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My dad never returns to Fork Falls. There’s nothing up there for him now that I’m gone. Besides, if he wants to keep his heart strong, he’ll need new ladies to help him prove he’s all man.
Gary ends up moving into the top half of the duplex with Zelda after Tripp nails things down with Juno. I often visit to find the newlyweds sitting on the driveway in their folding chairs. Though Tripp still puts one out for his dead brother, his lady now keeps him company.
Zelda decides to go into veterinarian medicine after having a long chat with Queen Meemaw Christine during a lazy Sunday dinner at the homestead. My cousin is so excited to be a professional, and Christine wants to retire without closing her business.
Over time, West tolerates Gary better. Though they don’t really bond, the men learn to speak the same language. My dad isn’t Emmett. He half-asses everything in his life. But that’s not from a lack of love. Gary’s main goal in life is to be comfortable. Anything involving too much effort feels like a drain. West will never accept such thinking. However, he comes to terms with how Gary and I love each other in our own way.
Being a doer, West soon organizes odd jobs for Gary like he does Tripp. Just enough for the lazy doofuses to feed themselves and live comfortably. I reward his generosity with lots of mouth-to-dick affection.
After a little struggle, I learn to love motherhood. At first, I’m overwhelmed by Ace’s drama. Snark doesn’t work on him. He isn’t impressed by balloon animals. When I dress up as Lexi the Clown, he cries harder, thinking the scary person ate his mom.
The only way to stop his emotional roller coaster is to connect with him in the way I have with West. No sarcastic barriers or blowing off feelings. With my son, I need to be one hundred percent the real me.
There’s a magical moment when everything comes together. I walk into Ace’s room to find him whining again. Not even crying as much as fussing to hear himself speak. When I look down at him, Ace’s face lights up. I feel like I’m looking at a little West. Right then, my heart changes for the better.
Before West, I spent a lot of my life pretending I wasn’t missing out. My dreams were so small, but they were mine. I came to Tumbling Rock to start my little business and live independently. I hoped for a slightly better life than I knew in Fork Falls.
My plans were upended by an impossibly beautiful man who I assumed had forgotten about me. West made quite the impression when we first met. But I was a bitchy teenager with no use for unattainable dreams, like a gorgeous hunk wanting anything more than a quickie. Meanwhile, West was a spoiled young man, assuming everything would fall into his lap.
Five years later, we were both ready to build special. Though I felt too lost to make anything happen, West had the directions to our happily ever after.
