Page 55 of In You

Epilogue

Caleb

Two Years Later

“Bye, my love. We'll be back tomorrow,” I say, looking down into Tris' smiling face as she finishes getting last minute kisses from her mother who's rocking her slowly in her arms, savoring every minute she can with her before we leave for the night.

I sneak another look around her little living room, making sure everything she loves is in this room; the blanket she wrapped herself in her first night in my house, the watercolor painting she painted for Tris, and the picture of the three of us together and the dogs.

Her room has the most stunning view of the sea beyond the grounds of the property.

I had to sell a third of my land to afford this place for as long as I have, but I had to give this to her.

"Okay, ooohhhh daddy's going to take such good care of you!" Tamryn croons in a little girl voice as her fingers stoke down Tris's curly hair.

"Dadda!" she babbles back, and they smile at each other.

It doesn't make me sad like it used to.

Seeing the nurse standing to the side waiting, she gives me the familiar look that lets me know that she has to get ready to get Tamryn settled in for the night. I lean in, giving her one last kiss on her forehead, and stroke my hand down her hair.

She gives me a sweet smile as she lifts her head up to look at me through her lashes, and giggles as Tris blows a raspberry against her cheek. I take Tris into my arms and turn to walk out of her private wing of Melrose's Sanctuary, the psychiatric hospital she's been living at the last two years.

Where she insisted on living until she gets a better grasp on her condition.

In a year Darling has come out only three times, and her team of nurses and therapists have high hopes that Tamryn should be back home with us around the holidays once we get a thorough treatment and safety plan underway.

And I am ready. I miss my wife, but I had to accept I couldn't fix her.

And maybe she doesn't need fixing; what she needs is time and space to heal.

No matter how long it takes.

"I love you," I say, pressing my lips to Tamryn's. Lingering just a little longer than I usually do.

"I love you too," she murmurs, nuzzling her nose against mine.

Holding Tris in my arms, I walk out to the car just as it starts sprinkling, but it doesn't bother me like it used to. I've made my peace with the rain a long time ago.

Opening the door of my vehicle, I give Tris a kiss to her temple as she makes grabby hands towards the ward. "Mommy," she cries.

"In you get, baby girl. We're gunna see momma tomorrow," I say to Tris.

I tickle her to take her mind off it, and laugh with her as I buckle her into her seat and make sure she has her little stuffed animal in her hands.

Listening to the waves hit the shore, I get in the driver's side and put my seatbelt on, cracking the windows so Tris and I can inhale the salty sea air and make the short drive to our temporary home.

Everyday is the same; we come visit with Tamryn, have dinner, and try to keep things as normal as possible while we wait for her to come back to us.

But in the meantime, I watch over our little girl, honoring my promise to Tamryn to help her honor her promise to her mother to keep Tris safe, and knowing that what's keeping Tamryn going is knowing that she's being a good mom.

Though she hasn't outwardly said it, there are looks in Tamryn's eyes that show me she's aware.

Every now and then she calls me her savior, which the nurses think is the cutest thing in the world.

Tamryn's under the impression that I saved her. Truth be told, she saved me. I'm no longer Caleb the boy who became a man crippled by his abuse, I mean, that's part of my story, but it's no longer my entire identity.

Not anymore.

My name is Caleb, and I live in a house by the sea just a short drive from the psychiatric ward where my wife lives.

I have two dogs, and share a daughter with my beautiful wife who I adore more than anything on Earth.

Sometimes she comes as her seven-year-old self to play with seven-year-old Caleb, sometimes she comes to me as a Camilla who loves unconditionally and thinks I'm her and Tris' savior, and sometimes she’s my captivating wife, Tamryn.

But all the time, she's in me.

And I'll never let her go.