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He felt himself blush. Last night he'd sobbed like a little girl and now he stood here blushing like a fool. This is what Eva did to him. Made him… strong enough to be himself. "Well, yeah."
Eva smiled. "We' ll see about that."
Jake grinned. "Oh, I plan to do my utmost best to convince you that I need to be Charlie's uncle." He locked and flexed his fingers, giving her a wolfish grin.
"I'll look forward to it," she said, giving him the prettiest smile he'd ever seen. "Hank stopped by this morning. He told me you recommended me for the arson investigator's job."
"More money, lighter hours... and you go inafterthe fire," Jake said, moving toward the couch. "I'd never presume to tell you what to do. You're a good firefighter. I merely told the chief that I thought you'd be good at it."
''And you wouldn't?"
"I'm not sure I'm staying with the fire department," Jake said, clasping his hands and giving Charlie a shake of his head when the kid tried to turn on the machine. "I finally feel like I'm getting a new beginning. I'm thinking about law school."
Eva made a face. "You don't want to be a fire fighter? That's... that's... well, I'm shocked but not surprised. But-"
''Oh, I'm staying here. You're here."
"I don't have to stay here. I mean, I love Magnolia Bend but I can move. Wherever you go, I'll go."
"You know that's Biblical, right?"
Eva nodded. "I go to a good church.”
"Some stuff stuck with me, I guess," he joked, rising and taking her hand. "I'm not ever leaving you. Don't you get it, Eva? I finally found my home, and it's with you."
Eva curled her hand around his and pulled him down. He kissed her, tasting her cherry lip balm.
"Ooooh," Charlie crowed in delight. "Y'all are kissin'."
And then someone at the door knocked. In popped Fancy's head. "Yoo-hoo."
"The family's here," Jake said, sighing. No more time with Eva.
"Come on in." Eva smiled and then the entire Beauchamp clan bustled in. Every. Last. One. Of. Them.
And as he watched Eva's face, he knew he could give her no better gift than himself and his family. She belonged like a duck in the water.
Like a pig in mud.
Like a woman made just for him.
As everyone hovered, fussing over her, she caught his eye. He saw so much in those big brown eyes.
Pleasure. Forgiveness. Hope. Appreciation. And love. And the greatest of these is love.
Yep, some stuff stuck.
"I love you," he mouthed. And he meant every single word of it.
