Page 151 of Embracing Jenna

The rest of dinner passed easily enough with light conversation, then as we were finishing up, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, hoping it wasn’t Nicky’s one call. Beth’s name scrolled across the screen.

“Want to step outside to talk to her?” Liam asked quietly.

My stomach twisted, but I didn’t want to deal with whatever she had to say during Ty’s celebration or in front of my family. “No, I’ll call her back later.” I quickly silenced my phone and put it away before her message popped up.

My mom pulled her phone out, too, staring at the screen for a long moment, her expression unreadable .

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Gloria just texted me,” she started, and Liam grabbed my hand. “Brian was arrested for child pornography. God help me, but I hope that fucker gets what he deserves in prison!”

“Mom!” I was shocked she said that, but honestly, I agreed.

My dad swiped under his eyes. “Thank God. I’m sorry I failed to protect you when you needed me, sweetheart, but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that son-of-a-bitch pays for everything he’s done.”

Their heartfelt support settled something in my chest. It wasn’t just me now. I didn’t have to carry this alone, didn’t have to hide behind silence and secrets. For the first time, we were finally on the same side, standing together.

Liam cupped my cheek and whispered near my ear, “You did good, Firefly. Proud of you.” Electricity ran down my spine as those words hit. I helped do this. I helped make our little corner of the world a bit safer and better.

“It’ll be like that Sublime song,” Tyler said. “I hope Brian shares a cell with a large inmate.” He started singing the wildly inappropriate lines, breaking the tension.

“Ty, stop it!” I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I laughed until tears rolled down my face. “Thanks, Teddy Bear.” I took a sip of water and pulled myself back together. “Thanks, Mom and Dad. I hate that he’s doing stuff like that, but I’m glad he’s finally going to face some consequences, and I’m really glad you guys know. Thank you for your support.”

“If he goes to jail, will you come visit more?” Tyler asked.

“Yeah, I will.”

“Good.” He grinned, and he looked so much like the little boy he used to be. He raised his water glass, since they’d finished the wine a while ago, and everyone followed suit. “To more time together.”

We clinked glasses and sipped our water.

“To moving forward,” I said, and we all clinked again.

The next day, on the flight home, I snuggled against Liam’s chest.

“You happy, Firefly?”

“So happy.”

He pressed a kiss against my temple. “I’m sorry we had to leave so quickly.”

“I’m not. I’m thrilled we were there for Ty, but I’m just as excited to get back home. I’m excited for normalcy. To just beus. To come home from work and find you in the kitchen, cooking dinner. To meet you at the firehouse after work. You still owe me a tour of the trucks, you know, and now I want it in person.”

“I’d love to give you a tour. I want to share every piece of my life with you.”

“Me too. I’m excited to finish the backyard too. I want to fill our garden with perennials, so every year when they bloom again, we can remember when it all began.”

Liam frowned. “I can do without always remembering the last few months.”

I shook my head against him. “Nope. This is our story, and I’m too happy we’re here to regret any of it.”

“I love how you always see the bright side of things, but no. I’ll never be okay with what happened.”

I smiled up at him. “I’m okay.”

“I know you are.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “And I’m so proud of you.”

He was sweet, but I wasn’t giving up on this. “How about if we only plant some perennials? Those will remind us of when we first began, and we’ll have room to plant more in the future. As we add to our story, we’ll add to our garden. This will always be one part of it, and there will be lots more good times to commemorate in the future.”

“I love it, and I love you, Firefly.”

“I love you, Liam.”

I snuggled deeper into my favorite spot, the groove where his pecs met his shoulder, breathed in his woods and mint scent, and with his strong arms securely wrapped around me, I slept the rest of the way home, dreaming of that future.

*** The End ***