“Look at what happened when you heard,” he reminds me. “You took off.”

“I took off because you lied to me,” I explain. “It was like someone told me the sky wasn’t blue. I never questioned you being my father.”

“You’re my son, Trent. You’re my first son no matter what a blood test says. I need you to always know that. I need you to know I never loved you any differently. Not one minute.”

I can’t hold back. I tried as much as I could, but this is quite possibly my last conversation with my father. And it’s him trying to comfort me. My emotions overwhelm me, and I let out a strangled sob. “You can’t die now. Not today. Not ever.”

My head falls, and his hand moves to the top of my head. “You’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. One day you’ll see it. You’ve been a fighter since before you were born. Nothin’ came easy for you, but you have to open your eyes and let yourself be happy. Marry that girl, start a family, and live your life. It goes fast.” I look at him, and he smiles with tear-filled eyes. “You have been my greatest gift. I didn’t create you, but I got to keep you.”

Chapter 22

Grace

The last four days have been devastating. We stay at the hospital all day and most of the night. The doctor attempted another blood transfusion, but Rhett hasn’t gotten any better. It’s the pneumonia that will take his life.

He’s on heavy antibiotics to attempt getting it under control, but they explained at this point, there’s almost no chance it’ll work. The oncologist explained we should prepare, because it will happen very quickly.

Trent spoke with his brothers after he talked with his dad. They forgave him for disappearing, and tried their best to understand. They joked about knowing there was always something off with him.

Idiots.

I don’t know that any of us can understand the turmoil he’s struggling with. I can empathize with him, but I don’t know what he truly feels.

We were at the hospital until around midnight last night. He spent his time by his father’s side and tried to focus on every minute they all have with him.

It’s hard knowing someone you love is going to die.

It’s hard watching people around you struggle and not be able to help.

There’s a helplessness that can eat at your soul before the grief has even started.

Neither of us slept much last night, and I try to leave him to his thoughts. I enjoy being in his arms, feeling him close. He’s been a pillar of strength since he’s had more time with his father.

“Did you and your dad work things out?” I ask. I didn’t want to ask him what was said, but the concern is too much to hold back anymore.

“Yeah, I understand him and why they kept it quiet. After knowing how my biological father abused my mother, I can see the want to protect me. I would’ve gone lookin’ for him.”

He tells me a little about how his mother was beaten. The fact that Trent could’ve died at the hand of his own father. A world without him would’ve been a very bleak place. Trent watches me as tears stream. His mother never deserved that kind of treatment. My thoughts turn to my sister, and I wonder if Scarlett felt the same way. Their stories mirror each other so much. Loving a man who uses his fists.

When Scarlett came home the first time William beat her, Trent was the first one standing in line to keep her safe. He stayed outside our home for two days waiting for Bill to show up. The anger he felt for any man putting his hands on a woman was palpable. Rhett taught him that. He showed him right from wrong and he’s the man he is now because of who raised him.

“Don’t cry, baby.” His thumb wipes under my eye. “It all worked out. I’m here, my mother found Pop, and we’re okay.”

I nod and try to stop crying. “And your brothers?”

This was the one thing I wondered most about. Wyatt and Zach wouldn’t handle this secret any better.

Trent’s eyes meet mine as I rest my chin on his chest. “Wyatt was livid. It took a lot to get him to stop yellin’. Zach was quiet and angry that my parents have been lyin’ to us. Mom sat there crying and asked them to understand, but it was Dad who finally told them it wasn’t their business about how they raised their family. He then asked them if it changed anything.”

“And?”

I can imagine Rhett’s deep voice and the way a silence would fall around the room. Wyatt would bristle at being told what to do, Zach would brush it off, and Trent would sit, waiting for his brothers to answer. This was probably one of the things that worried him most. His brothers feeling differently about him. I know in my heart it wouldn’t, but I also know Trent and the feeling of being thrown away haunting him.

He laughs. “They looked at Dad and snorted, saying the only people they were thinkin’ of kicking out of the family were him and Mom.”

I smile and lay my head on his chest. Listening to his heartbeat with my eyes closed. I’m content in this moment. Trent runs his fingers through my hair as I rest. This feels incredible. Having no secrets or no worries about our future. It’s something I’ve yearned for. I start to drift, from being both comfortable and sated.

“Marry me?” Trent blurts out as I’m on the brink of falling asleep.

That woke me the hell up.

I freeze. “What?” I ask, thinking maybe I heard him wrong.

“Marry me,” Trent repeats.

Okay, so maybe I didn’t hear him wrong. I don’t say a word as I try to find my lungs. He can’t be serious. It’s been twenty years of waiting for those words, surely he wouldn’t say it on a whim.

“Trent.” I shift and look at him as my heart races. “You’re going through a lot right now. I’m not sure that this is really what you want.”

“I love you. I want you to be my wife.”

“Okay, but . . .”

He rolls over, reaches into the drawer on his nightstand, and removes a box. I start to tremble when he puts it in front of me. “I’ve had this ring since the day before Zach’s wedding. I bought it, knowing one day you’d be wearin’ it.” My hand flies to my mouth as I look at the black box with gold writing. “This isn’t some spur-of-the-moment thing. This is me not wanting to waste a single minute. This is me wanting you to be mine. This is me finally listenin’ to my heart and needin’ to do right by you. I want to marry you. Right now. I want to be your husband. So, I’m asking you Grace Rooney, will you marry me?”

He opens the box and there sits a beautiful pear-shaped diamond solitaire flanked by four diamonds on each side. It’s beautiful. “You’re sure?” I ask because I want him to be. “If you’re not, we can lie back down and forget this ever happened.”

He lifts the ring out of the box and glides it onto my finger. “Do you remember what you were eating the first time I kissed you?” he asks as my eyes fill with tears.

“No.” I shake my head.

“A pear.”

“How could you possibly remember that?” I ask as I stare at my hand with a pear-shaped diamond sitting on it.

“Because every now and then, when I kiss you, I can taste it all over again.” He lifts my chin and holds me captive. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You’re my heart and soul. I never want to spend a day without you. I’m gonna ask you again . . . marry me?”

I don’t have to think about anything. I’ve loved him forever. I’ll only ever love him until the day I die. We’ve had ups and downs and wins and losses, but we’ve had them together. He’s not perfect, but he’s perfect for me.

I throw my arms around him with tears falling freely. “Yes! Yes! Yes! I want nothing more than to be your wife!”

He laughs, and we fall back. I kiss him, hoping he can taste the pear again.

“All right.” He holds my face back to stop me from kissing him. “I need to ask you one more thing.”

“Ask me anything.” I can’t stop the smile.

“Marry me today, Grace. I know it’s not the wedding you probably imagined, but I want my father to be there.”

I sit back and put my hand on his chest. “Honey, are you sure? I’m not saying no, I just don’t want you to wake up a week from now and wish we’d waited.”

“I think we’ve waited long enough. My father would want to see this. He loves you, and I will never regret marrying you. Not now, not ever.”

It’s all happening so fast, but then again, it’s really not. I know he wants his father there, and I don’t want to deny him that. We love each other, we’ve been doing good, so why not?

“Okay,” I say. “Okay, if you want to get married today, let’s do it.”

Trent grabs me in his arms and rolls me over. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

We both laugh and he rolls off me. “Go call your family. I’ll call mine.”

I glance back at my hand and bite my lip. I’m engaged. I’m actually engaged to my boyfriend of . . . forever . . . and we live together. We’re going to be married—today.

Holy shit.

I grab my phone and call my mother. “Can you meet us at the hospital in about an hour?”