by Lexy Timms
He swallowed hard. Heather was right. Giving in to his anger without taking the time to think things over wasn’t good for any of them. “I don’t know if this will be the last time.” He paused, a terrible thought sending a pang of agony through him. “Dad... are you dying?”
“I’m not in great shape,” his father replied. “But the doctors said that if I have the surgery, I’ll be back in good health as long as I eat right and exercise.”
“I’ll visit you in the hospital then, but you have to get help,” Simon said. “After your surgery you need to get a psychological evaluation. You have to get therapy. That’s the only way I’ll even consider having a relationship with you.”
“Therapy? That’s how rich people deal with their problems,” his father grumbled.
“You will get therapy.” Heather gave Simon’s father a hard stare that actually made him shrink back. “If you don’t, I’ll remind Simon that jail is always an option for you.”
His father scowled without saying another word.
Simon wanted more contrition out of his dad, but he knew that was asking too much. Regret probably wasn’t an emotion his father experienced all that often. And, frankly, he was too drained to keep the argument going. This was it. The end of him ever believing that a genuine, honest relationship with his father was possible. There were things that couldn’t be repaired, and this level of dishonesty was one of them. Maybe, with enough therapy, his father would at least be able to stop lying all the time.
They drove the rest of the way to his apartment in uneasy silence. When the van pulled in to the parking lot, Simon turned to look at Jake. “I don’t want my father coming back into the building. Escort him to the hospital and make sure he gets a private room.”
“What about me?” Andy asked.
“Jake can drop you into the ocean for all I care.” Simon narrowed his eyes and reached for Heather’s hand. They exited the van together and headed upstairs.
When they stopped at Heather’s apartment, she opened the door and motioned for him to come inside. “Why don’t you stay here for the rest of the night? Finn is asleep, but my parents are here and they won’t mind if we wake them up to talk. If anything, they’ll want us to fill them in as soon as possible.”
He stepped inside, and the minute she closed the door he swept her into his tight embrace. Holding her felt so good. His anger and confusion were already dissipating. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, momentarily pressing her soft lips to his.
“I’m so sorry,” she said in a mournful tone.
“I don’t know what’s worse.” He sighed. “Believing my father had actually been kidnapped or discovering how much of a liar he is.”
“I know what it’s like to realize that someone you trusted is actually a terrible person,” she murmured softly. “When I finally saw my ex-husband for what he was, my heart broke for Finn. Just like it’s breaking now for you. You deserve to have a father you can look up to. A family you can believe in. Finn deserves that, too.” She lowered her eyes. “You both deserve so much better than you’ve gotten, and it makes my heart hurt that you’ve been treated so badly.”
He pulled away from her to cup her chin. “You are, by far, the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Her cheeks turned pink, giving her a radiant glow like nothing he had ever seen before. “I love you, Simon. And I’m here for you, no matter what.”
“My father is a disappointment, but I’m still the luckiest man in the world. Because I have you,” he said. “And I’m hoping that Finn and your parents will put up with me.”
“Finn and my parents adore you,” she told him. “They love you. They might not be your blood relatives, but they’re your family, too, Simon.”
The old him, the man he was before reuniting with Heather, would have dismissed her words. Dismissed them and walked back to his apartment to shut himself away from the world. He would have thrown himself into work, letting the stress numb him to his own pain. But he wasn’t that man anymore.
As painful as his father’s betrayal was, he didn’t want to shut out the world. He wanted to share his burden with Heather. Wanted to look out for Finn, because he knew what it was like to be abandoned by his father. And he wanted to tell Heather’s parents what happened tonight, because he was starting to think of them as second parents. Even though his own blood family had let him down, he still had another family right here waiting for him. That gave his life more meaning and purpose than any company ever could.
“They are my family,” he said finally. “All of you are. I don’t want to sleep just yet. I do want to talk. About what happened tonight. About my dad.”
“I’ll go wake my parents, then.” She gave him another kiss. Only this one was lingering. Full of all their shared pain and love.
As she headed to one of the bedrooms, he took a deep breath. All his life he had wanted to impress his father. Make his old man proud. That urge to get his father’s approval was finally starting to vanish. It was now being replaced by a new dream. Now, all he wanted was to do everything in his power to make his new family happy. And maybe, just maybe, make them proud, too.
Chapter 18
Three weeks later
“Hey, Simon. I think I caught one!” Finn tugged on his fishing line, trying to reel in his catch the way Simon had taught him.
“Hang on, let’s reel it in together.” Simon put down his fishing pole and grabbed Finn’s line, both of them pulling with all their strength.
When they dragged the line out of the lake, Finn burst out laughing. “It’s a shoe!”
“We can’t eat that for dinner.” Simon laughed, and unhooked the shoe to set it down in the boat. Tossing it back into the lake wasn’t good for the environment, and keeping a place as incredible as Cold Springs clean was just as important to him as it was to Finn.
Out here this early in the morning the lake was placid, and as shiny as a sheet of glass. There was nobody else out on the lake, so they could enjoy the peace and quiet.
“Can I try again?” Finn asked.
“Sure. You’ve got to always keep trying,” Simon explained. “Don’t ever quit.”
“My grandpa says that all the time,” Finn said with a sage nod. “I won’t quit trying ‘til we get a fish.”
Simon smiled. This vacation had been just what they all needed. A trip to out of Seattle was a great chance for them all to bond and get some much-needed rest. Not to mention, he planned on this trip to be a fresh start for all of them.
And they needed a fresh start after dealing with his father’s terrible behavior. Despite that, Simon had made brief, awkward visits to the hospital to see his father. The visits had helped him learn more about his dad’s condition. His father’s first surgery had gone well and he was scheduled for a simpler procedure a few weeks from now.
It looked like his dad was on the mend, though their relationship was still strained. At least his father had been scheduled for a therapy session after his next surgery. Simon had refused to see his father outside of a medical environment, which meant they would only see each other in the hospital or in a therapy session. He figured having a mediator would keep things from escalating into something toxic.
He couldn’t have gotten through it without Heather and Finn. After discovering his father’s lies weeks ago, Heather and Finn had been there for him. Doing everything they could to make him feel better. They had done everything from making him a surprise cake—he hadn’t pointed out that it had been lopsided—to going to the hospital with him to visit his father. Having people in his life who genuinely cared about him had banished a lot of his anger. And now that he had a family, he had no intention of taking it for granted or letting it go.
Simon cleared his throat. It was time to do what he had wanted to do for some time. “Hey, buddy...can you guess why I wanted to go fishing with you today?”
“To catch fish?”
He laughed. “Yeah. But I also wanted us to spend some tim
e together.”
“I like spending time together,” Finn said. “We’ve been on vacation for days now and it’s been the most fun ever. Too bad Mom doesn’t like to fish.”
Heather had opted to stay in bed in their cabin, since fishing was decidedly not her idea of fun. Lucky for him, that meant he now had the chance to ask Finn a very important question.
“It has been fun,” Simon said with a nod. “I wanted to go fishing to ask you something, though.”
Finn cast his line. “What did you want to ask?”
“I...” His throat went dry. Saying it out loud made it real. Made his intentions clear. That meant it could go terribly wrong. He didn’t know if his heart could survive that. “I want to ask you if it’s okay if I propose to your mom.”
“Whoa.” Finn’s eyes went wide. “Like ask my mom to marry her?”
“Yes, that’s what I mean.” He paused, giving Finn time to process things. “I want to marry your mother. But I’m asking your permission first. If you don’t like the idea, I won’t ask her.”
Finn tilted his head, lost in thought. “Would we live together?”
“Yeah. That’s the plan.” Heather hadn’t actually moved out of his apartment building. Ever since his father’s betrayal had come out, she had opted to stay close by to support him. The thought of her moving out now was almost unbearable to him. “How does that sound? I don’t ever want to take your father’s place.”
“My dad doesn’t call me,” Finn said in a small voice.
Finn’s father hadn’t sent so much as a text message in his absence. They had gotten a message from him two weeks ago through his lawyer, in a statement that had basically declared that he would be out of the picture for good. No matter how much Heather had tried to spin it to make her son feel better, it was clear that it hurt him.
Simon placed a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I know how that feels. No matter what you decide, Finn, I’ll always be here for you. Always.”
Finn stared up at him. “Forever?”
He cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the painful lump that was forming. “Forever.”
“Will you be my dad?”
“I...” There was a stinging in the back of his eyes. “I can’t replace your dad. But I love you like you were my own son.”
“Can I call you ‘Dad’?” Finn asked.
It felt like his heart was growing too fast for his chest to contain it. “Yes, you can.”
“Okay.” Finn turned his attention back to the lake.
“Okay?”
“Okay, you can marry my mom,” Finn said.
“I’m probably going to ask her tonight,” he informed him as he reached for his fishing rod.
“I hope she says yes, Dad.”
SHE PUT THE FINISHING touches on the beautiful table setting. Everything in the cabin dining room was perfect. She had baked the four fish that Simon and Finn had caught earlier today at the lake, and the light blue tablecloth looked lovely underneath the lit candles. All the plates were set and she was now smoothing the tablecloth.
Simon was pouring two glasses of white wine while Finn bounced in his chair impatiently.
“Can we eat now, Mom?” Finn waved his chubby hand, trying to get her attention. “Please?”
“Yes, we can eat.” Using a knife and fork, she set pieces of fish onto Finn’s plate. She had made extra sure to get rid of all the bones, so it would be safe for him to eat.
She sat down beside Simon and he handed her a glass of wine.
Finn held out his empty cup. “Wine for me, please?”
“Nice try,” she said with a laugh. “I made lemonade for you.”
Simon grabbed the lemonade jug and poured Finn a drink.
“What does wine taste like?” Finn asked.
“It tastes disgusting.” Simon’s lips twitched.
“So, why do you drink it?” Finn asked.
“To steel our nerves.” Simon served some of the fish onto Heather’s plate and then served himself.
She laughed. “Simon, he’s not going to know what that means.” She leaned closer to him to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Besides, what do you need to steel your nerves for?”
He gave her a look that she couldn’t read. Was he still grappling with all the pain his father had caused him? Simon had seemed to be doing better on this vacation, but maybe memories were coming back to him.
All she wanted was for him to be happy, and it crushed her to know that his father had tried to ruin his happiness. Their happiness. Because, if Simon wasn’t happy she wasn’t happy. She loved him too much to believe otherwise.
He smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I didn’t think we’d catch so many fish,” Simon finally replied.
Apprehension tugged at her insides. Something was off. During the past few weeks he hadn’t held back. Hadn’t kept a single thing from her. Until now.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly. Worry made her wonder if someone from Dover had called about work. Neither of them had been to work since that night in the park, though they had worked from home. This vacation was a chance to recharge without any distractions from work or the press.
The press had been insatiable after Simon had told the truth about his father. Lying wasn’t going to do them any good, so they had decided to come clean about the hoax. If Simon hadn’t decided to drop charges, the police would have arrested his father.
And on top of all that chaos, the documentary film crew was now hard at work adding details of the fake kidnapping to the documentary. The producers seemed to relish all the drama the hoax had created. Even investors seemed to love it, making Dover’s stocks surprisingly go up. The documentary producers had managed to convince some very unscrupulous internet trolls that Onslow’s behavior had been some sort of bizarre anti-capitalist performance art. All of which Dover had spun to the company’s advantage.
That kind of craziness had made a vacation absolutely necessary. She hoped the pressure wasn’t finally getting to him.
Simon took a sip of his wine. “I’m fine, Heather.”
“Are you gonna ask her?” Finn whispered loudly. “Are you gonna ask her?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Finn, what on earth are you talking about?”
Her son clamped his tiny hand over his mouth, trying to suppress a giggle to no avail. “Nothing.”
Both Simon and Finn were acting very strangely, but maybe it was a guy thing. As strange as their behavior seemed, her heart warmed at seeing them get along so well. Simon being such a positive presence in Finn’s life filled her with so much happiness.
After dinner, Simon and Finn helped clear the table.
“How about we go for a walk?” Simon suggested. “We can watch the sunset.”
“That’s a wonderful idea.” She smiled, excited to go on a romantic walk with him.
“I’m coming, too!” Finn exclaimed.
“Of course you are.” She leaned down to kiss the top of her son’s head. “We wouldn’t leave you behind all alone.”
Once she slipped into some comfy shoes they all headed out, making their way to the seashore. The salty air was invigorating, and she hoped that they’d spend more vacations at Cold Springs in the future. It was a nice out-of-the-way place that Simon had found. The area had a lake on one end, and the ocean on the other. Just a few days ago they had gone whale-spotting and Finn had been thrilled to see some of the whales.
Right now, the sun was setting behind pink and gold clouds. The Cold Springs lighthouse loomed over them, its white tower gleaming in the orange glow of the sun. She looked up to stare at the lighthouse, remembering that one of the brochures had said it was over one hundred years old.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, holding Finn’s hand.
“It sure is.” Simon looked up at the lighthouse and wrapped his arm around her. “You know, it makes me think of all the ships that have gotten to shore safely because of its light.”
“Lighthouse
s were built to protect people,” she said softly. “To warn them of danger. To guide them safely home. Imagine, something being built just to make sure that strangers are safe. It’s like a public act of love.” She laughed. “Sheesh, how cheesy does that sound?”
“That doesn’t make it any less true.” He gazed at her, and the look on his face almost took her breath away.
She tried to tell herself it was the ocean air that was making it hard to breathe, but she knew better. His eyes were burning with the same fire and intensity of the setting sun. His face as calm as the waves of the ebbing tide. The love that seemed to radiate from him made her feel as safe and secure as any lighthouse could.
He lifted his hands to reach into his pockets. Suddenly his face went pale. “Don’t tell me I’ve lost it.”
Finn released her hand to start to tug Simon away. “Let’s talk about this.”
“Talk about what?”
But Finn and Simon were walking away, seemingly desperate to get out of earshot. They turned their backs to her, talking in hushed tones.
She crossed her arms. This was beyond strange.
Finn and Simon turned to look at her, both of them grinning sheepishly as they headed back to her.
“What’s going on?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Heather.” Simon swallowed hard, gently caressing her cheek. “I love you so much that sometimes it actually hurts to breathe when I’m near you. I can’t believe a woman like you has given her heart to me. To me. This cynical, grumpy, ass of a man.”
“You said ‘ass’,” Finn said with a gasp.
She laughed. “Simon, what’s happening?”
Without another word, he got down on his knee.
“Oh! Oh my... goodness.” Her hands started to tremble as realization dawned on her. She took a step back, needing a moment to compose herself. “Simon!”
He held up a dark velvet box, his hands far steadier than hers. “Heather. I have loved you since I was barely older than Finn. You are my whole life. You’re the reason my heart beats at all.”
