Page 77 of Mending Scars

“There’s one more gift,” Ethan announced as he pulled an envelope from his shirt pocket. He handed it to Ryker, who gave him a quizzical look. Ethan chuckled, “Open it.”

Ryker ripped open the envelope and took out a check. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he scanned over it, then looked at Ethan in shock.

“That should cover what you needed for the house you wanted, right?”

I leaned over to look at the check in Ryker’s hand.

Holy shit!

I blinked several times to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.

Nope, still the same ridiculously large amount.

It was more than enough to pay for the remainder of the down payment that we weren’t able to come up with for the house. And then some.

“Oh my God, Ryker,” I gasped as I placed a hand on his leg. My eyes stung with tears when his eyes met mine.

“I… we… we can’t accept this. It’s too much, Ethan,” Ryker said as he stood and handed the check to his brother.

Ethan put his hands up. “Nope. It’s the least we can do after everything. Please take it.”

Ryker looked at me, seeking my approval for what to do. That house was my dream house, so it didn’t require much debate for me. Giving him a teary-eyed smile, I nodded enthusiastically.

He faced Ethan and stared at him for several seconds, then suddenly moved forward and threw his arms around him. Squeezing his brother tightly, Ryker’s voice was drowned with emotion as he said, “Thank you. You don’t even understand what this means to me.”

A few tears spilled down my cheeks as Ethan hugged Ryker back. Even though what Ethan had done to Ryker was inexcusable, it made me happy to see them reconciling after so many years. Ryker would never admit it, but I knew he missed his brother greatly while they weren’t speaking.

Ryker patted Ethan on the back before pulling away and looking at me. His eyes were glazed with unshed tears as he extended his hand to me.

Grabbing it, I linked our fingers together and stood by his side. He squeezed my hand and pressed a kiss atop my head.

My eyes found Ethan’s. “Thank you so much. I don’t think we can ever repay you.”

Ethan smiled. “Just take care of my brother and nephew. God knows they need you.”

My mouth curved up. Ethan had it backwards—I needed Ryker and Hayden more than he would ever understand. They were granting me a life that I never dreamed I could have, not to mention giving me a happiness I never knew existed.

I turned my head toward Ryker and my smile spread wider. Everything was falling into place for us, and for once, I couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for me.

The following Monday, I called our realtor as soon as her office opened to see if the house we wanted was still available. She’d sent us listings of a few more properties after, but none of them were what we wanted.

It had been months since Tanya had shown the property to us, but I was hoping that it was still available. We needed to find something soon—Hayden was due in a little over two months, and I didn’t want to have to deal with finding a house and moving after he was born.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Tanya, this is Kaiya Marlow.”

Her voice pepped up. “Hi, Kaiya. How are you? You’re due soon, aren’t you?”

I slipped off my shoes, hiding them under my desk. “I am—a little over two months now.”

“Aww, I bet you’re excited. I remember my first baby. I was so overwhelmed and excited all at once.”

“Yep, I’m definitely getting more anxious each day. I can’t wait to hold him.” My heart warmed as I thought of holding Hayden in my arms. “I was just calling to see if that house we looked at back in March was still available. I know it’s a long shot, but we we’re able to get the money we needed for the counter offer.”

“Let me check for you. I don’t remember selling it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I manage several properties at a time.”

“I understand,” I replied as a ball of anticipation tightened my chest.

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