Chapter Twenty-Five
“THANK YOU SO much for inviting me to your class,” Diana said to Emery Saturday morning at the end of her yoga class. “I really enjoyed it. Can I sign up for weekly classes?”
“Sure. There’s a schedule on the Summer House website. You can sign up or just drop in when you feel like taking a class. I’m glad you made it out this morning.”
“Me too. Thanks again.” Diana waved as she headed toward the parking lot.
Emery thanked the other women and men who were rolling up their mats, and talked with a few of them before they made their way to their cars. Her class size had nearly doubled over the past week, thanks to the referrals from the resort and word of mouth. She was glad the weather had held out so she could hold the class outdoors. She saw Serena and Mira heading her way. Serena had not only sent her referrals from the resort, but she and Mira had attended this morning’s class and had brought three friends with them.
“Thanks to Des, Vi, and the guys, word travels fast around here,” she said to Serena. Although Violet didn’t do yoga classes, she had referred several people over the last few weeks, and Desiree asked every new customer if they’d like to take part in Emery’s classes, maintaining a constant influx of curious tourists. “I hope your friends liked the class.”
She watched their friends Jana and her sister, Harper, who were as blond as their friend Sky was brunette, roll up their mats. They were all very animated, which Emery hoped meant they had enjoyed the class.
“You might have to stop taking drop-ins,” Mira suggested as the girls joined them.
“Or hold more classes,” Emery said, although with the way things were going at LOCAL, she didn’t want to tie herself up too much. She hoped to continue to grow that aspect of her business as well. “I’ll have to see how things go. I assume a lot of these people are here on vacation and probably won’t show up for more than a few classes.”
“We’re not tourists,” Harper said. “I’ll definitely be back.” She pulled the elastic band from her hair and shook her head. A mass of blond tumbled past her shoulders. “I think you’d have a hard time keeping Jana and Sky away now that they’ve discovered your classes. They both get off on this kind of thing.”
“Oh yeah, we’ll be back,” Jana said. “Hopefully we’ll bring a few of the other girls from Seaside, too.”
“Seaside?” Emery asked.
“It’s a cottage community down the road, off Route 6,” Mira explained. “Matt’s brother Pete and his wife, Jenna, have a place there. Matt stayed there the summer we got together. I’m surprised you haven’t met any of our Seaside friends yet.”
“She has now,” Jana pointed out. “The Seaside cottages have been owned by the same families forever. They’re like one big happy family.”
“I was staying there when I met Sawyer, too. I think there’s something in the water that makes people fall in love. But I hear some of that magic has traveled over to Bayside. You and Dean?” Sky pointed over Emery’s shoulder to Dean stepping from his truck.
“You know about me and Dean?” Emery couldn’t suppress her smile as she watched Dean walking toward her with a wolfish grin. They had talked this morning, and she felt much better than she had last night. Dean was going to give his father some time to cool off before trying to reason with him, and he planned to call his mother later today, after they moved Emery’s things into his house. A thrill darted through her at the realization that this wasn’t a temporary stopover, or a let’s-see-how-it-goes situation. They were a couple in love, and they’d made the decision to cohabitate. A truly heartfelt decision. This was their lives. Their future. And she couldn’t be happier.
“If she didn’t know before, she could have guessed by the way he’s visually devouring you,” Mira said.
“Actually, it was my fault,” Serena said. “If it was a secret, you should have clued me in.”
“It’s not,” she said as Dean reached for her.
“What’s not a secret? That you’re moving in with me?” Dean leaned in for a kiss and said, “Hey, doll. I missed you.”
“Geez. You’ve turned into a sap,” Serena teased. “You guys are moving in together for real? Like, not just because of a naked man in the kitchen?”
Dean pulled Emery against his side and said, “The only naked man in her kitchen from now on is going to be me.”
“She is one lucky girl,” Harper whispered too loudly to Jana.
“I can hear you,” Emery said with a smile. “And I have to agree.”
Harper leaned closer to Sky and said, “Maybe I need to stay at Seaside or Bayside, so I can have some of that magic work for me, too.”
“You and I need to hang out together and find some hot single men,” Serena said to Harper.
“Maybe you should wait until you see if you’re moving first,” Mira suggested. “Between you gearing up to get back into interior design, Desiree and Rick thinking more about dates for their wedding, and now you two moving in together, it feels like we’re all on the cusp of changes.” She placed her hand on her belly and looked hopefully at Emery, who had shown her a few fertility-boosting poses before class. “Maybe luck will be on our side and we’ll get pregnant this month.”
“I hope so,” Serena said. “But nothing is going to change too quickly on my end. If I do get a job offer, I’ll need to find someone who’s really good with people, numbers, and can handle stepping between Drake and Rick when need be.”
“I’ve got that last part covered,” Dean assured her.
“And I can pitch in during my off hours.” Mira ran Matt’s father’s hardware store, and she’d put together a multistate small-business co-op that was doing remarkably well.
Jana put a hand on Harper’s shoulder and said, “Harper’s great with people and numbers.”
“I’ve got another screenplay on the horizon,” Harper said. According to Mira, she was a very talented screenplay writer and was trying to break into larger markets with bigger scripts. “But if you get in a bind, I could probably help out.”
“We’ll talk.” Serena winked at Harper. “But right now I have to get to work.”
That sparked a flurry of hugs and goodbyes as everyone went their separate ways, Dean and Emery heading inside to gather her belongings.
Emery saw Desiree walking with Cosmos up the driveway. She and Desiree had talked before her yoga class, and Emery had told her what had happened at the dinner and about finding out that Rose was Dean’s grandmother. When she’d told Desiree about Dean professing his love to her, she’d gotten choked up, and when she’d told her she was moving in with him, she’d drawn happy tears from both of them. But since they hadn’t had much time together, she wanted to touch base again. “Can you give me a few minutes to talk to Des?”
“Of course. Take as long as you need.” He kissed her cheek and said, “I’ll go scarf down some of her leftover muffins.”
Emery jogged over to greet Desiree and picked Cosmos up before he could try to climb her legs. The pooch smothered her face with kisses.
“Hi,” she said to Desiree. “We’re just going to grab my stuff from the house.”
Desiree tucked her blond hair behind her ear and kicked at a dandelion in the grass, shifting her eyes away, but not before Emery saw tears in her eyes.
“Is it silly that I’m going to miss you, even though you’re only across the yard and only moved back in for a little while?” Desiree asked.
Emery shook her head, surprised by the sting of her own tears. “No, but it’s weird that we’re both so emotional when we weren’t like this when you moved here and I was still in Virginia.”
She set Cosmos down and he sat by her feet, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, tail wagging. Emery looked at the woman who had been there for her when she got her first period, her first bra, her first thong. She was there for her when she lost her virginity, when she decided not to go to college, and for countless other milestones—and things that shouldn’t be considered milestones, like for her first traffic ticket and holding her hair back the first time she drank so much she puked.
Emery’s heart climbed into her throat. “You’re the reason I’m able to be here. You offered me the chance to start over on the Cape when I was floundering at home.” She reached for Desiree’s hand and smiled at her sparkling engagement ring. “I think the reason we weren’t this emotional when you moved was because we both knew I’d end up here eventually. I couldn’t be that far from my very best friend in the whole world. But it’s different now, because it’s not just us anymore.”
“It hasn’t been just us for months,” Desiree reminded her.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, Em. I had Rick, and you and Dean were finding each other.” Desiree stepped closer, speaking softly. “We grew up. We’ve found our happy places with Rick and Dean, and each other. We’re going to be living walking distance away from each other, and we’re working together at the inn. We’re so blessed. There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’m truly happy for both of you.”
They fell into each other’s arms, hugging as tight as they ever had.
“This is all good, right?” Emery asked as they separated.
“Better than good.” She patted her leg for Cosmos to follow them as they walked toward the house. “Maybe Dean will be so good, you’ll be inspired to learn to cook.”
They shared a laugh.
“Not happening,” Emery said.
When they reached the door, Emery hugged her again. “I love you, you know.”
“I know. And that man in there?” She motioned toward the house. “He’s crazy about you, Em. Rick said he’s never seen Dean happier. That’s all you, babe.”
“Well, well,” Violet said as she came out the kitchen door. “If it isn’t the pants chaser and the morning moaner.”
“Violet!” Desiree shook her head.
“What? I just call ’em like I see ’em.” Violet winked at Emery. “I just saw your love slave up in your bedroom.”
“Ohmygosh.” Emery gave Desiree a quick hug, blew a kiss to Violet, and headed upstairs.
She found Dean standing in the middle of her bedroom at the inn, shaking his head.
“You never unpacked?”
She shrugged and began tossing clothes from the piles where they lay on the dresser and chair. “I’ve been so busy, I just didn’t think about it.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek. “I love that about you.”
“That I’m a slob?”
“No. That you don’t worry about the little things. I probably worry about them enough for both of us.”
She turned in his arms. “I’m a little worried about moving in together.”
“Emery…” he warned.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not backing out. But…” She reached into her hamper and pulled out his boxer briefs. “I had to resort to wearing your underwear this morning because mine was missing. I think you have gremlins living in your house.”
He laughed and snagged the briefs. “You wore these? And I missed it?”
“Trust me, it wasn’t sexy. They kept falling down.”
“Didn’t you have pants on?”
“No,” she said as she plucked his sweatshirt from the closet floor. “Just this.”
He groaned and tackled her to the bed. She surrendered in a fit of giggles.
“You were wearing only a sweatshirt?”
“And your underwear,” she said as he grabbed her ribs, causing her to squeal. “At least I put it on! I wasn’t going to, but then I knew you’d want me to!”
He pressed his lips to hers, stifling her laughter.
“Thank you for not leaving the house with that gorgeous butt of yours hanging out.”
“I’m a little concerned that the gremlins in your house will leave me with nothing. I mean, they’ve stolen my bracelet, keys, hair bands, razor, my yoga strap, and heaven knows what else. What’s going to happen when all my things disappear?”
He nipped at her neck. “Then you’ll have to be naked and jewelryless every day.”
“Not completely jewelryless.” She lifted her wrist with the bracelet he’d given her. “I never take this one off.”
“That’s good. Then the delphinium flower charm worked.”
Her brows knitted with curiosity.
“Among other meanings, like protecting you from dangers that might stand in your way, expanding your options and attracting new opportunities, that little flower also has been known to help people remain open to new emotions and feelings.”
“So…You put me under your spell without me knowing?”
“Something like that.” He pressed his lips to hers, and then he gazed into her eyes, silently thanking the flower gods, and said, “And seeing you naked, except for that magical bracelet, every single day sounds perfect to me.”
AS DEAN PULLED the truck into his driveway, his mother’s car came into focus. His stomach knotted up as he parked beside it. He was relieved to see his mother sitting alone on the front porch steps, and reached for Emery’s hand. It was clammy, her eyes wide and worried.
“It’s okay. It’s just my mom. My father drives a black Lexus.”
She nodded silently.
He climbed from the truck and called out, “Hi, Mom,” as he walked around to help Emery out.
His mother pushed to her feet and met them halfway up the walkway. “Hi, baby.” She embraced him and then reached for Emery. “Hi, sweetie. How are you two doing?”
“We’re okay,” he said at the same time Emery said, “We’re good.”
“I mean, me and Dean are good, as a couple,” she said nervously. “But we don’t feel good about what happened yesterday. I’m sorry if—”
“We’re sorry,” Dean interjected, “if we caused any embarrassment for you last night.”
“Honey, you and Emery couldn’t embarrass me if you stood on your heads naked in the middle of dinner. I have pretty thick skin.” She slid her fingers into the pockets of her white jeans and shrugged. “We should talk about your father, though. From what little I’ve seen, you and Dean are too good together to let a bitter man come between you.”
“We’re not,” Emery said softly. “I mean, it’s there, and we need to figure out a way to make things better, but”—she reached for Dean’s hand—“he won’t come between us.”
“Emery’s moving in, Mom. We have her stuff in the car.”
A smile formed on his mother’s face and reached all the way up to her eyes. She threw her arms around them. “I’m so happy for you both. I knew the two of you were too strong to let anything bring doubt to the love I saw in your eyes last night.” She put a hand on each of their cheeks and said, “Always follow your hearts. They’ll never lead you astray.”
“That’s what Rose told me,” Emery said, remembering she hadn’t mentioned to Sherry that she was working with Rose. “I just realized last night that the woman I’ve been helping with her back issues at LOCAL is Dean’s grandmother Rose.”
“I know,” his mother said.
“You know?” Dean asked.
“Honey, you know your grandmother and I talk every day. I wasn’t sure at first because she called her Emmie, but how many yoga back-care specialists named Emmie are there in the area?” She smiled at Emery and said, “Thank you for all you are doing for Rose. She’s a very special woman, and we are all so thankful that she is finally finding relief.”
“It’s my pleasure. I love working with her. She and her friends are hilarious, and she’s remarkably determined to get out of that wheelchair. I wish all my clients could be so inspired.” Emery squeezed Dean’s hand and said, “I think I’ll go inside and give you guys some time to talk.”
“You don’t have to,” Dean said.
“I know. But I need to figure out how we’re going to fit my clothes in your closet, and I think it’s time I finally unpack.” Emery hugged his mother again and thanked her for coming over. Then she walked inside, like she hadn’t just set his whole world spinning.
His mother wrapped her fingers around his arm and lowered her voice. “Your brother is a bit angry with you.”
Dean inhaled deeply, trying to switch gears. “Which one and why?”
“Doug never gets upset with you. He thinks you walk on water, and at the moment, he’s not aware of what happened last night. I would imagine he’ll give your father an earful, but he’s so busy with his wife and his job, I didn’t think I should bother him with this. But Jett’s another story. He called this morning, and apparently you haven’t told him how serious you and Emery are. I think he feels a bit left out that he’s finding out after us.”
“Yeah, well, he can deal with that. I’ve got bigger things on my mind. Let’s go sit down.” They went out back to the patio and sat at the table. “Would you like something to drink? We’ve got ice water with fresh lemon slices, or iced tea.”
“Fresh lemon slices?” She raised her brows. “Oh yes, you are definitely smitten.”
He chuckled. “That I am. Would you like a drink, Mom?”
“No, honey, but thank you. What I’d like is to talk about you and your father.”
Dean leaned forward, elbows on knees, gathering the courage to finally step over a line he hadn’t ever before. But after what happened last night, he needed answers. “Can I ask you something first?”
“Of course.”
“Why are you still with him?” he blurted out before he could chicken out. “I mean, he’s not the man he used to be, and I can’t imagine you’re happy.”
He expected his mother to take offense, but her smile remained in place. She was quiet for a long moment. So long, he wondered if this was her way of telling him he’d overstepped his bounds.
“I’m sorry, Mom. You don’t have to answer that.”
“It’s okay. I’m just trying to figure out how to put my thoughts into words you’ll understand. I’ve been with your father since we were in high school.”
“I know, but that’s no reason to remain in an unhappy marriage.”
“We’re not unhappy, honey. This is the hard part to explain. Do you remember when your father left, when you were just a boy?”
“How could I forget?” He ground his back teeth together, struggling with the truth. “That was the year I saw my mother with two other men. The year I lost my brother. That was the year I grew up.”
“Oh boy.” She sighed. “I think I could use that water now, please.”
With a nod, he went inside and filled two glasses. He heard Emery humming and peeked in to see her dancing with Tango in her arms in the bedroom. I do love you, my quirky girl.
He carried the glasses outside and handed one to his mother, who was watching him intently.
“You know that feeling you have right this second?” she said as he sat down. “That feeling of being on top of the world because you just saw the girl you love?”
“How do you know that?”
“Oh, honey, please. I’ve been your mother for a long time.” She sipped her water. “And more importantly, I’ve been in love for even longer. That feeling that you have when you see Emery? That’s the feeling I have for your father. Your father is the strongest, bravest man I know, but he’s also become cynical and I worry that sometimes he’s unfeeling.”
“What he’s become is a jer—” He bit back the word “jerk” and said, “He’s become cold and rude. How can you say he’s strong or brave when he left us?” The hurt he’d buried so long ago clawed its way out from the dark place in which he’d buried it, twisting into his gut and burning as it infiltrated his chest and limbs.
“Yes, he’s become unpleasant, but he’s still your father.”
Dean scoffed. “Please don’t give me a lecture about respect, because I’ve given that man nothing but respect, and he’s thrown it in my face.”
“I won’t lecture at all. But it appears that I made a mistake all those years ago. I told you boys that your father left because we weren’t getting along, but that wasn’t the whole truth. Little boys are supposed to see their fathers as being larger than life, with no flaws. Your father was struggling back then. And I understand why you think he’s weak for leaving us, but I think he’s strong for the same reason.”
She took another drink and set her glass on the table, then got up and paced. “Your father spent years trying to avoid becoming the type of man your grandfather was, and during that time, your father was under a tremendous amount of pressure with the growing practice.”
“Everyone’s under a lot of pressure, Mom. All jobs come with it, but I do remember you fighting all the time.”
“We did, because your father started giving in to your grandfather’s demands to work longer hours, travel, give talks, and somehow try to maintain our family. It was a sticking point for both of us. But the truth is, your father was angrier at himself than I ever would have been for his increased schedule. He felt like he was failing me and failing you boys. He left not because he didn’t love us, but because he wanted to get control of himself so you, Doug, and Jett wouldn’t grow up in the same untenable situation as he and his siblings had.”
Dean felt as though he’d been punched in the chest. He moved out to help them? He leaned back in the chair, dragging air into his lungs.
“He worried that if he continued to take out his frustrations on me, and our marriage, then he’d lose us all,” his mother explained. “He’s human, Dean. He didn’t know how to get control of his mounting responsibilities and the frustration that came along with them while living with us. He was becoming the type of angry man he didn’t want to be. Coming home every day at nine, ten o’clock at night with patient notes to dictate and three boys who wanted his attention. I know it’s hard to understand, but he didn’t abandon us. He left to save us.”
Dean pushed to his feet, unable to sit still any longer. “Come on, Mom. He couldn’t have stayed and figured it out? That’s bull.”
“I know it sounds like that, but it’s not. Your father spent those twelve weeks working that crazy schedule and seeing a therapist three nights a week, and he still made time to see you boys as often as he could.”
“If that’s true, then why did you go out with other guys? And why did you let them come to the house to pick you up?”
She smiled and shook her head. “I didn’t go out with other guys, Dean. Your grandmother sent those two men over. We didn’t want to upset her, so we never told her the truth about what was going on. She thought your father needed a reminder that I was still young enough to attract another man, which he didn’t need and I never would have done. But I didn’t want to get into it with Rose, because then your grandfather would have gotten involved, and it would have defeated the purpose of your father’s leaving to get his head on straight.”
“But you went out with those men. I saw you. I’m not judging you, Mom. I’m just saying. I might have been a kid, but I was there, remember?”
“I did go out with them. Twice, with each one. We had dinner, and I told them exactly what was going on and set them up with my friend Eva Chase, who was more than happy to entertain them. I added about five rag dolls to my collection that year. I’d sit in a coffee shop and make them while Eva was out having fun. I would have rather been with you boys, but we couldn’t blow our cover.”
He continued pacing. “It’s like a frigging soap opera.” His mother had been making rag dolls since she was a little girl, learning how from her own mother. He knew she treasured them because of the memories they held, and now he wondered if she treasured the dolls she’d made during that time, too. The fact that she’d kept them was all the answer he needed.
“I know. Life isn’t always easy. But your father came back, and he was a wonderful, attentive father to you three until years later.”
“He lost Jett just because he left. You have to tell Jett the truth.”
“I already have,” she said solemnly. “Unfortunately, because of the way your father is now, he’s not ready to forgive him yet.”
“I’m not sure I am either.” Dean stopped pacing and rubbed an ache at the back of his neck. “He was good to us after he came back.”
“Yes, he was.”
“And then I went away to school and something changed.”
“He lost his father, Dean. Years ago, he’d promised your grandfather he’d carry on the Masters name with pride. Your grandfather’s shoes would have been hard for ten men to fill, and your father wasn’t going to let anyone else take care of his father’s patients. And at the same time, he wasn’t going to let down his own. Suddenly the success of the practice and the name of the foundation came down to him. He couldn’t see twice the patient load. He couldn’t do it alone, but he refused to accept that and refused to give up his father’s or his own patients to his partners. To him that would have felt like he was letting his father, and his patients, down.”
“He’s a control freak,” Dean seethed.
“No. He’s a perfectionist. There’s a difference. He cares deeply about every patient he sees.”
Dean scoffed. “It doesn’t seem like it. He’s all about image and income.”
“I know it appears that way, but he’s not. He’s image conscious only because it’s his image, in his father’s shadow, that keeps the high standards of the foundation in place and the donations rolling in so that that foundation can help millions of families. Millions, Dean. Not one or two, not a hundred, or even a thousand. Millions. He caved under the pressure of it all, sweetheart. Don’t you see that? You boys were on your way to adulthood, and he only had me at home to worry about. And I didn’t mind the longer hours. I’ve always been self-sufficient, and I knew how important this was to him. It wasn’t until months later that I realized how much he had changed. How the job had sucked all the joy out of him.”
Dean sank down on the chair again, his chest constricting. “He has partners to help him with the practice.”
“Yes, he does. But they’re not Masters.”
His heart thudded against his ribs as the pieces of his father’s life worked into some semblance of understanding. “But he treats people—”
“Wonderfully, and not so nice, depending on where he is and what he’s going through.”
“It’s inexcusable.”
“Yes. It is.” She sat in the chair beside him and sighed. “Honey, he pushes you because he has always seen greatness in you. He knows you’d make an amazing doctor. You were top of your class. You never let things go. You were relentless in your pursuit to save every patient who landed on your table.”
“And he called me weak for it.” The venomous word still burned. “Grandma called me human.”
She smiled. “Grandma is an incredible woman, and she’s right. But he’s lost, Dean. He got swallowed up by the business and the pressure, and he doesn’t know how to get out from under it. His ability to separate what he wanted for you, and what was best for you, got buried, too.”
“Well, I’m not the answer. I will never go to medical school.”
“I know, honey. I’m not here to ask you to do anything. Not to apologize to him, not to change your life. I just thought it was time we talked about all of this. You probably don’t know this, but when Doug decided not to remain here in the States and practice with your father, he went head-to-head with him. It wasn’t pleasant, but Doug isn’t Jett. He left the door open, like you always have.”
“Dad thinks the world of Doug because he’s a doctor.”
“No, honey. Dad thinks the world of each of you because you’re his sons. He doesn’t think one is more or less of a man because of their job. He just wanted more for you.” She paused and stared out at the gardens. “Do you remember why you decided to be a trauma nurse?”
“Of course. How could I ever forget?” He’d been in a car accident as a teenager and in addition to broken bones, he’d suffered internal bleeding. The thing he remembered most was the calm and confident demeanor of the trauma nurse. She’d taken the overwhelming fear out of the situation, and he’d wanted to do that for others. It had been a bone of contention with his father, who had wanted him to follow in his footsteps and join the practice. That had been the tip of the skeleton that would forever haunt them.
“You were determined to be the best trauma nurse you could. You told me that you were made for the job. Remember?”
He nodded. “I do. I thought I was.”
“But you learned otherwise,” his mother reminded him. “Real life got the better of you.”
His pulse raced with the memories of too many nights feeling as though he were in a dark tunnel with no way out. “Seeing all that death and destruction nearly killed me,” he said defensively as his mother’s point began sinking in. “I might be weak, but I know what I’m capable of, and that wasn’t it. I chose to surround myself with life instead of death.”
“You are not weak, honey. What is it with you men? You all think there’s some line drawn in the sand between weak and strong, and you have to be on one side of it or another at all times. Life isn’t like that. We are all weak, strong, pathetic sometimes and valiant at other times. You did the right thing for yourself by changing careers. You were stressed even when you weren’t working because, like your father, you carried the emotions of the job with you on your days off, and that stress affected every aspect of your life. But it’s easier when it’s just you with no one else’s life hanging in the balance. Don’t you think it’s a little wrong to judge your father for not taking that out, when he has so many people—families, physicians, children, researchers—relying on him? How does a man walk away from families and patients who have developed years of trust in him? Tell me, Dean. If you had been him, after practicing for decades, becoming a pillar of the community because of your dedication to medicine and to the well-being of children around the world, could you have walked away from it?”
His throat tightened with emotion, making it hard to breathe. It was all he could do to process the truth in her words.
“He may not be the same person he used to be, but, honey, I know the man I married is still in there somewhere. I get glimpses of him from time to time, and I can’t walk away from that. I see the father who used to read you bedtime stories and take you fishing. The man who adores you, regardless of whether he’s able to show it at the moment.” She set her hand on his and said, “I know it’s hard to hear the truth, but you needed to hear it even if it doesn’t excuse what your father has done. What you do with all of this information is up to you.”
He saw Emery walking by the window and his heart ached. “I will never be okay with the way he demeaned Emery’s career or the way he treated her. I love her, Mom. She’s my life now, not him.”
His mother’s eyes dampened and she nodded, a small smile lifting her lips. “I know, baby. It’s a shame that you feel there’s a choice to be made, and it’s a greater shame that he can’t see the light. But I have faith that one day he will. We can’t always control the things we think, or do, no matter how hard we try. We’re all only human.”
Dean reached for his mother’s hand. “Thank you for making me see the light. I never in a million years would have seen myself as anything like Dad. But I guess I was in denial.” He shook his head, thinking of Emery again. They had even more in common than he’d thought. “I’m sorry that you’re caught in the crossfire, Mom. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me, baby. What hurts me is seeing my family suffer. But that’s more on your father than anyone else. I have faith that we’ll get past this.”
“Mom, can you please just tell me one thing? Are you happy? Is what you have right now enough?”
“It has to be. I love him.”
Emery peeked outside with a hesitant smile, and he waved her over. She took his hand and he pulled her down to his lap. The knots in his chest began to unravel. He felt like he could finally breathe again. He tried to imagine what it would be like if Emery’s life suddenly took a stressful or tragic turn and she changed in ways that weren’t pleasant. As he gazed into her eyes, he knew he’d still love her just the same.
He looked at his mother, who was watching them adoringly, and said, “I think I understand where you’re coming from. Thanks, Mom.”