Page 66 of Always Right

Our girls babbled, slamming their hands on their high chairs and catching our attention. He pulled me into his arms, resting his cheek over my head as we both looked at our beautiful daughters, their green eyes alight with love and happiness, as if they could sense the shift between us.

“Thank you,” Derek murmured, his lips against my hair. “You’ve given me everything I’ve ever wanted.”

***

It had been a long time since we had eaten breakfast all together and it felt right, but as I sat there, listening to their conversations and laughs that filled every inch of the cabin, I realized how full my life was.

After years of emptiness, of wanting something and not knowing what it was, I had it all in front of me.

A family.

Evie laughed at something Dylan said and soon Derek followed; the sound of their laughter made my heart feel complete. I took another bite of the french toast Deborah had prepared for the whole family and ate quietly as they all talked and made sure to savor the moment because those moments were fleeting. They could disappear in the blink of an eye and I didn’t ever want to forget what it felt like.

To be loved.

To be a part of something greater than the problems that we faced.

A smile tugged at my lips at the thought of how far we’d come and how different everything was. I wondered if Nana could see it from wherever she was, I wondered if she would be proud of us, of me. After all, she never saw this part of me. She never saw me change.

A hand on my thigh, underneath the table, brought me out of my thoughts. I glanced up, catching Derek smiling at me.

“Is everything okay?” he whispered, his voice getting lost in the chatter.

“Everything’s fine,” I replied. My hand found his and he gave me a gentle squeeze. “Food is delicious.”

He grinned, his eyes twinkling. “Oh, we know it was definitely not Evie who cooked it.”

I snorted, a laugh escaping my lips and of course that was when everyone grew silent. Their attention turned to me, Nathan raising an eyebrow and Deborah glancing between Derek and I, wanting to know what was happening.

“We were just talking about how delicious the food was,” Derek explained. “And how it’s impossible that Evie made it.”

Evie gasped, feigning shock and everyone burst out into laughter.

“So? Next time I’ll just keep Deborah’s delicious cooking to myself,” she joked.

Though maybe she was serious.

When it came to Evie and food, she didn’t play.

Dylan joked as if he had been part of the family for years, as if they hadn’t just met each other and Derek did, too, though he was quieter.

I could tell he was finally happy

The type of happiness that meets the eye, that is so genuine nothing can hide it.

And it wasn’t just our relationship...or whatever we were.

It was everything else, too. Having a united, healthy family around...being able to let go of the past. It didn't weigh him down anymore, and it showed.

After breakfast, I sat at the balcony alone, staring at the snow-covered mountains that surrounded us, wondering how the hell after everything I had done I’d gotten so lucky. How the hell I deserved everything I had, but didn’t dwell on it too much.

Dwelling on it wouldn’t help.

Instead, I decided I would appreciate it. I would embrace it.

“Hey,” Nathan walked up to me, closing the glass door behind him. “We’re heading to the hot springs right before sun down. Do you want to come?”

I glanced back at Derek, looking at him through the glass window. He laughed and talked with Carina and Evie.

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