by Nicole Helm
And yet here he was, witnessing possibly the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in these five women who’d survived hell, knowing that he was making a life right here. A real, lasting life. With ups and downs, but love. Love would be his constant, and he’d never let himself doubt that.
“Summer needs you. Mel needs you. I need you. We all need you to be the good man we know you can be. We need that, Dad.”
Dad didn’t say anything. He stared ahead at the women in front of them, but he didn’t speak. Caleb held his breath and hoped as hard as he could that this was the turning point, this was the moment.
But Delia walked over, and Caleb had to let out his breath, had to look away from Dad.
“We’ll see, Caleb. I guess we’ll see,” Dad murmured before wheeling away, but there was some approximation of a curve to his lips, some hint of a smile. A hint of hope.
“Everything okay?” Delia asked, her arm snaking around his waist.
“Sure. A little bit new. A little bit same old, same old.”
She gave him a squeeze. “I think he’s going to come around.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She smiled up at him, drawing her finger along his jaw. “And if he doesn’t, we’ll just keep knocking some sense into him, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what we’ll do.” He lowered his mouth to hers, meaning to make it quick but meaningful. A brush of lips, but they both sank into it, until there were groans from the background and things being lobbed at them.
Delia broke the kiss, her grin all but splitting her face, joy and love infusing everything she was. Caleb had never seen anything so beautiful, not that sunset they’d shared all those weeks ago, not anything.
Her arms didn’t leave his neck. “I love you. I love you,” she whispered fiercely.
And he held on tight, whispering it in return, just as fiercely. Because sometimes you had to fight for love—fight the world, fight yourself, and it took that fierceness, an intense strength.
And it was more than worth it.
Acknowledgments
Every book is a supreme effort by an untold army of people—even more than I ever know. I’m supremely grateful for the team at Sourcebooks who works so hard to take my story from a computer document to a readable, available book.
About the Author
Nicole Helm writes down-to-earth contemporary romance specializing in people who don’t live close enough to neighbors for them to be a problem. When she’s not writing, or taking care of her two rambunctious boys, she spends her time dreaming about someday owning a barn. Visit her at www.nicolehelm.wordpress.com.
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