Second Chance Hero
Page 18
“I can’t wait.” Remy curved both her hands around Tyler’s. Unable to stop herself, she paused for a moment to admire the way their hands looked together. Tyler’s hand was tanned and finely proportioned, long fingered and strong. Hers was slim and pale and so much smaller. Together, they looked so right.
Of course, a glance at her left hand wouldn’t be complete without pausing to admire her ring. She never would have admitted it, but platinum suited her. So did the spray of diamonds that were embedded in the band.
She was unmistakably married—and unmistakably happy.
Looking her way again, Tyler murmured, “When we get home, I’ll take care of things for a bit so you can nap.”
“I’ll be all right, though I may fight you for the shower.”
He chuckled. “Remy, don’t you know by now that I’ll give you anything you want? You can have the shower first, no problem.”
Oh, he spoiled her. He made her feel so loved and cherished. Remy hoped she’d never take his tenderness for granted.
Almost as much as she hoped she could maybe get just one hour of sleep sometime soon. She really was so, so tired.
When she opened her eyes again, it was to see Tyler pulling onto the circular driveway that framed her house—their house now. As he turned off the ignition, he met her smile with one of his own. “We made it.”
“Why are we parking here?” They almost always parked in the garage.
“I’ll move the car later, Remy. Don’t fuss. I just thought it would be easier to unpack the car out here on the driveway. You know how cramped that garage is.” With a smile, he opened another door in his four-door, very staid, brand-new BMW. “Besides, now we won’t have to wait another moment to show Cassidy her room.”
As Remy watched Tyler lift a very sleepy Cassidy into his arms, taking special care to support her head, she fought against tears.
Now they were a family.
A flurry of emotions rushed forth—happiness, wonder, the overpowering feeling of thanksgiving. They had so much to be grateful for. And so much to look forward to.
The past year had been a whirlwind. They’d married only two months after Tyler proposed, about the same time a chunk of their paperwork for the adoption agency was due. Remy had felt so proud and excited to write Ramona and Tyler Mann on all of the forms…and had been overwhelmed at the amazing amount of paperwork that was needed to adopt. Everything had had to be just so…certified and notarized and copied in triplicate.
Then they’d been fingerprinted and had attended workshops and answered hundreds of questions.
Next came a flurry of home visits and meetings with counselors and advisers. They’d waited and waited for everything to be processed.
Then came several months of close calls. Remy had been a roller coaster of emotion as she waited day after day for news. And then finally, at 7:00 p.m. on a rainy Thursday, the phone had rung.
A baby had been matched to them. Just for them. A few weeks later, Cassidy’s photo had arrived in the mail. And just six weeks after that, they’d gotten the phone call they’d both been anxiously awaiting.
Cassidy’s paperwork was complete. They were allowed to go to China to get her.
Of course, nothing was quite that easy. They’d had a few other dozen hiccups along the way. But she and Tyler had learned patience and had kept as positive as they could. They’d transformed the guest bedroom into the one that Remy had always been afraid to dream about…a perfect little girl’s room.
They had packed their bags with formula and diapers and baby clothes and toys. A hundred things they were sure they’d need in China.
But then, just like childbirth must have been for other moms, all the stress and worry faded away the moment they saw their girl. Cassidy was five months old. She had beautiful silky black hair. Perfect ivory skin. And the sweetest, most angelic smile Remy had ever seen.
Now, after almost twenty-four hours in planes and airports, they were about to finally bring her home. It was almost overwhelming, she was so excited.
But maybe…maybe Tyler had had a different sort of homecoming in mind. “Are you upset we didn’t let anyone come meet us at the airport, Ty?”
“Nope.”
“Are you sure? I mean, at first I wanted this time just for us, but if you want, we could call some people. You know, see if they’re free. Actually, it might be nice to show Cassidy off.…”
Tyler only smiled as he passed their sleeping bundle into her arms. “Here you go, Mommy. I want to watch you bring our daughter inside for the very first time.”
She didn’t know if she’d ever lose the lump in her throat. “Thanks.”
When he walked by her side, she glanced at the car, packed to the gills. “What about all our stuff?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll bring it in in a little bit.”
“Oh. All right.” As he fished in his pocket for the house key, Remy’s mind started spinning. “Gosh, I just wish I’d had time to finish those curtains I was making.”
“Cassidy won’t notice.”
“And diapers! I don’t think we’ll have enough for more than four days.”
He laughed. “If Cassidy goes through two packs of Pampers tonight, I’ll run to the store. I promise. Now, stop fussing,” Tyler said as he unlocked the door and held it open for her. For them.
Remy stepped inside. As the cool air fanned her cheeks, little Cassidy popped open her eyes.
“This is home, Cass,” she told the little angel who was looking around the entrance with a wide-eyed expression. “You’re going to be so happy here.”
Behind her, the door clicked. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Tyler said, “Let’s go show the baby the kitchen.”
“What?” Now he was really making no sense. “Ty, don’t you think—”
“Hush. And don’t forget to smile.”
Before she could even wrap her mind around that comment, Tyler called out, “We’re home!”
“Surprise!”
From out of the kitchen poured what had to be at least fifty people, all smiling and clapping and cheering.
Stunned, Remy looked from one beaming, crying, happy face to the next. There were her parents, all the way from Kansas City. There was her brother, Tim, with his wife and their four kids. Right out in front were Carmen and Miguel and Marisol and a few other members of the Rodriguez family. Shawn and Eddie were there, too. And so were Cindy and Keith and Megan and April.
And even more special, there were Mark’s parents, crying unashamedly, showing her how much they loved her…how happy they were for her. And…how it was okay for her to continue living.
Turning to Tyler, Remy murmured, “Did you know about this?”
His smile looked to be a mile long. “Yep.” Kissing the top of her head, he added, “I planned it all.”
“How? How were you able to get hold—”
He stopped her words with a little tug forward. “We’ll talk later. For now, go show off our baby, honey. Everyone’s waiting.”
Remy looked down at Cassidy, who miraculously hadn’t started crying from all the commotion. She looked at Tyler, who had given her a future when she’d thought her life was over.
And then she looked at all their family and friends and knew she was so lucky and blessed. Finally she spoke. “Come meet Cassidy. Come meet our little girl.”
When a little round of clapping and cheers rang out, Remy knew she had everything in the world she’d ever wanted…everything she’d ever dreamed of.
“Thank you, Tyler,” she murmured when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Thank you for taking a chance on a photo in a magazine.”
His dimple appeared. “You’re very welcome. Of course, the pleasure was all mine,” he added just as everyone rushed forward and pulled them into a hug.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5684-6
SECOND CHANCE HERO
Copyright © 2010 by Shelley Sabga.
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