All My Life

by Prescott Lane

  It’s been a long few days. I have to think for a second. “Yeah, why?”

  She gets this look on her face, like don’t be mad at me. “That day when I went to get you coffee, I told her about this plan I had to get you and Sheena back together.”

  “What plan?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Mia says. “I went on and on about it. How I wanted you, Sheena, and me to be a family, how nothing would make me happier. How I thought the two of you could rekindle something. What a great couple you’d make.”

  “Mia, you know that’s never gonna happen.”

  “I know that now,” she says, “but that day . . . Daddy, I must’ve really hurt Devlyn. I swear I didn’t mean to.”

  “I know that,” I say, hugging her. “Devlyn knows that, too.”

  She shoves Devlyn’s letter at me. “Don’t you see? It’s right here in this letter. Whatever you need. I told her I wanted you and Sheena to be together. That I really wanted that to happen. She broke up with you for me, to give me a chance to have us be a family—you, me, and Sheena. Devlyn did that for me.”

  Devlyn would do anything for Mia. I know that, but this? Sacrifice her relationship with me? She loves Mia that much? That’s putting your money where your mouth is. Mia comes first in my life. God knows I’ve sacrificed relationships for Mia before, but I never expected to have a woman love my daughter enough to do that. Fuck, if Mia’s right and Devlyn dumped me for her . . .

  “I have to stop Devlyn from leaving,” I say.

  Mia nods at me, a huge smile on her face. Grabbing her cheeks, I plant a big kiss on top of her head before heading toward the door, not caring how late it is.

  “Dad,” Mia calls out, causing me to turn back around. “Better change your shirt first.”

  She’s right. Why’d I agree to wear this damn thing, anyway? A quick change, and I’m heading to find Devlyn. A woman breaking things off with you is never easy, but she did it for my daughter. It makes sense. It changes everything.

  Mia meets me by the door. “Think I need to go talk to Granddad,” she says, giving me a little smile.

  It’s time for both of us to mend some fences. Kissing her on top of the head, I pull out my phone, trying to call Devlyn again. No answer.

  “She’s not answering?” Mia asks.

  I shake my head. “Not for days.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I guess I’ll just go over to her place or the diner and . . .”

  “Wait,” Mia says, pulling out her phone. “Let me try something.”

  I watch as she types out a message to Devlyn, asking her to meet so they can say goodbye, laying it on thick about a gift she’d picked out especially for Devlyn. Then we wait, both our eyes burning a hole in Mia’s phone, praying for the little circles to pop up that indicate Devlyn is responding.

  Mia looks up at me. I can see how much she wants this to happen, not just for me, but for her, too. I give her a hug, wishing I’d known that weeks ago. The phone dings.

  I’m getting an early start. Meet me at the Falls at sunrise.

  I kiss the top of Mia’s head. “I’m a genius, I know,” she teases.

  Now I just have to wait until morning.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  GARRETT

  If you asked me two months ago what life in Eden Valley was like, I’d have said slow and uneventful, the perfect place to raise a child. The last few months had been anything but slow. Last night was the exception. It seemed to drag on and on, waiting for the sun to peek through the clouds, waiting for my chance to see Devlyn and win her back.

  To think this all started with a high school graduation speech—the dating hunt Mia had me on, Sheena showing up, the no-contact clause, building the pavilion, and falling for Devlyn. I’m ready for things to settle back down, to settle down with Devlyn.

  Mia didn’t get any sleep last night, either. After she and my dad hugged it out, she stayed up honing her matchmaking skills and developing a plan. She had this whole romantic scenario in her head, where she shows up at the Falls, talks to Devlyn, then I step out from the woods—the gift Mia promised.

  No fucking way am I letting Mia win Devlyn back for me. She’s done enough. This is between Devlyn and me. Mia’s been between us too much. I let that happen when I shouldn’t have. This morning is about me and Devlyn, and no one else. I had to practically threaten Mia to get her to keep her butt at home.

  Pulling my truck up to the Falls, I see Devlyn’s car there. She showed up. As I walk past it, I see the back filled with suitcases and boxes, and my gut twists. She’s really packed and ready to go. This is my one shot. I can’t blow it.

  I’m not one of those people that rehearse what I’m going to say in big moments. I prefer things to just come to me, to speak from the heart, but right now I’m wishing I had a little something worked out in my mind—at least a place to start. In all my tossing and turning last night, I didn’t come up with anything.

  It’s as if the world is just waking up, the birds are singing, the sunlight is peeking through the trees. It’s warm out even for the early hour, and the pressure of the moment is sitting squarely on my shoulders.

  When I come through the clearing to the Falls, I see her. Her fingers are lightly stroking the woodwork of the pavilion, her hair is loose and down, catching the rays from the sun, and she’s wearing a white tank top with a long pink skirt with pineapples on it.

  For a second, I just watch her, the way she moves, the morning breeze in her hair. This can’t be the last time I see her. I won’t allow it.

  People spend their whole lives searching for the meaning of life—money, fame, success, wisdom. All that’s great, but what we should be asking is, “What’s the meaning of love?”

  Love in its purest form is unselfish, unconditional, fearless, passionate, compassionate.

  It’s not about what you want in this life—or even what you need. It’s about who you love and who loves you. The meaning of love can be summed up in one word—Devlyn.

  Her blue eyes look right at me, a moment of shock in them. Then her head shakes, and she’s heading toward me, or more accurately, trying to head around me.

  “Mia!” she scolds no one.

  “Devlyn, just listen.”

  “It’s too hard,” she says.

  “There’s nothing hard about loving you.”

  She pauses, wiping a few tears from her cheeks. “I have to go.”

  Capturing her waist, I say, “I told Mia about us.” She looks up at me, a mix of sadness and surprise in her eyes.

  “It doesn’t change things,” Devlyn said.

  “I know why you broke it off with me,” I say. “You did it for Mia. Because of what she told you about wanting Sheena and I to be together.” She looks down. “That’s why, isn’t it?”

  “Please, Garrett, it’s what’s best for Mia.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that I don’t want Sheena?”

  “I figured if I wasn’t in the picture, then you’d . . .”

  I can only shake my head.

  “Don’t shake your head at me,” she says, pulling in her tears. “I see the way she looks at you. It’s not a stretch to think she could get you back into her bed.”

  “If you really believe that, then you don’t know me at all,” I say. “There’s not a chance in hell of that happening. Or of she and I getting back together.”

  “Not even for Mia?” she asks like she’s testing me.

  “Not even for Mia,” I say.

  She’s quiet for a second. I’m hoping she’s letting that sink in, but if I know Devlyn, the more likely scenario is that she’s contemplating her next move.

  “What about Mia?” she asks. “She can’t have done a one-eighty and all of a sudden given up on her dream to have her parents together.”

  “She saw how Sheena treated you,” I say. “That made her realize a few things about who her mother really is.” I reach for her hand, and just when I think I’m about
to get to her, she pulls away. “You know what? Let’s say that I’m lying, and Mia still wants Sheena and I together.”

  “Okay,” Devlyn says.

  “The thing is, Mia doesn’t get to make that decision for me.” Her perfect, full lips open to argue with me, but I beat her to it. “Besides, love is not a decision. I didn’t just decide to love you, so now I do. I’m sure if it was that easy, you would’ve decided not to love me a long time ago.”

  She smiles just a tad. “I decided to stay all these years. Like I decided to leave now.”

  “You think if you leave that you won’t love me anymore?”

  I see her start to crumble and I reach out, taking her cheek in my hand. “I know I’ll still love you,” she says softly. “And Mia.”

  “Mia is the one who sent me,” I say, pulling out the letter Devlyn sent me all those years ago. “She found this.”

  She opens it up, seeing her handwriting. I can see the recognition in her eyes. “I can’t believe you still have this,” she says, her voice soft. “After all these years.”

  Watching her read her own words, I’m hopeful. Her blue eyes are wide. Tears are running down her cheeks. I think I may be winning her over. At least she isn’t running away from me anymore.

  “This is all still true,” she whispers.

  “And I’m not sure I ever thanked you,” I say.

  “Garrett, you were always grateful,” she says, trying to let me off the hook.

  Shaking my head, I say, “Maybe for the hair braiding lessons, the breakfasts, the movie nights, but I don’t think I ever told you what that meant to me, to have you there, to know you had my back. The way you took on your parents when you were just a kid. Hell, you changed the way this whole town looked at me.”

  She futilely wipes her cheeks. “It was nothing.”

  “It was everything to me and to Mia.” I take her hand. “This is what Mia needs. She knows that now. More importantly, you are who I need. Who I want.”

  Her eyes close, a rush of tears falling from her cheeks.

  Without another word, my lips crash into hers. No speech I rehearsed could say everything that this one kiss can. I love you. I forgive you. I’m in awe of how much you love my daughter. I want you. I need you. None of it holds a candle to the feel of her body pressed against mine, her tongue wrestling with mine, her hands on my back, and mine in her hair.

  Slowly, we pull apart, and I nod my head toward the Falls. The first rainbow of the day brightly arches over the water.

  The legend is right.

  She will be mine forever.

  EPILOGUE

  TWO MONTHS LATER

  DEVLYN

  Biscuit Girl Two didn’t die when Garrett and I got back together. It got fast-tracked. He loved the idea and supported me whole-heartedly, as long as it didn’t mean me relocating. We’ve spent a few weekends at the beach fixing up the place together. Well, Garrett fixed and I admired how good he looked doing it. Mia came with us until she went off to college. She loves being so close to the ocean, so it worked out well all around. Bonus, it gave my parents a chance to get to know Garrett and me as a couple.

  My parents watch out for the place when I’m not there, and Garrett and I have matched our schedules so that we can be there together. Truthfully, I think it’s been a good distraction for Garrett with Mia now at college.

  The day he moved her into her dorm was bittersweet. He asked me to make the trip with them, but I stayed back in Eden Valley, figuring that should be between father and daughter. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes when he walked through my door after having left her hundreds of miles away. I expected him to say he didn’t want to ever do that again, but instead he took me in his arms and joked, “Next time I do that, I’ll be in my fifties!”

  That’s the way he told me he wants more kids. I loved that. It wasn’t a big, sit-down discussion. It wasn’t a fight. It was easy.

  That’s the way our love has been lately. Easy.

  Sheena leaving helped that situation. She went back home not long after the Fourth of July. Mia refused to see her, so there was no reason for her to stay. I wish things were easier for Mia in that department. Mia has her guard up when it comes to Sheena these days. I hate that has anything to do with me. Mia hasn’t cut off all contact, and to Sheena’s credit, she calls Mia a couple times a week. Mia just has to decide what role Sheena will play in her life, and unfortunately, she’s struggling with that.

  Garrett and I are planning to go see Mia for parents’ weekend next month, and I was beyond excited when Mia specifically asked that I come, too. We don’t have plans to see her until then, which is why I almost pass out when I see her leaning up against the door of my diner on a random Friday afternoon wearing a pale-yellow sundress.

  “What are you doing here?” I cry, rushing to her and giving her a huge hug.

  “Skipped my Friday classes and came home,” she says.

  “What’s your father going to say about that?”

  “Figure it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission,” she says.

  “I’ve taught you well,” I say as she laughs. “Is everything alright? Are you okay?”

  She nods towards the closed sign on the diner, a sign that should be turned to open. “Daddy knows I’m here.”

  “Why is the place closed? Where is everyone?”

  “Come with me,” she says, taking my hand.

  *

  “Mia, what’s going on?” I ask for the twentieth time since leaving the diner. She stops at the entrance to the Falls. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “No, you are,” she says with a smile, nodding toward the bridge that leads to the waterfall.

  Out of nowhere, Garrett steps through the tree line, wearing a gray suit with a white dress shirt, the top few buttons undone. I look back at Mia, who nudges me toward her dad but doesn’t follow.

  “Garrett, what’s going on?” I ask, shaking my head and smiling.

  Without warning, he drops to one knee. Some girls imagine this moment their whole lives, planning out their weddings, picking out venues. I’m not one of those girls. I always knew the man. The rest just didn’t seem important.

  Because I’m so unprepared, I blurt out, “Holy crap.”

  If there’s a videographer hiding in the bushes filming this, I’ll need a retake when my heart starts beating again.

  “Devlyn,” he says, his voice so sure, “I was wrong when I said all love is hard. Falling in love with you was so easy that I didn’t realize it even happened. I love you. You’ve been my past, my present, and I’m hoping you’ll agree to be my future. Will you marry me?”

  I fly into his arms, knocking him to his butt and kiss him. We’re laughing and kissing, and I hear Mia yell behind us, “The ring! Dad, you forgot the ring!”

  Smiling, he rolls his eyes then reaches into his pocket. I see him blow out a deep breath. Silly man, doesn’t he know I don’t care about the ring? I’m going to love whatever he picked out for me because he picked it for me. When he pulls out the delicate band holding the center diamond, tears run down my cheeks. How on earth did he afford that? With Mia in college?

  He reads my mind. “Turns out that old bike was worth more than I thought.”

  “Garrett!” I cry out. “It’s so beautiful.”

  He slips it on my finger, helping me to my feet. Wrapping my arms around him, I hug him with all my might, then he kisses the top of my head, loosening his hold and nodding toward Mia. I look back at her, and she’s holding her arm up, tapping her watch. “Do you need to be somewhere?” I ask.

  “Yeah, your wedding!” she laughs out.

  “What?” I say, turning back to Garrett.

  He flashes me that drop dead sexy smile of his. “See you in fifteen at the altar.”

  “What?” I say again, as Mia appears by my side, holding a garment bag.

  “Daddy, you’ve already broken like a hundred wedding rules,” Mia says, shooing her hand at him. “I’ve g
ot this.”

  “Wait?” I say, grabbing Garrett’s hand.

  “It’s all planned,” he says. “Everyone is here. Your dad is waiting to walk you down the aisle to the pavilion at the Falls.”

  “The wedding is here? Today?” I ask, needing more clarification. My brain is not working.

  He flashes me a sexy grin. “Right now, DD.”

  He’s busting out the nickname. He knows I hate that, but he also knows I can’t resist his charms.

  Cocking his head to the side, he says, “Won’t be able to call you DD anymore if you marry me today. You’ll be Mrs. Devlyn Hollis.”

  The name I secretly used to scribble over and over again as a schoolgirl. It’s coming true.

  “Look at me,” I say. “I’m completely undone. No makeup, my hair is all crazy, I don’t have a dress.”

  “I’ve got the dress,” Mia says.

  Garrett directs my eyes to him. “This is the way I love to see you. Beautifully undone.”

  “You really want to marry me right now?” I ask.

  Nodding and smiling, he says, “Figure I’ve kept you waiting long enough.” I give him a playful smack. He cups my cheek in his hand. “Please don’t make me wait one more second to make you my wife.”

  *

  MIA HOLLIS

  Wedding Toast

  Let me start off by saying if anyone is filming this, please don’t post it on social media. The last one got me in a lot of hot water.

  I talked a lot about my dad in my last speech, so this time I want to talk about my mom—Devlyn.

  From one unexpected blessing to the next—that’s what you are to me. And to my dad.

  It’s silly that we didn’t expect you, because you’ve been the constant in our lives. My very first memory is being in the gazebo. I had to be only three or four, and the three of us were eating strawberries. I don’t remember anything else but the three of us.

  While preparing this speech, I asked my dad how he fell in love with you. If he knew it while we shared the strawberries? Or was it when I lost my two front teeth, and you dressed up like the tooth fairy to make me smile because I thought I looked ugly? Or a thousand other moments after that?