Chapter 22
Colt
It had been three months since my mother’s wedding, and Ember and I were already talking about our own. I didn’t need to wait a year or two to know that I wanted to spend my life with her. I’d known it the night of my mother’s wedding, maybe I’d known it before that.
I walked out of the exam room and Vivian met me in the hallway, “Is Phil all set?”
“He is, but I’m waiting for someone to get here. I have a pretty cool gift for him. Stall for a few minutes, let me go check with Ember to see if he showed up yet.”
I walked down the hall to the front office and found Ember seated at the reception desk while Beth was at lunch. Three weeks after my mother’s wedding, my office manager had retired, and there was no question about who I was hiring in her place. Ember had been working out perfectly, and besides making sure things ran smoothly, she also helped me decide on the final gifts for the kids.
“Are they here yet?” I asked as I walked up behind her.
“No, not yet, I’m sure they will be here in a moment.”
“Okay, let me know when they get here.” I turned to leave, and Ember grabbed my arm.
“Colt, I’ve been thinking,” she stared down at her wrist, “do you think you could laser this off?”
I shook my head and squatted beside her. “No way.”
“Why not? I’m ready to let it go.”
I ran my fingers over the ink of Kadyn’s name. “He is your son. He’s staying right there,” I took her other arm, “and when we have our first child, her name will go right here.”
“You only want one child?” she asked, staring at me strangely.
“No, but you have plenty of other parts of your body on which to add other names.”
I kissed her wrist as I stood up and looked out the window as the door opened. Ember stood beside me and waved before she went around to the side door and let in our visitors.
Ward Young stepped through, shaking my hand and slamming a heavy paw on my shoulder while Ember threw her arms around Trudy. “Thank you so much for coming, man. Phil is going to flip when he meets you.”
“No problem, I’m glad I could do it.”
I glanced at Ember and Trudy who were approaching each other for a hug.
“I’m so sorry I treated you the way I did. I was in a really bad place back then,” Ember said to Trudy.
Trudy hugged Ember back, “That’s okay, so was I.”
I pulled Ember over to me and put my arm around her as Ward did the same with Trudy. “It only took a doctor and a little love to cure me,” Ember said as she looked up and smiled.
I winked at her and said in a fake corny pickup line, “Just call me Dr. Love.”
We all laughed, and then I left the ladies to catch up while I escorted Ward down the hallway. “So this kid is into gaming?”
“Ward, man, he’s not just into gaming, he designs them, too.”
“Seriously? How old is the kid?”
“He just turned sixteen. He is like a mathematical genius. When he got hurt, he spent a lot of time hiding out from people and spent all his time writing code. Now that he’s better, he writes code and plays football. I think he said he’s got a girlfriend now, too.”
“Sounds like my kind of kid.”
We stopped at a door, and I knocked before I popped my head in. “Hey, Phil, I have someone who wants to talk to you, do you mind? I thought maybe you’d like to get your post-treatment picture taken with him.”
“Sure, who is it?”
I pushed the door further in, “I think you might know Ward Young. He owns a video game company called Action Up.”
“Holy crap!” Phil’s jaw dropped, and he jumped off the treatment table and threw his hand out, “It’s really you! Man, I love your games! I can’t believe you came to see me!”
I stepped back and let Phil and Ward talk while Phil’s mom wiped a tear from her eye, and his father grinned and nodded a thank you to me. I glanced back to the door and found Ember and Trudy in the hallway watching. Ember winked at me and mouthed, “I love you.”
I mouthed the words back, and Trudy bumped Ember’s shoulder. A second later, the two of them shared a private smile. It looked like love had not only cured Ember, but Trudy, and well, me, too.
THE END
