by Claire Angel
Everything felt right. I had the girl and loved music again, knowing that I would write several songs about her. I was meeting with people tomorrow and deciding on my future that could change everything. I agreed to bring Marisol to dinner at Jack’s place that night so he could find out the details of the meeting.
I walked across to the bed and tossed her the shirt. Marisol laughed and held it up with a smile. “Do you think the band will be the main focus in all of this?”
“I think that we need to know a few things before making that decision, but possibly. We all love it.” I lifted my shirt over my head and tossed it towards the hamper. “For now, I’m happy with what we’re doing.”
Later in the dark, she snuggled against me. “If you guys were to go big, would I get to tour with you?”
“I don’t see why not. Though Jack wouldn’t go far, to begin with after all that he and Grace have been through. His family means everything to him.”
“I can see why.” I kissed Marisol again, and she sighed against me. “I missed this feeling while we were apart.”
“So did I.”
She worked at the cafe the following day, and I met Nick in downtown Seattle. He bought me coffee before we headed to Garrett’s office and sat down at a small conference table. He had tax returns from the last three years and a detailed spreadsheet on his laptop for me to look over. I read through everything with a careful eye and found it to be a good opportunity. Garrett shook my hand and gave me the card of a friend that could handle the sale of the business for us.
“You’re a couple of steps away from being the owner of your own business,” Nick told me as we walked out to the curb.
“It does sound great. I was surprised by how well the store is doing.” I looked at him, and he nodded.
“Keep Garrett. He’s worth every penny, and he’ll keep you successful. I didn’t have him my first year, and it wasn’t like it is now. Not at all.” Nick winced as I took him in. “I will be available for any questions as well.”
I hugged him and headed home to wait for Marisol to get back from work. We were going to Jack’s house early so he could hear everything. I realized that with what I saw today, I could rent a bigger place and make someone the offer that Nick made me three years ago. I just needed to talk to Marisol.
She arrived at my place a little later than I expected her, walking through the door with bags from the toy store. “I was thinking about Ella and a few things I wanted to get for her.” She had the second to last treatment the following day and could always use happy distractions.
“You’re going to spoil her.” I walked forward to kiss her, and she pressed against me.
“I sure hope so.” Marisol smiled at me. “I brought some clothes, and I need a quick shower.”
“Perfect. We have time.”
“Did the meeting go well?” Her eyes were bright, and I nodded. “That good?”
“I can see it working out so good. You’d make enough as a manager to just work on the books at Ripple and still manage school.” She smiled and hugged me again. “Jack wants to talk all about it tonight. You’ll hear the details.”
“If Ella doesn’t make me play with everything.” She disappeared into the bathroom, and I heard the shower come on. I was considering joining her, but I was riding such a high that I would never leave my apartment if I did that. I let her finish and dress in leggings and a loose sweater before I touched her again. We left for Jack’s house and arrived to a screaming girl and a happy mom. Grace hugged Marisol tightly before moving to me, and her smile was bright. She was making her famous lasagna for dinner, and Jack would be home soon.
We settled in the living room and opened Ella’s toys as Grace kept staring at Marisol. “Stop it. I couldn’t help it.” Marisol laughed as she looked at my sister in law.
“Her birthday is in a month, Marisol. Don’t buy her anything.” By then, Ella would finish with treatment, and we would know more about her future. I might buy her everything her little heart desires, never mind Marisol.
Jack walked through the garage to where we were sitting and playing, taking a long look around. “Did Ella already have this stuff?”
“I went shopping. Okay? I had so much fun.” Marisol stared at him, and we all laughed. Jack held his hands up in surrender.
“She’s having fun. Thank you, Marisol.” Marisol joined Grace in the kitchen to help with dinner, and Jack sipped his beer as he gazed at me. “Talk to me.”
I went over everything, and he nodded several times thoughtfully. Jack agreed that it sounded like a good opportunity for me and raised a brow when I mentioned hiring Marisol as a manager. “What?
“There are no rules about that?” he questioned, and I laughed at him.
“It isn’t corporate, Jack. Nick had Meg working there at some point.” I waved my hand in the air. “It’s fine. I’d never let it affect the shop.”
We went over what the taxes told me and some of Garrett’s ideas for keeping it going as well as it was. I asked Jack what he thought about my move out of the apartment down the line and fixing it up for another tenant. I could charge a bit more for rent and get more money from my investment.
We joined everyone at the table for dinner, and I told Grace what I planned to do. It gave me a chance to detail it for Marisol as well. She was thrilled for me and asked me several questions about opening the business. I answered them the best I could and told her that I’d know more in a matter of days.
After dinner, Marisol allowed Ella to pull her upstairs, and I sat with Grace and Jack on the couch sipping beer. Grace had a can of sparkling water, and I shot her a look. “That’s no kind of celebration for me.”
“It is for your brother and me.” She smiled at him. “Ella is going to be a big sister in roughly seven months.”
“Congratulations!” I jumped up to hug them both and returned to my seat as Jack kissed his wife.
“We know it might not be the best timing. We don’t know what will happen with Ella, but it happened. We’re running with it.” He gave me a serious look, and I smiled at him.
“That’s the thing to do. Make sure you take care of yourself, Grace. Take everything one day at a time.” She nodded. “We’re in the home stretch with Ella. Everything is going to be perfect.”
They told me that they weren’t telling Ella yet. They wanted the three-month mark to hit before they shared the news, and I promised to keep their news to myself. We would tell Marisol on her own so she could keep the secret as well. Grace did it that night in the kitchen, getting dessert, and I saw the look in her eyes when they came back. Jack shook his head, and Grace laughed as she sat down.
“Oh, my God. I’m so happy for them. I’ve never been around a baby.” Marisol told me on the way home.
“It’s crazy. They come out too small, and they need you. I mean, they’ll mostly need Grace, but it’s a sweet thing to watch.” I smiled at the memory of Ella as a baby. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her.
“I can’t imagine.” I parked and led her upstairs to my apartment and unlocked the door.
“You’ll be here to see it.” We put away the leftovers, and I suggested bed since I opened in the morning. It was going to be different for me now to see it as the owner, but I was excited about it. I held Marisol after we made love, telling her how much I loved her.
The sale of the shop took a couple of weeks, but it was straightforward. I put some money towards the purchase and ended up with manageable payments. If I rented out the apartment, that could be cut in half. I signed all the paperwork, and Nick gave me the key outside of the office.
Ella also finished treatment at that time and was declared cancer-free. We all cried after she went to bed that night, and Grace lost it more than any of us. She wanted her daughter there for her sibling, and it was coming true. There was the chance of her getting a form of it again, but Jack and Grace listened to everything the doctor said to them about it. They were going to do everything they could t
o keep Ella well. Grace was going to relax and take care of the baby that was coming and get her family back to normal.
I was looking on my laptop one night after Marisol got home from work. She was up late doing inventory at Ripple so she could keep track of the numbers. “What are you looking at, Kellen?”
“Since the apartment came with the sale, I thought of getting a bigger place and renting it out. I was looking at this two-bedroom place on the water. It’s a loft-style, and even though it’s about fifteen minutes away, I think we’d be happy there.” I smiled and looked into her shocked eyes. “Will you move in with me?”
“I…oh my God. Let me see it!” She hurried over to the couch and dropped beside me to look at the pictures of the new place. “That’s beautiful. We can afford that?”
“Yes, of course. We can rent for a while and think about buying down the line.” Marisol looked at me and snuggled under my arm.
“I love you. I’d be happy to move in with you. Should we go see the place?”
“How about over the weekend?” I brought Marisol in as manager during the week and hired a part-time manager on the weekends. The staff freaked out when they heard that Nick was leaving but relaxed when I told them the plan. They all wanted to work with the new management staff and me and make this place even better.
“I can’t wait.” Marisol leaned in to kiss me, and I tilted my head to deepen it. This woman had my heart, and I was ready to give my entire life to her. I’d start with a new place and go from there.
Epilogue
Kellen
One year later…
I put the roast in the oven and hurried to answer the door. Marisol got home soon, but I was here to let Jack and his family in. He entered carrying Julian in his car seat while Grace and Ella followed. We split dinners between houses since moving, and Ella loved it here. She stayed the night with us now that we had a second bedroom, and my girls got closer every moment.
“Hey, guys.” I smiled as I watched them walk by.
“Where’s Mari?” Ella ran in and looked around with panic.
“She’s finishing up at the bar and will be home soon. Don’t worry.” I smiled at my niece and ruffled her hair as she sighed. “I remember when you used to adore me.”
“I still do, but Mari promised that she’d play with my new doll.” I looked at Jack, and he shrugged as he set the car seat down. He pulled the blanket down and glanced down, smiling lovingly at his three-month-old son.
“She adores you. I swear she talks about you a lot at home.” Grace grinned as she ran through the door with a bag in her hand. “Is he still sleeping?”
“Yes,” Jack said, and she raised a fist into the air.
“Thank God. He was up so much last night, and I need some peace.” Grace looked at her daughter. “Some, that is.”
Ella was cancer-free. I knew they would keep checking, but I lived in the moment and loved her fiercely every day. Her parents were over the moon with her recovery and, in turn, happy that she got to be a big sister. Ella adored her baby brother. She helped with him a lot, and Grace often joked that it was too much. Despite her good health, I couldn’t forget the pain I went through watching her go through her illness. My family had been through so much together, and Ella’s leukemia seemed like a cruel joke.
“This view is stunning, Kellen.” Grace was standing at the window and staring out over the water.
“I love it. Moving here was one of the best things I did.” Living here with Marisol was like a dream.
“It’s not even that far. That’s perfect, so that you can have us over.” She turned to smile at me, and I laughed.
“I always wanted to. I just needed a few things to change.” The baby whimpered in the seat, and Grace looked down as Jack leaned over to unbuckle him. Julian preferred being out of his seat and held so he could see around him. Grace smiled when she noticed him and walked over to wrap her arms around them.
I heard the door opening and glanced behind me to see Marisol coming in. She smiled at me, and I managed to get a hug and a kiss from her before Ella ran up to us. Her eyes locked on Marisol’s face, and my girlfriend giggled as she looked down at the little girl. “Were you waiting for me?”
“Barely. We just got here.” Jack stepped over and hugged Marisol before embracing me. Our hugs were different now, longer, and with so much meaning. We’d been through hell and back. “Don’t let her work you with those eyes.”
“I am here now, and we’re going to have dinner. Is the roast in?” She looked at me, and I nodded. “Great. Thank you. I’ll cook the veggies when we’re closer to eating.”
We went into the spacious living room where Grace was feeding Julian, and Marisol took the sight of them in with a warm smile. “He’s getting big.”
“He is eating a ton. Must be a growth spurt.” Grace smiled and settled back on the couch as she covered him up. She didn’t like the idea of people watching her feed him and had a sense of privacy everywhere. I didn’t need to see my sister-in-law’s breast with this baby since I didn’t with Ella. Grace looked happy, and Jack was staring at her like she hung the moon.
They were great with Ella when she was a baby. The difference was that they were young, and it was all new to them. Jack didn’t have our mom to help him, and I know he missed our parents, despite the unwavering support from Grace’s family. They got through it day by day, and Ella was a great kid. The illness stopped everyone’s world, but Jack and Grace powered through it. Right now, she was bonding with her son and smiling at Ella as she pulled Marisol into her room.
The laughter that rang from the hallway and the expression on my brother’s face was everything at that moment. I felt like life was finally settling down, and I could stop and enjoy it.
“How’s the store?” Jack asked as I smiled.
“It’s great. I think business is better and it was good before it was mine. Nick thinks I should open another one on the other side of Seattle. I’m going to talk to Garrett about it. It would mean hiring a whole new staff and building up a store from scratch. It sounds a little overwhelming.” I winced as Jack laughed at me.
“I think you could pull it off. You have a great system at the place right now, and Marisol is a great manager.” I nodded. She was, but she couldn’t be in two places at once.
She was busy at the store now and still did the books for the bar. That was more part-time than anything else but paid well. She didn’t have to work all night, and we spent a lot of evenings at home. The early mornings were rough, but she was off early, and I went in to help them. I knew that I could be the kind of owner that is never there and relax a bit, but that wasn’t who I was. I was hands-on, and needed to know what was going on. I think my crew appreciated that.
“I have a meeting with Garrett tomorrow. We’re going to talk it over. I have this fear of having to run between stores and never being home.” I smiled. “I like being at home.”
“You do. You have a great place, and I’ve never seen you so happy.” Jack clapped my back, and I grinned. “You two suit each other. There’s a balance there even though she’s a ball buster.” Grace shot him a look, and Jack rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t understand me yet, baby.”
“If Ella catches wind of that word, it’s over for us. It describes her perfectly most days.” I couldn’t help but laugh, and my brother joined me. “Will you be the calm one, Jules?”
“If he is, can we have another one?” Jack joked as she stared wide-eyed at him.
“Slow down there. I am still recovering from a lack of sleep from this one.” Grace looked at me with pleading eyes. “Why don’t you guys have one?”
“As I consider the idea of owning two coffee shops? No.” I shook my head and laughed. “I have to set some things up first.”
“That has a proposal written all over it.” Her eyes shimmered, and I raised a brow.
“Now, it’s time for you to slow down,” I teased her, and she laughed. Grace moved Julian under the blanket and shi
fted in her seat.
In a little while, the timer dinged in the kitchen. I stood up to tell the girls it was time to finish getting dinner ready, knowing they would both be willing to help. I smiled as I turned to take the roast out of the oven, and they followed me.
Marisol cooked the vegetables on the stove. Everything was ready in fifteen minutes, and we were setting the table. Grace placed Julian in his bassinet and sat down as she watched Ella run into the kitchen for one more thing. “She’s great.” Her voice was soft, and I smiled at her.
“She is.” Everyone sat down, and we enjoyed dinner as conversation flowed around the table. In the last several months, Grace and Marisol had become the best of friends. They spent time together with the kids and sometimes just for a girl's night out. I saw the stress lift from Grace since Ella was healthy, and Marisol had a lot to do with it. It was ideal being with someone that got along with my family so well. It was perfect being so in love with Marisol that I couldn’t imagine life without her.
