When she ran to my arms, my heart melted at once. All the fear I’d been harboring slipped away as I held her tightly. I wanted to shake her and ask just what the hell she was thinking, but seeing her safe pushed it all away from me.

“We were so worried about you,” I whispered to her. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“I won’t, Mom. I’m sorry,” she whispered as she turned to Theresa. “Can you help me get something to eat? I think that Mom and Dad need to talk.”

Theresa smiled. “I think so too. You know, they still have that buffet set up. Would you like to join me?”

Amy nodded and took her hand, pulling her out the front door and gently closing it behind them. It was just me and Aaron now, and it was time to clear the air once and for all. He sat down next to me on the couch, folding his hands back and forth the way I normally did.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” I whispered to him.

“Then let me start. I got a phone call while I was picking up Amy from the ship’s office. It was Jenny.”

Instinctively, I pulled my hand back to my body from where it had been sitting between us. “I didn’t know that you two had kept in touch. That changes things a little.”

“I haven’t kept in touch with her. The only time I see her is when I renew my restraining order, and the judge has always taken one look at her and granted it to me. This was different. This changes everything, actually. Julia, she told me she was working with a woman named Margarete.”

I gasped. “What?”

He nodded. “I couldn’t believe it at first either, but what she said . . .” He shuddered. “Julia, Margarete was manipulating Jenny the whole time. She is the one who planted the ideas of getting with me all those years ago to try and drive us apart.”

“And it worked. So why is she calling you now? How did she even know where to find you?”

“I have no idea, but I plan to find out. Didn’t you say that your mother was calling a woman from her room at the hospital?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I just didn’t know who. I can call her doctor and see if it was Jenny. He won’t let her make any more phone calls after that.”

“I think that’s a good idea, but maybe we should use it to our advantage. If the judge knew what the two of them were planning, that they had been in cahoots, then we might be able to eliminate both of our problems at once. What do you think?”

“I like that idea,” I said softly. “Where does this leave us?”

“I don’t know, but I would like it if we could figure it out now. Do you see that my mother was never trying to push you away?”

“Yes,” I whispered. “She and I had a very long talk about everything. She made me realize a few things that I didn’t see before. Aaron, I’m so sorry for the way that I treated the situation before. You didn’t deserve to have me leave you.”

“I don’t care about that anymore. I just want us to move forward with our lives, but the question is still there—what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to stay with you and Amy. I don’t know that I’m the same person I was five years ago, but I would like to try and rebuild our life together.”

“What about your mother? What if she gets out or you must go through a trial? Are you sure you can keep us in the loop with that?”

“I’m going to keep you involved in everything I do from now on. We’re a family. At least, I hope that we still are. I know that I want to be a family again.”

“I want nothing more than that,” he whispered as he scooted closer to me. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted for us. When you left, my world fell apart. It didn’t matter that Jenny was making my life a living hell or that my mother was sick. All I could think about was your coming back home.”

“And I never did,” I whispered. “I know how much I screwed everything up, but we have to get past it if we’re going to make this work.”

“I am past it,” he said. “I just wanted you to see how much you meant to me. It wasn’t just for Amy. I wanted you back for me too.”

“I’m going to come back with you.”

“Is that just for Amy though? I know that I have no right to ask after all these years. But do you think there’s any hope for us?”

It was the question I’d been asking myself the entire time. Was I ready for a relationship with my husband again or would my ghosts just keep popping up? He’d just taken a call from the woman who’d helped to end our relationship, and he told me all about it. How could I wonder if he really cared when he’d been upfront and honest with me? It was a new adventure for us, starting over with something old, our relationship. What had started as a foundation of friendship had blossomed into so much more, and now God was giving me a second chance at happiness. All I needed to do was take the leap.

“Aaron,” I said carefully. “Are you sure this is what you want? You know that I’m damaged goods.”

“And I come with baggage, but that isn’t stopping me.”

I laughed. “Amy isn’t baggage. She’s a total chick magnet.”

“I meant my slightly insane mother,” he muttered. “Of course, I guess by that respect, you’ve got a little baggage too. See? It’s a match made in heaven!”

“Ha! I don’t know about that, but I do know one thing. I want to be with you and Amy both. I want the fresh start and the happily ever after. And if my mother comes calling or the courts need me, then we’ll face that as a family.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear,” he whispered. “I love you, Julia, and I always have.”

“And I love you.”

He leaned forward and I kissed him. It was different from all the kissing before that moment. This was love, pure and true, with a touch of passion. Aaron slid closer to me and pulled me to him. His face bristled against me, unshaven in the rush of the morning. He slid down my body, kissing my neck and tickling the skin of my breasts. The passion was bursting at the seams as the love between us grew. I wanted to rip his shirt off and feel his chest pressed against mine. I groaned with pleasure as he traveled lower on my body.

“Julia,” he whispered. “We should go upstairs.”

I shuddered beneath him. “Okay.”

He stood up and took my hand, leading me to the steps right as the front door opened and Amy ran through with Theresa close behind. She had an apologetic look on her face. I smiled knowingly and opened my arms for Amy to run to. She didn’t waste any time as she wedged herself between her father and me.

“You guys are back early,” muttered Aaron.

“Sorry, Son,” said Theresa. “She wanted to know what was going on. I tried to keep her under control but she was so excited to find out.”

“Find out what?” I asked.

Aaron smiled. “Well, I told her that we had to talk first, but she was really excited to know if you’d be coming back with us.”

I took her hand and led her to the couch where we sat down. “What all did your dad tell you?”

She shrugged. “I knew that you never came back before. I just didn’t want to make him sad. He said he didn’t know if you were coming back this time and that I had to wait to ask you, but Mom? I can’t wait any longer. I don’t like not knowing what’s going to happen.”

“I know you don’t, and I’m going to tell you everything that happened. Do you remember the story I told you?”

Amy nodded.

“That story had a lot of truth in it. See, my mother is a very sick woman. She hurts people because she doesn’t have that voice in her head telling her not to. I had to go and take care of her for a long time. I didn’t know that your father missed me so much.”

“I missed you too, Mom,” she muttered. “Why didn’t you ask us to help you?”

“I didn’t want you to be anywhere near her. I didn’t want either of you to get hurt.”

“What about now, though? If she is bad, won’t she come after us?”

I hid the shudder as I smiled. “Honey, that is never going to happen. Where they put her, she won’t ever get out, and if she did, by some chance, your father and I would watch over you and keep you safe, just like always.”

“Does this mean that you’re going to come live with us again?”

“I would like to, if it’s okay with you?” I asked.

She paused. I knew it was a lot for a little girl to take in. There was no way I could know what was going on in that precious head of hers. Amy was the perfect blend of her father and me. She had his passion and fire but was smart enough to think before she spoke. It was the speaking part that shocked me every time. She didn’t let the people around her govern when or whom she spoke to. As a young woman, she was always willing to stand up for others, even me when I needed it.

After a few more seconds, she nodded her head. “I want you to come back with us, but I want you to be sure about it. I don’t want you to ever leave again, and if you think you will, then I don’t know.”

I could hear the hurt in her voice as I pulled her into another hug. “I won’t ever leave you again, honey, and if I do, it will only be for a few days to deal with my mother. Is that okay?”

“Promise you will always come back?” she asked as she squeezed me tighter.

“I promise,” I whispered.

She lingered in my arms for a few more minutes before Aaron cleared his throat and we both turned to him. Theresa was standing at his side, tears streaming down her face. Amy saw this and ran to her as I walked over and took Aaron’s hand. I would never let it go if I could help it.

“Grandma?” she asked, her tone full of concern. “Why are you crying? Doesn’t this make you happy?”

Theresa laughed and scooped up the girl in her arms. “Oh, honey, this makes me so happy that I can’t help but cry!”

“I only cry when something is wrong,” she said with a frown.

“Not us,” I said for Theresa. “We adults cry a lot when we’re happy.”

“Then I feel like I should be crying too,” said Aaron playfully. “Because you three women have completed my dream. I’m now the happiest man in the entire world. I love you all.”

Amy leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. “We love you too, Daddy.”

I tilted my head up and kissed his other cheek. “She’s right, you know. We love you too. So very much.”