Page 47 of Coming Home

“I can’t think of anyone I would want to make it more than you, Gus.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Chocolate, I’m assuming? Most groom’s cakes are chocolate.”

“Yes, that will be fine. Jackson wants me to make our wedding cake. It will be my gift to him.”

Gus rubbed his chin in thought. “What do you want on the groom’s cake? I want to personalize it.”

Ainsley was at a loss as to what to tell him. For a moment, panic seized her heart and squeezed hard. What did she really know about Jackson? Yes, he was a good man. He’d been brought up right by Boo. He was an attorney. He was only beginning to like sweets, but she didn’t know all the little things that a fiancée should know about the man she was going to marry. She had no idea what his favorite color or movie might be. She had no idea what his favorite food was or his favorite memory.

Why was she even marrying this man?

They had rushed into it, and Ainsley regretted it.

Then she decided to push the doubt aside. She didn’t need to know all those little things about Jackson. They had a lifetime to learn every small detail about each other. What she did know was he loved her, and she loved him. That was the most important thing.

“All I can tell you is that I love him more than I thought possible, Gus. I’m leaving the cake’s design in your hands.”

Her second-in-command nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll work on it, Ainsley. Do you want me to tell you what I’m doing, or would you rather it be a surprise?”

“Either. I’ll be working on our wedding cake. That’ll take up a lot of my time. That reminds me, we will be getting married not this coming Monday, but the next one. I’m going to need you to take the weekly order and purchase everything at Costco and the specialty outlet on that Monday. I’ll give you use of my SUV. Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t have a car. I haven’t driven in a long time,” he said quietly, flushing a dull red. “Not since that night. You know the one I’m talking about. I don’t even have a driver’s license anymore. My cousin drops me here each morning. Or I ride my bike.”

“We can find someone to drive you. I’ll bet Sheila would be happy to do so. She’s always asking for ways she can help out more.”

Gus reached over and placed his hand over hers. “You know I haven’t had a drink since that night.”

She saw how serious his expression was. “You told me so, and I believe you, Gus.”

“I have a confession to make. I’ve never told anyone. Not even my attorney. But I wasn’t driving the car that night, Ainsley. I had gone to my daughter’s piano recital that afternoon. I was sober and had been for twenty-three days. She was so happy I came to hear her play even though her mom and I had split up a few years earlier. Seeing that look on her face, I wanted to always to keep that smile there,” he shared. “I had decided that I wanted to see her and my son on a more regular basis. Then it all went to hell in a handbasket.”

Ainsley put her hand atop his. “What happened, Gus?”

“My baby brother came to see me that night. He had been drinking. I understand now that alcoholism is a disease. That it can run through families. My dad was a drunk and his dad before him, too. I became one—but I was ready to give it up—for my kids. I had caused my ex-wife and them a world of hurt. I finally understood that I could make a change in my life. But Bobby, he was in a bad place. I tried to get him to stay over, but that meant sleeping on my floor. He didn’t want to. I told him to let me drive him home, but he refused. I finally said I would ride with him and sleep on his sofa. I thought being in the car, I could help watch his speed. Make sure he didn’t do anything foolish.

“I was wrong.”

Gus shook his head sadly. “He always took chances. Even as a kid. He was the one who climbed the highest trees. Waded out into the ocean the farthest. That kind of thing.”

She squeezed his hand. “What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” he said sadly, tears starting to stream down his cheeks. “We crashed. He killed a dad and daughter and hurt the mother. Bobby had knocked up a girl. That was what he had told me that night. He’d been drinking to celebrate it. He was going to ask her to marry him.”

Gus brushed away the tears. “He had a chance to be a better man to his kid than I had been to mine. I told him I would take the blame—if he got clean. Killing someone scared him into being sober, Ainsley. Bobby hasn’t touched a drop since then. He married that girl. They have two kids now. He’s a good man and has a good life.”

Her heart broke for Gus. He had taken the blame for his brother’s actions, which had cost him his own kids.

“You should tell your son and daughter this, Gus,” she urged.

He shook his head. “I don’t think they’d believe me. They’ve thought ill of me for so long now. They’ve moved on. At least what I did gave Bobby a chance to be the husband and father I’d never been.”

“Where is he now?” she asked.

“California. He got a job offer with a freight line. He’s a terminal manager now. I haven’t seen him since I went to prison. We stay in touch, though.”

“You sacrificed a lot for him.”

“It was worth it. Bobby’s made a good life for his family, Ainsley.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose. “Thank you for the faith you’ve had in me. Not just in making this cake, but in hiring me. Giving me more responsibility. Everything.”

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