Made To Love You (27 page)

Fallon leans over and kisses Brooklyn’s head. “What’s her name, Aunt Jaylinn?”

I look up to Cooper who’s looking down to me. My eyes tear up and my heart flutters as memories from mom and my best friend hit me. I swallow the tears down. “Brooklyn Daisy.” I swallow again. Cooper reaches down for my hand to offer support. “We wanted a way to remember my mom and Layla. It took us a little while to figure out the perfect name.” I huff. “One afternoon we were in the grocery store when we walked past the floral department and saw the daisies.” I shrug. “It was both of their favorite flower.”

Cooper squeezes my hand. “It’s our way to remember them both.”

“It’s beautiful,” MacKenzie says.

“I love that name,” Hailey pipes up.

My eyes wander over to my brother who gives me a wink. My eyes make their way over to Eli who smiles although it doesn’t quite reach his eyes but it’s enough for me. I know he’s still struggling with Layla’s death.

The girls start firing off questions about the delivery and how much Brooklyn weighs and how long she is.

Chloe sits on the foot of my bed. “Have you heard from your brother?” she asks Cooper.

He nods. “Yeah, he’s at our house sleeping off a hangover.”

Chloe huffs. “Figures.”

MacKenzie grabs her purse from the chair she dropped it on. “We’re going to get out of here. We left mom and dad with all the kids.” She leans over and kisses the baby’s head. “See you later, Brooklyn.”

Hunter kisses me on the top of my head. “Mom would be proud of you, Jay.” My eyes tear up. “Brooklyn’s perfect, just like her mom.”

“Love you, big bro.”

Hunter chuckles. “Love you too, sis.”

Mason, Hailey and Chloe say their goodbye minutes later. Fallon starts squirming so Cooper walks over and takes the baby from her and Eli.

Eli rubs his hands down his jeans. “Well, we’re going to get out of here. I’ve got to get her home and get to Fierce.”

Fallon waves from the door. “Bye, Uncle Cooper and Aunt Jaylinn.”

Eli holds the door open for her. “Hey, Jay?”

“Yeah?”

“You did good.”

I laugh. “Thanks.”

“I’ll see you at the club in a few days?” he asks Cooper.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, talk to you guys later.”

After the door closes I glance over to Cooper holding our daughter. “Think he liked the name?”

Cooper kisses Brooklyn’s head. “Yeah, he’s just still dealing with everything.”

Andrew pushes the door open and Elle walks in. “Let me see my granddaughter.”

Granddaughter.

It takes my breath away for a second as I wish it was my mom walking in that door.

“Oh dear,” Elle sighs as Cooper hands Brooklyn over. “She’s gorgeous.”

“Ha.” Cooper smiles. “Like she’d be anything less.”

Andrew laughs. “You did good, son.”

“Have you named her yet?”

“Yeah,” Cooper answers. “Brooklyn Daisy.”

Elle repeats the name and then leans down and kisses Brooklyn’s head. “It’s perfect.”

Elle takes the seat Eli was just sitting in. “Andrew, can you give Jaylinn that letter and box in my purse, please?”

Andrew digs around for a second before handing it over to me. “What’s this?”

Elle and Andrew both give me a sad smile. “A little something that your mom asked me to give to you.”

I look down to the envelope. How I wish she was here. I miss her so much. My hands shake as I attempt to open it. Finally I get it and pull the letter out.

Jaylinn-

By this time you’ll have had your baby girl wrapped in your arms. The way you felt in that moment is the exact same way I felt when I held you.

I’m so sorry I’m not able to be there with you and Cooper but you better believe I’m with you in spirit. I promise I’m never far away and will guide you as much as possible.

I didn’t write you this letter to make you sad and cause you to cry so wipe those tears and put a smile on your face.

When I found out what you were having I knew the perfect item I wanted to leave to your daughter. It’s wrapped in that box that Elle gave you. It’s not much but she’ll always have a piece of me with her. She’s a little young for it right now but when she gets old enough I hope she’ll wear it and keep it close to her heart.

Your brother was left a few things for Olivia and Ryder too. Make sure you look out for your brother for me. I know he acts tough but sometimes he’s a little soft around the heart. Make sure you lean on each other when you’re sad and missing me. Remember, I said it’s okay to be sad but always think of the good times we shared together. Those are the way that I want to be remembered.

I don’t want to keep you away from your baby girl for another second. Give her a kiss and a hug from me.

I love you, Jaylinn Marie. Cooper and the baby, too.

Love,

Mom

I lean my head back against the pillows looking up to the ceiling. The ache in my chest is killing me. Cooper sits next to me on the bed, leans over and wipes my tears away.

“She’s here with you, babe.”

I sniffle. “I know. I just miss her.”

Elle sighs from across the room. “I miss her too.”

“We all do,” Andrew chimes in.

I take one deep breath and then let it out. I fold the letter back up and place it back in the envelope. “No more tears,” I say aloud but mostly to myself. “Mom said so.”

Cooper chuckles. “Still telling you what to do, huh?”

I smile. “Would she have it any other way?”

I reach down for the little wrapped box. “Nope.” I tear the wrapping paper away and take the lid off. Nestled inside is a silver necklace with a heart charm that has five little diamonds along the edges. I remember this. It was her mom’s.

“That’s pretty.” Cooper says picking it up from the box.

“The perfect gift from the perfect grandma for the perfect granddaughter.”

It’s been four months since mom passed away. Sometimes I have bad days, like today. Hailey, MacKenzie, Chloe, and Fallon are over for a movie day. It was nice that Eli dropped Fallon over to spend some time with me. They brought chocolate ice cream and pancakes. Fallon told me it’s what made her, Layla, and Eli feel better when they were sad.

I know I shouldn’t be sad with the little princess in my arms but I’m missing my mom. The holidays are looming and it’s going to be hard this year even with Brooklyn.

So the six of us are cuddled on the couches in my living room watching old episodes of
Vampire Diaries.
Hailey said Ian Somerhalder can make anyone happy.
Smart girl.

After dinner Eli picks up Fallon and Chloe breaks out the wine. She hands me a glass, “Wine Wednesday.”

“Have you lost your mind?” I laugh. “I’m breastfeeding.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m aware.”

I throw the pillow at her head.

“It’s grape juice, relax and drink it.”

MacKenzie sits down next to me after she got her own glass. “I miss her.”

She reaches around and hugs me. “I know you do.”

I hold Brooklyn a little tighter to me. “I can still smell her. I can still see her in the kitchen cooking.” I blow out a breath. “I swear when I walk into a store I have to take a double look sometimes because I swear it’s her.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Hailey takes the other side of the couch from me.

“I remember when Hunter and I were growing up and we used to fight she’d send us to one of our rooms until we worked through our problems.”

“Maybe I should do that now with those two,” MacKenzie laughs pointing to Chloe and indicating that Jackson and her need to get their shit together.

“What the hell is going on with you two anyway? You’ve been so distant with each other for months. Everyone’s noticed it.”

Chloe gulps down the rest of the wine, a simple sigh escaping her lips, a tear threatening to escape. “We’re falling apart, we’ve been falling apart, and there’s not a damn thing in the world that can fix us.”

How do you respond when all you want to do is gather everyone you can into the tightest hug and never let them go? If mom has taught me one thing in life it’s that you never take a day for granted because you’ll never know when your time will be up.

Chloe and Jackson cannot be too far gone that salvaging their marriage isn’t even a remote possibility. How bad could it possibly be?

Eli

I glance over at the clock on the wall. “Erin, I’ve got to go.” I hate that my sister’s heart is breaking
again
but there isn’t much I can do about it right now and I’m late. “I have an interview that should have started forty-five minutes ago.”

“Shit, Eli.” She sniffles. “How come you didn’t tell me earlier?”

I chuckle. “Someone called me crying about her breakup and I couldn’t just tell her ‘I’m too busy for you now’, could I?” Erin has the worst luck when it comes to the guys she dates. Their egos are either too big or they think with their dicks.

“Ugh,” Erin clears her throat. “Thank you for listening to me. I hope they’re still waiting for you when you get there.”

“I’ll always be here for you Erin and they will be if they want the job that bad.”