Page 164 of Mistaken Intention

Mom glances up at him and then turns to us. “I—I need you all to forgive me… if you think you can.”

There’s a prolonged and awkward silence, during which you could hear a pin drop. None of us seems to know what to say until Pat coughs and we all look over at her. She’s sitting still, holding Mick’s hand in hers, and she glances around the room. “What’s wrong with you all?” she says, shaking her head. “Do you honestly think your mom needs your forgiveness? Because if you do, I got something very wrong when I raised you. She’s a victim of your father, just like the rest of you… only worse. And I didn’t raise you to be victims. I taught you to rise above what’s been done to you… to do better. To be better.” She stares at Hunter, as the eldest. “So… be better.”

Hunter nods his head, stepping aside and pulling Livia to her feet before he moves closer to our mom.

“This is my wife, Livia,” he says, placing his hand over her tiny bump. “And our daughter, who you’ll get to meet in a few months’ time. Her name will be either Talia, Poppy, or Skye.”

“Not Talia,” Livia says, looking up at him. “I’ve changed my mind about that.”

“Again?” he says, smiling. “We’ve only known the sex for five days, and I think we’ve gone through about eight names already.”

“I know.”

“Are Poppy and Skye still in the running?” he asks.

She nods her head and turns to our mom, offering a tentative hand. I guess she’s nervous about her father’s involvement in Lindsay’s story, but Lindsay reaches out and pulls Livia into a hug, kissing her on the cheek.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” she says. “I overreacted.”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing compared to what Hunter did when he first found out.”

I chuckle and Ella laughs out loud before she stands, dragging Mac out of his seat.

“This is my husband, Mac,” she says, going over to Mom. “I’m sorry I didn’t invite you to our wedding.”

“That’s okay,” Mom says. “I think it was probably for the best. I wouldn’t have wanted my dramas to spoil your day.”

Ella blushes. “Our son, Henry, is asleep upstairs, but I have no doubt he’ll put in an appearance very soon. He should wake up at any moment.”

They both step aside and I stand, offering my hand to Josie. She takes it and I pull her up, along with Maisie, who she’s still cradling. I don’t let go, but lead her over to Mom and she smiles at Josie… a friendly face, I guess.

“You’ve met Josie,” I say. “But you met her as my nurse, not my fiancée.”

Everyone gasps, but no-one louder than Josie and she turns to me, looking up into my eyes, as I grin down into her bemused but beautiful face.

“Fiancée? Since when?”

“Since now. Everyone else is either married, or getting married.” I nod toward Mom and Braydon. “I figured we should join them.”

She shakes her head, which doesn’t feel very promising. “Is this your idea of a proposal?”

“No.” But this is very spur of the moment, so the thought that I’ve had any ideas about this is almost comical. I reach out, taking Maisie from her arms and turn, handing my daughter to Hunter, who grabs her with a smile on his lips. Then I turn back and drop to one knee, taking Josie’s hands in mine. “Okay… there’s nothing like doing this in front of an audience.” I’ve only got myself to blame for that, and I take a deep breath, looking up into Josie’s eyes, the words coming naturally, now I’m here. “Even when I didn’t know anything else, I knew I loved you. When everything was dark, you were my beacon of light, guiding me back to where I belong. You’re my ray of hope, Josie… my everything… my dream come true. All you have to do is say yes, and make the dream a reality.”

She smiles and I smile back as she nods her head and whispers, “Yes.”

I leap to my feet, pulling her into my arms, and I kiss her as everyone gathers around, congratulating us. There are kisses, pats on the back and hugs, and then Hunter hands Maisie back to me, and I turn back to Mom again.

“Who’s this?” she asks.

“This is Maisie. She’s your granddaughter.”

I hand Maisie over to Mom and she lets her tears fall as she gazes down into Maisie’s beautiful face. Josie looks up at me and I know this is right. We’ve completed the circle.

I lean over and kiss Josie, just as Hunter coughs and we turn to face him.

“If we’re in the mood for making announcements, then I’ve got one, too.”

I groan, unable to help myself. “You’re not thinking about buying back the rest of the shares in TBA, are you? Because if you are…”

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