It took extreme effort not to allow his gratitude to overwhelm him. He knew he had great friends, he knew all of them were good men, but time and time again, what he failed to remember was they were brothers.
He stared at Jameson, a man who used to be surly and selfish with his words, a man who elected to grunt more than he spoke, a man who’d lived behind walls and kept to himself, a man who had done an about-face when he met his wife. Not that Jameson was chatty, but he no longer guarded his thoughts. Therefore, Holden opened up.
“I’m so fucking happy I don’t know what to do.”
“Live.”
“Come again?”
“Just live.” Jameson smiled. “Tell me, how’d you feel when you woke up this morning?”
Holden didn’t tell his friend he hadn’t actually woken up because he’d never gone to sleep, but he caught his drift and answered, “Unbelievably happy.”
“Right. And this afternoon you’ll go home and they’ll be there and you’ll be happy. You’ll go to sleep and you’ll do that happy, too. Just fucking live, Holden. No thinking about the past, about shit you cannot control or change. You got it now. Enjoy it. Savor it. Show your girls how much you love them and they’ll wake up, go to sleep, and spend all the moments between knowing they have you so they’ll be happy. It’s time for you to start livin’ again.”
Jesus, he’s right.
I hadn’t truly been living for years.
“It’s good to know you getting laid on the regular has turned you into a wise old man. We needed someone smart around here.”
“Idiot,” Jameson mumbled and shook his head. “I’ve always been smarter than the rest of you fools. Better-looking, too.”
“Right.” Holden chuckled. “Good to know you got that big ego of yours in check.”
“I know you already know this because you had it once, but you seem to have forgotten so I’ll remind you. When you have a beautiful woman at your side who is strong, capable, smart, loyal, and you know you’ve earned her respect, that’s not called ego. That, my friend, is confidence. I know Kennedy wouldn’t be standing next to me with my ring on her finger and my baby in her stomach if I wasn’t worth something. So that confidence is earned. Remember that, Holden. Charleigh Axelson is a warrior, and she wouldn’t have waited for as long as she has for you to pull your head out of your ass if she didn’t think you weren’t worth that wait. You got everything you want, now all you gotta do is live.”
With that, Jameson turned and left, leaving Holden reeling.
His friend was right, again. Charleigh was strong, capable, smart, loyal, and a great mom. She wouldn’t accept anything but the best for herself and Faith.
Live.
He could totally do that. But while he was living, he’d do more than show his girls how loved they were—he’d prove to them he was absolutely worth the wait.
Holden was on his way down to the conference room when his cell vibrated. Charleigh’s name flashed on the screen and his heart flip-flopped.
Damn, he had it bad.
“Hey, baby,” he greeted.
“Sorry to bother you at work but I wanted to tell you Jodi called and asked if I was available today to see the property you told me about.”
Holden smiled and asked, “What’d you tell her?”
“I told her I was. But, Holden, are you sure about this? She told me the list price on the house and it’s—”
“Go look at it, Leigh-Leigh. If you like it, call me and I’ll make an offer.”
“You can’t make an offer without seeing it.”
“Sure I can.”
“What if you don’t like it?”
It seemed his woman didn’t understand, so he walked past the conference room, noting everyone was already around the table, went into the reception area, and stopped in front of the big window overlooking Fountain Park.
“Okay, Charleigh, I guess I haven’t made myself clear, so let me do that now. I don’t care where I live as long as it’s with you and Faith. I don’t care what the house looks like, if it’s in a development, on a farm, one-story or two. The only requirement I have is that there’s a yard for Faith’s dog. So, if you like the house, tell Jodi to call me. If you don’t, set up more viewings and when you find what you’re looking for, we’ll make an offer.”
“It’s really expensive, and as you know—”
“Then it’s a good thing your man is rich.”
“You’re rich?” she wheezed.
“I live in a trailer. I have minimal overhead. My Suburban’s paid off. I saved money while I was in the Navy mainly because I was gone more than I was home and I had nothing to spend it on. I own Gemini Group with Nix, Jameson, Weston, Chasin, and Alec. You’ve seen where they live; tell me, do they look like they’re hurtin’?”
“No, but—”
“Trust me, we got the money to buy the house.”
“But—”
“Charleigh, baby, please find us a house. I want my family set up and settled as soon as that can happen. I know it’s asking a lot for you to handle it on your own, but I’m asking all the same—find our family somewhere to live.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “But, Holden, I’m not alone, I have you.”
His eyes lost focus and his body locked.
Jesus, Jesus.
They’d done it.
They’d won.
Just start living.
Holden let the beauty of her words wash away the bitterness
