Second Chance Romance (Southern Nights) Completed

Chapter 19

“Second Chance Romance”

2012 Copyright All Rights Reserved

Chapter 19

“Mommy, why are you crying?”

Austin stilled in the doorway to Jade’s hospital room when he heard Libby innocently question her mother. His entire body also began to tense as he listened to Jade’s very un-lady like sniffle and then he heard her breath catch.

She was crying. That realization pierced his already wounded soul. He may have just found out that he was a father but right now, because of the accident, Jade couldn’t remember their daughter either. They both were going to have one hell of an uphill battle on their hands but he was more than ready to start hiking it.

“It’s alright mommy. You don’t have to cry. When I’m sad you always give me bear hugs and it makes me feel all better inside. Do you want a bear hug? It might make you feel better too.”

For the longest minute, he couldn’t find his feet to move. All he could do was stand there and hold his breath while he waited for Jade’s answer.

“I think I would like that.”

His heart melted in a puddle right then and there. No matter how much this little girl had been through, his little girl, she was there for her mama, offering her a quiet strength that very few people possess. It was an innocent strength that he could only admire.

Finally finding his feet, Austin slowly made his way into the room and felt his own heart swell at what he saw. Libby sat perched up on the edge of the bed with her small arms wrapped around her mother’s neck. Jade had buried her head into her daughter’s hair and he could see her struggling unsuccessfully to muffle the quiet sobs that continued to wrack her body.

At first he wasn’t sure what he should do. This was a picture perfect mother-daughter moment that he didn’t want to interrupt but after standing there for five minutes, he started to get antsy and made a subtle gesture in clearing his throat.

Libby sat back on her heels and turned to Austin with a big grin on her face. For the first time, he took a really good look at her and he could actually see a little of himself in her eyes. “Hey there Austin,” she beamed brightly. “I was trying to make mama feel better.”

His eyes lifted briefly to Jade’s and he noticed how she purposefully averted her gaze from him. “I see that,” he praised his little girl and stepped further into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. “I bet your hugs have some really powerful medicine in them. A few more and your mama will be as good as new.”

Libby shrugged her small shoulders. “I always like mama’s hugs. They have powerful medicine too.”

Jade finally lifted her head and glanced up at Austin. She still had a hefty amount of gauze wrapped around the top of her head and her eyes were visibly bloodshot and puffy, confirmation proof of her earlier crying. Right now, Austin would have loved more than anything to walk around the side of the bed and take her in his arms promising her that everything would be alright. Together they would find a way to wade through all that was ahead of them. But he didn’t dare. Not yet anyway. They were all walking on thin ice at this point and with this newest revelation of his parental status, he wanted to take things slowly.

So instead of going to Jade and holding her like he wanted, Austin stuffed his hands in his pockets and offered his daughter a small smile of his own. “I just bet they do,” he told her and then turned his full attention to Jade. “Anything new?”

She shook her head and watched on as Libby climb down off of her bed and walked over to the chair by the window. With sheer determination, she crawled up into the chair and out of her back pocket she pulled out the coloring menu and three crayons that she kept from Austin and her breakfast this morning at I-Hop. Very carefully she unfolded that piece of paper and laid it up against the widow sill. Without saying a word, she poured all of her concentration into that small piece of paper and began to color again.