Chapter Twenty
Presley
When we go downstairs to the nursery to get Rhyan, she’s already standing at the door. She’s wearing a tutu over leggings, and a sweatshirt with cats, not dragons, for once.
“You’re late,” she tells us.
Saint looks at the clock on the wall behind her. “We’re five minutes early.”
“It feels like I waited FOR. EV. ER. And Sera already left, so I had no one to play with.”
“My apologies,” he bows.
I bite back a smile.
“Okay then, let’s get out of here. We need to get Remy from school soon.”
He sweeps her up in his arms, and Miss Sandy, the teacher, hands me Rhyan’s bag.
“Thank you,” I say. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good night. Bye, Rhyan!” She waves.
Rhyan’s thrown over Saint’s shoulder at this point and waves back at her upside down, making us all laugh.
Thirty minutes later, we’re in the pick-up line waiting for Remy.
When I see him come out, even though we’re apparently not supposed to, I get out of the car and meet him.
“Hi, Rem,” I say, hugging him.
“Hi.”
There’s something in his voice that worries me. Not necessarily sadness. More like caution.
He seems to be having more moments like this lately. Like reality settles over him.
“You hungry?” I ask, trying to get him to say more than a word.
He shrugs his little shoulder.
“You don’t have practice tonight, so we could grab a pizza or something,” I suggest.
He shrugs again.
“What if we pick up a pizza and head home to eat?”
I open the car’s back door and usher him into the back seat with Saint and Rhyan.
“We’re ready,” I tell the driver.
“Hey, bud, how was your day?” Saint wraps him in a hug, and I notice Remy holds on for an extra second longer.
“It was ok.”
Saint looks at me, and I give him a sad smile.
“I told him we could pick up a pizza on the way home.”
“Yes! Pizza!” Rhyan yells.
“Okay, pizza it is.” Saint takes out his phone, places an order, and then gives the driver directions for pickup.
By the time we get home, Remy seems to be a little better. He’s talking to us more, so I’m taking it as a good sign.
Once we finish eating, Saint directs them into the family room, and I follow.
I sit on the couch next to Saint, Rhyan half in my lap, and Remy pressed against Saint.
He looks at me and takes a deep breath.
“So, Presley and I need to tell you something.”
Remy looks up immediately.
Rhyan blinks. “Are we having dessert?”
Saint laughs. “Not right now.”
“Then what is it?” she asks.
I nod at Saint.
“Presley and I got married.”
For a second, both kids just stare.
Remy’s eyes go wide. “Really?”
Saint nods. “Yeah, really.”
Remy looks at me next. “So you’re not leaving here?”
Ohhh.
My throat tightens, and I reach for his hand. “I’m not leaving,” I say softly. Even if Saint and I don’t stay married after a year, I would still want to be part of their lives.
Relief shows on his face, and he leans into Saint a little more, but his eyes stay on me.
“That’s good,” he whispers. “I don’t want you to go.”
This sweet, gentle boy. “You okay, buddy? You need to talk to us about something?”
He shakes his head. “I’m okay.”
Sometimes Remy needs to process his feelings before he talks to either Saint or me. But we’ll check in with him again before bed.
And maybe, he just needs to feel loved and safe right now.
Rhyan pats my face lightly to bring my attention back to her. “Where’s your dress?”
Saint blinks. “What?”
“To the wedding,” she says. “You’re not wearing a dress.”
I press my lips together.
Saint gestures for me to explain.
“I already wore a dress,” I say quickly.
“We couldn’t come?” she asks.
“Well, it was something”—I look at Saint for help, but he just shrugs—“we had planned to do, but we’re thinking about having a little party to celebrate soon.”
“I need a dress then.”
“Okay, we can get you a dress for that if we have one.”
She considers it. “A sparkly one.”
“Definitely.”
“And cake?”
Saint nods. “There would be cake.”
She thinks about it, then nods. “Okay, I accept.”
Remy smiles.
And that … feels like a win.
“I’m glad you accept,” he says. “There is something else.”
Remy stiffens.
I hate that he’s on guard now for serious conversations.
“We’re going to go visit your grandpa and grandma Hart soon in North Carolina.”
Remy looks down. “I don’t want to go.”
Saint’s face softens.
“Why not, bud?” Saint asks.
“It reminds me … ” Remy says, voice small.
I watch him closely and see tears forming in his eyes.
“It reminds me of mom and dad,” he whispers. “When we found out.”
My heart cracks, and Rhyan falls silent in my lap.
Saint pulls Remy onto his lap. “I get that.”
He starts to cry now. “I just don’t want to feel like that again.”
Saint closes his eyes briefly. “Rem, I wish I could make it so you never had to feel bad again,” he says. “But I can’t.”
Remy’s chin trembles.
“What I can do,” Saint continues, resting his head against Remy’s, “is go with you. And if you want to leave, we go.”
Remy looks at Saint, then at me. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Why do we have to go at all?” he swallows.
Saint brushes a hand over his hair. “Because they love you. And they miss you. And seeing you and Rhyan helps them heal too.”
“They’re sad too?” he asks.
“Very sad,” Saint says.
“Because Dad died?”
Saint nods. “Yeah. Because your dad and your mom died.”
Rhyan tucks herself closer against me.
“Mommy liked Grandma,” she says quietly.
He looks at me before saying, “Yes, she did.”
“You’ll come too?” Remy asks me.
I don’t hesitate. “Yes, of course I will.”
Remy thinks on it, then nods. “Okay.”
Saint presses a kiss to the top of his head.
“Okay,” I repeat.
An hour later, and we’re in the thick of our nighttime routine.
I read Rhyan a story while Saint gets Remy to bed.
By the time I step into the hallway, Saint is coming out of Remy’s room.
He looks exhausted, but calm.
I reach for his hand. “Hey.”
He looks down at our joined hands. “Hey, Doc.”
I smile. “Long day.”
“Very.”
We go downstairs together, and the house is finally quiet.
Saint turns off the kitchen light, checks the doors, then stops in the family room to look around.
There is so much evidence of a life we’re somehow building in real time.
“Well, I think that went well,” he says softly.
“I think so too. I could tell something was going on with Remy when we picked him up. Maybe us being gone last night worried him.”
He nods. “I thought about that too.”
“I can’t imagine what’s going on in their little minds. All of this must be so confusing. And scary.”
“Yeah, it’s hard because they’re so young.”
Saint stops and wraps his arms around me. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me.”
“Yeah,” he says. “I do.”
I close my eyes and hug him a little harder because I understand what he means. He’s not thanking me for marrying him or helping him. He’s thanking me for continuing to stay.
And maybe that’s the most important vow we make because we’re living it.
It feels like we stay wrapped in each other for a long time. Then finally, Saint kisses the top of my head. “Let’s call it a day. I want to get a run in before I hit the gym tomorrow.”
I look up at him. “I think that’s a great idea. You need to get back into your workout routine, or it’ll be hard to get back to it. OTAs will be here before you know it.”
His mouth curves faintly.
“What’s that look for?”
Then he ducks his head into my neck and starts kissing me.
I shake my head.“Uh-uh. Don’t get any ideas. I’m worn out.”
And for the first time today, he genuinely laughs. It’s a tired-sounding laugh, but it’s real. And that’s enough for tonight.