Chapter Forty
TALLY
T he buzz of my phone awakened me before my alarm went off, and I rolled over to find new messages in our group chat.
Ellie: Penelope Warner! It’s your wedding day!
Penny: I KNOW!!!!
Jessa: Happy wedding day!
Wow! Even Jessa was up early. That was so unlike her.
I fired off a text with hearts and confetti and a bride emoji, and then my phone buzzed again with a text from Jessa only to me.
Jessa: Hey! Can you help me with something this morning?
Me: Sure. What ?
Jessa: I need you to meet me. It’s kind of a secret.
Me: A secret, huh? You’re in rare form this morning. First a happy wedding message to Penny and now this.
Jessa: (rolling-eyes emoji) Will you meet me?
Me: Of course.
Jessa sent me the address and asked me to meet her in forty-five minutes, so I plugged the place into my GPS to see how long it took to get there. Twenty minutes? Thanks for giving me time to get ready, Jess. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, then threw on some clothes, pulled a knit beanie on over my messy morning hair, and headed outside to my car.
Large fluffy snowflakes fell, coating everything in white. The trees looked so magical, and I soaked it all in, knowing the sun would probably melt all of this away in a day or two. These late-season snowfalls rarely lasted long. Spring was so close I could almost taste it.
My dad passed me on his way inside, carrying a snow shovel. “I hope the wedding isn’t outdoors.”
I laughed. “That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?”
“It sure is pretty, though.”
I looked toward my car and noticed Dad had cleared the snow off for me. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re welcome, my little Natalia.”
We smiled at each other, and then he disappeared into the garage. My dad was the sweetest, so thoughtful and kind, always taking care of his girls. I hoped one day the man I married would be just like him, and I couldn’t help but think of Jake and how he was with his daughters.
My mind stayed on Jake as I pulled out of our driveway. I’d fallen asleep with him in my thoughts last night. Being patient and letting him come to me was hard. But Jessa was right. If he wanted me back, he was going to have to tell me. At the same time, I felt resigned to the fact it probably wasn’t going to happen. It had been surprising to hear Nora tell me her dad loved me, though. And she hadn’t seemed weirded out by it or anything.
As I neared the location, I grew confused. There were no houses or buildings. Just open fields and thick woods. The GPS told me to pull into a little drive that looked very familiar, but there was nobody in sight, and I feared I’d gotten the address wrong.
Me: Jessa, where are you? I’m on a dirt drive. Is this the right place?
Jessa: I sort of did something.
Me: What did you do?
Jessa: Just wait there. You’ll find out.
Minutes later, a car pulled in beside mine, and I saw Jake behind the wheel. A fluttery feeling took over in my stomach. What had Jessa done?
He got out of his car and came around to mine, then tapped lightly on my window.
I put the window down and looked up at him.
“I’m supposed to meet Jessa,” I told him. “What are you doing here?”
“Actually, you’re meeting me. ”
“What did she do?”
“She was being a good friend,” he said.
“I don’t understand.”
“She reached out to me last night.” He took his phone out of his pocket, swiped around, then handed it to me.
This is Jessa, Tally’s friend. Tonight at the rehearsal, your daughter told Tally you love her and were there to get her back. If that was not the case, please disregard this message and everyone can move on with their lives. However, if that was your intention, I think I can help you.
My mouth fell open.
“I called her and told her my intentions,” he said.
“Which were?” My eyes met his.
“To get you back.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“But then I saw you with Dylan, and I thought maybe in the time we’d been apart, something had started up between you two again.”
“There’s nothing going on with me and Dylan.”
“Jessa set me straight on that. And then we made a plan. This plan.”
I was in awe of what Jessa had done for me. For us. Rare form, indeed.
“Will you walk with me?” Jake pulled the handle to open my door, and the car alarm blared.
He jumped sky-high, and I burst out laughing as I pressed the start button to get it to quit. “Sorry. Old car. Sometimes it glitches. ”
He held his hand against his chest. “Okay, now that I’ve had a heart attack …”
I couldn’t stop laughing.
“A walk is the least you can do,” he said.
“Walking is good for the heart. Especially when you get older,” I teased.
He opened the door and extended his hand.
I reached out and took it, and he helped me out. He didn’t keep hold of my hand like I thought he would, though. He turned and walked a few steps ahead, and my heart quickened when I saw him flex his hand like Mr. Darcy in the movie Pride and Prejudice . Ellie would’ve swooned at a time like this, and I felt pretty close to swooning myself.
He looked back at me, still standing beside the open door of my car. “Coming?”
I closed and locked the door and followed him until we were side by side. As we walked along the path, I had a sudden realization. “This is your property, isn’t it?”
“You remembered.”
We walked in silence for a minute, and I didn’t like feeling awkward around him.
“It’s been hard not talking to you every day,” he said.
“Same. I don’t like it.”
He glanced over at me and then back at the path before us. “I hate it. The past two weeks were awful. I mean, I expected it to be. But it was worse than anything I’ve ever felt. Worse than my divorce.”
I hadn’t realized he could be feeling as bad as I had been. I’d never gone through a breakup before, but it seemed like the one doing the breaking up never grieved for the relationship as hard as the one who was dumped .
“Mine weren’t good either” was all I could think to say.
“You don’t have to sugarcoat it.” His eyes met mine.
“I don’t want to focus on the past,” I said. “I’m letting that go for my own health and sanity.”
“That’s a good attitude. I wish I’d thought of it.”
“I’m smart about things sometimes.”
“I’d actually like to focus on the future.” He turned along the river’s edge and moved toward a fallen tree that hung out over the water. And before I knew it, he was climbing onto the tree and walking out onto it balance beam style.
“You’re going to fall in,” I cried. “It’s probably slippery with all the snow on it.”
“I won’t fall in.” He turned around and held his hands out to me. “Come on.”
“No way.”
He took small steps toward me and held out a hand. “I’ve got you, Natalia.”
Hearing him say my full name was one of my favorite things. It mesmerized me, and I gave in and moved to him. He helped me climb up, and we headed out onto the tree. With my hands in his, him walking backward and leading me along, I thought the song “Hey! Baby” from Dirty Dancing would start playing at any moment.
When we were out over the water, he helped me to sit down and took a seat beside me.
“If we fall in, we’re going to get hypothermia and die,” I said.
He laughed. “It’s not that deep right here. And haven’t you ever heard of a cold plunge? The icy water is great for the body. ”
I shook my head. “You have at it.”
We made brief eye contact, and he grinned at me before turning to watch the water before us. The river flowing, the whisking of the wind, and the scurrying of squirrels in the trees were the only sounds between us. Silence was usually something I craved, but not today. My curiosity was too much.
“Why did you bring me out here?”
He reached over and took my hand in his. “I came to a realization yesterday, and I needed to talk to you, but I wasn’t sure when or how. Then the girls asked why we weren’t in love anymore, and we decided to go get you back.”
“Wait, the girls asked you about us?”
He grinned. “They did. They came in all serious, saying they wanted to know why you were leaving, what I’d done, and if you broke up with me. It was kind of sweet and endearing. And when we showed up and you were with Dylan, I was afraid it was too late. But then Jessa texted.”
“I’m … I don’t even know what to say about that. This is all so unlike her.”
“I’m glad she did it. She told me you’re like a sister to her, and she believed I could make you happy if I’d just get over myself. But if I ever hurt you again, I should be worried for my life.”
I laughed. “Jessa’s all talk.”
“Hey, she sounded like she’d follow through.”
I shrugged. “Maybe she would.”
He screwed up his face in fake-horror.
“What was your realization?” The anticipation was killing me .
He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it.
“First, I wanted to say I’m sorry for putting us both through these horrible weeks. I made that decision based on fears from my past and worries that if we didn’t work out, any children we might have would have to go through divorce just like my girls did. But I realized what we have is stronger than anything I’ve ever had, and I don’t want to live in fear. I want to live in the security of our relationship and the hope of an amazing life together.”
My throat tightened up, and tears burned my eyes.
Jake reached up and brushed his thumb against my cheek as a tear slipped down.
“I love you, Natalia. I never thought I’d find this kind of love. This time apart showed me how much I need you. I want you to help me raise the girls. And if we have a baby of our own someday, maybe a boy …” There was a sparkle in his eyes when he said that. “I will be so happy about it. Because it will be a little bit of me and a whole lot of you. And I will love watching you be a mom. I think it’s what you were meant to be, and I could never ask you to give that up. I want that for you. And I want to share every moment of it with you.”
“Jake.” My tears were a full-on waterfall now.
“Do you still love me?” he asked as he tried unsuccessfully to dry my cheeks.
I nodded as I took a tissue out of my pocket and dried my tears so I could see.
He took my face in his hands. “Then tell me.”
“I love you.”
His lips were on mine then. Soft and gentle at first, then harder and more demanding. He claimed me as his, and I did the same with him. As the minutes passed, I felt as if we floated up off that log and were hovering above the river. Everything clicked back into place. All was right with the world. And with us.
When we finally came up for air, he was smiling at me with a goofy grin, and I couldn’t help but giggle.
He swept my hair back and rested his forehead against mine. “Every time we kiss, I think it can’t get any better, and then it does.”
I felt like swooning again. Ellie would’ve been so proud.
My fingertips brushed through the short hairs on his chin. “I kind of like this, by the way.”
“Do you now?”
I nodded, and he pulled me closer to his side and kissed my temple. “I’m going to build you a house by this river.” He made a sweeping motion toward the water. “One big enough for loads of kids.”
I giggled. “I don’t need loads of kids.”
His mouth fell open. “I thought you’d want a big family since that’s how you grew up.”
“A brother or sister, maybe two, would be nice for the girls. But we don’t need a baseball team.”
Jake laughed. “Six could get us a hockey team.” He bumped his shoulder against mine.
I couldn’t stop smiling as the reality of our reunion sank in. We were together again, and I had the strongest sense of relief. Together was where we belonged.
Jake glanced at his watch. “We should get going. Don’t want you to be late for the big event.” He helped me up, and we made our way back across the tree to solid ground and headed for our cars.
“Do you have time to come back home with me before you have to go get ready for the wedding?” he asked as we walked hand in hand. “There are three little girls who would love to see you.”
“I’ve got a little time before I have to meet Penny and the girls at the salon for hair and makeup. Who’s with the girls now?”
“Jessa’s watching them.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh, you’re kidding.”
“Why? Is that bad? Is she not good at taking care of kids? Should I be worried?”
“The girls are fine,” I said. “Kids aren’t usually Jessa’s thing. I can’t believe how far she went to help us today.”
“She’s a good friend.”
“Yes, she is.”
We drove to Jake’s, and the house was abnormally quiet as we moved through the rooms. They were nowhere on the first floor, so we went upstairs.
“Look.” I pointed at the open door to the attic and cupola.
We moved closer and heard Jessa’s voice floating down the staircase.
“Tally is the best person you will ever know. And when she loves someone, she loves them forever with her whole heart. And she loves you girls so much.”
“And Daddy?” Ava asked.
“And your daddy. She’s very loyal.”
“What does loyal mean?” Nora asked.
“It means she will always be there for you, no matter what. And she will never leave you. ”
I gripped Jake’s hand, and my heart ached for Jessa, for the way her mom had abandoned her when she was young, just like the girls’ mom had done.
“I’m glad,” Ava said.
“Me too,” said Nora.
“Me too,” echoed Piper.
Jake knocked on the door frame. “We’re home!”
Little feet scurried around on the floor, and cries for “Daddy!” and “Tally!” echoed down the stairs.
“Wait, let me go first.” Jessa appeared before the girls, making sure they each came down slowly behind her.
I moved straight to Jessa when she hit the floor and hugged her as tightly as I could while the girls hugged my lower half with the same vigor.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “I love you.”
She brushed a single tear from her eye and cleared her throat. “Love you too.”
Jessa left us then, and the girls were full of questions.
“Are you still leaving?”
“Do you love Daddy again?”
“Will you still be our nanny?”
I got down at their level and pulled them into a group hug. “I’m not going anywhere. I love you girls very much, and I love your Daddy too.”
They showered me with hugs and kisses. Nora held on longer than the others, and I let her stay there until she was ready to let go. My heart overflowed with joy when she wiped away a tear and said, “I love you, Tally.”
“I love you too, Nora.” I smiled, then straightened to standing and stepped into Jake’s arms. “I need to go get ready now. ”
He brought me against his chest and kissed me right there in front of the girls, who were giggling at our feet.
“Will you be my date to the wedding?” I asked.
“Can we go to the wedding too?” Nora asked.
“I want to go to the wedding,” Ava declared.
“Wedding!” Piper squealed.
We looked down at the girls, who were giving us the irresistible sad eyes, and I pressed my lips together, holding in a laugh.
Jake stared into my eyes and planted a soft kiss on my lips. “We’ll meet you there.”
The girls jumped up and down and cheered excitedly.
And I felt like doing the same.