Leap of Faith (La Flor #1) (3 page)

New Year 2001

“How the hell could you keep this from me, Faith? You’re in college at seventeen, for God’s sake. Seventeen! How’s that even possible? Your father’s gonna fuckin’ kill me,” he mutters as he paces back and forth on my parents’ balcony.

He finally stops and looks at me. He sees me calm and collected. I don’t know how, but I know everything is going to be okay, so I’m not worried. I just want him to listen to me. He closes his eyes, counts to ten, and then opens them and waits for me to say something.

I calmly start talking to him.

“My birthday is in one month, and I’ll be eighteen. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d turn away from me, no matter the feelings between us. You would’ve shut the door on our relationship—we never would’ve started. You thought I was older and I let you. I may be seventeen, but I don’t act like it. I know what I want to do with my life and I have plans. Meeting you has changed some of those plans, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I pause to take a breath and continue. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not telling you, but I’m not sorry we started us. I love you and I know you love me. What we have is true and I’m willing to stand with you. And, I love your daughter, Jake. I know the two of you come together as a deal. I’m willing to brave my father’s wrath, my family to be with you. Is that not telling you enough?”

He looks at me for a long while.

“I love you too, Faith. I’ve fallen for you hard. You’re here for me and for Rylee—you show us you care, and that means the world us.” He takes me into his arms. “When I first saw you, you captivated me. You looked like one of Rylee’s Disney princesses—so beautiful, so untouchable. When you came to me and claimed me, you blew my fuckin’ mind out of the water because I never thought I had a chance with you. This beautiful creature wants to be mine, I thought to myself. I’m one lucky bastard.”

A few days later, I returned to school to finish my last semester of college. We kept in touch through Facebook and Skype at every opportunity. The distance was hard. His schedule was crazy busy and mine wasn’t any better, but somehow we made it work.

I flew back to my parents’ home for spring break. I was finally eighteen. Jake told me he was going to speak to my father and there was nothing I could say to stop him. He hated having to hide our relationship, with only Julia, my best friend and roommate, knowing.

The day Jake decided to speak with my father, I was a nervous wreck. My father was going to
explode.
We hadn’t done anything wrong—all we did was get to know each other. However, my father wasn’t going to care about that. All he would see would be Jake, a single father and one of his soldiers, a person who would constantly have to put his life on the line to protect our country. A person like my father, always gone and in danger, the kind of person my father never wanted me to marry. The military is a hard life; you’re constantly moving, you go months without seeing each other, and it’s stressful and sometimes lonely.

My father always said I’d graduate college, accomplish my dreams, and marry an ordinary man when I turned thirty. Ha, there was no way the last one would happen now. Daddy was going to Flip. The. Freak. Out.

When he got Jake’s call requesting a meeting, my father was under the impression Jake needed to speak with him about work. He didn’t have a clue about our feelings for each other. He was going to be blindsided.

Jake finally arrived to my parents’ home and greeted my mother. Then, he bravely walked into my father’s office. The door closed and moments later, we could clearly hear my father through the door.

Spring Break 2001

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME, LIEUTENANT?! Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” he yells. “Do you seriously expect me to give you my blessin’ to date my daughter? MY BABY GIRL. You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I will. She’s barely eighteen years old and you’re a twenty-three year old single father! She has her whole life ahead of her and you expect me to allow her to be with you. I’ll fuckin’ ruin your career if you don’t leave her alone. You fuckin’ hear me!”

I can’t hear Jake’s response. Different scenarios are running through my mind; mainly, my father beating the crap out of Jake. Daddy may be older but he’s fit and can fight with the best of them.

I’m terrified.

For a moment, I’m afraid Jake will leave me. He does have a daughter to raise and provide for, and he’s only known me a short time. I shake my head. I can’t allow myself to think like that; I need to have faith in our feelings and our connection. I think of our time together and I know he won’t let me go.

My mother runs toward the office to see why my father is yelling. She finds me outside the door.

“Oh, honey, what have you done?” she asks me in a voice only a mother can use with her child.

“I love him, Momma. I know I’m young and this isn’t what you and Daddy wanted for me, but I love him. I won’t give him up,” I vow to her.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Then, she hugs me saying, “I’d hoped the look you two shared during the Christmas party was a passing thing.” She notices the surprise on my face. “You didn’t think I saw that, huh? I see everything, darlin.’ When will you and your brothers realize that? It’s my mommy magic—when I had you children, I gained mommy superpowers. I just didn’t expect you to fall in love. Come, darlin,’ let’s go make sure your father doesn’t kill my future son-in-law.”

She turns me toward the door and takes us inside. Daddy and Jake are standing facing each other, like in those old Western movies. My father’s face is red and he’s breathing hard, his nostrils flared. Jake is holding his own, refusing to be intimidated by my father, his commander.

“I won’t let her go, sir. I love her and I promise to take care of her,” I hear Jake tell Daddy.

My mother goes to my father’s side like she always does, standing with him. She touches his shoulder and tells him to calm down. I go to Jake and stand next to him. My father notices and doesn’t like it one bit; this is the first time I don’t go to him first. I go to Jake, just like my Momma goes to my father. As soon as he sees this and realizes the significance, he takes a long, defeated breath.

“Is this what you want, Faith?” he asks. “Are you willing to give us up to go with him? To put your dreams on hold so you can follow him around? You know this life isn’t easy. The only reason we survived as a family is because your mother held us together. She made sure you kids were raised right and she put me in my place when I got out of hand. Are you willing to take that on at your age? Are you willing to raise another woman’s child as your own?”

My father is right, do I want to take on the responsibility of a child at such a young age, am I ready? Am I ready to put all my plans aside to follow Jake and build a home together? Can I do all this at my age?

In a matter of seconds, I make a decision that will affect the rest of my life.

Yes. The answer is yes, because I love him and I love Rylee. There is a reason everything is falling in place the way it is—everything is happening at a whirlwind and it’s inexplicable, but I can’t go against my feelings and my instincts. I need them and they need me. Things might not always be easy, but for them, I’m willing to take everything on and make us a strong and happy family because they deserve it.

I take a deep breath and nod. “I love him, Daddy. He’s a wonderful man and he makes me happy. I know Rylee and Jake come as a package, and I’ll do everything in my power to make us a family. I love him and I love that little girl. Things aren’t always going to be perfect and my plans will have to change, but I’m not giving up, Daddy. I know we’re supposed to be together.”

He closes his eyes, turns to my mother, and hugs her.

“You know this isn’t what I wanted for you, right? I never wanted you to live this life—goin’ day, weeks, and months without seein’ your husband, practically being a single parent, and carrying everything on your shoulders. I wanted you to marry a man with a nine to five job, a man who could be at home at reasonable hours so you could have your career without stressin’ about who’d watch the kids or pick them up. This life we live isn’t easy, Pumpkin,” he tells me swallowing hard, as if holding back tears. “I felt I put your mother through enough, I didn’t want that for you.”

“I know Daddy, but I love him. I can’t turn away from him and Rylee because our life might be hard. I learned from you and Momma—I know I can do this.”

He takes a deep breath and then he says to me in his commander’s voice, “You’ll finish your degree first—that’s an order. Jake, you hurt my little girl and I’ll fuckin’ kill you—I’ll kill you, you hear?”

At his words I feel a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. Jake and I turn to each other and hug. We’ve surpassed our first obstacle; we have my father’s blessing.

Four months later, Jake gets orders to Germany. Refusing to leave me behind, we marry a week later at the Justice of the Peace. It wasn’t my dream wedding, but we couldn’t bear to be parted. We wanted to belong to each other legally and it was the only way the military would allow me to join him.

That day, we promised to love each other through good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

On 21 July 2001, I become the happiest woman in the world—I become Mrs. Jacob Hunter Duval II.

We had forever to live as husband and wife. From then on, it was Jake, Rylee, and me against the world.

The years passed. Things weren’t always easy; between finishing my degree, deployments and his demanding work schedule, Rylee’s schedule, and my career, time was precious for us. Yes, I accomplished my dream of playing in the World Cup—it wasn’t easy and at times, I wanted to give up, but with hard work, determination, and Jake’s undying support it happened. I played on the 2003 and 2007 team and represented my country from 2002–2008. I was on top of the world—I had the career I always dreamed of. Even now, I’ll never forget the first time I stepped onto that field.