My heart surged in my chest. I wasn’t ready to have this conversation tonight. This day was about her, not me. But the way she spoke to me—the way she made me feel like there was no one else in the world she looked at like this, the truthfulness in her tone…I believed her. I more than believed her. I knew exactly what she meant, because Ihaddone those things for her. For our family. For us.
I was going to be a father. A fuckingfather. And I finally felt ready for it.
“You’re right.”
Maggie didn’t say anything else. She knew the power of her words. She knew she was right, too, and she would keep promising me those words until our last breath.
“I don’t deserve you.”
“That makes two of us,” she whispered, turning up her lips.
When the waitress came by for our orders, Maggie asked for two waters and immediately began asking about the best meal on the menu. She ordered it on the spot.
We chatted through dinner, and I declined dessert, much to Maggie’s dismay. Her cravings were stronger than her will these days.
And mine.
Her disappointment didn’t last long, though. She glowed when I told her I had something extra special waiting at home.
The drive felt twice as long as it should have. Nerves were building up in my system. My chest felt heavy, my throat felt tight, my mind was racing. But this wasn’t the anxious demon I had been fighting off for years—I wouldn’t let him make a reappearance. I had a family of warriors to defeat him. These were nerves of anticipation. About Maggie’s reaction to her party. About the people she would get to see. About themonumental step that we were going to take tonight, in front of everyone.
Maggie glanced over at me a few times on the drive home, and I could tell she wanted to ask me what was wrong. Every time I caught her, I offered lame attempts at conversation, which ended up going nowhere. She sat still in her seat, blushing every time she looked at her hands. She had no idea what was in store.
My anticipation reached its peak as I turned the knob on the front door handle. Five shivering fingers, one cold piece of metal. One turn and a push, and it would be the night that she would never forget.
And as soon as she stepped in, I knew she never would.
Chapter thirty-eight
Maggie
What. The. Hell.
My loud gasp was barely audible over the chatter of the fifty people standing in the living room of our house. Maybe no one noticed we had arrived yet, or maybe everything was moving in slow motion. But everything was happening before me. People. Everywhere.
My clients. My closest friends. My newest friends that I had made throughout the season here at Golden Meadow.Everyone. Even…
Eyes widening and blinking a few times, I swore I saw my dad. And…Jack’s father?
No way he kept all of this under my nose.
I whipped around to look at my husband in utter disbelief. He had done all of this? When? How?
“How?” I voiced to him. He didn’t answer, though. He just smiled.
I turned again to face the scene before me. Everyone was standing around and mingling, drinks in their hands. My eyes traveled to the kitchen, where a man I recognized as Felix, oneof Jack’s teammates, was bartending. A small chalkboard beside him read,Drink of the Night: The Maggie Special.I laughed, completely unbeknownst to whatThe Maggie Specialwas. Before I could help myself, I raced through the crowd to find my dad and Lenz, throwing myself into their arms upon seeing them.
“Happy birthday, my Maggie girl.” My dad kissed my cheek, his rough stubble scraping across my face, feeling nostalgic.
“Dad! How did you get here? When did you get here?”
He offered me a huge smile and reached into his pocket. “I had to come visit on the anniversary of the best day of my life. And to show you this.” To my surprise, he pulled out a green chip and handed it to me. I nearly dropped it upon realizing what it meant. My dad hadn’t been sober a day in my life, and this just told me he had been without a drink forthree months.
Tears filled my eyes as I reached for him again and hugged him with all my might. With every bit of the little girl who wanted a sober, happy father. With all of the hope I had for him to heal. With every ounce of love I mustered. “I’m so proud of you, Dad,” I managed to execute the words with only one small sob.
What a gift.
“I did it for you, sweetheart. And for me. And for that kid I’m going to be holding in a couple of months.”
