Chapter Twenty-Two
FRIDAY MORNING TY and Aiyla sat on the back porch of the house Beau was renovating, watching the sun come up over the horizon. They’d grabbed a few pieces of fruit, bottles of water, and blueberry muffins that she, Maisy, and Leesa had made the night before while Ty, Cole, and Ace had played with Phillip and baby Avery. Leesa hadn’t let on if she’d known about Aiyla’s medical diagnosis, and Ty had said that Cole had probably not told her, since he’d asked him not to mention it to the family. She wasn’t sure if she should be thankful, or feel guilty for having his brother keep a secret from his wife. But she assumed that as a doctor, those types of secrets were okay.
Their legs dangled off the edge of the porch. A cool breeze swept up the hill, tickling Aiyla’s bare feet. It was so peaceful listening to the world wake up, sitting next to the man she loved, she was almost able to pretend that the pain in her leg was innocuous. Almost. Something had happened when she was lying in the machine yesterday getting her scan. As it pinged and knocked, she’d seen her mother in her mind, healthy and smiling, rushing around the way she used to. She’d had the overwhelming sensation that her mother was there with her, trying to distract her from her worries. She still didn’t know what it meant, but she’d come out of the scan feeling more at peace than she had for the last several days.
She put her fingertips over Ty’s and said, “Did you ever think you’d find a woman who liked to watch the sunrise as much as you do?”
“Before you, I never thought about finding a woman to spend my life with, period. There was no looking, no wondering, no wishing.”
She put her head on his shoulder, thinking of the sunrises they’d watched together in Saint-Luc, Colorado, and there in Peaceful Harbor. “I think sunrises are our thing.”
“We have so many things, baby. We’ve only just begun to figure out what they are.”
Ty jumped off the deck and stood between her legs. The dusky light danced in his eyes, the way it did on the rippling creek below. His rough hands skimmed up the outsides of her legs, from her ankles to her knees and back down again. Cupping her heels with a coy smile, he lifted her left leg and kissed his way up to her thigh. Then he did the same with the right. “I love your legs, Aiyla Bell, and your pretty little pointy feet.”
She laughed and said, “That’s a good thing, because they’re the only ones I have.”
He ran his fingers lightly over her thighs, spreading shivers like wildfire. He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “I love your hands, sweet baby cakes.”
She reached for him, and he put his hands behind her and hauled her forward so they were nose to nose.
“I love your face, beautiful girl.” He kissed her tenderly and said, “I love your kisses. I love your eyes, your voice, your laugh.”
She wanted to cry again. Her emotions were all over the place lately, but these were happy tears. Tears of truth, because she knew he meant every single word.
“I love your sense of adventure,” she said honestly. “And the heated look in your eyes when you want to fool around. And that boyish smile you flash when you’re testing the waters.”
“Go on,” he teased, and she laughed.
“I love your humor and your arms.” She ran her hands along the smooth ridges of his biceps and across his broad shoulders and framed his handsome face. “And this mouth? It’s pretty talented.”
He waggled his brows.
“But what I love most is right here.” She covered his heart with her hand. “I love that you didn’t run when things got scary, and that you’re strong enough for both of us”—tears spilled from her eyes, and her words caught in her throat—“because I’m not sure I could do this without you.”
“You’ll never have to,” he promised. “I want every sunrise, every sunset. I want it all, baby.” Just as he’d said, they’d applied for their marriage license yesterday. They were one step closer to forever.
But how long was their forever? The thought came without warning, and she hated it, tried to push it away, but the words came anyway. “Me too, even if we only have a few left—”
Sobs stole her voice, and Ty crushed her to him, holding her so tight it was hard to breathe.
“We have a million left. Do you hear me?”
“We don’t know that,” she cried, unable to stop the truth from tumbling out.
He drew back, anger warring with the dampness in his eyes. He cradled her face in his hands, his tears falling on her cheeks. “No more talk about not having many left, okay? We’re not thinking like that.”
“I don’t want to think like that. Don’t let me, Ty. Help me stop.” She hated sounding so weak that she couldn’t control her own thoughts, but this was Ty, and she trusted him. She wasn’t afraid he’d turn tail and run from the pressure, or think she was any weaker for being honest. He was her anchor. Her safe haven. He was her everything.
“I won’t, baby.” He wiped her tears, kissing her softly. “We’re in this together, every step of the way.”
He embraced her, holding her until she calmed down. Then he tipped her chin up and she felt herself smiling. She was liable to give him whiplash with her roller coaster of emotions. But he returned her smile. He should have told her to pull her shit together, but that wasn’t who he was. His smile crawled all the way up to his eyes. It was a magical smile. The kind of smile that made her believe in miracles.
His smile shifted, a little cocky, a little coy, with an ounce of surprise, like she was a gift—the best gift he’d ever been given. Her pulse quickened.
“Want to take a picture?” she teased. “It’ll last longer.”
He shook his head. “Your beautiful face is etched into my mind. I don’t need a picture. I’ll wake up to that sassy smile and those sexy eyes every single day for the rest of our lives.”
He pulled something from his pocket and took her left hand in his. “I love you, Aiyla Lillian Baby Cakes Bell, and I cannot wait to make you my wife.”
He slipped a breathtaking ring on her finger, stunning her into silence. Two diamond bands intersected at the center of the ring, glittering in the morning sun. Intertwined with them were two twisted rose-gold bands, in a simple and elegant design that was perfectly them.
“Ty…? When did you have time…?”
“I had it made for you, and picked it up yesterday while you were baking.” He lifted her hand. “The diamond bands are our paths crossing—one for Saint-Luc and one for Colorado. The twisted rose-gold bands symbolize eternity, because I know we’ll be together forever. And our wedding rings are designed to fit around each side of your engagement ring. Showing we’re made for each other.”
“Fated to be,” she whispered.
“Yes, we are. And my engagement gift to you, my sweet girl, is this house, complete with a sleeping porch, and all the renovations you spoke with Beau about.”
She gasped. “The house? You said you didn’t want a house.”
He wrapped her in his arms, smiling so hard it had to hurt. “I said I had never found a reason to buy one. You’re my reason, baby. We need a place of our own, and the second you saw this house, you lit up brighter than the sun. Now we’ll have a home for whatever comes down the road. Whether you’re going through treatments, or we just want to watch the sunrise between travels, in a few short weeks this will be ours.”
Too overwhelmed to speak, she went up on her toes and he lifted her into his arms, kissing her the way he always did, like he never wanted to let her go—and she knew in her heart he never would.
TY HAD BEEN thankful for many things in his life, but chasing after a four-year-old had never been one of them—until now. Waiting for the results of Aiyla’s scan was excruciatingly stressful, and Phillip’s never-ending energy was the perfect distraction. Ty and Aiyla and his parents had taken his curious nephew fishing on the riverbanks. When Tempest had first met Phillip, he’d rarely spoken. He’d changed so much since then. Because of Phillip’s incessant questions and zest for all things animal related, they’d spent the last few hours digging up worms, baiting his hook—consoling him about baiting the hook with the worms—chasing butterflies, and searching for frogs.
Ty stood by the water holding Phillip’s plastic fishing rod while Granny Maisy and Phillip gathered rocks for his newest endeavor—a castle made of mud, rocks, and grass. The boy’s imagination was endless. They’d brought Ty’s camera, and Aiyla was crouched a few feet from where they were gathering rocks, happily clicking away.
He wondered what her artist’s eye saw when she looked through the lens. Where was her mind? Was she plagued by the questions he’d had the other night about having a family? Or was she blessed with a few minutes of freedom from thoughts of the disease inside her?
He hoped for the latter.
When she lowered the camera, allowing it to hang from the neck strap, and he saw the thoughtful smile on her beautiful face, he had a feeling his wish had been granted. Relief swept through him. She glanced over, catching him staring, and her smile changed to one meant just for him. Damn, he loved that.
She walked over, and he ached at her uneven gait. She was favoring her sore leg more than ever, but her smile didn’t fade as she came to his side. “Can I borrow your phone? I want to make a video of Phillip for Nash and Tempe, but I don’t want to use mine in case Jon calls.”
“You can have anything of mine.” He handed her his phone, warmed by her thoughtfulness toward his sister.
“That’s quite a pole you have there,” she teased.
“You know what they say. It’s not the size of the rod; it’s how you use it that matters.” He leaned in for a kiss and felt a tug on the fishing line. “You might want to get this on video,” he said quickly, then hollered, “Flip! My man, come over here! You have a fish on the line.”
Aiyla stepped back, turning on the video and catching Phillip as he sprinted over.
“I do?” Phillip yelled. “I love fishing! Come on, Granny Maisy! I’m catching a fish!”
“Whoa, buddy, slow down.” Ty put a hand out to stop him from running right into the water, and crouched beside him. “Okay, you need to focus, buddy, so you don’t scare the fish away.”
“I know how to focus. Papa Ace taught me. Watch.” His brows knitted and his lips puckered, causing everyone to laugh.
“Good job. Now hold the rod, and when you feel a tug, reel it in a little.” Ty glanced at Aiyla, who was smiling ear to ear as she watched them through the phone. She stepped closer and crouched to get a better view of Phillip.
Phillip put his face right up to the screen. “Hello? Hello? Hello?”
“This is a video for your mommy and daddy,” Aiyla said.
“Look at me!” he yelled at the phone. “I’m catching a fish!” His line bent and he squealed. “Uncle Ty! Help!”
Ty’s arms circled Phillip from behind, and he helped him reel in the fish. “That’s it, buddy, slow and steady.”
Maisy laughed. “I want a copy of that video.”
“You and me both,” Aiyla said.
Phillip whipped his head toward the camera, bonking Ty in the cheek, and yelled, “Watch, Mom! Watch, Dad!”
Ty didn’t know if he should laugh or redirect the little guy’s attention toward the water. He didn’t have to decide, because his father stepped up beside them and his presence was enough to redirect Phillip’s attention.
“Okay, son. It’s time to focus on catching that fish,” his father said in the authoritative voice that had carried over from his military days.
“Okay, Papa.”
As Phillip followed Ace’s directions, lifting the tip of the rod and reeling in the fish, Ty draped an arm around Aiyla and kissed her cheek. “I love you,” he said for the millionth time that day. He hadn’t been able to stop saying it since he’d told her about the house. Knowing they were really going to build a life together gave him hope and brought his love to unexpected heights.
She turned with her lips puckered, and he kissed her at the same second Phillip lifted the fish from the water, and they all cheered.
Phillip took one look at the fish and screamed, “He’s hurt! Papa Ace! Save him! He needs stitched up!”
Aiyla turned off the video as Ace and Ty tried to console him. “Hasn’t he fished before?” she asked Maisy.
“Many times. But he has a big heart, and every time he sees the hook in the fish’s mouth, he cries.” She put a hand on Ty’s shoulder and said, “At Phillip’s age, this one was fine when we caught the fish, but he’d tear up when he saw us cleaning them.”
“Aw,” Aiyla said. “That’s so sad.”
“I never saw it that way,” Maisy said. “They’re big-hearted boys. That’s a good thing. There are enough people in the world who don’t give a lick about nature. I bet your mother had a few secrets about you like that, too.”
Aiyla blushed and said, “I used to cry when I saw butterflies because I knew it meant the caterpillar was gone.”
“See? Big-hearted people always find each other.” Maisy winked and reached a hand out to Phillip, who had stopped crying, and said, “Ready to go build that castle, little man?”
Phillip nodded, took her hand, and then reached for Aiyla’s. “You come, too?”
“I’d love to.”
Ty watched them walk toward the rocks and made a mental note about caterpillars and butterflies. “Is that true?” he asked his father. “What Mom said?”
“Your mother has never told a lie a day in her life,” Ace said.
“I don’t remember getting upset over cleaning fish.”
“You don’t need to. That’s what mothers are for.” He handed Ty the plastic rod. “Let’s catch some dinner and see if we can bring rise to a few more tears.”
Ty laughed. “You’re cruel.”
His father arched a brow and said, “I meant yours, not Phillip’s.”
A phone sounded, and Ty’s stomach lurched as Aiyla’s voice landed in his ears. “Hi, Jon. Yes. Just give me a second, please.”
Their eyes locked, and the fear in hers sent Ty across the rocks. He guided her away from his mother and Phillip, feeling the weight of his parents’ worried gaze following them. “It’s okay, baby. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it.”
Her eyes were already teary as she lifted the phone to her ear and said, “I’m back, sorry.”
Aiyla paused, listening to Jon, the seconds ticking by like time bombs. She grabbed Ty’s arm, trembling from head to toe, a flood of tears pouring down her cheeks. He hugged her to him, silently cursing the universe and trying his damnedest to hold back his own tears as she croaked out, “Yes. I understand. Thank you.”
Her hand fell to her side and she collapsed to her knees. He dropped down to his, holding her against him, both of them crying. “It’s okay,” he reassured her, even as his heart shattered into a million pieces. “We’ll get through this.”
Aiyla lifted her face, her smile confusing him. “It didn’t spread.” She sobbed. “It’s only in my leg, Ty.”
It took a few seconds for him to process what she’d said, and when she added, “We caught it early,” her sobs were drowned out by a rush of relief.
“Baby!” he said between grateful kisses. “Oh, baby.”
They cried and kissed, hugging and laughing and crying harder.
“You did this,” she said through her tears. “You made me get checked. You saved me.”
“No, baby. Fate saved us both.”