Chapter 24
Long after his family was in bed, Paul Martinez sat on the sofa, nursing his second glass of whiskey and thinking about the extraordinary afternoon with his mother.
When he and Hope had taken Scarlett for a regular visit, he’d noticed right away that something was different, and when he’d realized she was fully aware, he’d been so stunned he hadn’t known what to do at first.
“Call Alex,” Hope had said. “Hurry.”
It still felt surreal, even hours later, that his mom had been almost completely herself for those few hours.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it was possible.
And then, with dementia being such an unrelenting bitch, Marion had left them just as quickly, lost again to the confusion as if someone had flipped a switch.
He wasn’t sure if he was thankful for the brief respite or resentful. His emotions were a jumbled mess.
When he heard Scarlett stirring, he went to tend to her so Hope wouldn’t be disturbed. He changed her and gave her a bottle of the milk Hope had pumped earlier.
Paul loved being a father to Scarlett and Hope’s son, Ethan, and was so grateful his mother had gotten to meet his family, to know he and Alex were happily settled with wives they loved and children they adored.
He hoped she’d taken that knowledge with her to wherever it was she went when she was lost to them.
He hoped it gave her comfort to know they were doing well and living happy, productive lives.
She’d asked about the landscaping business she and their father had started more than forty years ago and had been relieved to hear that he, Alex and Jenny had kept it growing and thriving in her absence.
For a short while, it’d been like old times, talking about the business with her.
The two of them had run it together back in the day, before he started to notice her forgetting important things and dropping balls she’d juggled effortlessly only a few months earlier.
That’d been the start of it, and she’d declined so rapidly that he’d been forced to ask Alex to come home to help in what still rated as one of the worst phone calls he’d ever had to make.
Paul had no idea how long he’d been rocking the baby before he realized she was asleep. He stood to put her back in her crib and waited to make sure she was settled before tiptoeing out of the room. He encountered Hope in the hallway.
“I was just coming to check on you guys,” she said.
He kissed her forehead. “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
“It’s too hot to sleep. I heard her wake up, and then you didn’t come back to bed.”
“I haven’t been to bed yet.”
“Oh. Are you all right?”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
She took his hand and led him to their room, the room that had once belonged to his parents. It had taken him a while after his mom moved to the first care facility she’d been in on the mainland to feel right about using her room.
They’d completely redecorated the room to make it their own, but even after all this time, sometimes it still felt odd to be sleeping in there.
Hope snuggled up to him in bed. “What can I do for you?”
He put his arm around her. “More of this.”
“Even if it’s too hot to snuggle?”
“It’s never too hot to snuggle.”
“I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better.”
“It’s okay, hon. There’s nothing anyone can say or do to make this situation better. It is what it is. I’m just glad she got to really meet you and the kids.”
“Me, too. I’m also thankful it happened when she was here on the island rather than on the mainland. We might not have been able to get there in time.”
“That’s a good point.”
“Even in the worst of situations, there’re often silver linings to be found.”
“Thanks for helping me to see them.” He caressed her back and ran his fingers through her silky hair. “When we were on the way to see Mom earlier, you told me you wanted to talk to me about something when we got home. We never got a chance to do that.”
“It’s okay. It’ll keep.”
Paul ran a hand up and down her arm, marveling at the softness of her skin. “You’d better go ahead and tell me, or I’ll be awake all night worrying about whatever it is.”
“It’s actually good news. I heard back from my divorce attorney about our request for you to adopt Ethan.”
Paul nearly stopped breathing. “And?”
“He spoke to my ex-husband’s attorney and told him what we wanted. The attorney presented it to him, and he agreed to sign off on it with one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“He wants an annual update on Ethan with photos.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I’m okay with it if it means there’s no chance he could ever again try to get visitation.”
Ethan’s father had gone to prison after being convicted of the statutory rape of a high school student. He was due to be released at some point in the next year, which had precipitated their adoption request.
“So that’s it? I can adopt him?”
“We need to get with Dan and figure out details, but his father won’t block it as long as I send him the annual letter and picture.”
“This is the best possible news. I’ll call Dan in the morning about getting it moving.”
“My son is very lucky to have you as his father, Paul.”
“I’m the lucky one. He’s the best kid ever. I love him so much.”
She moved in to kiss him, and he kept her there with an arm around her shoulders.
His other hand slid down over her nightgown to cup her ass.
She smiled against his lips. “It’s too hot for this.”
“It’s never too hot for this.”
“I think it might actually be tonight.”
“No,” he said, kissing her until he’d won her over to his way of thinking.
“How do you do this to me every time?” she asked when he’d removed her nightgown and begun to kiss his way down her body.
“My special powers.”
“They’re potent.”
Paul hadn’t expected to laugh tonight, but leave it to her and the news about Ethan’s adoption to give him something other than grief to focus on. With her legs hooked over his shoulders, he set out to show her what she meant to him, using his tongue and fingers to bring her to a quick orgasm.
“So potent,” she said, gasping in the aftermath.
He kissed his way back up to her breasts, tasting both nipples before pushing his cock into her. “Ah, God, that’s the best feeling in the whole world.”
“Mmm, so good.”
“So sweaty.”
She huffed out a laugh. “Sweaty but good.”
Being overheated had never been more worth it, he thought, as he came down from the incredible high they found together.
“I need a cold shower,” she said.
“That can be arranged. In a minute, though. I need more of this first.” He held her closer, his heart beating hard from exertion and love. So much love.
She hugged him tightly and ran her fingers through his hair. “I’ve got plenty of this. Any time you need it.”
“All the time.”
“That works out well, because I need you just as much.”
His heart might be broken once again over his mother’s unrelenting illness, but Hope had helped him see how much he had to be thankful for, too.