Chapter 14 - THE PROMISE HE NEVER THOUGHT HE'D MAKE
Rafe proposed on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Not at a gala.
Not in a restaurant.
Not beneath chandeliers.
In the kitchen.
Rosie was making pancakes.
Owen was building a dinosaur out of cereal boxes.
Audrey was wearing an old sweater.
Her hair was a mess.
And Rafe thought she had never looked more beautiful.
He stood near the counter holding a small velvet box.
Rosie noticed first.
“Rafe?”
He looked down.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Why are you hiding a box?”
Audrey turned.
Rafe closed his eyes.
“Because I was hoping for a little suspense.”
Rosie gasped.
“IS IT A RING?”
Owen dropped his cereal-box dinosaur.
Audrey stared.
Rafe sighed.
“Well. That answers that.”
He walked toward her.
Then knelt.
Audrey covered her mouth.
Rafe looked up.
“I've spent most of my life believing that power meant never needing anyone.”
His voice trembled.
“Then I met a woman who had every reason to stop trusting people, and somehow she still believed in kindness.”
Audrey began crying.
Rafe smiled.
“You taught me that strength isn't control.”
He looked toward the twins.
“It's showing up.”
Rosie nodded solemnly.
“Even when you're tired.”
Rafe laughed.
“Especially then.”
He looked back at Audrey.
“I can't promise a perfect life.”
She shook her head.
“I don't want one.”
He smiled.
“Then will you marry me?”
Audrey laughed through tears.
“Yes.”
Rosie screamed.
Owen cheered.
Rafe stood and kissed Audrey.
Then Rosie shouted:
“WAIT!”
Everyone froze.
She looked at Rafe.
“Does this mean you're our dad?”
Rafe knelt beside her.
His expression softened.
“It means I'm going to marry your mother. And I love you both very much.”
Rosie frowned.
“But are you our dad?”
Rafe glanced toward Audrey.
She nodded gently.
He looked back at Rosie.
“You have a father named Grant. And you have me. You don't have to choose between people who care about you.”
Owen considered that.
“Can we call you Dad?”
Rafe's eyes filled.
“If that's what you want.”
Rosie threw her arms around his neck.
“DAD!”
Owen joined them.
Audrey watched the three people she loved most holding one another on the kitchen floor.
And she cried harder than she had in years.
May you like
Not because she was afraid.
But because, finally, she wasn't.
