s told me how happy she is that you’re so protective of Sam.”
“Of course.” Jacob looked touched by Dean’s words. “I love that kid like she’s my own flesh and blood. I’m honored to make sure no stupid twelve-year-old boys break her heart.”
“Sam’s too smart for that,” Grayson said. “Honestly, I’m surprised she’s dating anyone at all this young. We all know she gets excited about things, but I thought she was too level-headed for romance at her age.”
“Oh, man, adolescence is a whole new monster.” Ryan shook his head. “Keep an eye on her, Jacob.”
Jacob groaned.
“I think we’d better start cheering you up now,” Dean said, handing Jacob another cookie. “Chin up, Jacob. You don’t have to face this alone.”
“Yeah, Cooper will be by your side every step of the way,” Ryan said impishly. “He’s going to take notes.”
The men continued to chat and make jokes as they ate more cookies and drank their beers. Dean felt his spirits lift more and more, and he realized after a while how much easier it was to be positive when he had them by his side.
It’s clear they’re here to cheer me on, he thought. I’m so grateful.
Dean knew that his supportive community was one of the best blessings he had in his life, and he felt honored by their support more than he ever had before.