A Daddy for Jacoby(77)
And the man wearing it.
Dressed in a white button-down shirt, snug-fitting jeans and cowboy boots, he climbed off the back of the float.
Justin.
Her heart lodged in her throat, making her work twice as hard to breathe. She watched him gently lift each of the children, one by one, from the float. They ran toward where she stood on the sidewalk, each holding a yellow rose in their hands.
Tears gathered in her eyes as she accepted each rose and a hug from the boys and girls who then ran back to the float and climbed aboard again.
Except for one boy and one man.
Jacoby stood next to his father in a matching outfit, from the miniature black Stetson to the cowboy boots. They each grabbed a sign in one hand and a yellow rose in the other and slowly walked toward her as the parade continued on its way.
We love you, Gina, read the sign Jacoby carried.
The simple block letters on Justin’s spelled out, With all our hearts.
Gina brushed away her tears, surprised at how much she wanted to believe those words meant…something. She warned herself not to get her hopes up, her fingers clenching the roses in her hand. She’d never wanted anything in her life as much as she wanted to believe the smile on Justin’s face and the confidence in his gaze as he stopped in front of her.
“This is for you.” Jacoby held out the rose.
Gina bent down to take the flower and then gave Jacoby a big hug. “You look so grown-up. I love your hat.”
“Thanks! Do you like our signs?”
She straightened and touched the edge of the poster board. “Yes, I do, very much.”
“They were my dad’s idea.”
Looking up, she found Justin watching her. “They were?”
“Yes, they were.” He rested his sign at his feet and handed over the last rose to her. When her fingers brushed his, he wrapped her hand in his, his thumb tracing back and over her knuckles.
“Gina, I want to thank you—”
“Thank me?”
He took a step closer, raised her hand to his lips and gently placed a kiss there. “Let me finish, okay? I want to thank you for loving Jacoby and for loving me.”
Stunned, Gina could only stand there and stare at him.
Justin’s smile faded as his gaze turned serious. “I’ve always thought I had nothing to offer. My past mistakes were something I couldn’t erase and those mistakes make me feel worthless. If it hadn’t been for you I would’ve never believed I could be anything else. You never gave up on me, you never let me give up on Jacoby and you made me see that a person is defined by who they are now, not what they once did. I want to start a family with Jacoby, but I don’t want to do it alone.”
He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a ring. “I know a marriage proposal is a bit impulsive considering I haven’t even asked you out on an official date yet, but I’d like you to wear this, on your right hand, as a promise of my love and how much I want…we want you in our lives. I do love you, Gina. With all my heart.”
Gina’s fingers shook as Justin slid the delicate art deco and filigree diamond ring on her finger. “Justin, it’s beautiful.”
“And if you still have to go away to find your dream—” Justin paused and silenced Jacoby’s protest with a look “—we want you to know we’ll be right here waiting when you get back.”
“I don’t have to go anywhere,” Gina answered, pouring all of her love for this man and his little boy into her words. “I can work on getting my teaching credentials in Cheyenne. I’m staying right here because I love you, too, both of you, with all of my heart.”
She heard Jacoby’s squeal of delight and her family’s cheers, but all she felt was the love and strength of Justin’s arms as he pulled her to him and lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss that held the promise of tomorrow, the promise of forever.