Collin (A Forever Novel)

by Sandi Lynn

  “She’ll be okay, Collin.”

  “I know she will be,” I said as I kissed her head. “Come on; let’s eat.”

  ****

  A couple of days later, we got word from the nurse my dad had hired that Denny had passed away from a massive heart attack. I’ve never seen my dad take anything so hard in his life. When he received the call, I was there in his office, and watched as a tear fell from his eye. My mom wasn’t handling it very well either and, as much as Julia and I loved Denny, we felt like we needed to be strong for our parents. We all suffered a huge loss, but it was my parents that were hit the hardest. We were all meeting at the penthouse because Denny’s lawyer, which was also my father’s, was coming over to read a few things that Denny had left. He was instructed to read the letters one day after his death.

  Before heading up to the penthouse, I showered. As I stepped out, I wrapped a towel around my waist and sat at the end of the bed. Amelia was in the room, changing her clothes.

  “Are you okay, sweetheart?” she asked.

  I finally broke down and let go. I kept my head lowered as I shook it back and forth and the tears started to pour from my eyes.

  “Collin,” she said as she sat down next to me and hugged me. “I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

  I wrapped my arm around hers and gripped it tightly as I buried my head into her shoulder and cried. She gently rubbed my back and told me that everything was going to be all right. I was thankful that she was there because I needed her more now than ever. Once I composed myself, I got dressed and we headed up to the penthouse. Julia and Jake were walking out of their apartment when we were and Julia’s eyes were red and swollen. I kissed her and put my arm around her.

  When we stepped off the elevator, we gathered in the dining room and sat down at the table.

  “Thank you all for being here tonight and I’m so sorry for your loss. The letter that I have in my hand is from Denny, which he wrote approximately a month ago. Are you ready for me to read it?

  “Go ahead,” my dad said as he looked down.

  The lawyer cleared his throat and unfolded the white piece of paper. His glasses sat far down on the bridge of his nose as he looked at the paper and began to read from it.

  “Hello family. If you’re sitting around the dining room table listening to this, then that means one thing: I’ve finally kicked the bucket. Connor, make sure your scotch is a double as you’re listening to me because you always needed a double during my lectures. Now, I want you all to listen very carefully to what I’m about to say. This is my funeral and I’m the host. I want you all to dry the tears because there will be no crying at my funeral. So, I’m going to give you all a moment to compose yourselves so we can get on with this.”

  We all just sat there and looked at each other. The lawyer told us to take five minutes to talk and to get anything we needed before moving on. My dad got up, walked into the living room, and straight over to the bar. I followed behind him.

  “Your mom wants a glass of red wine. Could you please get her a glass and I’ll pour you a scotch.”

  “Sure, Dad. Make it a double,” I said with a small smile.

  I walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of wine for my mom and Amelia. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge for Julia and walked back to the dining room.

  “Here you go, Mom,” I said as I set down the glass in front of her.

  “Thank you, sweetheart,” she replied.

  I sat down and handed Amelia her wine and Julia her water. The lawyer entered the room and took his seat, where he continued to read from the white paper.

  “Now that everyone has gotten what they needed, we can move on. Connor, I’m assuming you’re cussing me out about now and went and got your double scotch. But anyway, here are my wishes. Once you have my body cremated, I want you to spread my ashes across the Pacific Ocean. Thank you, Connor and Ellery, for taking care of me all these years. Words can never express how much I love you both. Julia and Collin, watching you grow up was the best part of my life and watching Connor struggle trying to be the perfect father was the highlight. Connor, you did well and I hope that I had a hand in helping you make the right decisions in your life. Jake, you and Julia are going to make wonderful parents and any child of yours is going to be blessed and incredibly lucky. Ellery, you were always a daughter to me and we’ve been through a lot together over the years. In fact, you and Connor exhausted me more times than I want to remember with all of your stubbornness. But it was a part of my life that I would never change. If he gets out of line, slap him around a few times and tell him it’s from me.”

  We all let out a soft laugh and my dad smiled.

  “Collin, a true chip off the old block. You are definitely your father’s son and I couldn’t be more proud of you, just like I was of him. Watching you grow into a man has been a great journey for me and I’m proud to have considered you my grandson. Julia, you’re a beautiful young woman and I wish I could have stayed around to see that baby boy of yours, but the gods have called me home. You’re just like your mom and watching you grow up and defy your dad the way you did was priceless. I am proud to have considered you my granddaughter. Connor, I have a separate letter for you to read alone because I don’t need you getting all sappy on me. You can call me a fool, but these are my wishes. Black Family, you have given me more out of life than I can ever thank you for. I love you all very much, so don’t go getting used to the idea that I’m gone. I’ll always be around, watching over all of you. Did you hear that, Connor? You aren’t getting rid of me just yet. Now go get another drink, eat, and celebrate, Black Family. Peace to you all. Love, Denny.”

  The lawyer reached in his briefcase and handed my dad a sealed envelope. My dad took it and put it in his suit pocket. We all got up from the table and hugged one another. I watched as my mom hugged my dad tightly. I put my arm around Amelia as we walked into the kitchen and Julia and I started to set out the food. My mom and dad walked in and hugged us one last time before we sat down to eat and talk about life with Denny.

  Chapter 28

  A week later, as I was sitting in my office, Julia walked in and handed me a file to sign off on. She sat down and she looked really uncomfortable.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I’m okay. I’m just ready to get this child out of me.”

  “I bet.” I laughed.

  I looked over the papers and signed them. As I handed the folder to Julia, she stood up and then doubled over, holding her stomach. I jumped up from my chair and ran over to her.

  “Julia, what’s wrong?” I asked as I lightly took hold of her arm.

  “Oh, just a cramp. I’m okay.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” she said as she stood up.

  I let go of her arm and, as she began to walk out of my office, she doubled over again.

  “Collin, I think I’m in labor,” she said as she sat down on the floor of my office.

  “What?! You can’t be. You’re not due for another month.”

  “Tell that to your nephew.”

  I started to panic. This couldn’t be happening right now. “I’ll call Jake.”

  “He’s across town in a meeting.”

  “Shit, Julia. I’ll call Dad.”

  I picked up my phone from the desk and dialed my dad. No answer. I called my mom. No answer. Julia let out another yell and I ran over to her.

  “No one is answering. What do I do?”

  “Take me to the hospital!” she yelled. “Don’t panic. Because if you do, then I will.”

  “Right. Okay, let’s go. I’ll get you there,” I said as I helped her up.

  I held on to her as we waited for the elevator. She had another contraction and everyone gathered around to see what was going on because she wasn’t exactly quiet about it.

  “Everyone get back to work. I’m taking Julia to the hospital. She’s in labor.”

  The elevator doors ope
ned and we stepped inside. Once we got to the parking garage, I helped her into the Range Rover. I got in and, as I was pulling out, my dad called.

  “Dad!”

  “Son, what’s wrong?”

  “Julia is in labor. We’re on our way to the hospital. You need to get a hold of Jake. Julia said he’s in a meeting across town.”

  “Oh God. Okay. Your mom and I will get Jake and we’ll meet you there. You tell Julia not to have that baby until we get there.”

  “Dad said not to have the baby until they get there,” I said as I looked at her.

  “Oh, okay. I’ll try my best!” she said with irritation.

  Amelia wasn’t doing clinicals today and I knew she was in class, but I sent her a text anyway as soon as I stopped at a red light.

  “On my way to the hospital with Julia. She’s in labor.”

  “Oh my God! I’ll meet you there as soon as my class ends. How exciting!”

  “OH GOD IT HURTS!” Julia screamed.

  I reached over and grabbed her hand. “It’ll be okay, Julia.”

  “NO IT WON”T BE OKAY!” she yelled at me.

  I drove as fast as I could in New York midday traffic. To be honest, I was surprised we didn’t get into an accident. I was swerving in and out of traffic and running basically every red light. Julia was in a lot of pain and my main focus was getting her to the hospital before her water broke in my Range Rover. My phone rang and it was Jake.

  “Jake!” I answered.

  “Collin, Julia isn’t answering her phone.”

  “I think she left it at the office. Here; talk to her.”

  Julia seemed to calm down a little when she heard Jake’s voice. Then, suddenly she screamed.

  “YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS TO THE HOSPITAL IN TIME, JAKE JENSEN!”

  She threw the phone at me and I picked it up from my lap. “Dude, she’s in a lot of pain. She really doesn’t mean to be mean.”

  “YES I DO!” she yelled.

  We finally arrived at the hospital and I grabbed a wheelchair and helped her into it. I wheeled her into the Emergency Room and the nurse immediately took us up to the Labor and Delivery Unit. She handed me paperwork to fill out and called me Mr. Jensen.

  “Oh, I’m not her husband. I’m her brother. Her husband, Jake, is on his way.”

  The nurse apologized and made me leave the room while Julia changed into the hospital gown. As soon as it was safe, I walked back in and walked over to Julia. I grabbed her hand, kissed it, and sat down in the chair next to her.

  “It’s too early, Collin. I’m scared. What if something’s wrong with him?”

  “Nah, nothing’s wrong with him. He’s just an impatient little guy and he wants to come out and see the world.” I smiled.

  The nurse hooked Julia up to the fetal monitor and said that everything sounded great. She had a few more contractions that nearly broke my hand. The doctor came in and I left the room so he could examine her. When I walked back in, Julia had a big smile on her face.

  “I can have an epidural. The doctor is ordering it now.”

  “That’s great, Julia. You’ll be pain free soon,” I said as I dialed my dad. He didn’t answer.

  A few moments later, the anesthesiologist walked in with the epidural for Julia. Another contraction had come and, as I was holding her and helping her through it, she dug her nails so far into my arm that I started to bleed. I just bit down on my lip and didn’t make a sound. Once her contraction was over, the anesthesiologist gave her the epidural. I had to look away because the needle was making me sick. God, it was a good thing she didn’t see that. She lay back down and began to be comfortable. After the anesthesiologist left the room, my mom, dad, and Jake came busting through the door. All three of them ran to her side. Jake wouldn’t stop kissing her and my mom instantly ran to the bathroom and wet a washcloth for her. My dad looked at me and smiled. He walked over put his arm around me and led me out into the hallway.

  “Thank you, son, for taking care of your sister.”

  “Of course, Dad. She’s lucky I was there.”

  He looked at my arm and saw the nail marks and the tiny bit of blood that emerged from them.

  “Are you okay? It looks like she got you pretty good.”

  “I’m fine.” I smiled. “She just scared me a bit. God, all that yelling and shit. It was like she was possessed.”

  “Yep. I remember your mother in labor with both of you. Trying times, son. Trying times.”

  We walked back into the room and my mom hugged me. “Thank God you were there.”

  “Thanks a million, bro. I owe you big time,” Jake said as he hugged me.

  I pulled him over to the side and showed him my arm. “Yeah, you do.” I smiled.

  “Ouch. Sorry, man.”

  I kissed Julia on the head and told her I was going to see if Amelia was here yet. She smiled at me, and before I walked out the door, she called my name.

  “Hey, Collin.”

  I stopped and turned around. “Yeah.”

  “I love you.” She smiled.

  “I love you too, sis.”

  I met Amelia in the lobby and we stopped at the coffee bar before heading back up to see Julia.

  “What happened to your arm?” she asked.

  “Julia.” I laughed.

  I sent a text message to my dad, asking if he, my mom, or Jake wanted anything. He texted me back saying that he and my mom were on their way down. I bought Amelia and me some coffee and we sat down, waiting for my parents.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to be an uncle soon.”

  “I know. I didn’t think she’d go into labor this soon.”

  “The doctor said that the baby is fine and seems to be ready to make his appearance into the world.” I smiled. “Do you want kids?” I asked out of the clear blue.

  She laid her head on my shoulder. “Yeah. I love kids.”

  “How many do you want?”

  “Why?” she asked as she lifted her head and looked at me. “Are you worried that I’m going to say five or six.”

  “No. But you really don’t want that many, do you?” I asked with nervousness.

  She laughed as my parents walked up to us and she never did answer my question. As much as I loved and wanted children, I thought two was perfect.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandma!” my mom said with excitement as she hugged Amelia.

  “Do I dare ask what you were doing in the middle of the afternoon and why you weren’t at the office?” I said to my dad.

  He looked at me and smiled. “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”

  I rolled my eyes because I already knew. I looked at him and my mom and shook my head.

  “What?” she asked. “Your father came home because he left some papers on his desk that he needed.”

  “Okay. No details, please. I already got my answer.”

  All of our phones beeped at the same time and, when we looked at them, there was a text message from Jake.

  “IT’S TIME!”

  My mom and dad jumped up from their chairs and ran to the elevators. I took Amelia’s hand and we waited in the waiting room while my mom and dad stayed with Julia. She told them that she wanted both of them in the room to witness the birth of their first grandchild.

  “You never answered my question,” I said as I kissed Amelia’s hand.

  “What question?” She smiled.

  “The one about how many kids you want.”

  “So now you’re nervous?” She laughed.

  “No, not at all,” I lied.

  “Relax, Mr. Black. I think two children are perfect. But if a third happened unexpectedly, that would be okay too.”

  I smiled as I leaned over and kissed her cheek. She was on the same page as I was regarding kids and I couldn’t be happier.

  “I hope I’ve made you happy with my answer.” She smiled as she gently squeezed my hand. “I love you.”

  “You have and I love you just as m
uch.”

  We waited patiently and, after about an hour, my dad came out of Julia’s room with the biggest smile on his face that I’d ever seen.

  “He has arrived.”

  I stood up and hugged my dad. He was so happy. We followed him into the room and I stopped in the doorway and stared at my big sister holding her brand new baby. I couldn’t help the tears that filled my eyes as she looked at me.

  “Come on in and meet your nephew, Brayden Connor Jensen.”

  I looked at my dad and he had tears in his eyes. I walked over to Julia and she handed me the baby. I was a nervous wreck to hold him because he was small. For as big as Julia was, I expected him to be bigger. But I didn’t dare say anything.

  “Brayden, I want you to meet your Uncle Collin. He’s going to be the best uncle in the world and spoil you rotten.”

  “That’s right, little dude. You are so loved already,” I said as I rubbed his tiny hand.

  Julia reached her hand over and touched my arm. “Thank you for taking care of me until Jake got here. I’m sorry about your arm.”

  “Don’t sweat it, sis, and you’re welcome.” I winked.

  Chapter 29

  I opened my eyes and took in the scent of roses that I loved so much on Amelia. She was wrapped up in my arms and snuggled tightly against my chest. I felt weighted down by the fact that I never told her about the beach house. Now that winter was settling in, the house was closed up until I decided to open it up next summer. She stirred in my arms and let out a big yawn as she opened her beautiful blue eyes.

  “Good morning, baby.” I smiled as I kissed her head.

  “Good morning.”

  “You still look tired.”

  “Well, considering we had three rigorous workouts last night, I’d say I am.” She smiled.

  “Ah, what amazing workouts those were too.”

  She kissed my chest and got out of bed. She looked sexy as hell in her silk black nightie that I bought for her.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to make us some coffee. Stay right there and don’t move.” She pointed.

  “Yes, ma’am!” I saluted.