Page 82 of One Golden Ring
“Oh,” I said. “Oh, wow.”
“Listen,” he said. “I get it, you might not want to work with me all the time. You might want to spread your wings…”
I told him that I wouldloveto. And it was true. I can’t think of any better way to use my organizational skills than to help my husband and stepdaughter achieve their dreams, doing something all three of us believed in. It’s a dream job. But I had to ask if he was really sure that I was up for that kind of challenge.
“Very sure,” he said. “You practically ran my international company and this is just a country school. And if you realize there are any extra skills you want to pick up then we’ll just get you training, or bring in an expert to lend a hand. It’s your big heart and quick brains I want running things. Everything else is just details.”
Those words eased my mind. And I know to my bones that he meant them. This isn’t just a pity offering to his wife. He really believes I have something to offer. And so do I.
Honestly, he’s always made me feel that way, like I’m important to him, like there’s nothing I can’t do.
“Everybody ready for Angel-Fest?” his voice booms from downstairs, snapping me back to the present.
I have to smile—he just soundshappy, in a way he never did in the city.
“Yes, Dad,” J.B. yells.“Just one more second.”
She turns to me, the confident expression she’s been wearing more and more lately faltering a little.
“I wanted to ask you something,” she says, looking down at her hands.
“Sure,” I say, sitting on the bed and feeling curious.
She’s at an age where it could be anything. Maybe the teen parenting books I’ve been secretly reading on my phone are about to pay off.
“There’s a mother-daughter dance competition at the thing today,” she says, still looking at her hands. “It’s onstage at the park. Would you, um… Would you want to do it with me?”
“Yes,” I say so quickly and loudly she looks up at me in surprise. “But just a warning, I’m not the most elegant dancer.”
“That’s why I asked you,” she says, with a wicked little smile.
“Wow,” I say, shaking my head in mock defeat. “You’re lucky I love you.”
“Hey, Darcy,” she says softly, somehow looking worried again.
She just convinced me to dance publicly using basically no pressure whatsoever. I don’t know what she thinks she’s going to ask me that would make me say no.
“Yeah?” I say.
“What do you think about me calling you Mom?”
Her words hang in the air for a moment, while I try to gather myself. But it’s no use because the next thing I know I’m crying too hard to answer.
“Oh,” she says. “Oh, wow.”
“Ohhh, J-J-Judi-Bloom,” I manage. “I’d l-like that so m-much.”
“Awesome,” she says, giving me a friendly little thump on the back. “Come on, then, Mom. Time to boogie.”
By the timewe get to the park, she’s called meMomabout twenty times and it still hits me right in the chest. At this point, I think she’s doing it on purpose, and I don’t care.
I can tell it’s making Derek happy, and that’s a relief. I’ve told him many times that I would never try to take her mother’s place in either of their hearts. But I’m so proud to be her second mom now. And this wonderful kid clearly has plenty of room in that big heart of hers for us both.
When we arrive, we get lots of waves and greetings. It’s funny, when we came to the Angel Mountain Christmas Mingle, all anyone could do was congratulate us on our engagement, and it wasn’t even real.
And now we’re really newlyweds, but that’s already old news. Everyone just wants to talk with us about our plans for the school.
A light breeze moves through the trees, making the leaves come alive with whispering, and I take in the gentle beauty of this place all over again.
