Page 58 of Reuniting with Lucy

“So, fail forward,” his mother said. “Learn from that mistake and move on. Don’t base the rest of your life, your happiness, on one woman’s idiocy. You gonna let her have that power over you?”

“I guess not. I thought you’d be overjoyed I didn’t want to marry again.”

“Why would that make me happy, Jack?” his mother asked. “I wantyouto be happy. If you truly don’t want to get married again, then by all means, don’t. But I have a feeling that if you look deep down, you’ll find you’re just scared. Scared to put yourself out there again. Scared to get hurt again. But that’s something you could overcome with the right woman. The question is, is Lucy the right woman?”

“You’re killing me, Mom.”

She smiled. “But am I right?”

“That’s a trick question, son,” his father warned. “Your mother’s always right.”

Jack chuckled but didn’t say anything. Was she right? Was he being overly cautious with his feelings and using his ex as an excuse to keep from getting burned again?

He didn’t care about the money. That was his mom’s big worry. And if the money meant nothing to him, then what was his aversion? His mother may have a point. Damn it.

“Follow your heart,” she said gently, picking up his hand and stroking it softly. “About Lucy and about the business. It won’t ever lead you astray.”

“She’s right, kiddo,” his dad said. “I can go another year or so with the business, so don’t worry about that right now. Sounds like you’re going to have your hands full for a bit.”

“With?” Jack asked.

“Trying to win a woman.” His dad winked. “Keep in mind, you could run things from New Bern. With all these fancy video meetings they have nowadays, you could have an office anywhere.”

Jack nodded. He spent the remainder of the evening recovering from the shock of his mom’s about-face regarding Lucy and marriage.

He debated spending the night at his folks, but driving back to New Bern gave him a chance to think. And chastise himself. What had he done? Why was his first reaction to doubt Lucy?

Could be his past relationships. Could be his mom’s constant gold digger warnings. Or just the knowledge that money could make people do things they normally wouldn’t. None of that had anything to do with Lucy though.

She’d never given him any reason not to trust her. He’d hastily judged her while wearing the people-suck glasses he always wore. Maybe it was time to take those off and see her for what she really was. A sweet, trusting, beautiful woman. One that might be carrying his child. That complicated things, but was that a bad thing?

Analyzing his feelings was not something he had much practice with or patience for, but the current situation demanded it. But where to start?

What if he left the baby out of the equation for now and focused on his feelings for Lucy? The spark he’d felt when they first met had turned into a flame upon seeing her again. In the past two months, the flame had quickly ignited an inferno. The more he was around her, the more he wanted to be with her. If he didn’t know better, he’d say he was in love with her. That seemed impossible after such a short time, but then again, what did he know about love?

One thing he knew was that his heart ached knowing he’d caused her pain. The terrible things he’d said and accused her of were way out of line, and whether or not they patched things up, he still owed her an apology.

Okay, so he really, really liked Lucy and cared for her. Throw in a baby, now what? That didn’t change how he felt about Lucy. If anything, he found himself excited for her because he knew how much having a child meant to her. He’d treated the pregnancy as a manipulative threat, but to Lucy, it was a miraculous, joyful surprise. When he took the time to see it through her eyes, he warmed to the idea himself.

He’d said he wouldn’t be a good dad, but, when he got right down to it, couldn’t think of a single reason to back up the assertion. Going to war, losing his best friend, and enduring a divorce had left him in a bad place—a cynical, sad, self-loathing place. It was at that point in his life when he’d decided he didn’t want children.

Things had changed since then—especially after reuniting with Lucy. He was still cynical, clearly. But time and lately, Lucy’s cheery, optimistic outlook had helped resolve the defeatist attitude and sadness that once ruled his life. He’d matured and now felt like maybe a baby wouldn’t be the end of the world.

He pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex a new man. In the last five hours, his perspective on the whole situation had done a one-eighty. If he looked deep and trusted his gut, he could see that Lucy hadn’t been malicious in any way. She said the baby was his, and he believed her. She said she hadn’t lied about being infertile, and he believed her. She said she was willing to raise the baby without him or his money, and he believed her!

She hadn’t asked for money or a wedding ring, but as it turned out, Jack wanted to give her both. Hewasin love. He wanted Lucy. And the baby.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Jack popped into the gym, hoping that getting his blood flowing would do the same for ideas. He’d made up his mind to win Lucy back but had no idea how to go about it.

After talking with his parents, then coming to the realization that he loved Lucy, his heart had never felt lighter and happier. He hadn’t realized the burden he’d been carrying about the death of his friend, the demise of his marriage, and the stress regarding the family business. He’d put all that aside, and now the thought of marrying Lucy excited him beyond belief.

“Well, I gotta get going. My bus will be here soon,” Kenny said. He’d arrived midway through Jack’s workout, and they’d been lifting side by side in the free weight section. Kenny copied his movements using much smaller dumbbells.

“You just got here,” Jack said. “We’re only halfway done. Where do you live? I’ll give you a lift home.”

“That’d be awesome,” Kenny said. “I’m going to my grandparents tonight to celebrate my mom’s birthday. They live up on the river bluff. Is there near you?”

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