A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance)

by Cummin, Sharon

  "You could never do anything to make me not want you, baby. I love you."

  "I love you too," I said.

  "I'm going to be the best damn dad I can to our three beautiful children and the best husband there ever was."

  I put my head on his shoulder and knew I would never be happier than I was in that moment.

  Chapter 27

  Zander

  When I woke up the next morning, I felt more relaxed than I had felt in years. There was no stress or tension in my body. I couldn't wait to see the kids. They were going to be so shocked and surprised to see me. I couldn't wait to tell them there was going to be a baby.

  I jumped out of bed and hurried to shower. On the way there, I told my mom she needed to be over at Livie's for breakfast in thirty minutes. She looked over at me and rolled her eyes. It didn't matter. She wasn't ruining my mood. I showered as fast as I could and got ready for the day. I had to laugh when I slipped my jeans over my feet and pulled them up my legs. Only months before, I had been in that same spot with Livie telling me I had a stick up my ass, as she looked through my drawers and closet to find all suits with only one pair of jeans. I looked down in the drawer filled with t-shirts and jeans. That was all I had brought with me. Not a single part of my life was the same as it was that day. Seeing her after sixteen years turned my world upside down, just as it had seeing her the day I moved in when I was fourteen. She was the best thing that ever happened to me.

  My mom was already next door when I came down from my room. I knew what time I was supposed to walk through that door, but the clock wasn't moving fast enough. The first second I could, I flew across that driveway and quietly walked in the front door. I saw them all sitting at the kitchen table and couldn't wait to hug those two amazing faces. They were chatting away about what they wanted to do that day. Livie looked up at me and smiled. I walked through the doorway with a huge smile on my face.

  "Did you save me any breakfast?" I asked.

  April and Jack jumped out of their chairs and came running. I leaned down and scooped them both into my arms.

  "You came," Jack said. "See, April. I told you all you had to do was call him. I was right. I knew he would come to take me to school."

  It took all I had not to cry. They were both so excited. I knew I would do everything I could to make them happy and let them know I would always be there for them. Hearing Jack say he knew I would be there made me want to make him proud to have me in his life. It wasn't about them making me proud. It was about me taking care of them. I had to wonder if maybe that was what my dad was doing. He always took care of me. I was proud of the things he had accomplished. I knew that I would always work hard to make my kids proud, but I would make sure to always be there for them and tell them how proud I was and how important they were to me. That was what mattered.

  The kids sat back down, and I walked to stand behind Livie. She looked up at me and nodded. I had my hands on her shoulders and looked around at our family.

  "We have something to tell you all," I began. "I asked Livie to marry me last night. She agreed to be my wife."

  My mom looked up at me with the biggest eyes I had ever seen on her. She looked like her head was going to explode. April and Jack were both bouncing in their chairs.

  "Are you going to be our daddy?" Jack asked.

  "You already have a dad," I said. "I will be your dad too. Would it be okay if we lived in the same house?"

  "That would be awesome," April yelled. "I miss you reading stories to us."

  Livie's mom hugged us both and congratulated us. My mom said congratulations but never got up from her chair.

  "There's something else," Livie said, as she stood next to me. "We're going to have a baby. You're going to have a baby brother or sister."

  I heard a gasp escape both of our moms at the same time.

  "Really?" Jack asked.

  We both nodded. The kids were both out of their chairs and running around. Livie's mom had the biggest smile on her face. My mom was in shock. The kids went into the living room to watch television. I sat down at the table to eat with Livie and our moms.

  "Before you say anything," I said. "I came back to ask Livie to marry me. I had no idea she was pregnant. When I proposed last night, she told me about the baby. I don't want either of you to think that is why we are getting married. When I went home, I couldn't stand being away from her and the kids. I tried to move on and get back to normal, but it never happened. All I thought about was the three of them and how much I wanted to be with them. When she told me about the baby, I was so excited."

  "How?" my mom asked. "You haven't been here in two months. She's been spending so much time with Mike."

  I could feel my blood beginning to boil. She wasn't ruining the moment for either of us.

  "If you want to make it your business, I'll be more than happy to tell you that we had sex when I was home. Do you need the details?"

  I heard Livie giggle and turned to face her. It took all I had not to laugh when I saw how red her cheeks were.

  "He's the only man I've been with in four years. I know you don't like me, Carol," Livie said.

  "It's not that I don't like you," my mom said.

  "Stop," I said in a stern voice. "It doesn't matter what you think. I don't care. She spent the last four years looking after you and dad. Show some respect. It's my life, not yours. I told her I was moving here. I said I would work in the city at the hospital. She wouldn't have it. She wants to move to New York. You crack me up. Livie is the most loving, giving, unselfish person I know. We've been friends since the day I moved in. I don't care what anyone thinks. I love her with all of my heart and would do anything to make her happy."

  "I'm so happy for you two," Livie's mom said. "You've been in love for so damn long. It's about time you both admitted it."

  My mom looked up at me.

  "She's moving to New York?" she asked.

  "Yes," I said.

  "She's giving up the bakery for you?" she asked. "She loves that place."

  "She is," I said. "I didn't ask her too. I'm more than willing to move here instead. I didn't want to move the kids."

  "I love Zander more than that bakery. It was my idea to move," Livie said. "I want a fresh start for the kids. Zander has a practice. He's needed there. He'll just have to lift weights twice as much now. He's the one that will be eating my baking from now on."

  "I'm so sorry," my mom said. "I should never have stuck my nose in your business."

  "If you hadn't, we wouldn't have those two beautiful children," I said.

  I walked into the living room and fell onto the couch. Both of the kids climbed up on me, and we sat watching cartoons for the rest of the morning.

  We all spent a nice Sunday together. The kids helped me cook dinner for all of us. I helped Livie read their stories and put them to bed.

  I was there bright and early the next morning to wake them up and take them to school. Jack was so excited. He wasn't nervous at all. We all walked up to meet his teacher. He ran off with the other kids talking about how he was going to be a big brother. April did fine. She had been to school the year before as well. She hugged Livie and me together before she walked off to meet her friends.

  Both of the kids knew I would be gone when they got home that night. Jack promised to call me and tell me about his first day. They knew that I would be back for the weekend. It wouldn't be long before we would all be together.

  Chapter 28

  Olivia

  I talked to Zander on the phone every day. He didn't like not being there in case I needed him. I made an appointment to see my doctor in town. He acted surprised to see me. I knew Z had called him ahead of time. The kids called Z every night before bed so he could tell them goodnight.

  I put the bakery up for sale. It was hard, but I knew I was making the right decision. I had owned it for almost four years. It had been with me through some tuff times. I was ready to give it up for the man I loved. He told me to take
whatever I could get for it. He even told me to give it away if I wanted to. Carla was so excited when she found out I was selling it. She had joked so many times about how old she would be before I'd finally give it up so she could have it. I watched her face fall when she found out how much I was asking. I knew Z didn't care about the money. He just wanted us with him as soon as we could make it happen. I made it a point to pay more attention to Carla and the way she worked. There was so much of me in her. She definitely had the passion for it.

  My doctor told me we could have my appointments on the weekends so Zander could be there. I didn't want him flying any more than he had to.

  I flew out with the kids to New York. They were so excited to take their first plane flight. Zander wanted to be with us, but I didn't want him wasting time or money to do that.

  They loved his place, and so did I. It was huge and had a great view of the city. He offered to sell it so we could buy a house. Part of me would miss the yard, but the kids didn't want to do it. They wanted to stay where he was. It didn't matter to me either way. I knew we could get to him quicker if we lived in the place he already had. Part of me was selfish and just wanted to be with him as fast as possible.

  April picked her room and then Jack picked his. The room closest to ours was going to be for the baby. That left one guest room. We decided if our moms wanted to visit together, they would have to share the room. Z said we would get two twin size beds. That way, he could still have his desk and files for his practice in the same room. We didn't think either of our moms would really fly out to see us anyway. Neither of them ever left their small town. His mom used to live in New York, but she never went back once she moved.

  He took me and the kids shopping to pick out everything for their rooms and promised to have them ready when it was time to move in. I have never seen the two of them so excited. They ran all over the store picking things out. Z was amazing with them. They would discuss what they wanted and he would have them put it in the cart. We all picked out the things for the baby's room together. It was nice having all of us involved in the decisions. I could tell the kids were proud that they were having a baby.

  By the time we were finished, I was exhausted. We went home and I went to the bedroom for a nap. I was woken up by little giggles from the edge of the bed. When I opened my eyes, Z was standing with a tray of food with the kids both next to him.

  "We decided to bring you dinner in bed," April said. "Zander said we could all eat in your room."

  "He did," I said, as I looked up at him.

  "We're going to watch a movie and have a little picnic on the bed," he said.

  Could the man get any more perfect than he already was, I thought?

  He came to visit us most weekends. There were a few that we didn't get to see him. I think we were both so ready to be together. We decided that the three of us would move over the Christmas holiday. That way the kids wouldn't be leaving in the middle of a school semester. They would be starting their new classes after the long holiday break. I was concerned about them, but they seemed so happy. They were both ready to be in their new rooms. Zander would take pictures and text them for the kids to see. He was going all out on their rooms, and he was doing it all himself. I was proud of what he was doing to make them feel at home there. He was doing everything he could to make their transition easier.

  When he came in one weekend, we went to see Mike together. He was at his dad's house. I didn't want to just move the kids without telling him. Zander was great about it. He was more than willing to be there with me. Mike apologized for everything he put both of us through and thanked Z for saving his life. Zander broke the news that we were getting married. I let Mike know that we were moving to New York. He seemed sad but said he was happy for us. We both told him that we wanted him to be a part of the kid's lives when he was ready. He said that he wanted to be involved as soon as he was done with therapy and clean from drinking for a year. We agreed to send pictures of the kids. He already knew he could talk to them whenever he wanted. He thanked Zander for being so good to the kids. It went much better than I thought it would. I honestly hoped that Mike would find love one day.

  Zander was at all of my appointments. Neither of us wanted to know what we were having, and there was never a reason for another ultrasound. My pregnancy was going great, but I was huge. Zander asked about it, but the doctor wasn't concerned. I was just as big when I was pregnant with Jack. We laughed about it often. It never bothered Z which made me love him even more.

  Carla was pretty much running the bakery. She was baking and had hired an additional person to help. I floated through once a day to check on things. The employees loved her and the way she did things. It seemed to be going well. The sales were steady, and she had really good ideas for new items and changes. I talked to Z and decided it was time to have a meeting with her.

  It was Thanksgiving weekend, and Z was staying for four days. He had no idea the long weekend he was in for. He was flying in Thanksgiving afternoon. I helped his mom cook dinner for all of us. He called when his plane landed, and we had dinner waiting for when he walked in the door. The kids ran to him and wrapped their arms around him. I walked over to see him once they were able to pull themselves away. He had a huge smile on his face the entire time.

  "This time next month I'll have my woman home with me. We'll all be together. Almost all of his," he said, as he rubbed my belly.

  We all had an amazing night together. The kids were so happy Z was going to be there to read their stories. I let them know that once we moved I was still going to read some nights.

  The next morning, Zander went with me to the bakery. We had everything we needed to take one of our final steps toward being together. It wasn't easy. I had tears in my eyes when I walked through the door and looked around. He held me in his arms and asked if I was sure about what we were doing. I teared up even more when he said he was still willing to move his life so I could keep it. I nodded and took a deep breath. We walked into the back to find Carla, covered in flour, working away. She smiled when she saw us.

  "It's so good to you, Zander," she said. "Did you have a good holiday?"

  "Yes," he said. "It was perfect."

  I motioned for Carla to have a seat. She looked worried as she sat down.

  "Did you sell it?" she asked.

  "What?" I asked.

  "You both came in here. He hasn't been in here in over a month. You have tears in your eyes. I've only been able to come up with ten thousand dollars. I'm not going to be able to get a loan. You're about to tell me you sold it, aren't you?"

  "No," I said. "That's not what we are here to tell you at all. It's good news actually."

  "Really?" she asked.

  "We've been talking. I've watched you for months. You are amazing. I've watched you go from running the register and baking to running the entire place. You bake all morning and run things during the day. You have the same passion I did. When I was younger, I wanted to own this place. I told the owner at least once a week that I was going to own it one day. When it was time to sell, I couldn't afford it. There was no way I was going to have my dream. I knew I would work my ass off if I could somehow find a way to get it. Out of nowhere, the owner cut the price in half. She told me she had to move. I could afford half. That was four amazing years ago. I worked in this place for years before that. You've been with me for four years Carla. You are an amazing young woman. Do you know what I found out a few months back?"

  "What?" Carla asked.

  "I found out that the price was never cut in half."

  "Then how did you get it? You only paid half," she said.

  "There is this amazing man who was my best friend in high school that hadn't been a part of my life in years. He paid the other half without me knowing. It took me four years to find out. He believed in me and knew it was my dream to own this place."

  Carla looked up at Zander.

  "That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard," she said.
>
  "I know," I said. "I couldn't decide if I wanted to kick his ass or hug him for it. You need this place. It's supposed to be yours next."

  Zander handed me the papers that were in his hands and the keys. I slid them over to her.

  "I don't understand. I can't pay you enough," she said.

  "I know that," I said. "Here are the papers you need and my two sets of keys. You're the new owner of the bakery. It's yours. Maybe one day you'll be able to do something to help someone else."

  "There is no way. You can't do this for me. I've got ten thousand for you," she said, with tears falling like a river from her eyes.

  "Use it to make the business grow. You have amazing ideas. I have no doubt that you'll be able to double your business. I'm proud of you. We want you to have it. I'm moving on to the next stage in my life. I want you to make it your own."

  She jumped from her chair and wrapped her arms around both of us.

  "I can't believe you guys would do this for me. Nobody has ever done anything for me before. Is this real?"

  "It is," Z said from behind me.

  We all talked for a little while before I was ready to go. When I got in the car and he closed the door behind me, I knew we'd made the right decision. She was going to do amazing things with the place.

  "You okay?" he asked when he got in.

  "I'm perfect," I said.

  The following morning, Carol asked Zander to take her Christmas shopping. He didn't want to do it. I told him it would only be a month and we would be living together. He wasn't going to see his mom as much, and she was going to miss him. He finally agreed to go with her. I don't know what I would've done if he hadn't.

  As soon as they were gone, we got to work. I had people from the town chipping in to help make it happen. We were in place with the kids when I saw the car pull up. I was hoping so badly that I had made the right decision. I didn't want him to be disappointed.

  When they walked in the house and closed the door, I knew it would only be a short time before he would be on his way back to our spot.