A Love Rekindled (The Game of Love #1) (13 page)

Luke
and Jessica quietly took the presents into the living room. The gifts
were under the tree and halfway across the living room floor. Luke
had not realized that they had bought so much. Jessica laughed as he
arranged the gifts. He smiled and kissed her, as he soaked in the
moment.

Christmas
morning, Luke woke to Lucas jumping on the bed.

“
Daddy,
daddy, get up, Santa came,” Lucas squealed. “Hurry daddy,
Santa came. There are lots of presents. I can't believe it. I have
never seen so many presents. Mommy said you have to get up.”

Luke
pretended to still be asleep. Lucas shook him and kissed his face.

“
Daddy,
come on,” Lucas said.

Luke
opened his eyes and grabbed Lucas. He tickled him as Lucas laughed.

“
You
want to go and open your presents? Are you sure?” he asked.

“
Yes,
I do,” Lucas replied, as he grabbed Luke's hand to drag him out
of the bed.

When
they got to the living room, Lucas jumped up and down.

“
See,
look at all of these presents. I can't believe it,” he shouted.

Luke,
Jessica, and Renee sat on the couch.

“
You
must have been really good this year, Lucas,” Renee said, as
she shook her head at Luke.

Luke
shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

Lucas
sat on the floor and opened his gifts, while Jessica took pictures of
him. He was so excited. When he got to one that was for Renee, he
would jump up and give it to her. She loved the clothes they got her.

“
I
already got a car,” she said. “I hope you did not get me
a lot. You have done enough for me.”

“
Santa
brought you that stuff,” Luke said. “You have to talk to
him.”

Renee
grabbed a pillow and smacked him with it. They both laughed. Jessica
took a picture of them. Luke was so happy to be there with the three
of them.

Lucas
continued opening his presents and handing out the rest. He handed
one to Jessica. She sat down on the couch, with a concerned look.
Slowly she opened it. It was a beautiful necklace with four
birthstones, one for each Lucas, Jessica, Luke, and Renee. Lucas
threw his arms around her.

“
Do
you like it? Daddy let me pick it out. It has a birthstone for each
of us. It's our whole family,” he said.

She
told him how much she loved him as she looked at Luke. Lucas ran over
and got a box to hand Luke.

“
I
picked this out for you. It is your very first present from me,”
Lucas said.

Luke
opened the box and could feel heat rush to his face. There was a
t-shirt inside that had a picture of Lucas and him on it. Under the
shirt was a new wallet. He could feel tears in his eyes. Jessica
giggled and he looked up at her. She tilted her head to the side and
smiled.

Luke
thought back to high school. Jessica bought him a brand new wallet
every Christmas. She would tell him he could save it for all the
money he was going to make playing football. It was something little,
but she did it each year.

Before
long, Lucas had paper and presents all over the living room floor.
Renee had opened all of her new clothes. She was so excited about
them. It was hard for her to save up to buy things that weren't
necessary. She loved everything her sister had picked out.

Lucas
held his football tight and crawled into Luke's lap.

“
Daddy,
when my arm is better, will you play catch with me?” he asked.

“
Of
course I will,” Luke answered.

Lucas
looked sad. He had gotten more presents than he could have imagined.
Why did he look sad, Luke wondered? Luke motioned to Jessica and
pointed down at Lucas. She sat down next to them and ran her fingers
through Lucas' hair.

“
Did
you like your presents?” she asked.

“
Yes,
I like all of them. I have never gotten so many gifts,” he
answered.

“
Why
the sad face?” she asked.

“
I
know daddy will only be here a few more weeks,” he said. “The
only thing I really want is for daddy to stay with us. I don't want
him to leave.”

Luke
looked down at his son.

“
Even
if I am not in this house, I will be here all the time. I am not
leaving, Lucas. I promise,” Luke said.

He
hugged his son tight.

“
Hey,
in a few minutes, my mom is going to come over,” Luke said.

“
My
grandma. I am going to have a grandma,” Lucas said.

“
Yes
you are. She is going to love you very much. Can you do me a favor
and be real quiet when she gets here. When I tell you to bring her
the present we bought, then you can say grandma okay. You are her
special Christmas surprise,” Luke said.

“
Okay,
I can do that. I'm a good surprise,” Lucas said.

“
You
sure are.”

Lucas
got down on the floor and started ripping open the packages from his
presents. There was a knock at the door. Luke hurried over to open
it, as he gave Jessica a nervous smile. His mom came into the
entryway and hugged him. Her eyes widened as she saw Jessica. She
hurried over and wrapped her arms around her.

“
You
look so amazing. I have not seen you in so long. You still look like
that same girl I knew,” his mom said.

“
I've
missed you. I'm sorry for not seeing you all those years,”
Jessica said.

Renee
walked up just as they were pulling away from each other.

“
Renee,
it's great to see you,” his mom hurried to hug her. “You
are so grown up.”

Renee
laughed, as she thought about high school and how young she had
looked. They all laughed. Lucas stood up to say something to Jessica.
Luke's mom looked at the little boy and her mouth dropped open. She
walked closer to the boy and put her hands on his cheeks.

“
You
are such a cutie. How old are you little man?” she asked.

“
Thank
you. I am six years old,” he responded.

Luke's
mom turned around and looked into Jessica's eyes. Her face was
serious. Luke saw tears in her eyes.

“
He
has the most beautiful eyes, Jessica,” she said, as she sat
down in front of the boy.

Luke
knew that his mother had already figured it out. How did she know? He
had not even known.

“
What
is your name?” she asked the little one.

Luke
cut in before he could answer.

“
You
know how I told you we had a very special Christmas present for you?”
he asked.

“
I
sure do,” she answered.

He
could not tell what emotion she was feeling. Was she mad, happy,
excited, or what? Lucas took the little box and handed it to her with
a smile.

“
My
name is Lucas,” he said. “You asked me my name, but daddy
said something and I couldn't answer. Oh no, did I mess up the
surprise?”

“
It's
fine buddy. You didn't mess up the surprise. She can open the present
now,” Luke answered.

Quietly,
she unwrapped the box. Everyone was silent. She opened it and pulled
out a cute necklace with a butterfly that said #1 Grandma.

“
I
love butterflies. They are my favorite,” she said.

“
You're
my grandma,” Lucas said. “I have a grandma.”

She
wrapped her arms around Lucas as tears streamed from her eyes. They
stayed there for a few moments, before Lucas pulled away.

“
I
love you grandma,” he said.

“
I
love you too, Lucas,” she answered.

“
She
makes the best cookies and snacks,” Renee joked.

“
I
am going to bake you everything I can think of,” Luke's mom
laughed.

Lucas
showed his grandma everything he had gotten for Christmas. Luke and
Jessica finished dinner and got everything onto the table. Everyone
joined them to sit and eat. They talked about the past few weeks and
everything that had happened. Lucas told his grandma about his
accident and had her sign his cast. As soon as dinner was over, Renee
popped up from her chair.

“
I'm
going to get going a little early,” Renee announced.

“
Why
are you leaving so soon? You always stay until Lucas goes to bed,”
Jessica said.

“
I
am going to go and visit a friend. He is by himself today, and I just
want to say hello,” Renee answered.

“
Your
friend is a he?” Luke asked, with a grin. “Is he anyone
we know?”

“
Be
quiet. Thank you for the awesome gifts. I love you guys,” she
said, as she hugged each one of them.

Luke
wondered why she didn't tell them who she was visiting. He laughed as
he helped her get her stuff and walked her to her car.

“
Are
you going to tell me where you are going?” he asked.

“
I
wasn't planning on it, dad,” she answered.

He
gave her a stern, serious look. She laughed and poked him in the arm.
He walked back to the house and she drove away.

Lucas
spent the rest of the evening with his grandma. He had her read his
bedtime story. They all tucked him in and went back to the living
room. Jessica made the three of them coffee. Luke knew they needed to
talk.

Jessica
apologized over and over as she told Luke's mom everything. They sat
together for a long time. His mom asked a lot of questions and
Jessica answered them all. Luke's mom told her she understood how
hard it was being a single mom and that she wasn't upset with her.
The decisions had to have been hard for her.

When
she left to go home, she seemed to be okay with Jessica. She said she
loved her like a daughter and that she always would. They watched as
his mom drove away. Luke could see Jessica relax as soon as his mom
was gone. He wrapped his arms around her and held her.

“
No
more secrets,” he said.

“
No
more secrets,” she replied.

“
Is
there anything else I need to know?” he asked.

“
You
know everything. You are the only man I have ever been with and the
only man I have ever loved. I feel so much better, knowing your mom
doesn't hate me,” she said.

He
kissed her on the top of her head and laughed.

“
She'll
be fine. My mom has always loved you. Before long, you'll want her to
give you some space. She is going to be here often,” he joked.
“I'm going to take a shower. I'll be out in a bit.”

Jessica
kissed him on the cheek and playfully smacked him on the ass, as he
walked away. Luke walked into the bathroom, got undressed, and stood
under the steaming shower water. He was so glad that the day went
well. Lucas was happy with his presents. Luke smiled as he thought
about his son ripping the paper off of each thing. He never imagined
having that much love for someone. The love he always had for Jessica
was so strong, but the love he had for his son was stronger than
anything he had ever felt. He was afraid that all of the time he had
lost with Lucas would hinder their relationship, but they had already
gotten so close and loved each other very much. If anything, it did
the exact opposite. Luke appreciated every single second he spent
with his son.