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She did believe him.  It was another epiphany.  She realized it was time she acknowledged that all men were not like Jay.  While she had always understood that particular truth on an intellectual level, her broken heart had told her otherwise.  But Ethan was nothing like Jay.  She knew it in her heart, felt it in the core of her being.  Suddenly, a weight lifted from her.  She wanted to trust again. 

Ethan sighed with relief.  “I’m glad you believe me.  It’s important to me that you trust me.”  He suddenly jumped to his feet.  “Oh, I have to go!”

Marcia’s face registered alarm.  Why was he leaving so abruptly?    

“But I’ll be right back,” he assured her.

“Okaaay.”

She waited for him on the couch, wondering why he had gone.  When he returned, he held a pet carrier in his arms.  “What is…?” she asked, smiling uncertainly.

He set the carrier down on the couch beside her.  “Open it,” he told her eagerly.

She glanced at his face, still feeling uncertain.  She tentatively pulled open the metal door and leaned down to peer inside.  A tiny Dachshund puppy huddled against the back.  Gently, she reached in and lifted her out. 

“Ethan, she’s adorable!” she cried.  “You’re going to be so glad you got her.”

He nodded his head.  “I am glad I got her.  But you don’t understand.  I got her for
you
.”

She met his gaze, her eyes widened in surprise.  “For me?”

He nodded.  “I know you’ve always wanted a Dachshund.”

She sat quietly, pondering.  “I have, but I have my store.  I can’t possibly take care of a puppy and my business.  I can’t leave her alone…”

“I thought…”

“What?”

“I thought, well, maybe we could …
share
custody.”

Marcia shook her head confusedly.  “What?  How?”

“She’ll be yours, of course, but I’ll help you care for her.  I’ll be working on the bungalow for several more weeks, so I’ll be around to help with potty training.”  He stroked the puppy’s tiny head.  “I’m confident she’ll learn fast.”

“Okay, but what about after you leave?”

“Leave?” he said, perplexed.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

Marcia looked skeptical.  “Ethan, you’re going to get bored living here.  I promise you that.  You’re used to a certain lifestyle.  I’m afraid suburbia isn’t going to live up to your expectations.”

“It already has,” he declared.  “I’m happy here.  I don’t plan on going anywhere—unless…”

“Unless what?” she asked, bracing for his answer.

He grinned sheepishly, snaring her gaze.  “Unless, you go with me.”

“What?” she murmured numbly.

He sighed.  “Look, the truth is, I’ve been afraid to tell you some things.”  He smiled with regret.  “I’m almost afraid to say what’s on my mind, because it might be too much for you to hear right now and I’m afraid I’m going to scare you away.”

“It’s okay, Ethan.  You can … tell me what’s on your mind,” she assured him.

He nodded and took her hand.  “I know your ex put you through a lot, and he did a real number on your ability to trust.  But the truth is, Marcia, I want a future … with you.  And I hope you … feel the same.”

She watched his face, too stunned to respond.  

“If you’ll give me a chance, I want to win your trust,” he continued. “I want you to know you can count on me.  I want to prove to you that I’ll always be by your side.”  He grinned ruefully.  “I’ll always be your sidekick, and only yours.”

Marcia finally found her voice.  “Ethan, you
have
won my trust.  You
have
proven yourself to me.”  She smiled with wonder.  “I realized that earlier, after you told Collette that she needed to give Drew a chance to explain.  You asked her if he had given her any reason not to trust him.”

He nodded, watching her face expectantly.    

“You’ve never given me anything but reason to trust you.”

“Well, initially, I didn’t come clean about my, uh, home improvement skills,” he reminded her with a wince.  “And then I didn’t tell you about purchasing the paint…”

She laughed.  “Well, the truth is, that first omission was kind of flattering, after you fessed up your reasons, and as far as the second…  I know you were just trying to help me, and I do appreciate it.”  She held up a finger.  “But no more omissions, okay?”

“No more,” he promised.  “Never again.”

“Ethan,” she said, still smiling with wonder, “the truth is, I think I
would
like to be your partner—sidekick—whatever you want to call me…”

“Wife?” he interjected hopefully.

Her eyes widened and she grinned.  “I’m certainly not adverse to the possibility,” she said, and then thought for a moment.  “Will you … give me some time though?  Just to get my bearings.  It’s only fair to you too,” she added, silently praying he would allow her the time to continue healing.  He deserved someone who had come to terms with her past—someone who was healed and whole.    

He pulled her into an embrace.  “You take as much time as you need,” he whispered against her hair.  “As much as you need.  I’ve found you and I’m not about to lose you.  I love you, Marcia.” 

She pulled back slightly to meet his eyes.  “Despite my hair color and wardrobe,” she teased.

“
Because
of your hair color and wardrobe, and everything else about you,” he declared.  “Every wonderful thing about you.”

“I’m sorry I called you a pretty boy,” Collette admitted to Ethan, as she helped herself to a heaping plate of food.  “Remember—back at the diner when I first met you.  I didn’t mean it, you know.  Well, I mean, I sort of meant it.  You have to admit, you sometimes dress like a pretty boy.”

Ethan grimaced from his place at the grill.  He flipped a burger with a tad too much vigor and nearly sent it sailing across the back lawn.  He was hosting a barbecue, celebrating the completion of the bungalow.  He was not dressed like a pretty boy.  He wished Collette would go away.

Marcia came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist.  “He accepts your apology, Collette.  Don’t you, honey?”

“Uh huh,” he said without enthusiasm.

“Is Drew on his way?” Marcia inquired of Collette. 

The teenager beamed.  “He should be here soon.”

“I’m so glad you two worked things out.  I really like Drew.”    

Collette smiled.  “Yeah, he’s a good guy.  Nothing like Chad.”  She gave a shudder.  “I still can’t believe he tried to ruin things between Drew and me by sending that old picture to my phone…”  She made a face.  “Can you believe over a year has passed since all that drama?”

“He was jealous of you and Drew,” her mother Angie said, as she joined the group.  She turned to Ethan and Marcia.  “Your place looks great, by the way.  I just love the wraparound porch.  It makes me want to grab a rocking chair and a good book.  It’s just beautiful,” she gushed.

Ethan perked up considerably then.  “Thanks to Marcia,” he declared, tipping his head back and taking in the enlarged bungalow that had been his grandmother’s home.  “Didn’t she come up with an amazing plan?”

“Now you need to fill the place up,” his brother-in-law Thomas commented, as he stabbed a burger and walked off.

Ethan still couldn’t believe Marcia had agreed to marry him, and that it had already been six months since their wedding.  They had lived at her house during the additional construction at his bungalow, but the work had been completed quickly.  Owning the largest construction company in town wasn’t without its perks.

Marcia had opted to sell her place.  Although she remained sentimental about it, considering all the work she had done to it, the fact remained that she had shared it with Jay.  She had wanted a fresh start with Ethan. 

“Hey, where’s Sidekick?” he asked her, looking around for their tiny Dachshund.

She pointed across the lawn.  “She’s playing with the girls.”

He grinned as he spotted her running through the lawn, alongside Tootsie and Allie, and barely topping the blades of grass.  “She is so cute,” he said, laughing ruefully. 

“She gets along great with the girls,” Marcia commented.

“Maybe we should get another one,” Ethan mused, as he added another burger to the grill.  “Sidekick would probably enjoy a … sidekick.”

Marcia smiled.  “Maybe…”  She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.  “But we should probably wait until after the baby comes…” she whispered.

Ethan spun around and his mouth dropped open in stunned surprise.  “What?” he murmured when he finally found his voice.  “Are we … pregnant?”

She nodded happily. 

He thrust the spatula at Drew, who had just arrived.  “Watch the burgers!” he commanded the teenager, and then drew Marcia against him in an embrace.  He pulled back slightly and searched her face.  “You wouldn’t kid a guy, would you?”

She shook her head.  “Never.  I love you too much to do that to you.”

“I’m going to be a dad,” he said with wonder.

“You’re going to be a great dad,” she told him.  “I’m so lucky I found you.”

“Hey, I found you!” he declared.  “And I’m never letting you go.”

“Promise?”

“You can trust me,” he said earnestly.

She smiled.  “Always.”

The End