After Victory: A Searching for Glory Novel (A Second Chance Love Story) (5 page)

“You needed a wise older brother and I needed a dysfunctional little sister. It’s kismet.” I threw an arm around her shoulders and squeezed.

“Hey. Get your own pregnant lady,” John said, pretending to be offended when he caught us. He followed Marta up the bleachers and settled in behind Glory, his hands instantly going to her shoulders.

“No. Definitely no.” I looked pointedly at Marta who was munching on popcorn and slurping and oversized drink. “Been there, done that. Four times. I’m good.”

John grinned. “That’s good. I don’t think Kate is looking to have any more kids either.”

“I never liked you,” I said with a scowl.

“Boys. Be nice to each other.” Glory stole a handful of popcorn from Marta.

“Yeah. Be nice.” Marta grinned a toothless smile and giggled. The sound of her laugh went straight to my heart, warming me from the inside. As I watched Julia take the court with her squad and found Christopher and J.J. seated with their friends, laughing and talking like they didn’t have a care in the world, I started to believe that maybe we really were doing okay. Maybe, just maybe, we were going to be alright.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Glory

Being back in the school gym was a bit of a head trip. While I hadn’t exactly been Miss School Spirit back in the day, I had attended an occasional basketball game. It was hard to believe that it was almost fifteen years later and I was watching my niece jump up and down waving pompons.

“I’ve been thinking.” Johnny bent down and whispered in my ear. “What if we take off at halftime? Dad has Jack for a couple more hours.”

“How do you propose we pass the time?” I whispered back.

His hands softly caressed my shoulders. “I’ve got a few ideas.”

We snuck out after Julia’s halftime performance, narrowly escaping a meltdown from Marta who wanted to go with us. Jake distracted her with promises of ice cream after the game, sliding us a knowing wink as we left.

“Look at all the stars,” I said, staring up as I climbed out of Johnny’s truck in front of our house. The air was crisp and clear and seemingly a million stars twinkled down on us. “Do you remember when we used to lay in a sleeping bag in your backyard in the summer and count the stars?”

“My mom was always afraid we would be attacked by a wild animal,” Johnny said with a soft chuckle. He took my cold hand in his, warming it instantly.

“My mom never even noticed I was gone.” I followed him onto the porch before stopping again. “Do you ever worry that I’ll end up like her?”

He froze. “Like your mom? No.”

“How can you be so sure? I’ve been cursed with just about the worst genes possible from both of my parents. Is it really so ridiculous to think that I might end up like one of them?” I was surprised to hear the words slipping from my mouth. Many nights I had stayed awake, worrying over those thoughts. But until now, I had never said them out loud.

“It will never happen,” Johnny said confidently. “You are far more like your sister than your mother. Jack couldn’t have a better mother.”

“Then why don’t you want to marry me?” I said, shaking from the cold and from how vulnerable I felt.

His blue eyes, those same blue eyes that had looked down at me from the treehouse so many years ago, stared straight into my soul. “Oh, love. Don’t you know that there is nothing I want more? You. Always you. Forever.”

“You never answered my question. I asked you, and you never answered.” I was surprised to feel a tear run down my cheek.

Johnny shoved one hand into his pocket, the other hand warming my cheek as he wiped away the tear. “Because I wanted to be the one to ask you. I wanted to do it right, Glor. I wanted it to be special because you are so special to me. I wanted it to be perfect.”

“I don’t need perfect, Johnny. I just need you.” It was strange to feel so raw and exposed with this man that I had shared everything with. I hadn’t realized just how scared I was that he might reject me.

“I really messed this up, didn’t I?” he said with a shake of his head. “I don’t know why they ever put men in charge of this proposal thing.”

“What do you mean?” I said.

When he pulled his hand from his pocket, it was closed in a fist. “I wanted to surprise you. The reason my dad has Jack tonight is that I had a whole thing planned. We were going to come back here and sit in front of the fire, maybe dance to our favorite song. And then I was going to ask you to be my wife.”

“You were?” My mouth dropped open. I was truly shocked. Johnny hadn’t been acting strange or hinted in any way that he had something planned. I stammered, “We can still do all of that.”

“I think I need to come up with a different plan now. I’ve ruined the surprise.”

I took his hand. “Let’s go inside. We don’t need to worry about this tonight.”

“No.” He squeezed my hand tighter, refusing to let me go. “Life is so short, Glor. We’ve already missed out on ten years together. I don’t want to wait any longer. I just want to be with you. Now and forever.”

His eyes were shining as he dropped to his knee, still holding my left hand. His other hand opened, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. “Marry me?”

My heart was racing uncontrollably as I dropped down in front of him. “Yes,” I whispered, barely able to get the word out. Because talking was out of the question, I grabbed his face between my hands and kissed him. I no longer cared that it was cold and had started snowing again. As winter swirled around us, I got lost in that kiss and in the possibility of a lifetime with the person I loved most in the world.

Hours later, we lay quietly in bed. Johnny’s chest rose and fell beneath my hand. The diamond ring sparkled even in the dark. It had belonged to Johnny’s mother. His father had been keeping it for him all these years, waiting for the day that he would ask to give it to me.

“It’s so beautiful,” I said, unable to look away. The ring itself was simple, one diamond on a silver band. But the love and meaning behind the ring were priceless.

“She would love that it’s yours now,” Johnny said, his voice deepening the way it always did when he spoke of his late mother. “Dad is pretty happy about it, too.”

When Mr. Carter had dropped off Jack, he had beamed with pride when he saw the ring on my finger and the smile on my face.

“A perfect fit,” he had declared. “I hope you like it.”

“I love it. It’s perfect.” I had hugged him tighter than ever, so grateful to have been welcomed into his family. “Thank you.”

“I was happy to give John the ring,” he had said.

“No.” I stepped back and corrected him. “Thank you for giving me your son. You raised a wonderful man.”

Mr. Carter had left our house with tears in his eyes.

“Jack is probably going to wake up soon. You should try to get some sleep.” Johnny’s hand softly stroked my hair all the way down my back.

“I don’t want to sleep. I just want to enjoy this moment.” Life had been so hectic lately that I hadn’t truly stopped to appreciate the blessings in my life. The fact that I was lying quietly in my house in the arms of my fiancé with a baby growing in my belly while waiting for our son to wake up, was an abundance of miracles that I wasn’t sure I deserved.

“We should probably talk about getting things ready for the baby,” Johnny said. “You’re over halfway along already.”

“I can feel her moving,” I said, marveling at the fluttering in my belly. It didn’t matter that I had already felt the same thing with Jack. It was just as special and amazing.

Johnny’s hand already rested on the small bump and he said, “I can’t feel it.”

“She’s not strong enough yet. Give it time.” I tilted my head up and kissed his cheek. “She’s got Stark blood in her. She’s going to be a fierce little girl.”

“I’m going to be so screwed, aren’t I?” He smiled happily, stroking my stomach. “I already have a big weakness for Stark women.”

Down the hall, Jack started to fuss. The sun was still hours from rising.

“Now you know how I feel about you Carter boys.” I yawned and pushed myself upright. “I’m going to go see if I can get your son to sleep for another hour or two.”

“Good luck with that. He likes to be up in time to see the sunrise.” Johnny matched my yawn with one of his own.

Jack was standing in his crib when I walked in. He smiled and bounced up and down. “Mama.”

“Hey Jacky.” I picked him up and felt the exhaustion fading away. “You don’t seem like you are thinking about going back to sleep.”

He giggled and tugged at my hair. I sang to him as I changed his diaper and he watched me with big blue eyes that were identical to his father’s.

“You are already a heartbreaker, Jack Carter,” I said as I lifted him into my arms. “Just like your daddy.”

“Da da,” he said, smiling excitedly.

“You want to see daddy? Let’s go wake him up.” I crept into our bedroom and was surprised to find the bed empty. I looked at Jack. “Where did he go?”

Jack just giggled.

We finally found Johnny in the kitchen, pouring two cups of coffee.

“My hero,” I said, balancing Jack on my hip.

“Da da!” Jack stretched his arms out to Johnny.

My heart never felt fuller than when I saw the joy in Johnny’s face as he looked at his son. Coffee forgotten, he plucked Jack from my arms.

“Hey kiddo. You ready for some breakfast?” He held Jack easily in one arm and cupped my face with his free hand. After kissing me, he said, “He’s still the best thing anyone has ever given me. Thank you.”

“If your Mom was still alive, I would tell her the exact same thing about you,” I said, kissing him back. “Want me to feed him?”

“Nah, I’ve got it. Enjoy your coffee,” he said, taking Jack to the highchair. “What’s on your schedule today?”

“I’ve got to get Jack’s prescription refilled this morning and then Jack has a playdate with the Morgan boy.” I groaned. “I’m such a mom.”

“But a hot mom,” Johnny said with a grin.

I sat down at the table across from the highchair. “We have a meeting this afternoon at the hospital to go over the new plans. Can you watch Jack for about an hour this afternoon? I can bring him by the shop after lunch.”

“Sure. How’s the construction going?” He placed milk and cereal on the tray in front of Jack who happily began to scoop the O’s into his mouth.

“We’re on track to be finished this spring. It looks really great. You should come with me some time to check it out.”

“I’d like that.” Johnny glanced at the clock. “I forgot there’s an early delivery coming this morning that I need to be there to sign for. Can you finish up here so I can shower?”

I nodded. “Of course. Go. Jack and I have got this.”

“You are the best.” Johnny tussled my hair on his way out of the kitchen.

I finished feeding Jack and then cleaned him up and got him dressed. We had to be at his playdate in about an hour. I set him on the floor in the bedroom while I changed my own clothes and glanced in the mirror. My hair was a mess and I had bags under my eyes. I made a face and then caught Johnny’s reflection over my shoulder.

“You sure you want to marry this?” I said, running my fingers through my hair to tame the wild tangles.

“More than anything.” He put his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck. “Every time I look at you, you take my breath away.”

I sighed and relaxed against him. “You’re going to be late.”

“Oh well.” He kissed my neck again. “I wish I could stay here with you.”

“Me too.” I caught his eye in the mirror. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“Not soon enough.” He gave me a proper kiss on the lips and then kissed the top of Jack’s head. The second his truck pulled away, my heart ached to be with him again.

“Your mama’s got it bad,” I said to Jack who was giggling in my arms. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “You are just like your daddy. What did I ever do to deserve you Carter boys?”

CHAPTER NINE

Kate

It was Sunday- the only day of the week when I felt like I actually had time to breathe. Denton was always out of the house on Sundays, typically at a friend’s place. That gave me time to get caught up on laundry and grocery shopping. I also usually managed to time everything well enough that I was able to have some personal time just for myself.

This Sunday was different though. Rather than spend my few precious hours alone cleaning the house or reading the latest book club book, I stopped by my favorite shop to pick up a new dress for my date with Jake. I still couldn’t believe that I was going on a date with Jake Delroy.

“Kate! How are you?” The woman that owned the shop, Rachel White, waved to me from the register. “It’s been too long.”

“It has,” I agreed. Rachel and I were not quite friends, but we did hang out in the same social circle. Her oldest son, Maddox, was just a year younger than Denton. “How are the kids?”

“Good. Real good.” She finished folding the shirt she was holding. “You lookin’ for something special today?”

I knew that my cheeks were turning pink as I said, “I need something to wear to an art exhibit opening next weekend.”

“Fancy.” Rachel grinned, noticing my embarrassment. “Hot date?”

“Just going with a friend,” I said, grateful when the door chimed and another customer entered.

Rachel was suitably distracted. “Take a look around. Try on anything you like.”

I hurried away before she realized that I hadn’t told her the complete truth. We lived in a small town and I knew everyone would go crazy with gossiping when they found out about Jake. He was adored by everyone in town and his dating life was already a common topic of conversation.

“That’s pretty.”

I had just selected a royal blue dress and was eyeing it unconvincingly. The voice over my shoulder was too familiar.

“Glory.” I forced a smile as I turned to face her. She was holding her son on her left hip. “I’m not sure blue is my color.”

“I think you’re wrong about that.” Her smile was warm and friendly. When she smiled like that, I was reminded of the girl I used to skip class with to go shopping at the mall. “I heard you all had quite a night at the bar.”

“Oh. I was only planning to grab some dinner. The guys insisted I join them.” I felt guilty even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

She smiled again. “It’s hard to tell them no. Trust me, I know. Hopefully you weren’t as hungover as Johnny.”

“It was pretty embarrassing getting a ride home from Mr. Carter,” I admitted.

“Remind me sometime to tell you about the embarrassing ride home he had to give me,” she said, shifting Jack to her other hip. “Is that dress for your date with Jake?”

“You heard about that, huh?” I glanced at the dress. It really was quite pretty. “Does this look like an appropriate first date dress?”

“You should try it on.” She nodded toward the dressing rooms. “I promise to give you an honest opinion.”

Ten minutes later, I paid for the blue dress. As Glory bought a pretty gold dress for her niece, I was shocked that I had actually enjoyed our time together. It had reminded me of how close we had once been.

As we walked our cars, both of us seemed to be reluctant to say goodbye. Glory was the first to address the tension. “Look, I know this is probably really weird for you, considering our past. But is there any chance you want to get a coffee? I’d love to catch up with you.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “You’re the one with the baby.”

“Just let me grab his car stroller. He’ll fall asleep the second I put him down.”

There was a small café right next to the shop where we bought our dresses. Glory insisted on paying for our drinks and I figured since she was a multi-million, it was okay to let her. As we settled at a table near the window, Jack dozed in his stroller.

“He’s a good baby,” I said, smiling as I looked at him. I could remember when Denton had been that small. I missed those days. “He looks just like John.”

“He really does,” Glory agreed, looking at her son. “He has Johnny’s mellow personality, too. Thank goodness.”

I decided to bluntly address the thing that both of us had been avoiding. “I don’t blame you for John breaking up with me.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh?”

“I’m sorry. That was out of nowhere, but I felt like I needed to say something. I know how people in this town talk and a lot of them think you stole him away from me. I know that’s not true. John was never mine. He was always yours.” I looked down at my latte. “You two were meant to be together.”

“That’s really nice of you, Kate.” She studied me carefully, blowing gently on her cappuccino. “I’m not sure I deserve your kindness, but I do appreciate it.”

I took a small sip, choosing my next words carefully. “I missed you when you left town. You were my only real friend and I never imagined that you would just take off like that. When you never reached out to me, it hurt.”

“I know.” She sighed. “I can’t even make an excuse for what I did. It was wrong. I was hurting because of everything with Johnny and I wasn’t strong enough to deal with it. So I left. I figured no one would even miss me. I was stupid and I was a bad friend.”

“You weren’t a bad friend. You were hurting and you were sad.” It had taken me a decade to realize that.

“Can I tell you something I’ve never told anyone?” Her lower lip trembled slightly. I nodded, not sure what to expect. “I think I would have left anyway, even if all that hadn’t happen with Johnny.”

“What?” My mouth dropped open. “Why?”

She stared out the window a few seconds before answering. “Because up until then, my whole life had been about Johnny. I loved him so much, it consumed me. And it scared me. I didn’t want him to be the only thing in my life because I was sure he would leave me. I think part of me knew that I had to spend some time fixing myself before I could commit to him forever. Is that horrible?”

When she looked at me, there were tears in her eyes. I knew that what she just had admitted to me was something that she had only just admitted to herself.

“No, it’s not. You were eighteen. You were still figuring out life. If I had lived through what you did as a kid, I probably would’ve end up in jail or rehab. The fact that you came out of it and went on to be so successful is amazing. Maybe you screwed up the thing with John along the way, but you figured that out, too.” I never would have guessed that I would spend my day giving Gloria Star a pep talk.

“I’m just glad I didn’t figure it out too late.” She reached over and rubbed Jack’s head. “I still worry that I don’t deserve any of this. I think part of me keeps waiting for someone to take it all away.”

“I feel that way too sometimes, when I look at Denton. It already feels like he’s leaving me, slowly each day. I remember when he was born, I used to sit by his crib all night. Brad thought I was nuts.” It was months before I had been able to sleep in our bed again. I still had a hard time sleeping when Denton wasn’t home.

“I have a video monitor in Jack’s room so I can watch him sleep when I’m away from home,” Glory admitted with a grimace. “Johnny probably thinks I’m nuts, too.”

It was starting to snow again, big flakes floating past the window. “I don’t know how Jake does it with four kids.”

“Jake is a superhero. He’s not human.” Glory’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “I learned a long time ago that you can’t compare yourself to him. Speaking of Jake…he’s quite fond of you.”

This was not unexpected. It was only a matter of time before Jake became a topic in our getting-to-know-each-other-again session. “Jake is a good guy.”

“The best,” Glory agreed.

“I really like him,” I admitted, surprising both of us. “I’m not sure what he sees in a damaged girl like me, but I’m not asking too many questions.”

“Kate.” Glory gave me a sympathetic smile. “You are a catch. Jake would be lucky to have you in his life. Johnny always says nice things about you.”

I laughed. “Yeah, well, I think we can both agree that John has a thing for damaged girls. He’s not exactly an unbiased source.”

Glory laughed too, loud enough that Jack stirred.

“Is it weird that I’ve actually had a lot of fun today?” I asked hesitantly.

“If it is, then I guess we are both weird.” She slowly rocked the stroller to calm Jack. “I don’t have any friends in town anymore. It’s nice to spend time with someone that isn’t a man or a child.”

“Does that mean we should do this again?” I was glad that I hadn’t been alone in my feelings. It was much harder to make friends as a grown adult than it had been as a kid. “It isn’t a little weird hanging out with your boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend?”

“Fiancé,” she said, shyly holding up her left hand. “And it’s only weird that it really doesn’t feel that weird.”

“You got engaged?” I was surprised at first, staring at the modest but beautiful diamond. Then something warm spread through me. “That’s wonderful Glory. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks. You are the first to know, actually. Johnny is going to tell Jake and we still need to tell the kids.” She laughed again. “Is it weird that the first person I told is my fiancé’s ex-girlfriend?”

“I’m honored.” I really was happy for both of them. “I’m sure the kids will be ecstatic.”

“Speaking of the kids, I promised Jake I would pick up Chris from his friend’s house.” She glanced at the time on her phone.

“I’m headed that way, too.” I finished the last of my latte.

Glory was putting Jack’s hat back in place when her phone rang. She smiled warmly as she answered it. “Jake, you’ll never guess who I’m with-”

I couldn’t hear his words on the other end of the phone, but I could tell from the way her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent gasp that he was telling her bad news.

“Where is he?” Glory demanded, eyes watering. “I’m on my way.”

“What’s wrong?” I jumped to my feet with her, prepared to help in any way possible.

“There was an accident. Johnny.” She ran both hands through her hair and froze. “He’s at the hospital.”

My heart thudded in my chest. “You need to go, now.”

“But I have Jack. And what about Chris?” She looked at me, lost.

I knew exactly what needed to happen. “Let’s get in your car. I’ll drive you to the hospital and then take Jack to pick up Chris and Denton.”

It was the only thing that made sense. She was in no state to drive, and I needed a car seat for Jack.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she said as she started to tremble.

“You’re not asking, I’m telling you it’s what we are doing.” I grabbed the stroller and handed Glory her coat. “Let’s go.”