Fall Back Skyward (Fall Back #1)(120)

Joce nods, her tiny shoulders slumping forward in relief, but then frowns again. “It’s kind of weird having two dads. What about Daddy? Does it mean he won’t be our daddy anymore?” Her lip quivers when she lifts her gaze to mine.

My chest hurts just seeing the panic on her face. “Oh God, no, baby. He will always be your papa as long as you want him to be. No one will ever take that away from you.”

She turns to Cole. “I love you too. Like really, really love you.”

Oh Joce, my baby girl.

I shake my head, smiling. Cole’s mouth is slightly parted. He looks a little stunned too. Cora, on the other hand, is just her happy self, climbing on her knees and playing with her father’s hair, which has grown considerably longer since he came back home.

“You want to know a secret too? I love you too. Like really, really love you and Cora.” He pulls Cora down for a kiss on the forehead and does the same with Joce. “You want to know something else. Josh is still your papa and he always will be. You have two papas who love you so much.”

Cora’s face lights up even more. “I can’t wait to tell Lara. She has two papas too, but both of them are alive. She and her little brother and mother now live with the new papa. But the old one visits them every two weeks.” She stops and takes in a huge breath. “So, is it okay to call you Daddy Cole?”

Cole grins. “You can call me anything you want.”

“Cool.” Cora hops off the couch to the floor. “Are you two going to get married? I’ve seen you kiss Mama. You love her, don’t you?”

Cole and I stare at each other, a look infused with hope, reconnection, lost and found love.

I shift my gaze to my daughters. “We haven’t spoken about that yet.”

Cora bounces on the soles of her feet. “Okay. Can we go now? We really need to finish the fort.”

“Sure,” I say.

She quickly hugs Cole, and then does the same to me. Then she dashes up the stairs. Joce stands up, leans forward and hugs her father, then kisses him on the cheek. After giving him a shy smile, she walks toward me with a huge grin, embraces me and kisses my cheek.

“I’m sad that Daddy is not here anymore. But I’m really happy that your prince came back. I’m happy Cole is here,” she says, before trailing after her sister.

And then I burst out in tears at her words. The couch sinks as Cole settles next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to him. He just holds me to his chest and rubs his palm on my back until my sobs turn to sniffles.

I place my hands on his chest and push away from him. “I’m such a mess, aren’t I?” I try to smile but it feels like a grimace.

He nods, smiling. “You actually look really cute. A cute mess.”

I chuckle and sit up. “Thank you for being here. You are so good with the girls. You are a natural”

He shakes his head. “I’m always afraid that I might be doing the wrong thing. You and the girls are patient with me, so thank you.” He pulls me to him and kisses my forehead, and then tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

I bite my lip and look away. After Cole left, I never thought, even for a second, he would come back home.

I’m really happy that your prince came back. Joce’s words give me confidence and I lift my face.

Cole cups my jaw and tugs it gently to face him. “What is it?”

I clear my throat. “I thought I’d never see this day. You sitting here next to me, or Cora and Joce finally getting to know who you are. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you hated me or didn’t want anything to do with me.”

Cole leans forward, his gaze holding mine captive. “I could never hate you. I said those words in a moment of anger, but it wasn’t true. I will always regret not opening those letters. It was stupid of me. There is something my dad said to me a few weeks ago. Something that Josh said. Things worked out the way they did for a reason. You were there for Josh when he needed you the most. He was there for you and the girls when you needed someone to lean on, and I’m thankful for that.” He shrugs. “Life is never meant to be easy.”

He is right. Life is never meant to be easy, otherwise, there wouldn’t be any challenges to face.

I lift his hand to my lips and kiss his palm. “Tell me about New York, your tattoos, everything.” I trace the ‘Silver lining’ tattoo and lift my eyes to his. “I can’t believe you did this one. How did you even get the image?”

He grins. “I took a photo from your doodle book. I had no idea why I did that. I just know that every time I looked at the photo, it gave me courage. I had it tattooed on my skin after I left prison.”

I sit across from him as he fills me in on the years we were apart. By the time he is done, I feel gratitude and respect for this man. He hasn’t let anything stand in the way of his dreams, he even didn’t let the lack of money to finance his education pull him down.

Finally I ask what has been simmering in the back of my mind. “You said that you are not leaving. What will that do to your internship program at Lawrence & Barnes?” I don’t want him to give up his dreams just to take care of us.

“I’ll finish it in my dad’s firm. I just have a couple of months left, then I’ll be done and after that, take the exams to get my licence. So you see, I’m not leaving. Ever. You and our daughters are my dream.” He grips my shoulders and kisses me softly, before pulling back.