Wrecked (Clayton Falls) (22 page)

“I thought marrying Tim was the right thing to do. That’s what you’re supposed to do if you get pregnant.”

“Sometimes doing the right thing means doing what some people might consider wrong.” Dad always gave advice like that. He sounded like a sage, but really it’s just the way he viewed things.

“I love you.” I got up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I love you too, Emily. I love you too.”

I cried. I cried, and I cried. I cried for all the time I’d wasted, all the chances we gave up just because we were both too stubborn to apologize.

He patted my back, and I sat back down.

“I raised you to be strong, and I’m so proud of you. But I also want you to know it is okay to lean on someone sometimes. It’s okay to need someone.”

I nodded. “It’s so hard, Dad. It’s so hard. I want to be the perfect mom for Noah, and I don’t know what to do half the time.”

“First of all, you can’t be perfect. Give that up now.”

I laughed. “Okay.”

“You’re going to make mistakes, just don’t be afraid to move on from them.” He paused for a moment. I think he needed to catch his breath. “Don’t forget about your own happiness. That’s just as important to Noah as anything else you do.”

I nodded.

“You had to grow up fast, and I don’t just mean when you got pregnant. Your brother’s death hurt us all, but I don’t think I gave you enough support. You got through it though, just like you got through Tim’s death. But you’re not just getting through with Noah. You’re thriving. Your mother and I are so proud of you.”

“I should let you go back to sleep.” I kissed his forehead and walked out of the room. Mom was waiting out in the hall. She gave me a huge hug before walking into the room. I went downstairs and found Jake and Noah playing with the dog. I stopped by the stairs, just watching them.

Noah turned and saw me, running into my arms. I held him close, reveling in how good it felt to have him in my arms. Jake joined us, hugging us both. I’d never felt so lucky before.

***

Dad was stable, and Mom insisted we go down to Clayton Falls to spend Christmas with Jake’s family. I argued at first, until I realized she wanted time alone with him. With a heavy heart, I said goodbye to my dad knowing it was probably the last time I’d get the chance to. Jake held my hand the whole way home. I didn’t have to say anything, he knew I needed it. Saying goodbye to Dad was hard, but finally talking to him about everything was like having a weight removed from my chest. I could finally look back at the good memories, remember the amazing father I’d grown up with.

I’d never spent Christmas outside of Ridgeview. Even in all the chaos of Tim’s death, I’d made it home. I expected Christmas Eve to be depressing, but Jake made sure it wasn’t. We went to dinner at his parents’ house before we came home to decorate the tree. We hadn’t had time to do it before leaving for Ridgeview. Noah and I hadn’t officially moved in, but we had enough there that it really did feel like home. Jake and I stayed up late preparing everything for Noah before finally turning in well after eleven.

***

“Merry Christmas.” I opened my eyes to find Jake watching me.

“Merry Christmas. How long have you been up?”

“A while. I had to make sure everything was ready.”

“But we did all of that last night. The stockings, Noah’s gifts—”

“But I had to get yours ready.”

I sat up. “It’s the kind of gift you had to get ready?”

“Look down.”

I admired the necklace Jake had clasped around my neck. “It’s beautiful.” It was a simple chain with a small diamond on the end.

“I’m glad you like it.” He shifted nervously. “But there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Okay.”

He took both of my hands. “I know I haven’t earned it yet, but one day I’m going to earn your forever, and Noah’s too. I’m going to be the man by your side through everything, the one you come home to, the one you wake up with for the rest of your life.”

“You’ve already earned our forever.”

He smiled. “Good. That means I can give you the rest of your present.”

I held my breath as he went down on one knee in front of me. He took my left hand. “You’re my angel, my love, my everything. You make me a man I can be proud of, a man I never thought I could be. Marry me, Emily. Make me the luckiest person alive.”

I could barely get the word out. “Yes.” He slipped a ring on my finger before standing up and wrapping his arms around me. His lips crushed against mine, and I savored the feel, and the taste.

“There’s still one more question.”

“What is it?”

“I said I want both your forevers. I need Noah’s too.”

“Are you saying you—”

“I want to adopt him.”

I nodded. “Yes.” There was no one else who could possibly be a better father to my son.

“Just so you know, your dad gave me permission.”

“What? You asked him?”

“There are some things I like to do traditionally.”

“You asked him that first night, didn’t you?”

Jake smiled. “Yeah. He asked if I was serious about you, and I told him as serious as I could be. It was the perfect time to ask.”

I hugged him. “Thank you. Thank you for asking.”

“Of course. Do you like the ring? It was my grandmother’s. I’d be more than happy to buy you a new one, but when my mom showed me this last night, it just seemed like you.”

“It’s perfect.” I ran a finger over the beautiful diamond and pearl stones. I loved that it was a family ring. There was nothing more important in life than family.

“Should we go find Noah?”

I nodded.

Jake took my hand, and we walked into Noah’s room. He woke up when he heard the door open and leapt out of bed.

“Merry Christmas, baby.” I picked him up and hugged him.

“Em, Noah, come here,” Jake called excitedly.

“What?” I met him at the window. A light flurry of snowflakes fell from the sky. “It’s snowing.”

Jake smiled. “Let’s get coats.”

“We’re in pajamas.”

“So?”

I laughed and got Noah in his coat, putting on mine as well. We all walked out into the light flurry. It probably wouldn’t amount to much, but it was still amazing to see.

“This has to be a sign. I can’t remember it ever snowing on Christmas here.”

“What’s it a sign of?” I looked down at the sparkling ring on my finger.

“An incredible future.”

Jake leaned down to kiss me, and I knew I’d be kissing those lips for the rest of my life.

Keep reading for a preview of Alyssa Rose Ivy’s upcoming New Adult Romance

For more information about the Clayton Falls series and Alyssa Rose Ivy’s other books, please visit her online at:

www.AlyssaRoseIvy.com

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[email protected]

Skinny dipping was the last thing on my list. Of the five items, it was the hardest one for me. It wasn’t a bucket list or anything like that—I wasn’t thinking about death. It was a things-to-do-before-college list my cousin, Amy, made for me.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. This is going to be one of those stories about the death of a loved one spurring a girl down a path of self-discovery. It’s not. My cousin is alive and well, and at the time of this story was in Malawi with the Peace Corps. The list was her way of preparing me for the wilds of college (her words, not mine). Amy was under the impression that I was entirely unprepared for the life of a coed.

I still remember her exact words. We were hanging out in her room at her parents’ house while she packed. “Juliet, sweetheart, you know I love you, right?”

I glanced at her apprehensively. “Yeah…”

“So know that, when I say this, it’s out of love.” She tossed a huge pile of t-shirts into her large black duffel.

I tensed. “Should I be scared?”

“No.” She smiled her million-dollar, brings-guys-to-their-knees smile, and I knew I should actually be terrified.

“Okay.” I clasped my hands together, refusing to look at my chipped nail polish.

She flipped long, dark hair off her shoulder. “I’m worried about you.”

“Worried?”

“I don’t want you to totally drown next year.” She shoved a small, pink envelope into my hand. “Here, don’t open this until after graduation.”

“But you won’t be here. You leave tomorrow.”

She gave me her signature ‘duh’ look. “I’m well aware. Just open it, and do exactly what it says.”

“This kind of feels like the beginning of a YA novel.”

She laughed. “No. Trust me. The contents of this letter are not YA appropriate.”

My stomach dropped. What was Amy getting me into?

I brought the envelope home and stared at it about four times a day for the next two weeks. Obviously, I could have just opened it, but I’m usually kind of a rules person. Each time I started to tear open the envelope, I chickened out. I kept picturing Amy’s perfectly made up face yelling at me. I know that description doesn’t quite fit with a girl who joined the Peace Corps, but if you knew Amy, you’d understand. She was just Miss Perfect. It wasn’t until I got home from a graduation party at a friend’s house that I finally opened it. As I unfolded the pale pink paper, a Georgia driver’s license saying I was twenty-two fell into my lap. I set aside the fake ID and read the note.

Juliet’s Must-Do Before College List

1. Get drunk (and no, a buzz from sugary drinks does not qualify as drunk).
   

2. Go to a bar. Any bar will do, but you need to at least know what they look like inside.
   

3. Wear something you know would give your father a heart attack if he saw it.
   

4. Kiss a random guy, and don’t let it go further.
   

5. Go skinny dipping.
   

I’m sure you expect me to detail how I crossed the first four items off my list, but this story isn’t about the first four. It’s about what happened when I did number five.

Finally alone, I reveled in the silence, looking out the large floor-to-ceiling windows of my family’s beach house. My grandparents had bought the house located just outside of Charleston, South Carolina years ago, before Kiawah became a retreat for millionaires. They were generous and let the entire extended family use it whenever we wanted. After two weeks of sharing the house with five other people, I was excited to have it to myself.

I’d decided to stay an extra day, craving some alone time before I had to give up all of my privacy and move in with some random girl. The whole idea of having a roommate sounded good in theory, but knowing my luck, I’d be living with my exact opposite or something even worse.

Sitting cross-legged on the ultra-comfy bed (now that everyone had left, I had moved up from the pull-out couch), I took the now crinkled letter out of my green REI backpack.
Go
skinny dipping
. If I was ever going to do it, an empty beach house was the perfect place. Besides, I was running out of time. School started in just a few weeks.

It was already after nine, and the last remnants of the sun had disappeared. I picked out my favorite red bikini and changed. I’d have to ease into the whole thing, maybe jump in the pool and then take it off. It’s funny that getting drunk and kissing a random guy didn’t scare me, but getting naked in a pool seemed terrifying. I just wasn’t comfortable being naked. I knew my body wasn’t bad. I was decently thin with curves in all the right places—namely my chest. The few guys I’d been with always seemed happy enough with my body, but I still didn’t like shedding my clothes. I know some girls walk around their rooms naked. Not me. I was dried off and in clothes within minutes of getting out of the shower. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I loved sitting around in a towel, but you had to be careful doing that when you lived in a house with a couple of brothers.

I changed into my bikini and headed outside. One side of the house bordered the woods, and the house on the other side had been empty for the two weeks I’d been at the beach. I knew that well. I’d been disappointed when the Bradleys failed to show up.

Something was still missing. If I was going skinny dipping, I was going to do it right. I went back inside to get my iPod. I plugged it into the outside stereo system and selected my workout list. I needed something upbeat.

Satisfied with the musical selection, I jumped in. I wasn’t good with the whole easing myself in slowly thing. It was too cold that way.

It was only after I’d jumped in that I realized I’d forgotten one important thing—a towel. I thought about getting out for one, but then I’d get cold. There was no sense going through it twice.

I dove under the surface and tried to make myself relax. It wasn’t a big deal. I needed to pretend it was a bath—a big, outside bath. I pulled the elastic out of my hair, letting my long, light brown hair fall down my back. My mom called my hair dirty blonde, but I hated anything with the name dirty. It was light brown.

I finally made myself do it. I untied my top and slipped off the bottoms. Oh my god, I’d done it. I was actually naked. I flung both pieces to the side, trying to get them to land on one of the lounge chairs, but somehow they ended up on the decking underneath. It didn’t really matter since I wouldn’t be putting them back on. I’d just run up to my room and change.

Amy hadn’t specified how long I needed to skinny dip, but I figured I needed to at least swim around a little. The more I did it, the less weird it seemed. It felt liberating. The water was warm enough, and with only a few lights illuminating the pool, I didn’t feel overly exposed.

That excitement lasted maybe another five minutes until I saw headlights pull into the neighbor’s driveway. Unfortunately, they had one of those windy driveways that curved around to a garage in back. If the driver happened to look through the trees and shrubs, I’d be spotted. Before I panicked, I reassured myself that it was too dark for anyone to actually see anything.