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“Bullshit,” his brother said, looking up, squaring his shoulders.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Nothing worth doing is easy, Ben. It’s going to be hell to learn to walk on that prosthetic, to be the man you’ve always been, but you’ll do it. That’s who you are. And it’s not easy for me to stand here, remembering all that passed between us, but I’ll do it. Because that’s who’ve I’ve grown to be.”
The seconds ticked by again, and Lucas struggled for his thoughts. “I don’t want to be the man I’ve spent the past decade being. I don’t want to miss out on this family. I’m tired of being angry. I’m tired of weathering life alone, shrouded in my lonely house on my lonely prairie. I want more.”
“So you and I forget about everything and go out for beers like nothing happened?” Ben asked.
“No, we’ll need time, but I’d rather have you in my life in a somewhat uncomfortable way than to not have you at all.”
Courtney looked down at her hands. “And me?”
“The same. We’ve been friends ever since you fell from that tree. I hated you for a long time, but those bonds didn’t break. When you called, I came. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Under my anger was the love I have always had for you both.”
Tears shimmered in Courtney’s eyes and she reached for Ben’s hand, twining her fingers with his.
At one time that image would have hurt him.
But no longer.
He was over her and he was over being angry at his brother.
“It won’t be easy, but I think it’s time for all our sakes we bury the hatchet and get on with living.” Lucas extended his hand to his brother.
For a moment, Ben studied his hand, dark eyes just matching Lucas’s, zoned in on the trimmed nails and callused palm. Then he lifted his gaze to Lucas’s, holding it, allowing Lucas to see the relief, to see the longing.
Ben lifted his hand and placed it in Lucas’s. Theirs was a firm handshake, full of resolve, full of regret, but most of all full of a new intention.
Courtney placed her hand atop theirs, the tears shimmering in her eyes now falling on her cheeks.
And when Lucas looked up, Addy stood in the doorway.
He smiled at her, and the look in her eyes told him he was truly home.
Courtney’s eyes widened as Addy, clad in her striped sundress, stepped out and accepted his outstretched arm. She snuggled against him, looking pretty as she had last Sunday when she’d first worn the dress. Of course this time she’d worn it with underwear—he’d watched her put the lacy panties on. It had been a sweet sight.
Courtney wiped her cheeks and arched an eyebrow. “Addy?”
Lucas looked down at the small woman who’d seeped into his heart and shown him what real love was. “Yeah. Addy.”
Courtney laughed, a delighted tinkle. “Well, isn’t that something? You have a really good reason for sticking around, huh?”
As the kids trooped out on the porch, complaining about their grandmother refusing to cut the cake, Lucas smiled even bigger. “She’s the best reason, but not the only one.”
“I’m hungry,” Chris complained, kicking his father’s chair wheel.
“Stop,” Ben said, rolling himself toward the door. “If anyone needs cake, it’s me. Let’s cut the damn thing.”
The kids cheered and the small family left, leaving Lucas and Addy on the porch alone.
The sun slanted in, falling in golden slants across the white boards. Addy looked up at Lucas.
“A kiss before we eat cake?”
He kissed her nose. “How about a kiss to celebrate spending my tomorrow with you?”
She lifted onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. “Best kiss ever.”
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