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Chapter 65
Grace
TheridetoBristolis lovely. Frank turns up the music and we both jam out to Bruce Springsteen with the windows down and smiles on our faces. I haven’t seen Frank this relaxed in a long time, and I wonder what Cash must have planned for Frank to be so carefree. Even the baby kicks along as we dance, and at one point I force Frank to touch my stomach so he can feel, and his entire face lights up.
We pull down the familiar driveway of Cash’s grandparents’ house, but Frank doesn’t stop. He continues driving past the house until we reach the end of the gravel and hit grass. He parks and I look out to the field in search of our destination. There are gardens blooming with every flower you can imagine, purples and blues, yellow daffodils, and pink roses. There is a stone walkway that leads to what appears to be a stone patio. Frank turns off the radio and silence descends upon us, completely changing the mood in the car as he motions toward the garden. “Cash is in there.”
I turn back and give him a soft smile. “Thanks for this, Frank. For everything…” I sigh as he nods imperceptibly. There aren’t enough words to express how thankful I am things turned out the way they have. That Cash’s father failed in his plan. That Cash and I are still together. Since I first met Frank he’s had my back, and I only wish one day I can return the favor.
“Just do me a favor,” he says quietly, “be happy. And give Bossman his happy ending; you both deserve it.”
Warmth travels through my veins, and I nod before getting out of the car. It’s a short walk through the garden where I spot Cash standing in the center of it with a bottle in his hand. I eye it curiously, but my eyes quickly return to him. His lips are slightly turned up in a smile, and his jaw is relaxed and covered in delicious scruff. Clearly, he’s cleaned up his stubble since I last saw him.
Before I have a moment to speak, Cash walks toward me and pulls me into his arms, hugging me fiercely against his chest. “Gracie, I missed you,” he whispers against my hair, before taking both of my cheeks in his hand and staring into my eyes. “I missed you so damn much.” Then he drops his eyes to my belly and kneels with ease. “Hey, baby girl, you been good for your mommy?”
My eyes burn from the scene before me, but Cash stands up and kisses me softly on the lips before I can cry. “How are you feeling?” he asks.
“I’m okay,” I say softly as I run my hand against his scruff. “God, I forgot how gorgeous you are,” I say more to myself, shaking my head. He really is a sight for sore eyes.
Cash chuckles. “See, this is why you need a ring.”
My eyes knit together. “What?”
“A ring. Ya know, the kind that goes on your left finger and tells the world that you’re mine. But more importantly tells you that I’m yours.”
“I’m not following.”
“You forgot me,” he says simply, as if that explains his insanity. “You forgot who I was, and because I’m not your husband I wasn’t even entitled to medical updates. What if you’d never gotten your memory back? I’d…” he falters, sighs, and then leans toward me, lifting his hand to my cheeks. “Angel, Ineedyou to be my wife.”
“Because I almost forgot you?” I tease with a small smile.
He rolls his eyes as a smile pulls at his lips. “Not only because of that. Also, because you need me to be your husband.”
“I do?” I ask, the grin teasing at my eyes.
“Yes.” His face turns serious now. “You need to trust in our love, and you need to understand that I’m committed to you. No matter what.”
My breath comes out hard. The guilt over what he’s referring to swirls between us. He thinks I didn’t trust him enough to tell him about my mother. And that cost all of us so much.
What he doesn’t get is that it wasn’t about trust. It’s always been about love. Love to me has always been conditioned upon me acting a certain way. Behaving. Conforming. Changing myself to fit into whatever box my mother or Steven wanted.
I thought for him to love me I would have to act a certain way, and part of that was keeping the woman who almost destroyed me out of my life, or at least hidden because I never thought Cash would approve.
But Cash has shown me time and again that his love has no conditions. My reasoning for not telling him had nothing to do with him and everything to do with me.
Cash continues, “You need to see what a real commitment looks like. You need to understand that people can get in fights and not break up. People can have disagreements and not end their relationships. You can do something that I don’t like, and I’ll still stand by your side. I’mcommittedto you.”
Tears stream down my face as I stare at him in awe.
“Grace, you are theloveof mylife. You give me purpose, bring a smile to my face, and are my favorite person in the world. I get that you haven’t had any real examples of what a marriage can be…but here’s what I can promise you…to me it means that no matter what you do, no matter what kind of fight we have, I willalwayschoose you. You can rely onthat.”
“But my secrets cost you everything,” I whisper.
Cash brushes the tears from my face. “Not everything, Angel. You and our daughter,you’re everything. You are thejoyof my life. And as for the company, it wasn’t ideal that Hanson learned about Hope Whiskey before we were able to announce it, but everything is ironclad. There’s nothing he can do.”
“But the money…” I protest.
Cash shakes his head on a smile. “Has all been returned. But seriously, even if it hadn’t, even if we had to start over…none of it matters. Our family is all that matters to me, Grace.”
