The Forever Gift Read online

  “I know, but she really loves this new guy. She wants to marry him and have another kid,” Jasmine said. “If she waits until her daughter is grown, she’ll be too old for more. What’s she to do?”

  “I’d say she has to remember she’s blending a family and not creating a first family and a second one. It’s easier when the children are young, but even teenagers can blend into a happy family. I hear all the time about men who think they’re playing second fiddle after their first kid is born. Even in intact families, the children should be a top priority for both parents. That doesn’t change when the parents decide they don’t want to be married to each other anymore.”

  Rae went to stand by the door to hear better.

  “Micah’s mother left his father because the man was cheating on her. She’d always liked her mother-in-law and worried how she’d take the news. Know what she said?”

  Jasmine shook her head.

  “Her mother-in-law said she wasn’t divorcing anyone. As long as she was still grandma, she was fine with it. And she was a woman who kept her word. When Micah’s mother remarried, her new husband brought a couple of kids with him. They then had two more between them, a real Yours, Mine, and Ours blended family. That ‘ex’ mother-in-law treated every one of those six kids the same way. It helped to reinforce the new family philosophy—there wasn’t any such thing as ‘step’ or ‘half.’ The kids were brothers and sisters. Period. Their philosophy was every member of the family was important, and they looked after each other. It worked for them because they made it work.” Amelia’s voice turned firm. “I say if your friend is sure this man is a good man and will treat her daughter with the love and respect every child of God deserves, then she should go for it.”

  “But Dr. Aurora says you can’t be sure. How can my friend know?” Jasmine asked.

  Fighting an unexpected sense of unease, Rae stepped closer.

  “I’d say pray about it, but your friend might not be a believer. So she and this man need to communicate. If you can’t trust a man, you sure shouldn’t be welcoming him into your bed and certainly not into your family. Making a family is a lot of dang work, believe me.” Amelia sighed. “Especially when they’re teenagers. She shouldn’t be looking for someone who will make her happy, but who’ll make her daughter happy too. And she needs to ask herself if she can do that for his children. She can have both—the love of her life and a good father for her kids. All she has to do is choose the right man.”

  Amelia turned around then. “Morning, Rae. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  She swallowed, unable to shake the sense she’d stepped onto rocky ground. “I was just wondering what you were lecturing Jasmine about today,”

  As much as I like guys,” the termite bookkeeper said with a huff, “I’m wondering if they’re worth it. It’s too hard.”

  “You don’t like serious relationships?” Rae asked with a grin.

  “Well, they’re sure no fun.”

  “There are different kinds of fun,” Amelia said. “Stretching yourself is never easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile and very satisfying in the end. My children have forced me to grow in ways I’d never dreamed—but I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s all about being thoughtful and making good choices, including relationships.”

  Mr. G. stepped into the office. “Morning ladies. We have a few minutes before the office opens, and I have an announcement. If you’d all please come into the break room.”

  A thrill ran through Rae for Dylan. This must be it.

  Dylan’s stomach knotted as he stood with the others on the route team. What if the people he’d thought of as friends treated him differently? Mr. G. had always been approachable, but he’d also been very much the boss. What if Dylan’s coworkers didn’t respect him as the new owner and manager?

  He really wished he’d kept his big mouth shut about his feelings for Rae. He could have used her confidence boosts. Whenever he’d doubted himself, she’d always been there to lean on. The last few weeks had been miserable, even worse than when he’d thought his love was unrequited.

  Unrequited. It was such a drama word, and he’d never thought of himself as a drama guy. He gave a dark chuckle, and one of the sprayers shot him a curious glance.

  “I wonder what this is all about,” Mateo said.

  Dylan shrugged. Fortunately, Mr. G. stepped to the front of the room just then.

  “I know time is short, but I have an important announcement to make,” he began. “My wife wants me to retire.”

  “No,” a couple of people cried while almost everyone in the room started to grumble.

  “Now. Now. Don’t jump to conclusions everyone.” Mr. G. held up his hands until they quieted. “I’ve heard a few rumors about Green Pest Control being bought out by one of the nationwide chains. It’s true I’ve had an offer, but—” He had to wait to get their attention again. “But I also decided to make an offer of my own.” Mr. G. didn’t look at Dylan but Lee and Amelia both did.

  Dylan forced his hands to unclench. He was going to make a complete fool of himself. They were all going to hate him.

  A warm hand slid into his, and he jerked his head around. Rae. She didn’t say a word as she looked ahead at Mr. G., but her silent support calmed Dylan’s nerves. He was able to key in on what their boss was saying.

  “I’m happy to announce I’ve taken on Dylan Rademaker as my partner.”

  The room erupted with applause, and Rae squeezed his hand. Mr. G. signaled for Dylan to join him up front.

  “You’ve got this,” she whispered.

  Dylan had to blink a few times as he stepped forward, overcome by the support of his coworkers. His employees.

  “We’ve been training together the last few weeks,” Mr. G. said. “I’ll come into the office every day through the end of the year. After that, Dylan will move into my office, and I’ll continue on as an adviser of sorts, coming in to help a few days a week. This will be his last week assigned to a route, so we can focus on his training. Dylan, do you have anything to add?”

  He met Rae’s gaze, encouraged by the nod of confidence she gave him.

  “Nothing, except the people at Green Pest Control have been like a family to me. When Mr. G. told me about that other offer, like you, I was worried.” Dylan gave a wry grin. “And then he extended his offer, and I was freaked out. I appreciate Mr. G.’s confidence in me, and I’ll do my best to keep GPC a family company.”

  Everyone started clapping again, but Amelia called out for everyone to get to work. The staff began to break up.

  “Looks like we’ll have to start calling you Mr. D.,” Mateo said, patting Dylan on the back. “Congratulations.”

  “I like it,” Jasmine said with a grin. “A Mr. G. and a Mr. D. But please don’t change the name of the company. That’d be a mouthful when answering the phones.” She gave Dylan a quick hug and then looked embarrassed and hurried back to the front office.

  He glanced around, but Rae had already left. He wished he could tell her how much her support had meant to him.

  Rae sat at her desk, a wistful edge to her happiness for Dylan. She’d known he was anxious about how the employees would take the news. He must feel gratified at their enthusiastic response.

  As she went through her books, Rae’s thoughts drifted back to the story Amelia had told about Micah’s childhood family. What if his mother had received advice like Jasmine’s friend? Like Rae had. He’d have been part of a family with two children instead of six. Rae knew how much he loved all of his siblings. As Amelia had said, he didn’t treat any of them differently.

  “What makes you so somber this morning?” Jason asked quietly as he slipped into the chair by her desk.

  Rae startled and brought her hands to her chest. “You about scared me to death.”

  “Sorry. You seem preoccupied. Is it because of the change in management?”

  “No. I’ve known that was coming since the beginning.”

  “I wondered if yo
u had, considering how close you and Dylan are.” Jason arched a brow, his expression approving. “It’s good to know you can keep a secret.”

  “It wasn’t my secret to share,” she said. “Can I help you with anything?"

  “Yes,” he said with a grin. “I’d like to take you to dinner.”

  “I’d love to get out, but I’d have to see if I can get a babysitter first.”

  “What about Dylan?” Jason asked. “Isn’t he your go-to guy for that?”

  “He’s been busy a lot lately.” Rae squeezed her pencil, glancing away.

  “I thought you two were best friends.”

  “We were.” She winced; she hadn’t meant to say that.

  “Were? That doesn’t sound good.”

  It wasn’t. Rae’s throat tightened.

  Jason leaned forward, looking concerned, and asked softly, “What’s going on, Rae?”

  She closed her eyes and shook her head, unable to speak.

  “Is it him . . . or you?”

  Her, of course, but she wasn’t going to tell Jason that.

  “Look, you and Dylan are a fit. It’s not selfish of you to love him. He’s a good man, and he’d be a great father to your children.”

  Surprised, Rae glanced up and met his gaze. There was nothing fake there, only complete sincerity.

  “I thought you didn’t like him.” She squeezed the pencil tighter, wondering if she should even be talking about this to Jason.

  “That’s my bad, not his. I saw him as competition, but then I realized he was serious about you and your children. Let me ask you this.” Jason reached over and pulled the pencil from her grasp. “What has he ever done to make you think he wouldn’t treat your children well?”

  Rae said nothing.

  “Dylan Rademaker is the real thing. I’ve never seen him act out of character—because it is his character. Unlike me, what you see is what you get—all the time. He’s helpful, friendly, courteous. A Boy Scout!” Jason said the last with a frown.

  For the first time a touch of humor returned to her. “Feeling a little insecure?”

  “No, just wondering if I could be more than I am.” For a second, Jason’s eyes clouded like he was thinking of something else and then he blinked. “I know you told me you’d never get involved before your children are adults. In some cases, that’d be a good decision. I know plenty of women who make really bad choices in men. But your Mike was a good man, a good father, right?”

  Rae nodded. She wanted to believe what he was saying, and it was wearing on her resolve.

  “See. You already have a good track record. You and Dylan have been in each other’s pockets for nearly a year now. Has he ever lost his patience with your kids?”

  She frowned, thinking back. “Rarely. He’s actually more patient with them than their father was, and Dylan connects with them better.” Mike had been a good man and a loving father, but he’d commented more than once that he’d be glad when they were older, and he could do things with them.

  “Think about it.” Jason stood. He gave her an encouraging nod before turning around and heading into the other office where he called out a flirtatious greeting to Jasmine.

  Rae tried to return to her work, but her stomach was so tense it hurt. What if she believed Jason only because she wanted to so badly? Was she really in a good emotional place to make a decision about this?

  Yet she’d often thought Mike and Dylan would have liked each other, been friends. Her breath caught in her chest. How could she have come to love Dylan so much so soon? It’d only been thirteen months since Mike had died.

  It was too much. She pulled her purse from the desk drawer and called out to the others, “I’m going to a take an early lunch.”

  “Drive safely,” Amelia called, watching Rae with interest.

  She raced to her car. Once she got into it, she paused, staring at the nearby rose bush and the large red blooms. Where should she go? Somewhere calm where she could think. A light breeze brought a waft of fragrance into her open window. Rae and Tim had never made it to the cemetery rose garden. That might be the quiet place she needed.

  17

  After parking her car, Rae made her way through the rose-decorated wrought iron entrance to the cemetery. The heavenly bouquet greeted her, stronger than anything she’d ever smelled before. She took her time strolling along the stone paths, some with bushes and others with cascades of blooms flowing over arches.

  Rae paused to study some of the names on the old tombstones. She wondered what the people’s lives had been like, what challenges they’d faced, what losses they’d suffered or joys they’d had. Finally, she found a bench underneath a particularly beautiful spray of rose blooms and sat.

  Thinking back over the last year, Rae assessed her interactions with Dylan. He and Jayden had quickly become the center of her family. Yes, Dylan sometimes got cranky with the children, but so did she. And when she was having a tough day, Dylan had been there to help her put things in perspective. Rae thought she’d done the same thing for him.

  Like Jason had said, Dylan was the real deal. His concern for his nephew had been strong from the beginning. She remembered the expression on Dylan’s face when he’d told her about his girlfriend’s ultimatum. Rae gave a soft laugh. She completely understood his disbelief the woman had demanded he give up his nephew.

  Dylan had also said he wanted to be the kind of parental figure for Jayden his cold father hadn’t been for Dylan and Nora. He’d succeeded. An image of his face as Beth had thrown herself in his arms flashed through Rae’s mind. Her daughter had called him Daddy. And Jayden had called her Mama. Rae blinked against the stinging in her eyes.

  “I finally found you,” Amelia’s familiar voice said, sounding a little breathless. She collapsed onto the bench. “I never realized how big this place was.”

  “What are you doing here?” Rae asked. “Who’s covering the office?”

  “My well-trained staff, of course.” Amelia pinned one of her disapproving gazes on Rae, and she knew she was in for it.

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I followed you, of course. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something, and this seemed the perfect day for it.”

  “What?” Rae asked, though she had an idea.

  “Who,” Amelia said, “and you know it’s Dylan.”

  “Yes.” Rae let out a deep sigh.

  “You’re trying to decide what to do with him.”

  Rae blinked and shifted on the bench to face her friend. “Do with him?”

  “Yes. Are you going to keep him or throw him away? Isn’t that what you’re struggling with?”

  Her face warming, Rae clenched her jaw to keep from saying something she’d regret.

  “Now see, I can tell I’ve made you mad, and I’m sorry about that.” Amelia patted Rae’s hand and said, “What do you call it when you’re in love with a good man but kick him to the curb when he tells you he loves you too?”

  “I never—” Rae jumped to her feet, but Amelia clasped her wrist.

  “How do you think he felt?”

  So much for the peaceful time to think through her feelings. With a sense of defeat, Rae let her friend pull her back down to the bench.

  “It appears to me you have a tough decision to make. You can marry Dylan—don’t look at me like that. He told me about that night and your vow.”

  “It’s not a vow.”

  “Call it what you want. I think we need to review the disadvantages of marrying that excellent young man.”

  “You're hardly unbiased,” Rae said flatly.

  “And neither are you, hon. You’re even more invested in Dylan than I am, and that’s saying a lot. Although my investment in him is very different from yours since I could be his mother.” Amelia grinned, and it seemed to lighten the mood a little.

  “And already married to Micah.”

  “That too.”

  Rae sighed. “All right. I’ll play along, but let’s be realis
tic.”

  “Being realistic includes his good qualities and his bad qualities.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll start with a good one,” Amelia said. “He loves your kids.”

  “They’re not his children, and he could change his mind because they’re not.”

  “Love doesn’t turn off like a faucet, hon.” Amelia shook her head. “Jayden isn’t his child either, but he loves him and is as good a father to him as any man could be to a child of his loins.”

  There was nothing Rae could say to counter it.

  “Don't you have anything to say?” Amelia pushed. “Doesn’t he have other negative traits?”

  “Of course he does. So do I. Even you have negative traits.”

  “What? Me?” Amelia gave a mock gasp and then winked. “I’m so old I thought I only had eccentricities anymore.”

  “Oh, right. You’d be translated into Heaven except for your humility,” Rae said.

  “Tell me what you’re really afraid of.” Amelia’s voice had turned soft.

  “My children would be better off with no father than to have one who abuses and neglects them.”

  “And, of course, that sounds like something Dylan would do.”

  “What happens if we were to marry and have more children?” Rae leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “What if he prefers his own biological children to mine?”

  “Do you think he’d show preference for them over Jayden?”

  Rae slowly straightened. Dylan loved his nephew and was fiercely protective of him. The little boy would never be neglected in his uncle’s care.

  “Hon, that man has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen, which is saying a lot considering I’m married to Micah. Dylan already loves Preston and Beth. If you two have more children, he’s not going to love less. His ability to love will grow even bigger.”

  “Oh, Amelia,” Rae said, her eyes burning as her mind and heart did battle. “I want this so badly I’m afraid I won’t make the right decision.”