Page 33 of Summer Nights (The Kingston Brothers #3)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Cooper

I paced the foyer, waiting for the telltale sound of Ivy's SUV pulling into the driveway. Elena had texted me, telling me to go home and hear what Ivy had to say.

I had a few things to say to Ivy too after talking to Hudson. I never told her how I felt. It was long overdue.

When the headlights shined in the foyer, I realized I'd left the lights off. I turned on the porch lights and opened the door.

When I saw that she had plastic bags of groceries, I rushed to grab them from her. Everything inside me was strung tight like a rubber band. I was scared I'd snap at any second.

I didn't want Ivy to leave. I couldn't imagine her living somewhere else.

Ivy's face was red and puffy.

"You've been crying."

Her shoulders slumped. "I messed up."

"It's nothing we can't fix. Come on." I ushered her inside, dropping the food on the counter to deal with later. I helped her sit on the couch.

She looked up at me. "I'm so sorry."

I sat next to her. "I'm sorry too. I should have spoken to you first. I thought I could protect you by hearing what he had to say. Then I could tell you what happened."

"And I didn't hear you out." She took a deep breath and asked, "What did he say?"

"You're not going to believe this, but he didn't know about you."

She sucked in a sharp breath. "How is that possible? My mom always said he left her."

"He left her before she told him she was pregnant. I don't know when she knew about you. But she never bothered to reach out to him to tell him either."

"Oh, my god."

I didn't want Ivy to be upset. I was worried about the baby. But we needed to have this conversation. "I believed him. He doesn't live that far from you, and he has a family. Two adult sons and a wife. He works as a mechanic at a garage. He was upset he didn’t get a chance to be part of your life."

The tears spilled over her cheeks, and I did my best to wipe them away.

"He wants to meet you when you're ready."

"Why would my mom keep him from me?"

"I don't know. Maybe she was afraid of the rejection." I couldn't help but think it was a similar thought pattern to what Ivy operated under. She'd learned it from her mother.

"Instead she made me think that he rejected me."

"You can talk to her about it if you want. You can get the answers you're longing for. But you can also move on, meet your father, and have this baby of ours. You can have a different future."

"Is that possible? Can I move forward with my dad and deal with my mother later?" Ivy's voice trembled, and I hated that she was hurting.

"I don't see why not."

I wanted to protect her, but I also wanted her to live the life she was meant to. And hiding from the world because she was afraid of getting hurt was no way to live.

Ivy lifted her gaze to meet mine. "I have to tell you something."

My stomach turned. Was this the part where she told me she couldn't be with me? That she could never forgive me for what I did?

"I'm in love with you. I have been for a while. But I was so afraid of telling you."

Hope surged. "I love you too."

"I don't want to live apart from you. I like living with you."

I held her hand to my heart, which was beating hard. "This is your place now too." I wasn't sure if I was talking about the house or my heart. It was all wrapped up in my mind.

Ivy shook her head. "How can you forgive me for pushing you away repeatedly? For not trusting you?"

"I knew when we got involved that trust might be an issue for you. I intended to be patient. I want a life with you and our baby." The love for these two was overwhelming. Now that I was able to express my feelings to her, it only made them stronger.

"You're too good for me. I don't deserve this."

I cupped her cheek. "You deserve everything. The love. The joy. The security."

"It seems too good to be true."

"I'm always going to be here for you. I'm never going to let you go.

If you need to take a few hours to yourself here and there, that's okay.

Because I'm always going to be waiting for you to come back.

" I had a feeling she'd struggle with the lack of trust for a bit before she believed that she could rely on me to always be there for her.

"I love you so much," she said, blinking away tears.

"I'm right there with you," I said before touching my lips to hers. As my tongue slid alongside hers, it was like coming home. Ivy was it for me. I'd protect her with everything I had.

Ivy twisted slightly in her seat to face me. "I don't know why I'm so nervous."

"You're meeting your father for the first time." I reached over the console to entangle my fingers with hers.

Her eyes shone with unshed tears. Ivy had been more emotional, and I thought it was because she was finally confronting her feelings instead of numbing herself to them. "It's fitting that I'm meeting my father around the same time as my little one will meet you."

I grinned at her. "That's where you're wrong. He can already hear me."

Her lips curved. "That's true."

We decided not to find out the gender of our baby. We wanted to be surprised. But it was easier to call the baby something, and he had been our fallback. Today, we were meeting with Clint, not the rest of the family. He wanted to take things slow and not overwhelm Ivy.

He was aware that she'd been told a different story her entire life and that she was struggling to come to terms with this new one. I think she wanted to believe that he was interested in a relationship with her. But she was cautiously optimistic. "Do you think he'll like me?"

I heard the vulnerability in her question. "How could he not?"

She shrugged, and I knew it was the old insecurity creeping out.

"He never had a chance to before. He's going to want to make up for lost time.

" Or at least, that's what he told me when I called him to set up the meeting.

He was grateful to me for locating him. I don't think Ivy ever would have done it, knowing what she was told.

I pulled up to the restaurant where we were scheduled to meet. I opened the door for Ivy and helped her get down. She was getting close to her due date. She said she felt like a whale, but I thought she looked beautiful. Her belly was round with my child. She was going to be an incredible mother.

I held her hand as we walked into the restaurant. Clint had texted to say he had a booth in the back, so I headed in that direction. When he saw us, he stood, his eyes full of emotion as he took in his daughter for the first time.

It was a little emotional for me too. When we stopped in front of Clint, I wasn't sure if I should introduce them or not.

Clint stepped forward. "Ivy." His voice was rough. "It's so good to meet you."

Ivy met his gaze. "You as well."

"May I hug you?" Clint asked hesitantly.

She bit her lip and nodded.

I had a feeling she was holding back tears.

Clint hugged her, and she buried her head in his shoulder. They had the same sandy blond hair and stubborn tilt of their chins. I wondered what else would end up being similar.

When Clint finally stepped back, his eyes were shiny too. "Let's sit. I bet you're hungry."

"I'm always hungry," Ivy said to him, smiling at me.

She'd forgiven me for hiring a private investigator to find her father.

This was a better ending than I could have imagined.

She needed to confront her mother, but I wouldn't rush her on that.

That was for her to do on her own. I'd be by her side if she wanted me there, but I wouldn't push her to do anything that she wasn't ready for.

It was more important for her to see that her dad wasn't the villain in this scenario.

He hadn't abandoned her. And now our child would have two sets of grandparents.

We sat in the booth, Clint across from us.

The waitress stopped by our table, and we gave her our order. Then we handed our menus to her, and she left to put the order in.

"I'm not sure where to start," Ivy began.

"Why don't I tell you the story of how I met your mother?" Clinton said, and Ivy smiled.

"I'd like to hear that."

I wasn't prepared for Clint to start there, but it was a smart approach.

He relayed the story of how they'd met at a local bar, and he'd instantly been attracted to Tessa.

She was happy and outgoing. They'd dated for a while, but he was working at a garage where he wouldn't have a chance to work full-time.

He needed to move off island, and her mother didn't want to leave Sanibel.

"If she had told me at any point that she was pregnant, I would have made a different decision. I would have certainly been part of your life. I still can't believe I have a daughter."

"Cooper said you have two sons," Ivy said softly.

He grinned. "You have two brothers." He pulled out his phone and showed her the picture of him with family. "I'd love for you to meet them. When you're ready."

"I'd like that."

"I'd love to keep in touch with you, especially now that you're starting a family of your own."

"I'm a little overwhelmed because it has only been me for so long. I was an only child until my mom had my brother and sister. They're so much younger than me; I'm more of a mother figure to them."

"She looks out for her siblings," I said proudly.

Clint's eyes shone with emotion. "You're going to be an amazing mother."

Ivy chuckled without any humor. "I wasn't sure about that after the example I've been shown."

"I'm sure your mother had her reasons why she didn't tell you the truth. She might have been fighting her own demons. But you're willing to grow and adapt. That sets you apart from her. And who knows? Maybe she'll make some changes in her life too."

"That would be good for Rae and Duncan."

"Don't give up on her just yet," Clint said softly, and it wasn't lost on me that this was his first bit of fatherly advice he'd ever given her.

"You're a good man. I wish I'd known you sooner."

"We can't change the past, but we can move forward in a different way and make a commitment to each other." Clint looked to me as if he didn't want to step on any toes.

"We'd love to have you in our lives."

"Cooper's parents are throwing us a party after the baby's born. It would be great if you could come. You can meet my sister and brother." Ivy fell silent for a few seconds and then added, "I'd like to meet my brothers too."

Clint grinned more widely. I don't think he was expecting a meeting of the entire family to happen so soon. "Do you need any help with anything? The nursery? I'd love to be involved."

"We need to paint the nursery if you'd like to help. We're waiting until after the baby is born so we'll know if it's a boy or a girl." It was important for him to be involved. He couldn’t be present for Ivy when she was a child, but he could be there for her now.

We talked about what Ivy was like as a child. She described herself as independent and strong. When boys tried to pick on her, she fought back.

I could tell that Clint was proud of her but sad that he wasn't there to protect and guide her. He was a good man, and I'd done the right thing looking for him. I could have handled the situation better, but I couldn't regret anything now. Not when this was the outcome.

We lingered over coffee and dessert, none of us wanting to leave.

Eventually, Ivy arched her back. "I hate to break this up, but I'm getting tired, and my back is aching."

Clint threw down cash for the bill, covering the entire thing. I let him because it was something he needed to take care of. "Let's get you home."

When we reached my truck, Clint hugged Ivy gently. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I'll look out for her," I added, knowing he needed to hear it.

Clint nodded, stepping away. "I know you will." And then he said to Ivy, "I hope you'll call us when you go into labor. We'd love to be in the waiting room."

Ivy blinked back tears. "I cry about everything now."

"You've had a lot of change in a short time. But I want you to know that you can count on me. Now that I know about you, I want to be here for you."

I knew he wouldn't want to step on my toes, but at the same time, we'd make room for him. He was part of her life now too. I hoped one day he'd walk her down the aisle at our wedding.

"I know."

Clint let out a breath as if he was worried she wouldn't believe him. We said our goodbyes and got into the truck.

On the drive home, Ivy said, "Thank you."

"For?" I asked, looking over at her.

"For finding my father. For giving him back to me."

That comment had my eyes tearing up. "I'd do anything for you, and I'm glad it worked out. He's a good man."

She reached over and covered my hand with hers. "So are you."

"You know I'll love you forever. You never have to worry about being alone again," I said to her.

"I love you too, Cooper. You know what I need before I do."

She held onto my hand all the way home, only going lax when she drifted off to sleep. Between Clint and me, she wouldn't have to ever doubt that she was loved and supported.