One Wish Left

CHAPTER 20: BELOVED

Laura pulled her Volvo up to the graystone at 7pm on the dot. She rang the bell, and Jesse appeared seconds later in black jeans and a light gray button up paired with a charcoal sweater jacket. A corner of Laura's mouth tipped up. He was sexy and stylish, and it did a double whammy on her ability to think clearly. Or breathe, for that matter.

"Ready?" she asked, her voice an octave too high.

"Let's do this," he said, flashing her a glimpse of his perfect teeth.

As they slid into their seats and she started the car, Laura felt a bit featherbrained. She took a deep breath.

"You okay, LB?" he asked, using the shorthand for her nickname from her texts.

She gave a soft laugh, looked down, and started picking at her fingernails. "I'm okay, I guess. I feel a bit frazzled lately, to be honest, which is probably why I forgot to ask you about this until today." She looked up at him apologetically.

"Laura, I've asked you to join me for something at the very last minute twice now, so please, don't feel bad. Besides, you and Kieran take priority for me, so it really doesn't even matter when you ask me. If it's at all in my power to be there for you when you need me, I will be."

Laura tilted her head to the side, her lips parted in awe. She felt simultaneously moved and stunned by this proclamation, and she squinted her eyes, trying to discern why this man would so selflessly step into their lives with no questions asked.

"Thank you," she said finally. "I appreciate that more than you know, and Kieran does, too." She looked back down at her hands. "My mom is an incredible help, but being a single mother, I've gotten use to having to do things on my own for such a long time. It feels nice to be able to depend on someone." She glanced back up at him, taking in his contented expression. "But... why? I mean, I'm not trying to talk you out of it or anything, but why would you just be there for us like that? When you hardly know us?"

Jesse shifted in his seat so he was angled toward her. "It's like you said, we aren't strangers, Laura. And Kieran is my family, as are you, by extension. If you know that my presence is important to Kieran, that my existence means something to him, you need to know that the same is true for me. It has done my soul a whole lot of good to be around Brodie's boy."

She smiled as he let out a low laugh.

"The kid is just like him, Laura. That first night over at your house, I could have sworn, it was Brodie reincarnated." He shook his head and then laid it back against the headrest, staring out the window. "Kieran's just a little older than Brodie was the last time I ever saw him. It was quite a trip to see his son, his little carbon copy, standing there that day in your apartment. I know Kieran is his own person, and I'd never want him to feel pressure to be my replacement for Brodie. That's not what it's about for me. I'm just so happy he exists and so thankful that you're allowing me to have a part in his life."

Laura was openly staring at his profile, but she didn't care. She was utterly fascinated by this man who had loved her Brodie as much as she had, possibly even more so, and who loved her son with an immediacy that brought tears to her eyes. It was more than she could have hoped for from him.

And then he said something that ripped her heart right out of her chest.

"It should be him, Laura. It isn't fair that I'm the one who gets to spend time with his son. And I don't deserve to be the one who gets to spend time with you. It shouldn't be me." He hung his head as if ashamed.

She watched as Jesse's jaw twitched with emotion. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a shaky breath. The empath in Laura had never been able to resist offering comfort to someone in visible pain, and Jesse's vulnerability in this moment was gut-wrenching. Knowing full well how much trouble she'd gotten her heart into in the past with such impulsive acts, Laura reached over and grabbed his hand before she could talk herself out of it.