Meant to be More (Meant to Be Series Book 4)
Page 22
Edward laid a hand on Jillian’s shoulder. “We are proud of what you’ve done.”
Jillian’s mouth fell open and her gaze darted back and forth between her parents. “You’re…what?”
“We’re proud of you.” The words penetrated deeper into Jillian’s heart, adding small droplets to the empty lake of motherly love she’d never known before. “And your father and I managed to sit down and make massive cuts in some areas and sell off certain assets so our problems don’t need to affect you anymore.”
Sobs rolled through her body, unchecked and unbidden. Weight that continued to burden Jillian lifted and deep fractures inside her began to knit themselves together.
The older woman wrapped her in a warm hug, her own tears coating Jillian’s shoulder. “I made many mistakes as your mother, the biggest one is that I acted like my own mother. I am so sorry, darling.”
Words drifted through the fog of her consciousness, but Jillian was incapable of uttering them out loud, choosing instead to hold her mother tighter. Long seconds passed in mostly silence punctuated by sniffles and hiccups. When Helena finally released her, Jillian could have sworn they had both morphed into new beings.
“I love you, Mother.” It was a phrase she hadn’t spoken since childhood, long ago learning to keep emotions to yourself.
Helena patted her cheek. “I love you too, my darling daughter.” Her eyes wandered over to where Dean stood, leaning against the wall, allowing the women as much privacy as the small space allowed. “Your husband is a rather remarkable man. His guidance has changed so much for your father and I.” She lifted a brow and gave him a sardonic grin. “Even if he is new money.”
She pulled a cloth from the clutch she held under her arm and dabbed beneath her lids. She laid her hand in the crook of Edward’s arm. “We must go now, but…Jillian, I’d love to spend more time with you.”
Jillian nodded emphatically. “I’d love that too, Mother.”
As her parents exited their home with a soft click of the door, Jillian launched herself at Dean again. “How in the ever loving hell did you manage all that?”
His large palm stroked up and down her spine. “Part of the program is counseling for loved ones of those who are overcoming addiction. It’s a partnership, and I’m not directly involved in it, but I’d…recommended it to your mother as well. I honestly didn’t believe she’d actually go.”
“But she did,” Jillian finished for him.
“But she did,” he repeated, loosening his hold enough her feet touched the floor once more.
Jillian held his face between her palms and lifted up onto her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his lips. “I love you, but I’ll still punch you if you tell anyone I was crying.”
Epilogue
Jillian
Three Months Later
“Uncle Dean!”
Cheers went up from the pool as soon as he and Jillian stepped through his parents’ sliding glass door leading to the deck. Jillian lifted her brows and he ducked his head, lifting his hands in a helpless gesture. “What can I say? Uncle Dean is a crowd favorite.”
She pressed her lips together, the corners twitching with a repressed grin. “Because you are an overgrown child.”
“Maybe.” He gave her a quick, teasing kiss before stripping off his shirt and jumping in the water.
Jillian crossed the deck to where Georgia stood, struggling to keep newborn Savannah happy. The dark circles of motherhood rimmed the other woman’s eyes and Jillian held out her arms. “Aunt Jillian is on duty now, go lay down for a bit.”
The exhaustion etched on the other woman’s face melted into relief. “Wyatt and I have been taking turns at night, but then Memphis had a bad dream and only wanted Daddy and…” Her voice trailed off as she kissed her baby daughter’s head. “You’re a gift, Jillian.”
Tracy, Izzy, and Kelsey appeared from inside, their arms laden with food. Izzy snorted at Jillian. “At least she finally listened to you. We’ve all tried to take Savannah at one point or another today, but she insisted we were all too busy preparing the food to have to deal with a colicky baby.”
Jillian winked. “I’m just as charming to adults as I am to children.” She nodded over to where Wyatt was reclining in the zero gravity lawn chair beneath an umbrella, his ever present cowboy hat tipped over his eyes, with Memphis laying across his chest, both completely passed out and oblivious to the world. “And clearly her daddy has his hands full already.”
Izzy and Kelsey disappeared back inside the house with light notes of laughter following them. Tracy slipped an arm around Jillian’s shoulders and looked at the younger woman with a warm smile. “I invited your parents to come over for dinner tonight.”
A fresh wave of warmth and gratitude at the new relationships not only she was building with her parents, but those closest to her were as well. “She told me. Thank you so much for including them.”
Tracy tsked and gave her a gentle pat. “You’re family, they’re family.”
“Hey Jillybean,” Dean called out from the pool, surrounded on every side by his nieces and nephews. “You’re looking mighty fine with that baby in your arms.” He gave her a broad wink and she rolled her eyes in response.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself there, Sparky.” She turned, bouncing Savannah in her arms as she walked a little farther from the chaos in hopes of getting the baby to let her eyes close and stay that way.
A small smile curled her lips at the secret she would keep from him for just a few days longer until she could pull together all the things she needed to decorate Fredrock for another surprise lunch. Complete with two pink lines spray painted onto the stone slab that had always held their most precious memories.
The End
Acknowledgements
For my Double A Team, the reason I do everything, including breathe.
To my beloved hashtags and the brilliant ladies attached to them.
My #RChat lovelies, you are the reason I have a single book, much less a series. Your endless support and the lessons you’ve taught me have shaped my writing life. I could not have done this without you.
My #BoardmanBitches Evie & Hannah, thank you enough for living close enough to make the real life rust belt struggles bearable.
My #MDO darlings Evie, Marit, and Meka, our inappropriate jokes, half (or more than half) naked men, and adult toy discussions give me life.
To Luna for willingly being my guinea pig after major additions and sending me all the #TinyEdtor pictures and videos to brighten my day.
As always, I have to end with all the gratitude for the person—MY person—who refused to allow me to quit, told me breaks were okay, and shined a light to help me find my way out of several bouts of writer’s block. Evie, I can never thank you enough for being you, for being here, and for being mine.
About the Author
Books, coffee, and chocolate make up both the heart and body mass that is better known as Amelia Foster. She has been a lifelong lover of the written word, both as a reader and an author, and completed her first manuscript at the ripe old age of five complete with illustrations. Sadly, her art was a medium that never improved over time although thankfully her writing has.
From sweet to salacious the only requirement Amelia has in books she reads–and definitely in the ones she crafts–is an excessively satisfying happily ever after…and then a little bit more.
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