“Can I, Mommy?” Jamie asked Holly hesitantly.
Holly’s heart wrenched at the adoring look on her daughter’s face. Jamie never asked her for anything, like she understood that things were tight, and here she was, being presented with a gift, and she still wasn’t sure if she could have it. It was unfair that her daughter had had to go without getting her heart’s desires.
Holly forced a smile onto her face. “Well, it’s from Grandpa Gus, sweetheart. You have to take it.”
“Yes, yes!” She did a little fist bump, then ran to Gus and took the teddy, which was bigger than her.
“What do you say, munchkin?” Holly said before Jamie could stagger away with the teddy.
Jamie looked sheepishly at Holly, then turned to Gus. “Thank you, Grandpa Gus.”
Gus went down on his haunches and tried for a hug again. This time, Jamie graced him with one, but she kept the bear between them.
“Are you staying, Grandpa Gus?” she asked.
“I’m never going to leave you again. I’m staying forever and ever. Cross my heart.”
“Yay!” Jamie screeched excitedly, but then her face turned somber. “Is Daddy here?”
“We’ll have to see, baby.”
“Jamie,” Holly said sternly.
The door had been left slightly ajar and it suddenly swung open; Amelia and Armand walked in, both carrying boxes.
“Hi,” Jane said to Amelia. “I’m Jane.”
“Melia,” she returned softly, her lips curving into a smile. “Oh, my goodness. Hey, baby!” She went to join her father, crouching down so she was level with Jamie, too.
“Mommy! It’s Auntie Amelia!” Jamie yelled over her shoulder.
The two women’s gazes met. Amelia sniffed loudly.
“Where is my hug?” Amelia tickled Jamie.
Holly was more than surprised when Jamie threw her little arms around Amelia’s neck without any hesitation.
“Look what I got you.”
More presents. Holly tried to suppress her groan.
Gus laughed. “Look the other way, Holly. We have four years of spoiling to catch up on.”
“It’s the spoiling part I’m worried about.”
“Let us, please.”
Holly sighed, but smiled. “I’ll try.”
Jamie tore the ribbon off the box and opened the lid. It was a box like a treasure trove of things a four-year-old girl could want. Dolls, puzzles, candy and more—all super expensive, no doubt.
Armand handed her a second box, and Jamie immediately ripped it open. It was a Jenny doll.
Holly knew they’d bought everything at the resort’s store. She wondered where Jake was.
“Hey, Jamie,” Armand sat on the floor next to Amelia.
“Hello,” Jamie said, studying his face.
“You know me?” he asked and she nodded shyly. “Where is my hug?”
Jamie got up and wrapped her tiny arms around Armand’s neck while Amelia stroke her back.
“You brought her toys? I didn’t even give her anything,” Bernie complained.
“Oh, shush,” Amelia said. “You spent the whole day with her.”
“You know about the boat?”
“Of course I know about your boat trip. How was it?” Amelia asked.
“It was the best day of my life,” Bernie said.
Amelia laughed.
The door opened again and Leo walked in with his arms full of toys.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Holly exclaimed.
“More toys!” Jamie shrieked.
Someone grunted.
Holly froze.
Jamie jumped up to see who it was. When her eyes landed on Jake, she said nothing, just ran straight to Holly and clung to her.
“Okay, it’s okay.”
“It’s Daddy,” she whisper-shouted.
“Seems like it, baby girl.”
Jamie raised her arms so Holly could pick her up, her eyes following Jake as he set toy after toy on the floor.
“You must have bought the entire shop,” Holly said to defuse some of the tension that had settled in the room when Jamie hadn’t gone straight to Jake.
“Well, I missed a shit load of Christmases.”
“Language!” everyone yelled.
“Sorry,” he said with a sheepish grin. “And birthdays, so yeah, I bought the whole damn shop.” He looked at Jamie and smiled nervously. “Hey, beautiful.”
Jamie hid her face in Holly’s shoulder, drawing an exasperated chuckle from her.
“Sweetheart, you wanted him here, and now he is,” she whispered in Jamie’s ear. “Go say hi.”
Jamie slowly lifted her head and nodded, so Holly put her down. And just as slowly, she walked toward Jake, who was now sitting cross-legged on the floor.
He opened his arms out to her, and she ran straight into them. Scooping her up and holding her tight to his chest, he got to his feet. His eyes roamed over her face before he kissed her on the head softly a few times.
Holly heard him whispering to his daughter. Seeing them together, at last, sent shivers down her spine.
“Never, ever?” Jamie asked.
“Never, ever. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise?”
“Promise, promise.”
Jamie smiled and kissed him on the cheek, before squeezing the crap out of his neck.
“Want to see your presents?”
“Yes, please.” She unwrapped her arms from around his neck and clapped her hands excitedly.
Jake put her down on the floor, chuckling.
Holly took a seat next to them on the floor and for the next forty-five minutes, they watched Jamie eagerly opening one present after another.
It seemed that Jake had bought everything he could get his hand on.
Jamie’s elation was such, she screeched at what was inside each present. That had Jake covering his ears, but he laughed at her pleasure.
“Baby, calm down.”
“But it’s so cute! Look, Mommy!”
“Cute,” Jake repeated, and everyone laughed.
“I see,” Holly said when Jamie plopped the cutest stuffed bunny onto her lap.
Jamie ran to the next present and tore it open. Overwhelmed by all his gifts, she jumped on top of Jake and he fell onto his back, cradling her in his arms.
He lifted her up like she weighed nothing, then brought her back down onto his chest and kissed her again.
“Can we go swimming?” Jamie asked, giggling.
“Jamie Bernice,” Holly scolded. “What did I say about the pool?”
Jamie pouted. “Sorry, Mommy.”
“Oh, no. C’mon, Holly.”
“Jake,” Holly warned.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay. I promise.”
“Okay, fine.” She looked at Jamie, giving her a stern look. “One hour.”
“You’re joining us,” Jake stated, getting up off the floor. “Go get changed.”
Jane smirked at her. “Holly, you better go. He seems very serious.”
Chuckling, Jake walked over to Jane, swooping her into a hug.
With a sigh, Holly went to change into her swimsuit again. She couldn’t believe how much everything had changed in less than twenty-four hours.
Things were moving too fast.
Was she doing the right thing, or was this just her heart wanting him back?
Nine
Holly plopped down on one of the pool loungers next to Amelia and watched the rest of the group play and splash around with Jamie.
She glanced over at Amelia, whose face was still streaked with tears. Amelia hadn’t once taken her eyes off Jamie.
“She’s so beautiful,” Amelia said.
“She’s a Peters, Amelia, you’re all beautiful.”
Amelia huffed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Holly. About everything. I wish I had a magic wand that could turn back time, so I could go back to that day. If I could go back, I wouldn’t have gone
to my mother that morning…I would have texted you or something. Maybe if I’d done that, you wouldn’t have believed the lies she told you about me.”
Holly reached out and grabbed Amelia’s hand. “It’s in the past, Melia. Nothing we do now will ever bring Romy back, but at least with the truth out, Jamie gets to know her family.”
“I know.” Amelia sighed, glancing at Holly, before looking back to Jamie. “I was so furious with you, and actually believed you were capable of doing something so atrocious. Meanwhile, you were fighting for your life in a hospital my mother was supposed to have called that day.”
“I can’t believe you guys phoned every hospital.”
“We tried everything. Bernie, though, was adamant that you would rather die than terminate your pregnancy, which only made Jake panic more. He searched for you for two months, even though he had no idea where to start. You left no clues.”
“I was so scared Jake would find me and force me to get the abortion. That’s why I never let anyone know where I was.”
“That would have only happened over my dead body, Holly. I don’t care how thick blood is, I will never be okay with abortion. I don’t care if it’s Robin, or one of my other sisters, or Jake. Blood will never be thick enough. Why did you believe her?”
Holly shrugged. “I didn’t want to believe her, but it was hard not to.”
“He’s so upset with all of us. I know it may not seem as if that’s the case, but he is. He was so close to finding you when we all rocked up and dragged him back home.”
“What do you mean?”
Amelia turned to her. “He was in Seattle when my mother, my father, Armand and I showed up. If we hadn’t talked him into going home, he probably would have found you, but I fought with him, we all fought with him, and we dragged him back. We were all there that day when they were born. We were so close.”
The revelation shocked Holly. “Amelia, how do you know this?”
“Frank and my parents met for drinks that day to talk about Jake, but Frank was called in for an emergency and had to leave. That emergency was the twins being born prematurely. If we’d gone and said goodbye to him, we probably would have seen you and the babies.”
Amelia started sobbing, and Holly pulled her in toward her, stroking her back and holding her head.
That was the day she’d flatlined, when she’d been so certain she’d seen Jake running toward her. Was it because he’d been there?
It was so weird.
“Why did you call her Romalia?” Amelia mumbled against Holly’s chest before she pulled away.
“Because she was a little Romalia. A real lady just like her aunts. The name just came to me when I saw her. I guess a part of me always knew deep down inside that we’d never been thrown away. I mean, how else do you explain that stupid rainbow story?”
“That story wasn’t stupid at all, Holly. I think we’re all grateful that you told her about us, otherwise meeting Jamie would have taken ages.” Amelia scratched her head. “Why didn’t you ever phone Jake?”
Holly shrugged. “I wanted to, believe me, but my parents always talked me out of it and I eventually forgot his number. I’m sorry, Amelia, I thought he didn’t want us. I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused.”
“You didn’t cause this, my mother did. I have no mother anymore.”
“Don’t say that,” Holly begged.
“I mean it. She knew how I felt. Her feelings should not have mattered. She could learn a lot from you. Even though you thought we were all monsters, you still put us in a rainbow for that little girl’s sake.” She nodded toward Jamie. “She should’ve done the same.”
Holly pursed her lips, staying quiet for a moment. Finally, she spoke again. “Why did she do this?”
Amelia shook her head and snorted. “The reasons she gave are so fucking stupid. She said that you weren’t good enough for Jake, that the baby would’ve dragged him down, and that she just had his best interests at heart. Jake lost it, you know. And so did Frank. He spoke so highly of you. I hear you’re in your last year of med school.”
Holly closed her eyes, resignedly. “Frank told you guys?”
Amelia laughed. “He did. We were all shocked. My mother was wrong about you. Everyone knows it except her. And now he’s moving to Seattle. I’m never going to see her.”
“Hey, Seattle is just a flight away.”
“He’s mad at me, Holly,” Amelia said in a flat voice.
“Then you’ll come visit me. She’s my daughter, too. Even though she has his blueprint, moms always have the last say, Melia.”
Amelia chuckled. “Yeah, Jake and I don’t really make great roommates, Holly.”
“You’ll stay with me.”
“Oh, and where do you think Jake’s is going to live? Holly, you have a rude awakening coming your way if you think he’s planning to live alone. He’s not moving to Seattle just for Jamie. He already has it all figured out.”
Holly inspected her nails. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Amelia. Her mother had told her the exact same thing.
When Holly’s silence lasted too long, Amelia grabbed her hand. “Look at me.”
Holly reluctantly turned her head to look at her.
“You two were great together, Holly. Don’t punish him for my mother’s mistakes. He wasn’t part of this. Just give him a second chance.”
“Amelia, it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. Everything is happening so fast.”
“No, it’s not. It’s just falling back to how it always should have been. This is fate. Fate is no slowpoke—it’s pointing people in the right direction that takes time, but once the truth comes out, fate is like a tornado. Don’t fight it. My brother can’t live without you. We all know that, we’ve just been pretending not to see it.”
Tears clouded Holly’s vision. That was why he’d begged her to save him last night.
“Will you at least try?” Amelia asked.
Holly nodded.
“You’ll see, everything will be okay from now on. We’ll make it work, Holly. You’re going to get tired of us pretty quickly. That’s a promise.”
Holly chuckled. “I’ll never get tired of you.” She hugged Amelia. “Now will you please stop crying? The look doesn’t suit you.”
“Yeah, I wish fate could work her miracles on feelings as well.”
When they were done swimming and had returned to their cabins, Jake told everyone to get their bags ready.
“Why?” Holly asked.
“I’m not staying here. Let’s go.”
“Jake, it’s one more day. Jamie loves it here,” Holly said in exasperation.
“I’m not talking about the resort, Holly. We have a family cabin. It’ll just be us. My mother left with Ben, Robin, and my father. Kate left with her parents. There’s enough space for you.”
Frank roared with laughter. “Spoiled brat.”
“You’re also coming, old man.”
“But I love this cabin.”
“You’ll love mine more.”
Jake grabbed Holly’s bags, while everyone else helped pack up Jamie’s toys. Once Jake had loaded everything into the golf cart, he picked Jamie up and sat her down on the seat next to him. With a grin, he waved at the adults watching him, then raced away.
Holly rolled her eyes, but her heart was happy. She linked arms with Amelia as they and Armand walked to the cabin.
“Where is Robin?” Holly asked.
“She left with my mom. She needs to deal with this in her own way. Jake told us that if we wanted to be a part of Jamie’s life, we had to be in it forever, that we couldn’t flake out and disappear from her life after meeting her.”
Holly bit the inside of her cheek. “Robin didn’t want to meet her.”
“She’ll come around, Holly. It’s a big decision to make. It’s not that she doesn’t want to be in Jamie’s life, but her work schedule is hectic, and she doesn’t want Jamie to get attached if she can’t make time for her.” Amelia squ
eezed Holly’s arm. “I know my sister. She’s as hardcore as my mother, but she loves Jake. And she will love Jamie when the time is right for them to meet.”
Holly nodded, then her eyes widened when the large, luxury cabin came into view.
“Holy crap.”
Amelia laughed. “What can I say? We are spoiled brats.”
“It’s so unfair.”
Amelia led her into the cabin. Not that something that elaborate should even be called a cabin. It was a double-story with a huge front door that led into a foyer, and in that foyer was a spiraling staircase that led upstairs, where Holly was sure were a number of rooms. The lake seemed to surround the cabin.
Holly raised an eyebrow at Jake, but inside she was gleeful. She could get used to this again.
“Don’t give me that look,” Jake teased her.
“Mommy, come check out my room!” Jamie said excitedly.
“Okay, baby.” She let Jamie take her upstairs. They took the stairs one at a time and walked into a room that had a single over queen bunk bed combo.
“I’m going to sleep up there. And Nanna and Uncle Frank are going to sleep here,” Jamie said, patting the queen bed.
“And where am I going to sleep?”
“Umm…” Jamie scratched her chin and shrugged, the expression on her face one of bewilderment.
“With Daddy, of course,” Jake said as he grabbed Holly from behind.
“I see you’ve worked everything out already. You really think you’re that lucky?”
He shrugged. “I remember a certain young lady’s words from—”
Holly put her hand over his mouth. “Shhh,” she murmured, and he laughed as he grabbed Jamie from the queen size bed and put her on the top bunk.
“It’s high!” she said in awe.
“It is. Do you think you’ll be okay up there?” Holly asked, concerned.
Jamie nodded enthusiastically.
“Well, Nanna will watch out for you. And if you get scared from the height at any time, you just tell Nanna, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.” Jamie held her arms out so they could help her down.
Jake announced it was time to grab something to eat at the restaurant and that they should get ready. Dinner was so relaxed and filled with laughter, as Gus and Armand told Jamie what they had been doing in the rainbow the entire time they had been stuck there.
Luck Page 10
