Page 56 of Wesley

“At first, I was afraid of what he would think, and then he started to think about the wrong thing. I should have explained earlier, I know that. I should have told him all of it when he first asked. I hated to admit that I’d been assaulted or that I didn’t know who her father was. I know how that makes me sound.”

“You know that you not telling him, made you look guiltier, right?”

“Yes, I realize that now.”

“Okay, well go throw some things in a bag, and let’s get to the party.”

“Brad, won’t he be upset that you came here?”

He laughed, “yeah, he will probably be pissed, I might even get clocked, but if my brother gets a happily ever after, then it will be worth it.”

“Can I hug you?”

“Yes, but you better hurry. They are going to send a search party out for me soon.”

I gave him a quick hug and then raced down the hall to pack a few things. Before I went back to the living room, I paused. Was this a good idea? Maybe not, but I was tired of holding back on my life. I wanted Wes, I wanted a family, and if I wanted that, then I needed to go get it.

* * *

An hour later we were almost there, and Marisol was talking a mile a minute in the back seat about seeing the horses again. Brad had way more patience than I did, and he had carried on about seventy percent of the conversation with her. I guess with two kids, he was used to the constant stream of chatter.

I wiped sweaty hands down my jeans. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

Brad glanced at me, “maybe, but we will never know until we try it.”

I laughed shakily, “That’s not a really good pep talk.”

“Yeah, Cheryl, my wife always told me I sucked at those.” He grinned.

“Some time you’ll have to tell me more about her. I saw her picture at the house, she was a beautiful woman.”

“She was, and I’d be happy to bend your ear for a few hours. God knows that no one else wants to hear my sappy talk of the good ole’ days.”

I laughed and relaxed a little bit until we pulled into the driveway, and then suddenly I wanted him to stop the car, but not for the same reason as before. This time it wasn’t the past that scared me, but the future.

I swallowed, trying to get my nerves to calm down. “It will be okay, and if things don’t work out, and he's still an ass after you talk, I’ll take you all home. At least Marisol will get a chance to ride the pony and bounce in the bounce house.”

“A bounce house? Yay!” She squealed from the back, and I winced.

We were barely stopped when Marisol was getting out of her seat and spoke quietly. “Wow, there are a lot of people here.”

“Yep, there are, but stick with me kiddo, and I’ll show you where the fun is.”

“Okay!”

He glanced at me, “You ready for nothing?”

I chuckled, “Yeah, as much as I can be.”

He touched my arm, “Just be honest, and tell him all the details. Once he hears it, he’ll realize that he overreacted.”

“What if he won’t even listen to me?”

“He will. He loves you, Charlotte?”

“Doctor Young loves my Mommy?”

Brad grinned at her, “Yeah, he does.”

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