“Thanks. While I’m gone, please take her wherever she wants to go.” I press END. Despite knowing she’s safe, my brain is screaming at me to go to her. I take a step away from the Gate..
“Sir, you need to board.”
I rub the heel of my hand into my forehead. I’d made a promise to be there for Violet, and if I get this behind me, then Bliss and I can move forward. It’s for the best, really.
Or so I assure myself.
With a heavy heart, I hand my ticket to the flight attendant and board the plane.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jackson
There are only a handful of people at the memorial. I’m standing beside Violet, wearing a dark suit I thankfully had the presence of mind to purchase at the Armani store in the Charlotte airport.
The ceremony is short. There’s no body, just a tiny gravestone with a name and date.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I named the baby,” Violet says. She slips her hand into mine, and it’s just the two of us standing there.
Noah—the name we’d picked out, when we feeling good about our future. Violet was sure we’d have a little boy first. I didn’t care. I just took comfort in the fact that she would be mine forever.
My eyes tear up, and I sniff. My throat closes up, and there’s a lump the size of Tennessee in my chest. “I don’t mind.” My voice cracks. “It’s a great name. I think Noah would have been beautiful, like you, and made us happy. He would have had a little guitar to play, and we would have loved him.”
Violet lays her head against my shoulder. “It’s okay, Jackson. He’s in Heaven, healthy and happy. One day we’ll see him again, and he’ll forgive me for what I did.”
A large hand falls on my shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Rae,” Cole says.
Violet turns, tears in her blue eyes as she looks up at both of us. “I made the decision to drink and drive, not Jackson, not Callie… not anyone else but me.”
“Damn it, Rae.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I told you to stop beating yourself up.”
“Cole. I’m okay. One day, you and I will have babies of our own.” She smiles at him. “Just a little differently from most people, that’s all.”
“Yeah, we will,” he says, kissing her lightly. “As many as you want.”
I back up, trying to leave this moment for them. My heart is breaking for the son I never met, for the games of catch I’ll never play, and the stupid S’mores we’ll never make on camping trips.
Friends don’t say stupid, a little girl with big green eyes and curly brown hair whispers.
I grit my teeth and clench my jaw, cursing at my wayward thoughts and memories. Tears run down my face, but I don’t bother wiping them away. I want to hurt. I want to feel the pain.
Cole turns to look at me, and then he does the unexpected.
Letting go of Violet, he walks up to me. I think he’s going to hit me, but all he does is take me in his arms and hug me. “I’m here for you, Jackson. You want a relationship, then I’m all for it.”
In that moment, he sounds and looks so much like our dad, the dad I wanted to have, the dad we both deserved, but didn’t get, that I fucking lose it.
I wrap my arms around him and sob like a baby.
***
Later, while we’re eating dinner at Violet’s Nana’s house, I check my phone for messages. Unfortunately, none of them are from Bliss.
“Nice ring,” Cole says, staring at my hand. He’s sitting directly across from me, with Violet on his left side and Kelly on his right. My half-sister, I guess, since we have the same mom. She and Parker, my half-brother, didn’t come to the memorial.
“Wedding present from Bliss.”
The entire table goes silent.
“You really got married?” Violet asks. “I thought that was just a rumor.”
“Is she pretty?” Kelly asks.
“Beautiful.” I take a bite of ham.
“Bliss is very pretty.” Violet taps Kelly on the nose. “She has curly hair like yours, skin like yours, but instead of brown eyes, hers are green.”
“That girl’s body was banging in high school,” Parker says, and this time, everyone looks at him.
He holds up his hands. “Just saying what I was thinking.”
Cole levels him with a look. “Little more thinking and less talking next time.”
“Why didn’t you bring her?” Kelly asks.
“I didn’t think she, uh… it’s not an easy topic for us to discuss.”
Violet exhales. “Jackson, you should have brought her. I didn’t realize you two were together together.”
“You knew she was with me?”
Cole and Violet share a look. “We saw y’all leave in Everett’s car,” she admits. “But after that, I didn’t pay attention.”
“We were occupied with other things.” Cole picks up Violet’s hand, holding it up to the light. She’s wearing an engagement ring.
I feel… nothing. And that feels so damn good. “Congratulations.”
“Back to Bliss.” I take another bite of ham. Violet always was tenacious. “If she didn’t feel comfortable coming to the memorial, she could have stayed here, during the ceremony.”
“I didn’t want to drop her off in a strange place.” I glance at Violet’s Nana. “No offense, ma’am.”
“None taken, but I’ve known Bliss since she first moved here with her parents.” She set her glass of tea down. “Sweet child. Very quiet, but sweet.”
“She’s still like that,” Violet says.
I stab a carrot with my fork. “Sometimes she’s not.”
Cole cocks his head to one side. “Maybe we should change the subject.”
Laying down my fork, I wipe my mouth with my napkin and push my chair back. “I need to get going. My flight leaves in a couple of hours, so I’ll need enough time to get back through security.”
Violet perks up. “Cole will be happy to drive you to the airport.”
“He will?”
“I will?”
We say it simultaneously.
“Jinx!” Kelly shouts, and then giggles. “You owe me two cokes!”
“Use your inside voice, bug,” Cole admonishes, but he’s smiling a little too.
Kelly makes a face, and then goes back to pushing her vegetables around on her plate.
“If you don’t mind, I won’t have to pay out the,” everyone glares at me, “nose for a cab ride.” What kind of manners do they think I have? Parker slurps at his bowl of May Peas. Well, with family like that, I guess I can cut them a little slack.
***
The first thirty minutes are the most painful. Cole and I don’t have much to say to each other. The only things we have in common are Violet, an ass for a dad, half-siblings, and a mother that sold me.
“Planning on staying married to Bliss?”
“Bliss said she stayed with you guys after Brian Corey hurt her.”
Cole slows down for a traffic light. “Yeah, I was eighteen at the time and found her crawling on the side of the road. She wouldn’t let me take her to the ER or to the cops. Fuck. You should have seen her face, all swollen and—well, suffice to say, she looked awful. Then one morning, we woke up and Bliss was gone. I tried to find her, but I never did, and my resources were limited.”
“She said your mother made her leave, not that I can blame her, with Kelly and all, but—”
“Crystal didn’t live with us then. She was in rehab. I took her in, asked Miss Violet to come over and take a look at her. Kelly wasn’t even two years old; she wouldn’t remember anything about it.”
“But she said… the guy the Coreys owed money to came around there, bothering y’all.”
“I never saw it. Son of a bitch. He must have done it while we were in school. Damn it.” Cole pounds his fist against the dashboard. “I made a promise to her dad to take care of her. You have to bring her up here now. I need to apologize to her, for not keeping her safe.”
“Damn it,” h
e mutters again, pressing the gas. “Good thing that asshole’s in jail.”
I look at my brother, really look at him, and realize that despite who he looks like, despite who our dad is, he’s nothing like him. He’d kept his promise to Bliss’ family, but she’d gotten scared and ran away. Again.
“We’ll work out something, but just knowing you helped her, after what she went through… It means a lot.”
He pulls his Jeep up to the curb and puts it in park. “You really love her, don’t you?”
“What do you think?” I open the door and get out.
Cole leans over the seat. “I think that the answer-a-question-with-a-question bullshit is for the birds.”
“Does that mean we’ll start having family holidays together?”
“Do I look like I want to be miserable at Christmas?” Then he makes a face. “Go home to your wife, Morgan. By the way… thank you for being there for Violet. It meant a lot to her… and to me.”
I nod. “You’re welcome.” Then I close the door, and do exactly what my brother suggested. I head home to my wife.
But when I get home, she’s not there. All that remains is the wedding ring I’d given her and a note, painstakingly written by her. My heart breaks when I think about how long it took her to write it. Each letter is so precise, so carefully drawn, that my heart constricts.
Jackson. You need music. I need love. I am going home. Bliss
Home? Where in the hell would be home for her?
Forrestville? It certainly wasn’t Nashville. Then it hits me.
This is my home. This is our home. No matter where we go, we should always come back here.
Staring at her note, I take a deep breath, and then another. “I’m coming home, baby doll.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bliss
It’s been a week since I’ve left Jackson, and my body aches for him. Not just my body, but my heart and soul.
Every day, to keep my mind off him, I sit on the deck, practicing reading and writing. I want to be prepared when classes start.
The sound of music fills the air, and I look up, puzzled.
I don’t remember turning on the radio. The music gets louder, until it’s coming from right under me.
A male voice, a lone guitar.
The hair on my arm stands up, and I get goose bumps.
I run to the rail, gazing down on the man singing to me.
Curly hair, beautiful face.
Green eyes, full of grace.
You’ve been hiding in the shadows,
Always feelin’ second place.
But I’ve always seen you, no matter how hard you tried to hide.
You’ve always seen through me, always to the best side.
And ever since I found you, I’ve been down on my knees,
Thanking God that you put up with me.
I don’t need the music.
I don’t need anything but you.
No matter where I go,
No matter where I’ve been,
I’m always coming back to you.
In your arms, I’ve found my home.
A taste of heaven every single night.
Hearing you cry out my name when I get it right,
Is the sweetest symphony.
He winks at me, and I turn red. Of course, he had to get that in there.
I don’t need the music. I don’t need anything but you.
No matter where I go,
No matter where I’ve been,
I’m always coming back to you.
When the song’s over, I race down the stairs. He meets me halfway, sweeping me up in his arms, and I cover his face with kisses.
“Sorry, it’s the best I could do in less than a week.”
“Don’t apologize for that song,” I say. “It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s the first song I’ve ever written for anyone,” he says, squeezing me tighter. “I love you so damn much.”
“And I love you.” My heart feels as though it wants to fly out from my chest. “What took you so long?”
He sets me down on my feet, but keeps his arms around me. “I had to make things right, before I could come back to you.”
“What did you do, Jackson?”
He shrugs. “I told them I was going Indie, like Violet Lynn.”
My hearts stutters at the mention of her name. “You really hurt me, by leaving and going to her.”
His face turns sad. “I take it you got my message?”
I nod. “I’d been in the shower, trying to think how to handle the whole thing with June and… I was tired of running away, of expecting that you’d put me last, but when I heard that message.” I take a deep breath. “I thought you were going back to her, that somehow she and Cole hadn’t worked out.”
“Bliss Morgan.” He shakes his head and caresses my cheek. “Why would you think that?”
“Why wouldn’t she want you back? I do, even after everything.” I close my eyes against the tears I swore would never fall for him again.
“I didn’t go there to be with Violet. I went there for a memorial.”
My eyes pop open. “A memorial?”
“The baby we—she lost,” he says softly. “She said she needed closure, that she’d been speaking with a therapist for a while, without anyone knowing, and the therapist had suggested it.”
My heart breaks all over for him. “Did you need closure, too?”
“I did.” His dark blue eyes are full of sadness. “There was a service and a gravestone. She… named the baby. Something we’d picked out when we’d talked about the future.”
Tears slip down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Jackson.”
He wipes a tear away. “I’m not. But I am sorry for leaving you out to get it. I made the wrong decision by not including you.” He lets go of me and runs a hand through his hair. “I’ve made a lot of wrong decisions concerning you.”
“Like?”
“Bliss, I’m not man you deserve, but I’d like to try to be, because you’re sure as hell more than I ever deserved. I can’t promise I won’t ever hurt you or make you cry, because that’s not reasonable or fair to either of us, but I can promise to make you laugh, to make love to you as often as you allow, and to talk to you, not run away, and to always, always put you first.”
I watch in disbelief as he gets down on one knee, pulling a ring from his pocket. “I had this made just for you. I’m asking you to wear it, to be my wife and the mother of my children. To wake up with me in the morning, kiss me at lunchtime, and go to bed with me at night. I want forever with you, Bliss, even though that’s not long enough.”
He slips the ring on my finger—it shines in the sun. “Bliss Morgan, will you do me the honor of staying married… to me?”
With a nod, I throw myself in his arms again. “With a proposal like that, how could I not say yes?”
“Answering a question with a question… Damn, baby doll, you’re the perfect woman for me.”
Then he kisses me.
And I kiss him right back.
Epilogue
Four years later
This is the largest venue of the tour. The stadium’s packed, and the lights are low. Everyone is smiling and singing along while having a good time. Couples sway back and forth. Kids dot the landscape, with signs that proclaim I’m their hero.
Grateful as hell for all my fans support, I pick out the tune to my biggest hit, a song I wrote three years ago, but didn’t release until recently.
The words were too raw, and to be honest, they needed a little help. So I asked my brother if he minded Violet helping me out. He didn’t, so she did, and we had a big party to celebrate. It wasn’t too weird, but it wasn’t perfect, not yet.
Anything worth doing takes time, and our relationship will need a lot of time to get over the past, to get over the choices our parents made. But I’m confident we can do it.
Everett is still making music, still trotting out girl
s like show ponies, but they’re getting fewer and fewer. I think parents are getting wiser, or Everett’s gotten scared of a lawsuit.
Either way, that’s not my life anymore. I have a whole new life, a whole new career singing songs that my fans love—a little bit rock, a touch of country, and a whole lot of my soul.
“Tonight, I want to bring out the woman that makes my heart beat a little faster whenever she appears.” I wink at the crowd. A stage hand quickly runs on, sets down a stool, and then runs off again. “Y’all willing to let me do that?”
My fans roar their approval.
Glancing over to the side, I nod at the stage manager. The light shines stage right, and I swear I go breathless.
“My gorgeous wife, Bliss Morgan.” I hold out my arm, pointing in her direction. “Make her feel welcome, y’all.”
Bliss glides out from the wings, her belly rounded under the flowing dress she’s wearing. Her curly hair is loose over her shoulders and back.
My heart swells with love just looking at her. She’s holding hands with our son, Jacob. He’s three, has a perfect ear for music, and a temper like his momma.
Jacob tugs at his momma’s hand, and she lets him go. He runs to me, and I swing my guitar behind my back so I can catch him.
“He’s so fast now,” Bliss says, and I wrap an arm around her, placing a hand on her stomach as she sits beside me. “While I’m getting slower.”
“Makes it easier for me to catch you when I need some lovin’.” I wink at her, and she blushes.
Our baby kicks my hand, and Bliss laughs. “I think she’s impatient, just like her daddy.”
“Smart and gorgeous, like her momma.”
There are more than a few aws from the crowd as the mic picks up our conversation.
“I love you, Daddy.” Jacob lays his sweet head on my shoulder. “You love me?”
True For You (Boys of the South) Page 16
