Jamie eyes me, waiting. “We both have hang-ups. I’m divorced, and it…it wasn’t pretty, so it left some scars.”
“Nobody gets out of life without scars, son,” Dad says.
“That’s the truth,” Jamie agrees.
Mom is eying me very, very carefully, and she alone hasn’t said a word since Jamie got here. “There’s something else,” she says, her voice subdued. “Isn’t there?”
I sigh. Nod. Gulp. Lick my lips; knot my fingers in front of me… “I, um. We—I’m pregnant.”
Dad’s eyes couldn’t get any narrower, nor his jaw harder. “You just now told us you’re in love.”
“Dad, I…”
“That ain’t how I raised you, Elyse.”
“I’m not a child, Dad.” I knew he’d be upset, but still; his recriminations hurt.
“Ken,” Mom chides. “She’s an adult. She doesn’t owe us explanations or answers.”
“I just want to know whether the cart came first, or the horse.”
Jamie lets out a breath. “It wasn’t planned, if that’s what you’re asking. But still welcome.” He meets Dad’s eyes. “I’m not just claiming to be in love with her because she’s pregnant, which I know is what you’re really afraid of. I was in love with Elyse long before we got this news.”
It’s Cora’s turn to give Jamie a hard time. Her eyes are hard as diamonds, her voice harder. “Dude, listen to me, and listen well. Elyse is my sister in ways you’ll never understand. I stood by and let her get her heart broken by one asshole, and I’m not letting it happen again. So if you’re not all in, one hundred percent, forever, then you can just fuck off right now. Because if you hurt my girl, I will have your balls. Are we clear?”
Jamie’s eyebrows lift. “Yes ma’am. Perfectly clear.” He smiles, taking some of the sting out of his next words. “And you can listen to me: I don’t make promises or commitments easily, not after what I’ve been through. When I say I’m in love with Elyse, I mean that with every fiber of my being. I’ve only known her a few months, but I know that my heart belongs to her, and I know that no matter what happens, I’ll be there with her, at her side, loving her with everything I am, and everything I have.”
He speaks over Dad’s voice. “And as for Aiden, I’m not going to jump in and try to take over as his father, but that is my goal. I want to be the dad for him that he deserves. So that commitment goes for him, too. I don’t answer to any of you on this, at the end of the day—only to myself, to Elyse, and to Aiden. Don’t take that to mean I don’t care about your thoughts and opinions, because I do—you’re all important to Elyse. You’re her family, and I want to join this family and be a contributing part of it. But at the end of the day, my job is to make Elyse happy, and to make Aiden happy, and that will be my number one priority.”
Dad lets out a harsh breath. “Son, you just said all the right things.” He nails Jamie with a hard stare. “I sure hope you aren’t just blowin’ smoke up my backside.”
“I realize none of you really know me from Adam,” Jamie says, his voice even and unfazed, “but I’m not in the habit of saying things I don’t mean. I will earn your trust, respect, and hopefully love…in time. It doesn’t come easily or immediately, and I know that. Especially not after how Daniel betrayed you all.”
Mom stands up, faces Jamie at arm’s length. “Here’s a test for you, Jamie.” She smiles gently, but there’s no mistaking the seriousness in her eyes. “I’ve always thought you can tell a lot about a person by the way they hug.”
Jamie’s smile is warm. “Mrs. Thomas, I’m an elementary school educator. Hugs happen to be one of my specialties.”
He initiates the hug, wrapping Mom up in his arms—it’s a warm, platonic embrace, his arms around her shoulders, holding her close. I know the comfort in those arms, and I know my mom—the look on her face as she accepts his hug transforms from skeptical to welcoming within a heartbeat.
She backs away after a minute or so, and smiles up at him—this time, her smile is the kind that reveals how much of a saint the woman is, full of love and acceptance without any kind of guile or hesitation. “You’ll do,” she says, patting his cheek. “Welcome to the family.”
She moves to me next, leans into me, putting a hand on my still flat belly. “You’re giving me a granddaughter this time, right?” she asks in a whisper.
“I hope so,” I whisper back. “I’m scared and excited at the same time, Mom.”
She laughs. “Good. I think that means you’re doing something right.” She pulls back and looks at me. “Will there be a wedding soon?”
I shrug. “You know, Mom, I honestly don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it. We’re not in a hurry. I know it’ll be a scandal in town, me being pregnant out of wedlock, but I just don’t care. I’m not going to marry Jamie just because I’m pregnant. We’ll marry when it’s right for us to marry.”
Jamie tangles my hand in his and winks at Mom. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Thomas—I love her too much to waittoolong before putting a ring on her finger.”
“I hope you know we do things the old-fashioned way around here,” Dad says, still trying to play the gruff, tough guy, even though I know he’s as taken in by Jamie’s effortless charm as I am. “So, I expect you to talk to me before you go putting any rings on anyone.”
Jamie just laughs. “I wouldn’t dream of doing it any other way, sir.”
Dad huffs. “Sir.” He grins at me. “I like this one, baby girl. Good job.”
“This one,” I snort. “Like there’s beensooomany to dislike.”
