Chapter11
The first months of motherhood were all that Savannah expected and more. Every time that the late hours and hard work threatened to overwhelm her, she was inspired again by a coo or a smile from Brian. Each day, she thought to herself that it was impossible to love him any more than she did. Then, she would awake the next morning even deeper in love with her little boy.
Her parents and Sam were true to their word. They stood by her through it all. It wasn't just them, though. The entire town fell in love with her little boy. All of the old ladies at church fussed over him as though he was the cutest baby ever born and the small children bent over backwards just to get a smile from the little guy. Savannah felt truly loved and accepted and she couldn't have asked for more in Jake’s absence.
As the Founder’s Festival approached, though, Savannah couldn't help but feel his absence more keenly than before. His letters seemed to show the same sense of sadness that she felt, which comforted her. When the sadness threatened to overtake her, she would put Brian in to his stroller and walk the same streets she and Jake had explored on their night together. Their journey always ended at the old church.
There, she would tell her son all that she could about his father. Sometimes she would read Jake’s letters to him and other times she would read from her own journaled letters to Jake. She wanted their son to know, even at such an early age, that he was born of a deep love.
On the anniversary of the day that they met, though, she made the journey to the old church alone. Her mother had not asked any questions when she asked her to watch the baby for the night. She seemed to sense that her daughter needed this.
She simply kissed her on the cheek and told her to be safe. After she went upstairs and kissed the baby goodbye, she went to her room and grabbed her book bag. Gently, she placed Jake’s letters inside. She also packed her journal, a sleeping bag, and a few candles. Savannah needed a night alone to allow herself to embrace both the love and the sadness in her heart.
When she got to the church, she didn't waste a moment. She walked around, lighting her candles as dusk began to spread outside. She made herself comfortable and pulled out the letters. She lay down, allowing herself to be surrounded by Jake’s words. She didn't fight the tears that came. Instead, Savannah let them come. She let herself feel everything that she struggled to keep in check in front of her parents, her brother, and, most importantly, her son.
When she finished the last, most recent, letter, she lay back and stared up at the ceiling, just as she had after she and Jake made love. She did her best to imagine that he was lying beside her again, with his arms wrapped around her. She was almost blissfully lost in her delusion when a noise behind her startled her.
Savannah jumped up, shocked that someone else had stumbled upon her sanctuary on this of all nights. Whoever it was, they were opening the door. She braced herself to have to deal with some sort of vagrant, grabbing a nearby flashlight in case she needed to defend herself.
What she saw when the door swung open, though, was more than she could have hoped for. There, standing in their special place, was Jake. She gasped aloud, unable to believe that he was truly there. Perhaps, she thought, she had pushed herself too far by allowing her emotions to run wild. Still, she couldn't be sorry. Watching him, frozen in the doorway of the church, it felt as though he was truly with her and that was all she had wanted from her night alone, to really feel as though she was with Jake again.
Her vision of Jake seemed just as shocked to see her, which amused her. Perhaps, she thought, her imagination wasn't as strong as she had once believed. If it was, he would be crossing the room and taking her in his arms. Still, the love and desire in his eyes was enough to send chills down her spine.
“Savannah,” he whispered, looking at her as though she was the only person on earth. It wasn't until he spoke that she realized that he was truly standing there before her.
“Jake,” she cried, running across the room and throwing herself in to his arms. She lunged towards him and he gathered her up, pulling her close to him. He pressed her close as he held her, burying his face in her hair and inhaling her scent.
“You're really here?” he asked, pressing his lips to hers before she was able to answer him with her words. Instead, she told him with her lips, putting everything she felt in to their kiss.
“I'm,” she whispered when their lips finally parted. He didn't put her down though. He held her close as though she might vanish the second he released her from his embrace. She wasn't bothered by it though. If she had her way, she would spend a lifetime in his arms.
“I had hoped you would be here, but I didn't believe that I could ever be so lucky,” he said, pressing his forehead against hers.
“I came here to feel close to you. I never imagined, though, that I would truly be able to see you and touch you tonight. This is more than I dreamed of,” she said as she pressed her palm gently against his cheek. He leaned in to her caress, closing his eyes and savoring her touch.
“I cannot tell you how much I have missed you,” he said when he finally opened his eyes again.
“I don't need to be told. I know how much I have longed for you,” she said with a sad smile.
“Were my letters any comfort?” he asked, looking guilty for causing her pain.
“More than you can know. They were the only thing that kept me sane. I felt as though you were a constant part of my life, even if you were not by my side. That probably sounds silly to you, but it meant so much to me,” she said, blushing in such an alluring way that he couldn't resist kissing her again. After he had kissed her until they were both breathless, he smiled down at her, relieved to hold her close again.
“I know exactly what you mean,” he said solemnly. “Being able to write to you was all that kept me from going mad. I thought about you every moment of every day. Every cell in my body was craving you.”
“I love you more now than when we parted,” she said as solemnly as though it were a vow.
“I cannot tell you what that means to me,” he replied as he carried her across the room and sat on the pile of pillows she had in the corner of the church. Somehow, he managed to maneuver them both down, with her on his lap without ever taking his hands off her.
“Are you really and truly here with me or have I just gone mad?” she asked, smiling sadly at him as she ran her hands through his silky hair.
“I promise you that I am,” he said, grinning up at her.
“Prove it,” she said, her eyes leaving no doubt what she was asking of him.
“With pleasure,” he answered, capturing her lips with his in a searing kiss.
“Another kiss like that and I might really believe you have come back to me,” she sighed as she leaned against his muscular chest.
“I will just have to endure as many as it takes to convince you,” he laughed as he wrapped his arms even more tightly around her.
“If it will keep you here, that sounds like a delightful plan to me,” she teased as her fingers wound together behind his neck, locking her in place.
“Then you have not moved on? You have not replaced me with another love or returned to the man you loved before me?” he asked, looking as though the very thought pained him.
“That is the silliest question I have ever heard,” she said, smiling at him sympathetically. “One does not move on from true love. I thought you would know that. Or are you asking me because you yourself have found comfort in another?”
“Now that is the silliest question I have ever heard,” he responded, echoing her words. “There is no love for me in this world but you. I think my heart would turn to dust and kill me dead if I even allowed myself to be foolish enough to think another woman could mean a fraction of as much to me as you do.”
“I'm very glad to hear that,” she said, tears of joy beginning to fall down her cheeks.
“Now, now. Don't cry. I didn't mean to make you sad. I simply wanted you to know the truth. My heart belongs to you. Did my letters not convince you of that?” he asked, running his hand gently through her hair.
“They did. I just wanted to be sure your feelings were unchanged,” she replied, the expression on her face telling him that her mind was consumed with thought.
“My feelings are unchanged,” he said, plainly and with such certainty in his voice that she couldn't doubt him.
“Then take me,” she purred, pulling herself closer to his mouth so that he could feel the words upon his skin like a caress.
“Are you sure that is what you want?” he asked, frozen in an effort to keep from ravaging her before she confirmed that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her. He didn't want to scare her with his desire for her, but hearing such words come from her precious lips made it hard for him to control himself.”
“Yes,” she said. Savannah knew that she needed to tell him so many things about the past year and she knew that she needed to tell him everything there was to know about their son.
Selfishly, though she wanted to feel him within her again first. She wanted to lay with him and feel his love for her before she told him and changed the way he felt about her forever. She didn't doubt that he would continue to love her or that he would love their son. She just wanted one more blissful experience in his arms before everything changed.
“Thank God,” he said as he kissed her again, scorching her very soul with the passion he exuded. She couldn't help but giggle as sheer joy bubbled up inside of her. For so long, she had imagined what it would be like to be with him again. Now, there with him in the candle light, it was even sweeter than she had imagined.
Wordlessly, he gripped the edges of the button-up shirt she was wearing and tore it wide open, sending buttons scattering across the old wooden floor. Slowly, reverently, his hands caressed her eager bosom through the lace of her bra.
“I have missed these,” he whispered as he cradled them in his hands.
“Show me how much,” she commanded, emboldened by the desire that she saw in his eyes.
“Gladly,” he replied, tearing the bra from her body. As the cool night air kissed her skin, she shivered ever so slightly with anticipation. She didn't have to wait long. His eager mouth explored her sensitive nipples, making her feel as though she might go mad with desire. He took his time, eager to show her just how much he had missed her. As his enthusiastic tongue circled her swollen buds, all she could do was cling to him as she felt the passion building inside of her. When she could stand it no more, she cried out, calling his name over and over again.
“What do you want?” he whispered seductively in her ear.
“I want you inside me. I want every inch of you within me. I want to be one with you. Please, Jake, don't make me wait any longer. I have already waited too long. I need you,” she begged, writhing on his lap to emphasize her point.
Jake had intended to take longer with foreplay. He wanted her to know just how much he had thought of her while he was gone and his plan had been to show her by doing everything he could to please her.
He had spent countless nights fantasizing about what he would do to her when he got her in his arms again. Never had he thought that he would be so consumed by his need for her that he would rush. He had wanted to spend the night doing every nasty thing he had imagined on their cold and lonely nights apart.
Still, his body craved her and hearing her pleading with him to fill her was more than he could stand. Perhaps after their first time, he could explore her body in all the ways he had planned. In that moment, he just needed to be inside of her again.
“As you wish,” he said, flipping her on to her back and laying on top of her, allowing her to feel the massive erection waiting for her behind his jeans.
“Fuck me. Fuck me hard,” she said, unable to control herself as her hips thrust up towards him wantonly.
“I plan to,” he said, ridding himself of his shirt.
He ran his hands possessively along the curve of her hips before sliding her jeans slowly from her body to reveal the white cotton panties beneath. He paused for a moment to commit the sight of her lying there in the candlelight to memory before he tore those from her body as well.
Savannah knew she should be slightly worried about what exactly she was going to wear home the next day, but the sight of his hand reaching his own fly sent all other thoughts but those of his cock straight out of her mind.
As he divested himself of his jeans and boxers, she stared eagerly at his erect penis. It was bigger even than she had remembered. When she had first laid eyes on it as a virgin, the size had intimidated her. Now though, she was eager to take every inch of it. She knew the pleasure that it would bring her and she couldn't keep herself from reaching out and taking it in her hand. She moved her hand up and down on it slowly, savoring the silky texture of his skin.
Jake knelt there before her, watching her beautiful hand wrapped around his dick and couldn't remember a more alluring sight. Still, if he allowed her to continue as she was, he wouldn't be able to last much longer. Gently, he placed his hand over hers and stilled her movements.
“Darling, you have no idea how many nights I spent imagining your hand doing just that but, right now, I need to be inside of you,” he said as he used his other hand to caress her sensitive folds.
“Alright,” she said, giving him her sweetest pout. “Once we are done, though, I plan to spend hours touching every inch of your body that I want. Perhaps I will tie your hands to that railing there,” she said, gesturing to the old staircase across the room. “You will be helpless against my exploration.”
“If you keep talking like that,” he whispered, his skilled fingers stimulating her clitoris as he spoke, “you will unman me before I even get inside of you.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” she asked, arching up her head and licking the sweat from his bare chest.
“Nothing,” he said, moving light lightening as he surged in to her. She gasped with pleasure at the feeling of completing he gave her and the sound nearly drove him mad. He thrust in and out of her wildly, his fingers dug in to the sweet curve of her rear as he moved in sync with him.
Their first time together, Savannah had been satisfied to allow him to guide her, showing her what pleasure he chose to. Now, though, she knew that she might only have him for a short time before he left town again and she wanted to be with him in every way before that happened.
He was so lost in his lust for her that she was able to catch him off guard, suddenly spinning them so that she was on top of him. He froze and looked up at her as though she was Venus in carnet.
“Ride me,” he whispered, bucking his hips up to show her the rhythm. Though she had never been on top before, the sheer desire coursing through her and her body’s instinctual need for him took over. She rocked her hips, moving herself up and down over his length. His hands gripped her hips at first, lifting her up and down. It wasn't until he was sure that she was comfortable in her new position that he moved his hands from her hips, traveling the sweet curves of her side and the muscles of her stomach until he reached her breasts.
He held them him his hands, savoring the feeling of them bouncing up and down with each thrust of her hips. She was riding him wildly now, as though she were more animal than human. Her only thought was of making him as wild with desire as he made her. All the while, he caressed her nipples with his thumbs, sending pulses of electric desire through her.
As he sensed his own completion nearing, Jake moved one hand from her breasts and returned his attention to her clitoris. As she moved herself up and down his length, the teased the sensitive spot. Savannahs entire body was alive with the sensation of pleasure. Not even during their first time together had she been so utterly consumed by physical pleasure.
There was something intoxicating about being the one in charge of their love making. Jake, for his part, was too enthralled at the sight of her riding his cock to form any type of coherent thought. All he knew was that he was going to come, and soon.
When he could see that she was nearing climax, he gripped her hips and, in one swift motion, maneuvered her beneath him again. She lay there, her arms extended above her head, her entire body quivering as he thrust in and out of her wildly. He made no effort to be gentle and she didn't mind. Just when Jake thought that he could feel no greater pleasure, Savannah dragged her nails down his back. It was the most primal, erotic sensation he had ever felt and he came instinctively, filling her with his seed. He continued thrusting, wanted to mark every inch of her as his own while Savannah cried out as she too reached her completion.
Chapter 13
Jake slipped off to sleep almost immediately after their lovemaking. Savannah fought against sleep, though. She lay against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart and the soft sound of his breath. It was the first time in a year that she had felt at peace and she didn't plan to miss a moment with him, even if he was sleeping. Every moment with him was precious to her.
Hours later, Jake began to stir and smiled at the sight of Savannah’s eyes fixed upon him. He ran his hand up and down her back, sighing with contentment as she snuggled against his side.
“How long have I been asleep,” he murmured as he kissed her gently on the forehead.
“Not long,” she said, feeling their quiet sanctuary slipping away. He had said nothing of leaving, but he didn't need to. When they had first come together, he had made it clear that he couldn't stay. This night, whatever had brought him back, couldn't last much longer and she knew that she needed to tell him about Brian. She just wasn't at all sure where to begin.
“I have not slept well since the day I left here,” he explained. “It was as though I could never get my mind at peace enough to truly rest without you by my side.”
“It has been quite a while since I have slept well myself,” she said, thinking of the many sleepless nights she had spent caring for their son. She wouldn't trade a moment of those nights though. Rocking Brian in the darkness of the early morning hours were some of her favorite times with her son. In those moments, it was as though they were the only two in the whole world and it was during those times that she spoke to him the most about his father.
“Where are your thoughts?” he asked, sitting up and looking at her carefully.
“So much has happened in the last year,” she began, pausing to try and find the right words.
“I wish I could have let you write to me. I know it wasn't fair to you. Still, I cannot regret it because I know that it kept you safe,” he said. All she wanted was to ask him what she needed protected from. She had promised him, though, that she wouldn't ask him such questions and she intended to keep that promise.
“I understand. It was hard, though. There was so much that I needed to tell you,” she sighed, knowing that the time had come to tell him everything.
“I'm here. Tell me now. We have time,” he said as he held her tightly against him. In that moment, it felt as though the rest of the world didn't exist.
“Do we really have time?” she asked, not sure what he meant by those words. Her heart was about to burst at just the possibility that he might be telling her that he had returned to stay. Her head, though, knew better and she struggled to keep her emotions in check.
“Yes, my dear. I will be here for the entire week. I'm all yours,” he said as Savannah felt her heart begin to crack. As glad as she was to have the promise of more time with him, she knew that it might make it worse when he went away again. At least, though, Brian would have some time with his father.
“I did write to you while you were gone,” Savannah said, her hand caressing the muscles of his chest as she spoke.
“You did?” he asked, lifting his head and looking at her in confusion.
“Well, I had a lot to say to you. Your letters made me feel connected to you, but it felt so one sided,” she admitted.
“I'm sorry for that,” he said, nuzzling his face to her neck and kissing her skin gently.
“Don't be sorry. At least I had something of you,” she said, gesturing to the pile of letters lying where she had dropped them on the ground when he arrived.
“Are those all of my letters?” he asked, rising and crossing the room to pick them up. He leafed through them, looking awe struck that she had kept them all.
“Yes. How could I part with a single one? They were all that I had of you,” she said, rising and crossing the room to stand in front of him.
“How did I get lucky enough to have the love of a woman like you? Anyone else would have written me off the moment we parted. Not you though,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close.
“Well that is because no other woman could love you as I love you. We were destined to be. I have never doubted that,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I'm so lucky that the universe brought me to you. It may be the first time things ever worked out right for me,” he said, lifting her up in to his arms and kissing her so sweetly that she couldn't keep from tearing up.
“Oh my,” she sighed, not sure what to say in response to him.
“This makes you sad?” he asked, looking at her with concern.
“Not sad. I have something for you though,” she said, walking to her bag and pulling out her journal.
“What is this?” he asked as he took the book in his hands.
“I told you that I wrote you. I had no place to send the letters but I had to tell you everything I was feeling. I had to answer your letters,” she said, looking at his with eyes so full of love that it took his breath away.
“Can I read them?” he asked, knowing that they were her private thoughts, even if they had originally been things that she had wanted to say to him.
“I want you to,” she whispered as she took his hand and led him back to the pillows. She sat down and he followed her. He lay back then and he pulled her against his side, cradling her with one arm as he used the other to hold the journal. She watched his face as he read, seeing the sadness that he felt when he read of the pain she had felt at his departure and his relief when he read the passages that confirmed her love for him.
She knew, of course that he was fast approaching the letter she needed him most to read. She knew the moment he read of her pregnancy. His face was full of wonder and disbelief. He dropped the book to the ground and just stared at her for some sort of explanation. She picked up the book and opened it to the page that she knew so well and began to read aloud:
“I wish that these words would truly reach you, because there is so much that I need you to know. I cannot sugar coat the news. I'm pregnant. I don't know if the news would please you or not. I like to think that it would. Knowing how you love me, it seems impossible to me that you wouldn't be happy to learn that a life has been created through that love.
Perhaps it's better that I cannot tell you this directly. I know the news would compel you to return to me and I don't want your hand to be forced. When you do return to my side, I want it to be because you chose to. Don't worry. I can take care of myself and this baby.”
“You were pregnant?” he finally asked when he was in possession enough of his senses to form words. It all seemed like a dream, like too much to hope for that he finally had a family that was truly his own.
“Yes, it's all in there. If you came back, I wanted you to be able to know everything that happened. I wanted you to be able to experience it with me,” she said, smiling as she thought about her sweet son.
“Tell me about the child, our child,” he said in awe.
“You have a son. His name is Brian,” she said, her own emotions making it hard for her to continue.
“You named him Brian?” he asked, thinking of his eldest brother. He had always told himself that if he had a son, he would name him for Brian, though he had no idea how Savannah could have known that.
“You spoke of your brothers so often in your letters. I know how much they mean to you. I wanted our son to have something from your family to carry with him through his life. I hope you don't mind. It seemed as though Brian was the closest to you and I like the name. It's strong, as I knew our son would be,” she said, laying her head upon his shoulder as she spoke.
“I couldn't have chosen a better name,” he said, his voice rough with emotion.
“I'm glad,” she whispered, pressing her lips to his bare skin and kissing him gently.
“How can you not hate me?” he asked, looking as if he was going to be ill.
“Hate you?” she asked. “I could never hate you. I love you.”
“But I left you alone to face this. I abandoned you and our son. I'm no better than my own family,” he said, clearly blaming himself and hating himself for what had happened.
“Stop that,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “I will not let you feel anything but happy about this. I wasn't alone. Read the journal. Read every bit of it. I have never been alone and I was never without you. My family stood by me and your letters kept me connected to you. I read them to Brian when he was in my stomach and I still read them to him now. He knows your words and I know your heart. You might not have known about him, but we have been a family from the start,” she said, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
“You wrote it all down?” he asked plucking the book from her hands again.
“Yes. It was the closest that I could come to talking to you about everything,” she said, not saddened by the fact. She knew their story was an unconventional one, but that didn't make their love any less real or pure.
“Can I see a picture of him?” he asked, suddenly consumed with the desire to truly know his son as he had never known his own father.
“Of course,” she said, crossing the room to grab her bag. After the baby was born, her mother had given her a small photo album and explained that it was every mother’s right to brag about her baby at all times, even to perfect strangers. Savannah had laughed it off at the time, but soon after she had filled nearly every page with an image of her Brian that proved he was the cutest baby ever to live. She never went anywhere without it and now she was even more glad that it was the case.
She pulled the brag book from her bag and returned to her spot, handing it to him and lying again upon his chest as he flipped through the images. There was one with Brian the day he was born; another from the first time she had taken him out of the house and still another of him surrounded by her entire family. With each page he turned, she watched Jake’s face change and she knew that he was falling as deeply in love with their child as she was.
“He is perfect,” he whispered as she stared at the photo that was Savannah’s favorite, one of the baby in her arms, sitting on her parent’s porch. Brian looked so happy, as though he was laughing without a care in the world. “May I have this one?” he asked as he ran his hand tentatively over the page.
“Yes, of course,” she said without a second thought.
“We really are a family,” she whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Yes, we are. Don't worry, though. I know that you cannot stay with me here. I understand and Brian will too. It does not mean that you will be any less a part of our lives.
You will come when you can and we will make the best of what time we have,” she said, her words coming out quickly. It was the only way she could say the words. It tore at her heart to consider telling him to go, but she didn't want him to resent her or their son for taking him from his brothers and the life on the road that he had created with them.
“You really think that I could leave you now?” he asked, looking almost angry with her.
“You just said that you could only be here for a week. I understand. I'm just glad that you know about Brian now,” she said, smiling sadly.
“I'm not going anywhere,” he said and it sounded more like a growl than words. Never in his life had he had a family of his own and the most primal parts of Jake would never allow him to leave her, not even for his brothers.
“What about your brothers and the mysterious life of danger that told me you needed to keep me safe from? I'm not asking you to tell me what it is. I made you a promise. I just want you to think about what staying here will mean. You would be giving all that up,” she said, wanting desperately for him to choose her and the baby.
“They are my family too. They will understand. I will be here for Brian and, if you will have me, I will be here for you,” he promised, lifting her hand gently to his lips and pressing a kiss on to her palm. “Do you still want me? I know that you love me, but I also know that you have a life here. Is that it? Do you not want me to stay?” he asked, looking hurt.
“Not want you to stay?” she asked with a chuckle. “All I have wanted from the moment I walked out of this church without you was for you to return and promise to stay with me always. Even before I knew that I was pregnant, I knew that you were all I wanted for the rest of my life. If staying here will make you happy, then nothing would make me happier. I just don't want to steal your freedom from you,” she said, afraid to believe that he was truly going to stay with her and Brian.
“From the moment I left, I have been drawn back to you. I wasn't at all sure how I was going to bring myself to leave you at the end of the week. I'm still not entirely sure how I forced myself to drive away from this town a year ago.
You're all I want. Knowing that we have a child makes it all the more perfect. I will make a good life for us. I promise,” he said, thinking of all of the money that he had stashed away from the jobs he had pulled with his brothers. They all blew their money on booze and women. He had saved nearly every penny, though. With that, he could buy them a home and he could get himself settled. He could start fresh and be the man that she deserved.
“There is no better thing you could have said to me,” she said, unable to keep the tears of joy from falling down her cheeks.
“It's true,” he said, linking his fingers with hers and staring down at their intertwined bodies, wishing nothing more than to go through life with the beautiful creature in his arms.
“And you don't mind making a life here?” she asked, skeptical that one so used to the road could be comfortable in her one horse town.
“This is where you are and this is where your family is. I wouldn't take you or Brian away from everything you have known and loved,” he said, though he wondered how accepting they would be of the man who had left their daughter pregnant and alone and stayed away for a year. She looked up at him as though she could sense his thoughts.
“It might not be easy, but they will accept you. I told them as much as I could. They didn’t know who you are or where you went, but I told them that I loved you and that you loved me deeply. I told them that I didn't regret getting pregnant, even if we were not married or might not ever see each other again. They know that you're the true love of my life. They would never stand in the way of that,” she said, trying to reassure him.
“They didn't try to make you feel shame?” he asked, wondering what treatment she might have endured as a single mother in such a conservative Southern town.
“Nobody has been anything but kind to me. They love me and they love Brian. The town will come to love you too,” she said, smiling at the thought of Jake truly being part of their community. She pictured he and Brian playing at the same playground her parents had taken her too and the thought warmed her heart.
“And your brother? I find it hard to believe that your cop brother will just accept my return,” he said, trying to picture what family dinners would be like with a brother-in-law who despised him.
“Sam has been the best of everyone. Without him, I don't know how I would have been able to stay in school through all of this. He trusts me and he will accept my choice. Besides, it will not come as a surprise to him that you have my heart,” she replied.
“If he has been so supportive of you then I owe him a debt that I cannot repay. What of his friend though? Was he not eager for you to return to the embrace of the man you loved before me?” he asked, unable to even bring himself to say Tony’s name.
“Things are strained between them. Tony has been the only person who has not accepted my choices. Sam has stood by me though and it has cost him a great deal, primarily his best friend,” she said with a sigh. It was the one thing she regretted. She hated to be the reason her brother had lost someone he cared about.
“What did this man do that was so bad that your brother couldn't forgive his best friend?” he asked, suspicious of just what Tony had put her through that offended her brother so deeply.
“Let us just say that he was forceful in his advances and leave it at that,” she said, not wanting him to know the extent of Tony’s persistence. However, if she had wanted him to leave the topic alone, forceful was the wrong word to describe it.
“Tell me,” he said, his eyes stony and full of anger. Not knowing what had happened had him thinking of all of the worst possibilities.
“He just couldn't let it go. He pushed and pushed. Sam and I might have forgiven him if not for what he did at the hospital after the baby was born,” she said, stopping short of giving him the details.
“And that was?” he asked, his voice cold and dangerous.
“He told me I should marry him. He said that the whole town would think the baby was his anyway. He told me that I should marry him and that he would save the baby and I by making us legitimate. I told him to get out and leave me alone,” she said, shaking her head at the pain the memory brought back to her.
“I'm so sorry that I wasn't there with you to shield you from that,” he said, his arms tightening around her.
“I told him that the baby was born of true love and that that was the only thing that mattered. Jake, that is the only thing that matters,” she repeated, needing him to understand how happy she was to have brought his child in to the world.
“Yes, our love is all that matters,” he said as he held her close and relished in the thought of never again leaving her side.