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There was now a chain link gate at the end of the drive that Cole had installed so the kids could play without him worrying they would get out into the street. The kids were both riding their new tricycles around the driveway. Cole was out in the driveway in front of the garage, where he was changing plugs on his bike.
He was bent down next to the bike, but he was still keeping an eye on the kids. They were racing each other back and forth from where Cole was, up the long drive, down to the gate, and back again.
Angel and Natalie pulled up to the house. Natalie looked over and saw Angel studying the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood and the house with the white picket fence. She smiled and murmured the same words that Cole had said to her not too long ago, “Not what you expected?”
Angel looked over at her and shook her head.
Natalie pulled off the street and stopped at the gate.
Cole heard the car engine and glanced up just as they were getting out of the vehicle. They approached the gate, and Cole rose slowly to his feet, dropping the rag in his hand. He watched as they opened the gate and entered. The metal clanged as they shut it. About that time, TJ and Melissa looked up and spotted their mother. Cole watched as they scrambled off their bikes and ran to her.
Angel dropped to her knees and gathered them in her arms, holding them close.
Cole stood motionless, watching.
TJ broke from his mother’s hug, turned to his father and yelled down the length of the driveway to him, “Daddy, Mommy’s home!”
“I see that, son,” Cole whispered. He wondered why he suddenly found it hard to remember to breathe. He watched as Angel slowly stood, her gaze finding him. Then she pushed the children toward Natalie, who hugged them fiercely, and Angel started walking toward Cole.
Here it comes, Cole thought. Would she be angry with him for taking the children? He tried to read her body language. She was still a bit too far away for him to clearly read her facial expression. Was she here to take the children away from him and back to Arizona? Or something more? Cole was afraid to hope. He took in a deep, shaky breath, trying to prepare himself for the worst.
She got about halfway down the drive, and then something he never expected happened. She began running to him. Cole was stunned, but he had the good sense to open his arms as she vaulted herself into them. Her arms came around his neck and suddenly he found himself holding her tightly to him.
His eyes slid closed. Thank you, God.
It was all he could do to whisper the words in her ear, “You better come running.”
