Broken Lives (24 page)

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Authors: Brenda Kennedy

BOOK: Broken Lives
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I’m looking for my lucky
rock,” James says, but doesn’t look up at me. 


James, you have your lucky
rocks up here on your bookshelf.” 


No, Emma, he’s looking for
his luckiest rock,” Raelynn says, seriously. 


The one daddy gave to
me.” 

I immediately know what rock he is talking
about. I open James’ top drawer to his dresser and lift up the
smooth turquois-colored rock. “James, is this the one you are
looking for?” 

He and Rae poke their heads out from under
the bed, and he quickly stands up. “Thank you. I thought I lost
it.” He takes the rock from me and places it in his pocket.


We should get you kids
changed into something appropriate for dinner tonight. What would
you like to wear tonight?” 


I want to wear a dress
tonight, Emma,” Raelynn says, walking to the closet and going
through her side of the clothes. 


Ok, is there a special
dress you want to wear?” 


Let me look. I want
something special.” 

I look at James and ask, “Do you want to wear
your Batman shirt tonight?” 


No, momma, I want to wear
something nice, too,” James says. 


Here, Emma, I want to wear
this dress.” 

I look at Rae and she is holding up a very
pretty floral sundress. “I think this is perfect.” 


What can I wear,
momma?” 


Let’s see, James.” I look
in his closet and find a nice pair of khakis and a blue button-up
shirt. “How about these?” I ask, holding up the outfit for him to
see.


Good.” he says, stepping
out of his jean shorts.

Once both kids are dressed,
we wait for Alec to get ready. I watch as James places his lucky
rock in his front pocket of his pants. I smile as I think about it
being his lucky rock.
My boy and his
rocks.

Alec walks into the living room wearing a
pair of khakis, a white button-up shirt, and a pair of tan
Sperrys.


Are we ready to go?” he
asks, smiling, and the kids jump up. “Wow, Raelynn, you look very
pretty tonight.” 


Thank you, daddy,” she
says, as she skips past him.


James, you look very
handsome, too,” he says. 


Thank you,
Alec.” 

Chapter Eight: Is It the Beginning or is It
the End?

Alec

We take the back roads and stop at a small
restaurant just on the outskirts of town. I say, “It isn’t anything
fancy, but I hear they have good food.” 


Do they have grilled
cheese, Daddy?” 

Emma looks up at the restaurant and says, “It
looks like a place that has grilled cheese, Raelynn.” I look at her
and smile. “I think we may be a little overdressed,” she adds.


Come on, how bad can it
be?” 

I open Emma’s, Raelynn’s, and then James’
door. Emma and I walk behind the kids through the dirt parking
lot.

We seat ourselves at the small four-top table
in the center of the room. A plastic pink carnation in a plastic
vase, plastic salt and pepper shakers, and four plastic menus are
in the center of the red and white metal table. I smile and hand
Emma and the kids their menu.


Did you say this place just
opened?” Emma asks as she takes a paper napkin and wipes off her
menu.


It looks like I was
misled,” I say, not looking at her, but looking over my menu
instead. I flip it over so it looks like I am reading it front to
back.


Momma, can I have a grilled
cheese and French fries?” James asks excitedly.


Me, too, daddy, that’s what
I want.” Raelynn says. 


As long as you have a
vegetable with it,” Emma insists.

The waitress comes over and takes our drink
orders and announces the evening specials.


The country fried steak
sounds really good,” I say, as I lay my menu down on the table.
“Emma, have you decided yet? Everything looks so good.” I look down
at my lap so Emma can’t see my smile.

I did not choose this restaurant; Raelynn and
James picked it out earlier today.

Usually Emma has a poker face that I can’t
read, but tonight she isn’t doing so great at hiding it. She think
this place is as disgusting as I do.


Everything just sounds so
good, but I think I’m going to just have a salad for
dinner.” 


Momma, you don’t want the
steak that Alec is having?” James asks, seriously. 


No, James, momma just ate,
right before you guys came home.” 

The server returns with our drinks and she
takes our dinner orders. At the last minute I change my dinner
order to a house salad. Emma politely asks for some wet-naps and
the waitress informs her that they don’t have those. 

The kids couldn’t be happier about their
dinner while Emma picks at her salad. I think she is looking for
bugs in it. “You don’t like your salad, Emma?” 


I do, I guess I’m just not
that hungry.” 


Emma, do you want some of
my grilled cheese? It’s really good!” Raelynn says,
honestly.


No, Raelynn, thank you.
That is very sweet of you.”

I hide my smile by looking out the window at
the dirt parking lot. Once we are done eating, I pay the bill and
we leave.


Can we come back again,
Alec? That was really good,” James asks. 


Sure, buddy, we’ll come
back when your momma is really hungry.” I smile as I open Emma’s
door for her. She smiles back and looks away.

I open Raelynn’s door and wink at her, then I
open James’ door. “Alec, here’s my lucky rock,” he whispers,
digging into his front pocket and handing it to me. 

I take it from him and whisper, “Thanks,
buddy. I think I may need this.” I slip it in my front pocket
before fastening his seatbelt.

We drive through the country side and pass by
an open gate. “Let’s see where this leads us to,” I say, backing up
and pulling into the driveway.

Emma looks around cautiously and says, “Alec,
I don’t think we should. It looks like someone’s
driveway.” 


No, I think it’s a road,” I
lie.

We drive down the long driveway and the lake
comes into view, then the house. The kids don’t say anything, but
Emma looks nervous. “Alec, I told you this is a driveway. You need
to turn around before they know we are here.” 

I put the car in park and look over at the
gazebo down near the lake. “It looks empty; let’s walk down by the
lake and then we’ll leave.” 


Yay, can we go fishing?”
James asks excitedly.


No, James, someone lives
here. Alec, this is private property. We need to go,” Emma says,
sternly.

I open my car door and get out. “Come on,
kids, we have to be really quick. You coming, Emma? I just want to
get a better look,” I say, shutting the car door before she can
answer. I open James’ door, and he quickly gets out as Raelynn
slides across the seat. Emma doesn’t move but remains seated with
her seatbelt on.

James, Raelynn, and I walk down the
cobblestone walk leading to the lake. I secretly pray that Emma
joins us. “James, look back and tell me if your momma’s
coming.” 

James turns around, then looks up at me,
“Nope, I think she’s mad.” 


I sure hope your rock is
lucky,” I say, smiling at him.


Me, too, daddy,” Raelynn
adds. 

When we get down by the water and still there
is no sign of Emma, Raelynn asks, “Now what, daddy?” 

I have no idea. I didn’t plan this out very
well. “Now we wait. Sooner or later she’ll come down
here.” 

James sits down in the grass, and we sit down
beside him. I pick up a few rocks and show him how to skip stones
in the water. “James, how lucky is your rock?” 


Alec, it’s berry
lucky.” 


Do I need to hold it or rub
it or something?” 


Alec, are you done here? We
are trespassing, and I don’t want to spend the night in jail while
my kids are in the care of Child Protective
Services!” 

I look up — Emma is standing there with her
hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.


I think she’s mad,” James
whispers. 

I stand up, turn around, and give her my best
smile. “But look how beautiful it is.” 

She doesn’t smile and I’m starting to think
James’s rock isn’t so lucky. I bend down and whisper to James,
“Bubby, where did you get your lucky rock?” 


My dad gave it to
me.” 

Well, that explains it. The
rock belonged to Max. I’m sure it’ll be unlucky for me, since I am
proposing to Max’s wife.
I stand up and try
to smile.
“Emma, the house is vacant, so we
aren’t going to go to jail.” 


Momma, look at the water —
you can see the fish jump,” James says. She looks down and smiles
at him. 


Emma, isn’t it pretty?”
Raelynn asks.

I hold Emma’s hand and we turn around to face
the water. “Yes, it is very pretty out here.” I pull her closer to
me and she rests her head on my chest. “It is very relaxing out
here,” she admits.

I take a deep breath and thank God she is no
longer mad. The sun begins to set, and we walk towards the gazebo.
“This is quite a house,” she says, looking up at the large
two-story home. “Can you imagine living here, and waking up to this
view every morning?” 


Now that would be
something.” We reach the gazebo and Emma sits down in the bench
seat facing the lake. The kids and I stand and I take a deep
breath. I look at the driveway then down at the kids. Raelynn
smiles at me, and James kicks unlucky rocks. “Baby?” I ask, looking
at her.


Alec? Are you all right.
Are you getting sick from eating at the
restaurant?” 


No Baby, I’m not sick.” I
clear my throat and Raelynn and James stand beside me. “I have
something to tell you.” 


Oh,” she says, as she
leans
forward on the bench that she is
sitting on. 


We didn’t go to the grocery
store today,” I admit. 


Oh.” 


We went shopping, but it
wasn’t for groceries.” I look at her and she looks
worried. 


Oh.” 


Could you say something
else, please?” I ask. 


Um.” 

I pull something out of my
pocket and hand it to James, “Here, James, would you hold this for
me?” I smile and hand him his lucky rock. I look at Emma, who is
staring at me. I reach into my pocket and remove a small velvet
box. I pray that the diamonds are my lucky rocks
.
I kneel on one knee, with James to
my right and Raelynn to my left. 

I take her left hand in mine. “Baby, I love
you. James, Raelynn, and I spent all morning shopping for the
perfect ring for you. After four long hours, we think we found the
perfect one.” I caress her hand and say, “I love you. Raelynn and I
want you and James to be a part of our family, forever. I know this
may seem fast, but we already live together. I’m not going
anywhere, and it’s your house, so you’re not going anywhere
either.” She chuckles and I smile. I open the velvet box so she can
see the ring the kids and I decided on. I watch her look at the
ring and her eyes fill up with tears. A sob escapes her mouth and
she tries to silence it. “Emma, this ring,” I say, removing the
white gold ring with three diamonds, “was carefully chosen by the
kids and me. The larger diamond in the middle represents the love I
have for you, and the smaller diamonds on each side of the larger
one represent Raelynn’s and James’ love that they have for you.” I
hold the ring up to Emma’s left ring finger, “Emma Grace Greyson,
James, Raelynn, and I would be very happy if you would marry
me.”

I wait for what feels like hours for her to
say something. 


Momma, don’t cry,” James
says.


Please say yes, Emma,”
Raelynn says.

I didn’t explain to the kids that she might
cry. I should have prepared them better. I did tell them she might
say no.

She looks at me, then at Raelynn, and then at
James. She looks back at me and finally whispers, “Yes.” 


Yes?” I ask, because I want
to make sure that is what she said. 


Yes, Alec. James and I
would love to be a part of your and Raelynn’s family,
forever.” 

I smile as big as I can smile. “Thank you.” I
place the ring on her finger and lean in to kiss her.

Raelynn and James start yelling behind me.
“We’re gonna be brother and sister.”

I lean back and Emma laughs. I stand up and
offer Emma my hand. She stands up and hugs James and Raelynn before
wrapping her arms around me.


I love you,” she
whispers. 

I kiss her and say, “I love you, too. There
is something else I have to tell you.” 


Oh, God, the owners are
home, aren’t they?” I can see the scowl on her face.

I laugh, although I try hard not to. “No,
Emma, the house is empty.” 


Then what else do you have
to say.” 


This house is for sale.” I
look at her from one eye to the other. “If you like it, I would
like to buy it for our family.” She looks at me before looking up
at the beautiful, large, two-story stone home behind us. “Just look
at it before you say anything.” 

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