Page 42 of Finding Hope

Henry wanted to tell his dad and sissy hi, and that he loves you both.

When he replied, he didn’t hear back from her.

He was having difficulty coming up with a grand gesture, but he’d come up with something. Lying in bed, he thought about her favorite songs, movies, and shows and maybe…Suddenly, he was hit with the perfect idea, but he’d need Cash’s help. He fell asleep smiling, knowing he had the most perfect plan.

Chapter Twenty

Shannon

Shannon sat on her sister’s sofa with Henry in her arms. What had she done? Was leaving the right decision? The night she’d found the perfume with photographs of Alex, and the wedding ring, she’d felt hurt. She knew it shouldn’t have bothered her so much. He would always love Alex, and that was fine—but where did that leave her?

She had been at Mary’s for two days and hadn’t heard from him at all, other than when she’d sent the photo of Henry. The sounds of Henry fussing pulled her from her thoughts. She grabbed his pacifier and popped it into his mouth and he began to suck on it. It was the cutest pacifier, with a curly mustache attached to it, and it was by far his favorite to use.

She kissed his reddish brown wisps of hair, letting his baby scent fill her senses and relax her. Why hadn’t Jonathon come to her? He didn’t even try to fight her about it. Instead, he’d essentially let her go, and that’s what hurt the most. What did she really expect, though, after leaving the way she had?

Mary walked in a few minutes later and immediately took Henry from her. She loved her nephew, and Shannon barely had to take care of him since they were staying there. Her sister disappeared down the hall with him in her arms. Shannon went into the kitchen to start dinner. Mary could barely boil water let alone cook a meal.

Dinner consisted of boneless buffalo wings and Caeser salad. Mary didn’t bring Jonathon up at all, for which she was glad. She didn’t want to admit to her sister that she’d fucked up. They talked about Mary’s job and the guy she was interested in.

“Tell me more about this Brent. How did you meet him?”

Her sister had always been very quiet about her personal life, and the family never met any of the men she dated. This seemed different somehow. “Well, he’s a teacher at the school,” she said. “He just started there about six months ago. We’ve gone out for coffee a few times, but that’s it. We’re both just too busy right now. He’s really good looking, Shan. I’m still not sure why he’s interested in me.”

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re a catch, do you hear me?” Shannon said, grabbing her hand. “You’re the best big sister a girl could ask for. You’re loyal, giving, compassionate, and beautiful both inside and out. Any guy who can’t see that isn’t worth your time.”

After dinner, Shannon put Henry to bed and she and Mary snuggled up on the couch and watched some show about house hunting on HGTV. Shannon would never admit she was addicted to it. The homes were all gorgeous and expensive, but it was fun to imagine having a house like that.

That night, when she finally went to bed, she stared up at the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she said a little prayer that things would work out the way they were supposed to, even though she was scared to death that she’d ruined everything.

***

“What can I get you?” Shannon asked the customer who sat down at the bar.

“I’ll take a Bud Light, please.” She grabbed his beer, twisting off the cap and setting it down in front of him.

“That’ll be two-fifty.” He handed her the money, and she made his change and set it down in front of him.

She didn’t know what was going on, but both of her parents were acting weird. Hell, even Kasey seemed strange today. She either got a goofy smile from them or they looked at the clock and then toward the door. What exactly were they waiting for? Tessa was watching Henry for her. At first, she didn’t know if she should ask her, but Tessa immediately agreed, and when she’d dropped him off, she didn’t treat her any differently.

The bar was pretty slow for a Thursday night, so her mom asked her to go in back and do inventory. It was an easy job, but one she enjoyed because it gave her time to think. She’d created the spreadsheet herself for the inventory and it made ordering even easier. She was finalizing the order for the following day when she heard music coming from out front. Occasionally, they had live music, but it was usually just on Friday or Saturday nights.

The man singing sounded familiar. She made her way down the hall to the floor. She froze when she saw them. Jonathon and Cash were sitting on stools and Cash was playing his acoustic guitar while Jonathon sang. It took her a second to realize he was singing “Love Song” by 311. It was from one of her favorite movies, 50 First Dates.

She trembled and tears came to her eyes as she listened to Jonathon sing about always loving her and how she made him feel free again. He watched her with so much love in his eyes. Was his voice the best she’d ever heard? No, but it was the gesture that meant so much to her. When the song ended, he stood up.

“Shannon. Come here, baby.” She moved toward him on shaky legs until she was right in front of him. “I’m sorry. I forgot that stuff was even in there. I understand what it looked like, and yes, I used to smell her perfume so I could feel close to her again, but I haven’t in a long time. I’ll always love Alex, but don’t you see that I love you too? These past few days have sucked without you and our boy.” He grabbed her face in both hands. “I…Love…You. You, Henry, and Josie are my life. I need you like I need the air I breathe.”

She wept from the love that welled up within her. “I love you, too. I’m sorry I left. I just needed to know that you truly wanted me for me and not just because Alex is no longer here or because of Henry.”

“I promise you, that’s not the reason.”

“I don’t expect you to ever stop loving her. I don’t expect you to stop talking about her, especially around Josie. She needs to remember her mom.”

Jonathon reached in his pocket and before she knew what was happening, he was down on one knee in front of her. He opened a little black box that held the prettiest ring she’d ever seen. It was a white gold band with a princess cut diamond in it. It was simple but elegant. He grabbed her hand in his. “Shannon, I know things didn’t start out on the right foot for us, but I fell in love with you. I broke my own rules. Then I almost lost you and Henry and knew I needed to do whatever it took to keep us all together. I promise to make you happy every day for the rest of our lives. I want to have at least one more baby with you, because, let’s face it…we made a beautiful baby and you’re a wonderful mother and it would be a shame if we didn’t give Josie and Henry a baby sister.”

“A baby sister, huh?”

“Yep, one with big green eyes. So, are you going to marry me or what?”

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