Page 65 of The Virgin's Baby
Lubbock, Texas – December 28th
I let Aspen have one night to think about things. I’d driven by her old apartment and seen that she was safe. Then I went back home to confront my grandfather.
If he hadn’t made this stipulation, then she would be home right now in my arms. Well, maybe not in my arms because I had to be real and admit that it was his forcing the marriage issue that had me making love to her. But who really knew for sure?
Slamming into his sitting area, I gave him no options. “I want you to fix this, Grandad. She left.”
“She did what?” he asked with confusion riddling his face.
“She left,” I repeated. “She’s beyond pissed, and said some pretty mean things to me, but I have to agree with them. I’ve been weak. And I’ve been pushed around by you. It’s time for me to stand up and be a man. The woman who is carrying my babies is mad at me and has left our home. I’ve lost it all, and it’s no one’s fault but my own.”
He dropped his head. “And mine.”
“No. It’s not yours. I’ve got to accept all the blame here.” I took a seat as I saw the sorrow in my grandad’s eyes. “I am a man. I shouldn’t have let you bulldoze me with your money. I’ve got a degree in petroleum engineering. I could’ve been working at our oil company for years now, making my own money. I didn’t do that. I played around and didn’t worry about a damn thing. And that’s my bad, not yours. You thought you had to do something drastic to get me to grow the hell up. And I’m not saying you were wrong; I’m saying I was.” It felt good to take control of my own actions. To own up to things I should’ve long ago.
“I should’ve done the right thing from the very beginning. And when you told me that I had to marry Aspen before the babies were born, I should’ve told you that you could take that money and put it where the sun don’t shine. Mainly, because I should’ve asked that woman to marry me all on my own some time ago.”
“So, you do want to marry her now?” he asked with a smile on his face. “Even if I change my will to include you, her, and the children, you would still ask her to marry you, Ransom?”
“I am going to ask her to marry me either way. Leave us out if you want or keep us in. Either way, I want to marry her.” It felt amazing to finally know without a shadow of a doubt what I really wanted.
I wanted Aspen to be my wife. I wanted her to be with me for as long as God would allow. And I didn’t care if we had to work our asses off to take care of our family or not.
Getting up, he went to the small desk in the room and pulled out a piece of paper. “This is the revamped will. I hadn’t filed it with my lawyer yet. The old one still stands—the one I made a couple of months ago that includes the babies and their mother as well as you. I was bluffing.” He ripped the paper into three pieces before tossing it into the trash can. “I am sorry. Can you tell her that I’ve said that? I’m a stubborn old man who hasn’t had a wife in years to put me in my place. I’ve made a mistake.”
Clapping my grandad on the shoulder, I had to smile. “Apology accepted. And I will give her yours as well. And I’m sorry, too, Grandad. You did everything right. You tried your best to get me to do the right things. It’s not your fault. And I suppose it’s time to be honest with you.”
Am I really going to do this?
“About what, Ransom?” he asked as he went back to take a seat.
“About why I was the way I was.” I took a seat beside him. “When I was a kid, I saw Mom with other men. It made me think that women couldn’t be trusted. And that’s why I held back so much with Aspen. I knew she would steal my heart. What I didn’t know was that it was possible for her to do that to me without even kissing her. She stole it long ago. The unconditional love that she gives us both, and I know she’ll give our kids, makes her seem like an angel in my eyes.”
He nodded. “I agree. And I’m sorry you saw that side of your mother. We had no idea you knew about that. Your father wanted that kept secret. He and your mother had their problems, but it would’ve made them both feel terrible to know that you’ve always been aware of it.”
He’d surprised me. “I should’ve spoken up at some time about what I’d seen. But that’s the past, and this is the present. I’m letting Aspen have one night to calm down. She has every right to be mad at us both. Then tomorrow I’m changing everything.” I got up and headed to my room to work on the plan for the next day. I wanted everything to be perfect for her.
Especially since I’d messed everything up so badly.
Without letting Aspen know a thing, I showed up at the apartment bright and early, a bag of pastries in one hand and a small black box in the other, I knocked on the door.
Margo answered it, and she broke into a smile as soon as she saw me. “Please tell me you’re here to perk her up.”
“I am going to do my very best.” I held out the bag. “Care to plate these up for me to make them look delicious?”
“Will do,” she said as she took the bag from me. “Come in. She’s in the bathroom getting dressed.”
I made sure to talk quietly so I would surprise her. “I’ll wait here for her to come out.”
Margo found a pretty little pink plate to put the food on and set it on the coffee table. “I’ll make some caffeine-free coffee too. She’ll like that.” She hurried to get that going, and I had to try not to fidget too much; I was getting nervous about what her answer would be.
I’d worked on a speech that I thought would do the trick. With Aspen, I never knew for sure how she would respond. And now that I knew she was angry with Grandad and me, I really couldn’t count on her reaction.
“Do I smell coffee, Margo?” Aspen called out before coming into the living room. “You’re such a meanie. You know I crave that stuff but can’t drink it.”
She came around the corner, smoothing out her pink dress, not looking up. Her head jerked up as I said, “It’s caffeine-free, Aspen.”
“Ransom?” Her eyes narrowed at me. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
