Page 36 of Acceptance
“I’m sorry,” he says and looks at his feet. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay, buddy,” Colt says. “You can care about her.”
Cupping his face, Lex gently forces him to look up at her. “It’s okay to love her. No matter what, she’s your mom.”
“You’re my mom.”
“I know that heart of yours is big enough for the both of us. Trust me, I understand how it feels to have to love someone from a distance. You still love, you just aren’tthere.”
The way he hugs her, seeing comfort he hasn’t gotten at home for years, reinforces Hailey’s decision. The one that has her feeling like she might throw up if she’d had anything to eat today.
“How you doing, Hailey?” Colt asks in his nonchalant way. “Do you need anything?”
Her eyes stare at the box as she sets it on the coffee table. The fear kicks in.What if they say no? What if they’ve changed their minds and decide I’m too big of a pain in the ass?
“What’s going on?” Colt asks and sits down in the recliner.
Lex moves to sit next to him on the arm of the chair, and Lucas sits on the couch. She has to admit it feels far less intimidating to have everyone looking at her with expectations while they’re sitting rather than standing.
“What happened… It forced me to re-evaluate things.”
“What does that mean?” Lex asks.
Glancing from the box to Lex, she finally meets her bright blue eyes. There’s a look of concern mixed with kindness Hailey doesn’t feel she deserves after the terrible way she’s treated everyone.
“When Mel and Gary took us, the person who popped into my head to help me was you, Colt. I was, in true Hailey fashion, going to try to get myself out of the mess, but it quickly became clear that it wasn’t possible. For the first time in my life, I wanted my dad. I wanted you.”
His hand reaches out and takes hers. “I’m always here. Always.”
“You shot him for me. I asked you to, and you pulled the trigger like it was nothing. After the way I’ve acted, I didn’t deserve it, but—”
“Stop it,” Lex says. “Don’t think for once second you deserved anything less than your family to help you. Nothing you have gone through in your life has been deserved, and I know it’s why you’re so resistant to letting us in. Colt and I both understand that, but we’re still going to be here.”
Sniffling, she wipes her eyes with her free hand, liking the feel of Colt holding the other too much to release his grasp. “You never gave up on me.”
“And we never will,” he says. “You’re our difficult child.”
She laughs. “I know it’s kind of cheesy and totally lame now, but I was wondering if you’d still want to… adopt me? I know I’m eighteen and—”
“Yes,” Lex and Colt say together.
A breath of relief escapes. “I was so scared I’d never see any of you again. All I wanted was to come home to my family. With you guys. I wanted the happiness I never quite let myself feel because I was scared the moment I did, it would get ripped away. I’m a little used to being disappointed in life.”
“We’ve kind of noticed that,” Colt says, but he stands and pulls her up into his arms to hug her.
“I knew I could count on you when I needed you. I haven’t felt safe with many people for a while now, but that’s why I know I’d like to be a Nichols. Officially. If it’s okay with you.”
“You want to change your name?” Lucas asks.
Nodding, Hailey wipes her eyes. “I do. I get why you don’t, Luke, but if I ever get married, unless the guy has a terrible last name, I’m going to change mine anyway, right?”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Lex says. “We told you from the very beginning that it changes nothing for us. As far as we’re concerned, we are your parents.”
“I know,” she says with a smile. “Neither of you has ever tried to replace my parents, and I think that’s why I want to do this. You loved me the way I would allow, and you never pushed. And you didn’t give up on me. I think my parents would have liked you guys.”
“Dad would have been so jealous of… Our first dad would have been so jealous of my new dad’s motorcycle,” Lucas says. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
