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“Thirty days since the fire. Then they had to operate on your arm, and there was some swelling on your brain. They were talking about neural deficits, I guess. That means they thought you’d come back as a potato.” She smiles through the tears that are now falling freely down her face. “I’m so sorry, Margot. This is my fault. I asked you to come home and put you on that psycho’s radar. I should have just left you in Arizona.”
“No,” I say and shake my head slightly, but it hurts too much to move it.
“She’s right,” Jake says from the doorway with a smile on his face. “You’re awake, Lilly-girl. I missed you so much.”
“Love. You,” I say. Tears start streaming down my face, and I can’t wipe them away. “Need. You.”
“I got you, sweet girl.” Turning to Maya, he says, “She’s right. You didn’t know we had a crazy person working at the fire department. It’s not your fault he did any of this. And trust me when I tell you that I’m beyond happy that you asked her to come home. You brought me back my girl. And now we’re going to have a family.” He steps forward and pulls Maya into a hug, causing me to cry even harder.
“I just don’t want you to hate me.” Maya sniffles. “I wanted you two to be happy and together.”
“And we are. You did good, kid.” He kisses the top of her head, and she moves to the chair she had been sitting in.
“Jake,” I say.
“Shh. Baby, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” He slides into the bed next to me and pulls me into his arms. “You’re awake. And everything is going to be okay. There’s nothing else to worry about.”
“Mom,” I croak, my throat on fire.
“I called your mom on my way back from grabbing something to eat. She was with my mom, so all the important people know. I told them to give you a little bit of time to get used to being awake. I hope that was okay. My mom is going to have to go and pick up my dad anyway. He’ll kill me if he doesn’t get to see you.” He looks into my eyes, and I see all his love for me right there on the surface. It makes me want to kiss him, but I can’t move more than a few inches before a shooting pain runs through the back of my head.
Knowing me, he understands what I want, because he lowers his mouth to mine and kisses me gently. Just a peck really, but I can feel the emotion behind it. The passion he feels for me running through the simple touch of his lips against mine.
“I’m gonna go wait for Brian out in the waiting room. Margot, we’ll talk later. I’ll come back with contraband,” Maya stage-whispers and then leaves.
I forgot she was here, honestly.
Jake frames my face in his hands. “I love you.” He peppers my cheeks with kisses. “I haven’t said it because I was afraid if I said the words that you’d leave me all over again. That there would be something else that stole you from me. And then Ray almost did that anyway. I love you. I love you more than anyone has ever loved another person.”
He shifts and pulls out a small box.
“This isn’t the ring I’m going to slip on your finger when I ask you to marry me. But that’s coming. This is yours. It’s been yours since the day I gave it to you, along with my whole heart.”
The box opens and there it is.
Silver, with lilies and vines engraved over the precious material. A delicate chain, just as shiny as the night I first saw it in the dim light of Jake’s cruiser.
“Open it,” his gruff voice prompts.
When I can’t quite reach it, Jake slips the clasp open and holds the interior close enough for me to see.
The same image from all those years ago. Right before my eighteenth birthday, Jake and me together, smiling at the camera. But on the other side is another image. This one more significant. More impactful. It’s Jake, staring at me when I’m not paying attention. I see it and know immediately when it was taken. My first day at work, right before I started unpacking boxes.
The love on his face is clear.
Proof, if I doubted, that even when he didn’t say it… Jake has always been the one for me.
Proof that it’s never too late to come home and find happiness.
“I love you too, Jake.”
