My Cowboy and Our Kids

Secrets Never Stay Secret

I groaned aloud.

"Will, I've been through this all before. I'd like to go home now." I stated, getting out of bed.

He argued and called nurses in to hold me down in bed. I was not staying at the hospital where I would get zero sleep and be extremely frustrated with my IV and that stupid gown, so i signed myself out and went home.

We drove home in total silence, luckily the kids fell asleep within minutes. I sat in the passenger seat hugging my knees, facing the window, and staring at the raindrops as they rushed down the window.

I felt my eyes tear up and quietly whispered with a quivery voice, "I'm sorry."

He immediately grabbed my knees to turn me towards him.

At the same time, he said, "Hey, woah. What is it, Doll?"

Tears were now streaming down my face like the raindrops on the window.

"Everything. I'm sorry for not telling you about kid number four, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting, I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you, I'm sorry for lying—"

"Lying? About what?" He asked cutting me off.

I began crying much harder.

"All those college courses I'm taking online. Truth is, I'm not even enrolled."

"Then where's all our money going?" He asked as we pulled into the driveway.

"That's the best part, I've been saving it. Every penny." I stated.

We sat in the now parked truck for a moment.

"You saved it!" He exclaimed excitedly, a little loud, but not waking anyone.

"Yeah, 68,000 from the past two years." I replied.

He hugged me and immediately forgave me for everything. We covered the babies and ran into the house.

Once they were nice and cozy in the nursery, I grabbed Ryder's hand and dragged him, while tiptoeing, into our bedroom and over to the walk-in (closet that is.)

I pulled out a shoebox filled with money and opened it.

His face lit up, probably thinking about what to do with it.

"Hold up now." I stated slamming the box shut. "I know that look. This money is for college, whether it be yours or the kids, it's not for anything else, you hear me?" I asked.

He nodded, very disappointed.

"That's not all I've been lying about."

He gave me a look that I knew there might be no bouncing back from. It was a look of pure disappointment.

"You think I'm just a waitress at the Athen's Diner, but I actually have a real job." I paused, "I'm a medical student. I work in the same hospital we just came from. The week we moved in, I began my classes. In the car, I said I wasn't enrolled online, which I'm not. I'm enrolled at TWU just outside of town. I managed to get a full scholarship due to my impeccable grades."

"Jada, this is great news, why didn't you tell me two years ago?" He asked.

"I wanted to surprise you with a degree in six more years. Also, there's more money than 68,000. That's just from the college I never went to. I have saved over 570,000 in the course of my life."