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Suddenly, Tara pushed herself off him until she knelt between his knees. “Call her. Call her and tell her…just tell her that you love her.”
Jesse’s heart was suddenly a bass beat in his chest. He sat up and pressed his face against Tara’s chest. “I’d rather play with your boobs.”
She laughed and pushed him away. “Call your mom. That’s an order, sailor.”
“Fuck, you’re tough.”
She kissed him. “Better believe it.”
He got up and started looking for his jeans, his mind racing.
Tara frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t reconcile with my mother with my junk hanging in the wind.”
She laughed so hard she snorted. He did a doubletake at her and grinned. “Sorry,” she said. “But I do believe your mother’s seen your junk.”
He smirked and threw his shirt at her. “Not for like thirty-five fucking years.”
“Fair point,” she said, still laughing at him. And, fuck, he didn’t even mind when he knew that she was there for him, on his side, having his back. The last time he’d had that was in the military. But now he had that kind of partnership in life. And it meant the fucking world.
Finally, Jesse had his phone in hand. He went to his recent calls and pressed his mom’s name. It rang. He couldn’t believe he was so nervous.
“Jesse, is that you?” she said by way of answering.
He paced. “Hey, Mom. Yeah. How are you?”
The look on Tara’s face was so damn hopeful. For him. She gave him a thumbs-up, and he nodded.
“I’m good, hon. Is everything okay?” The surprise in her tone killed him.
He had to make this right. “I’m fine. There’s no reason to worry. But, um, I guess, in a way, no, everything’s not all right.”
“Tell me what’s going on, Jesse.”
He swallowed hard—and made a leap of faith. “Mom, I’m sorry. About everything. About not getting along with Dad and making things hard on you and Willa. About not coming home and not staying in touch. I don’t want it to be like that anymore. I miss you. And Willa. And if you can forgive me, I want my family back.”
“Oh, my sweet boy,” his mother said, her tone full of tears. “Nothing would make me happier. I love you, Jesse.”
A knot of emotion settled into his throat, and he sat on the bed. Tara hugged him from behind, and he put a hand on her knee and squeezed. This was one more thing Tara Hunter had given him. “I love you, too, Mom. And I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too. But now we look forward. I have so much to tell you.”
Jesse looked over his shoulder to find happy tears in Tara’s eyes. “There’s so much I want to tell you, too…”
Which was how Jesse found out that Willa was getting married in June—to her childhood sweetheart, Max Hull. Somehow they’d found their way back to each other, and Jesse couldn’t wait to hear that story straight from Willa, since he’d now be going to her wedding. Going home to Cunningham Falls. And it was how his mom learned that Jesse was in love with the most amazing woman in the world, and about to start a new job he was passionate about. And so many other things.
When he got off the phone, he turned in Tara’s arms and hugged her tight. “Thank you, baby. You were right.”
She held him close and kissed his cheek. “I’m so glad, Jesse. You deserve to have a family.”
He tilted his head back and looked her right in the eyes. Marry me.
That was what was on the tip of his tongue. But he needed a ring. And he wanted to make an occasion out of it. To make it as special as this woman and the love he’d found with her. So…soon.
Instead, what he said was, “I love you, Tara.”
Because for today, that was finally enough.
