Page 186 of Wicked Fantasies

Those two words changed all of that. Suddenly, I realized I would be responsible for another human being—completely responsible—and everything I’d come to think about the world shifted, changed and I was forced to become less selfish and more selfless. Quite a transition for a twenty-two-year-old to make. And once again, I had no answers, so I looked to you to guide me.

Even from that first night, you seemed so at ease, so comfortable with the changes happening in your body and in our lives. For nine months, I simply listened and followed as you prepared us to raise our child. I loved watching your belly grow round, loved talking to the baby inside and feeling him kick. Every day was a miracle. I learned the basics of how to be a parent from my folks, but as I watched you with Jackson and Jenna, I discovered how to love unconditionally, without limits. You are a natural mother. No child in the world could ever have had a better mom than my two kids did and I owe you more for that than I could ever hope to repay.

I’ve received hundreds of gifts in my lifetime—from ties on Christmas to a clunky used car on my seventeenth birthday. None of them compare to the ultimate gift you gave me—fatherhood. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like without Jackson and Jenna.

I love you,

Troy

Chapter Five

As she finished reading the letter, Faith let her eyes drift back to the picture of her son and daughter. She simply couldn’t look at Troy yet, couldn’t speak without dissolving into tears. Her mother had been right. All these years, she’d thought her husband was easygoing, unobservant. Turned out he’d understood their lives better than she had.

They drove in silence for several minutes. Troy was focused on the road and she suspected he knew how close she was to losing it. Finally, he turned the truck into a driveway and shut off the ignition.

“We’re here.”

She looked up. They were parked in front of their first home. They’d moved in to this house on Anders Street the day Jackson turned one month old. The apartment had been too small to even consider raising a child in and Troy had insisted his son have a yard to play in.

“Our first real home,” she said, her voice thick with the emotions fighting to get out. “I loved this little house.” They’d stayed here for eleven years, spent the majority of their children’s younger years in the place until Troy’s transfer at work sent them away from Carlysle, away from their friends and family.

“Wanna go in?”

She looked at him with surprise. “Can we? I mean do you think the people who live here now would care?”

Troy opened the door, crossing to help her out of the truck. “Guy who bought this place from us moved out a couple years ago. With the economy in the shitter, he couldn’t sell so he’s been renting it out. Turns out the last renters moved out a few months ago and he hasn’t found anyone else to move in. So, I rented it for the day.”

“You rented it? For a day?”

Troy shrugged, but she couldn’t believe all the time he must have spent planning this perfect weekend for her. Tears sprung to her eyes.

“This is your fault, you know,” she said, when he laughed.

“More of those happy tears?”

“I can’t believe there are any more tears left in me.”

Troy took her hand and led her to the front porch. Bending down, he lifted a flowerpot and retrieved a key. “Right where it’s supposed to be.”

He unlocked the door, but before she could step over the threshold, Troy bent down to pick her up.

“What are you doing?” She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped. Try as she may, she couldn’t remember her husband ever picking her up like this.

“I couldn’t carry you over the threshold the first time because you had Jackson in your arms.”

“So this is another do over?”

He grinned at her use of his term. “Yep. We’re really correcting a lot of mistakes here, aren’t we? Another day or two and we could have every screw up from the last twenty-five years sorted out.”

“That would be nice,” she said, struggling to think of a single mistake that needed to be fixed.

He put her down in the front foyer and Faith turned to look at her beloved first home. “It’s still the same.”

“Not exactly,” Troy said as he led her into the living room. “Mercifully that brown shag carpeting has been replaced with Berber.”

“Oh my God. I’d forgotten about that horrible carpet. Terrible stuff to try to clean.”

“Wish we’d had money when we lived here. I always thought this place would really look good with hardwood floors.”

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