AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Trick grasped his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. Go on. We’ll be here waiting whenever you’re ready to bring her home.”
“Thanks. I don’t know how long … I don’t know much of anything right now.”
“You don’t need to. Forget about us. We’ll be here, ready when you are.”
“Thanks.”
Trick smiled. “And don’t worry, I’ll take care of what you asked for.”
Jacob’s breath caught in his chest. That might be a horrible idea. If things didn’t turn out the way he hoped today, he knew that he’d regret asking.
“How about you text me when you’re on your way back out here?” Trick suggested, seeming to read his mind. “You can let me know then if you want them in the cabin or not.”
“Thanks. That’ll work.”
Ollie gave him an encouraging smile. “Hadn’t you better get going?”
He checked his watch. “Yeah.” Becca’s dad should be waiting for him by now.
He straightened his shoulders and reminded himself that he was Jacob Jacobs. He could handle anything. It didn’t help much. It didn’t matter what his name was; all that mattered was getting to Becca.
Trick walked with him to the doors and gave him one last pat on the back as he swiped his pass to let him in. “You’ll be fine. It’s all going to work out.”
“Thanks.”
It only occurred to him when he stepped inside the building that he didn’t know what Becca’s dad looked like. His panic was only momentary. As soon as he spotted the guy, he knew it had to be him. He looked out of place amongst the few travelers who were standing and sitting around. He was wearing overalls and muddy boots. He looked stern, and his bushy eyebrows came together when he met Jacob’s gaze. He came striding toward him – seeming to recognize him, too.
“Jacob?”
Jacob held his hand out to shake with him. “That’s me. You must be Mr. Taylor.”
Jacob’s heart hammered in his chest as the man gripped his hand and nodded. Then, he smiled, and Jacob relaxed when he said, “You should probably call me Chuck, huh? Seems we’re going to need to be on first-name terms going forward.”
“I hope so.”
“You don’t need to hope, son. I was ready to kick your ass for you by the time you called this morning. You have no idea what it does to my heart to hear my little girl cry – and she was bawling last night. She didn’t say anything to us. Took herself straight to bed when she got home, but we knew there was something up. And listening to her cry …” He shook his head. “I knew it had to be over you. Listening to her chatter on about you yesterday, I knew you were the one for her. Last night, I knew nothing else could make her cry like that – nothing ever has before.”
Jacob swallowed. He wished he’d been able to talk to her. Wished that he hadn’t put her through such an awful night. Not that his night had been any better.
Chuck looked him over. “You ready to go, then?”
“I am, and thank you.”
He relaxed when Chuck smiled. “You’re welcome. Like I told you on the phone. You’ve got my blessing. Just the fact that you called me like that …” He shrugged. “I know who you are now. The way that you know, even though you can’t know, not for sure, that that little shit was lying, tells me that you love her the right way. You trust her – even though it looks like you shouldn’t. That’s the kind of love you need to make a marriage work. So, yeah. Let’s go and sort everything out.”
Jacob felt a little more of the tension leave his shoulders. Her dad trusted Becca just as much as he did. It was obvious that there was no doubt in his mind that Becca hadn’t done what it looked like – even though there was a photo that, apparently, proved that she had. He knew her better than anyone. But Jacob didn’t need his reassurance. He’d already made the choice – in fact, no, it wasn’t a choice, it was just a fact – he believed that no matter what Jamie had tried to tell him, no matter how that photo made it look, Becca loved him. There was no way she’d been kissing that little shit – not for real.
He followed Chuck across the parking lot to a muddy old Chevy Silverado. He climbed into the passenger seat and couldn’t help smiling as he fastened the seat belt.
“What’s up?”
“Does Becca by any chance have a name for your truck?”
Chuck laughed out loud. “Yeah, as a matter of fact, she does. She calls him Steve. Steve the Silverado.”
Jacob’s heart felt like it melted in his chest. That was his Becca. And before today was over, he was hoping against hope that she’d officially be his.
~ ~ ~
