Two Weeks (The Baxter Family #5)(74)

Another blink and Cole was getting out of her car and headed up to the entrance of Clear Creek High, waving and grinning, a lifetime of potential shining in his face. And the scene changed and he was a pallbearer after the accident that took Erin and Sam and three of their girls. And she could see him, strong and stoic in a suit that didn’t quite fit, and hear him later that day. “Won’t it be a party, Mom, when we’re all together in heaven one day?”

Ashley dabbed the tissue against the river of tears again. And suddenly he was a sophomore, sitting in the car beside her, telling her about his school project. “I have to interview someone in my family. Tell their story.” And for a series of weeks she could see Cole meeting with her dad. Interviewing his papa about Grandma Elizabeth. The grandmother he’d lost too soon. And they were sitting there and the sun was streaming through the window and Ashley’s dad was wiping tears as he remembered the most beautiful love story.

And when the project was finished she could hear him asking about his own father. Ashley could feel again the panic that had seized her. She didn’t want to talk about his birth father. There was nothing to say. He was a married artist in Paris who had wanted her to have an abortion.

She could hardly tell Cole that.

So she was hesitating and making small talk and trying to do anything but tell Cole the truth about his father, and suddenly Cole understood what she thought. And he was laughing and looking at her with curious eyes. “Mom, not that guy. I want to know about my dad. My real dad.”

And it was Landon he’d been talking about all along and Ashley was realizing all over again that God had given them a miracle because Cole was fine. He was happy and whole and he never once missed “that guy” because he had a dad. He had Landon.

All of it flashed in front of her teary eyes in the time it took Cole to walk in cap and gown across the grass and take his seat with his class. A brief trailer of images that disappeared as quickly as the years they represented.

She lifted her eyes to heaven and smiled. Lord, thank You for this life. Thank You for my oldest son, my Cole. Once more she dried her tears and as the famous processional song ended, Ashley felt the breeze brush over her face. She could do this.

Landon took hold of her hand. He whispered near her face, “You okay?”

“I am.” She sniffed and smiled at him. “We’ve had an amazing life, Landon.”

His eyes looked damp, too, but his smile matched hers. “Yes, we have.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “This is only the beginning, Ash. Just another chapter.”

She nodded and turned her attention to the graduation ceremony about to start. Enough reflecting on moments gone by. This was a time to remember, too, and Ashley didn’t want to miss a single second. After all, she’d been dreaming about 2019 since she’d scribbled in her journal that day, and now here it was.

Her oldest son was graduating.

? ? ?

NO MATTER HOW Ashley tried to hold on to the weeks that followed graduation, they flew by like so many hours. Elise remained sure about her adoption plans, and she was still sure Cole should go to Liberty. No matter what she decided about her baby. Cole had resisted at first, but then he did something Ashley and Landon both appreciated. He came to them each separately. Ashley was first. He asked her one question.

“Mom, if you’d been a senior in high school when you got pregnant with me, what would you have done?”

It was a question Ashley had considered this past semester, especially in light of Elise’s situation. Ashley hated the answer, hated that if things had been different she might not have made the same decision. She ached to think of all she would’ve missed. How she never would’ve known his baby face or the early years of his life. But it was the truth and she had to tell him. “I really think I would’ve placed you up for adoption.” She paused. “I’m sure I would’ve.”

The two had hugged then and Cole had smiled at her. “I’m glad you were older, Mom. I would’ve hated not knowing you.”

Another time he went to the fire station and talked to Landon. Later Landon told her how the conversation had gone. Cole had asked what Landon would’ve done if he’d been in high school when he and Ashley reconnected. Landon’s answer had been candid. He would’ve gotten his firefighting training and he would’ve waited a few years before even thinking about dating her.

Especially if she had a son.

Between Elise’s insistence that Cole follow through with Liberty and his conversations with Landon and her, Cole finally seemed at peace. Convinced he was making the right decision. But once that much was clear, another issue rose to the surface. The fact that very soon Cole wouldn’t only have to say goodbye to his family.

He’d have to say goodbye to Elise.

All of it seemed to push the days faster and faster toward August. Elise’s due date wasn’t until August 14, but on a sunny day the first of the month, Cole called home in a panic. He and Elise had been walking around Lake Monroe when her water broke.

“I’m taking her to the hospital.” His words ran together. “Please pray, Mom. She doesn’t look good. Come to the hospital as soon as you can.”

Ashley’s hands began to shake. This was really happening. Her son was about to stand beside his girlfriend while she gave birth. She contacted Landon and he was immediately on his way home to watch the kids. Cole had texted that Ashley could come to the delivery room. Elise wanted Ashley there so she could pray for her.