“Second Chance Romance”

Copyright 2012 All Rights Reserved

Chapter 22

Drained and exhausted, Austin walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the kitchen table. After folding his long body into the small wooden seat his eyes turned to study Jade. She was standing by the kitchen counter waiting for the coffee to perk and he couldn’t help but to notice how innocently beautiful she was standing there in something as simple as a pair of jogging pants and a baggy tee shirt with Minnie Mouse gracing the front of it. She didn’t wear a drop of make up and her hair was pulled up into a simple pony tail and she still managed to steal his breath away.

But even in her natural beauty, she looked tired too. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles and he could see her that she was leaning against the counter as if she needed the support to just stand up.

The entire day had been almost too much for her to handle. It was the anticipation of coming home and hoping for a miracle and then the reality of the let down when she only regained a fraction of a memory that left her even more confused. At this point he could imagine her emotions were on a free for all roller coaster ride and her breaking point was inching precariously close.

After a long minute passed, she was the first one to speak. “Did she give you any problems when you laid her down?”

Austin propped his leg out in front of him. “Not really. For a five year old she is surprisingly mature for her age.” He looked down at the table and chuckled to himself. “When I tried to explain to her that you still couldn’t remember a lot of things she was the one that told me that we all had to be patient and that soon enough you would remember everything. That little girl is something else. I know you don’t remember but you have done remarkably well in raising her.”

When she didn’t say anything Austin sat back in the rickety wooden chair, crossed his arms over his chest and continued to watch Jade move around the small kitchen while she fixed two cups of coffee. He knew that she was intentionally avoiding his gaze because of the kiss that they had shared earlier and he had a suspicious feeling that something else happened, something that was important and she wasn’t willing to share. All through dinner he had debated with himself on whether or not he wanted to try and drag it out of her or if he should take on more of a ‘wait and see’ attitude. Maybe, just maybe she would eventually come to him.

By the look of things right now, she was about as skittish as a newborn colt. He thought that it may be better to take a ‘wait and see’ approach. More than anything he wanted the chance to gain her trust again. He messed up big time back in high school when he made that split second decision to let Tina in his house and in his bed. It was the single most worst decision that he ever made and he paid for that decision too by not only losing the one woman that meant everything to him but by also missing out on the birth and first years of his own daughter’s life. He didn’t blame Jade for that; that blame rested all on him. He hurt Jade in a way that a woman like her should never have to hurt. He didn’t deserve her but he couldn’t stay away from her either. He knew that now and he would fight with everything that he had in him to put his family back together again.

If he was being honest with himself, sooner or later he was going to have to bring up the past. It was only fair. But he was hoping that when the time came to have that discussion he would have enough of her trust that maybe it wouldn’t matter anymore. She would know him for the man he was today and not the stupid kid he had been six years ago.

There was something between them though that was undeniable. He felt it and after that kiss they shared he knew that she felt it too. They had a special bond between them like no other. It had been there in high school but he was just too dumb and stupid to realize how special that bond they had really was.

That same bond was still there today. Even sitting here in the kitchen he could feel the energy between them popping like hot grease.

At this very moment, Austin wanted nothing more than to stand up, walk over to Jade and wrap her up in his arms while telling her that everything would be okay. They would all find a way to get through this.

He held himself back though. She wasn’t ready for that and if he pushed her too hard, she would more than likely push him right back and they would be back at square one.

Circumstances changed though. They had a little girl together now and this time, he wouldn’t let her push him away so easily.

“Can I ask you a question?” Hearing Jade’s voice, Austin shook his head and at the same time he glanced down and saw a coffee cup sitting in front of him. He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed that she had placed it there in the first place.

Jade had gone back over to the counter again and was staring out the window over the kitchen sink. He saw her shoulders rise and fall and instinctively knew that she was preparing herself for something.

He wondered if she would now tell him about what had happened earlier. Maybe that bridge of trust that he was working so hard to build wasn’t as far off as he originally thought it was. “Of course,” he replied quickly. “I’ve told you before that you know that you can ask me anything,” he assured her and slowly bent over to gingerly pick up the steaming cup in front of him.

This time she turned around, squared her shoulders and faced him. It was the first time since that unspoken kiss that she looked him directly in the eyes and a sinking feeling started to dig deep in his gut. “I asked you this before and you never gave me a straight answer. I’m pretty sure I already know, call it mother’s intuition if you will but I want to hear it from you. Are you Libby’s father?”

Austin held her stare. “Yes.”

Jade glanced down at her left hand and noticed the absence of a ring. “But we aren’t married.”

“No, we aren’t.”

“But we were both once in love.”

Not even blinking, Austin clenched his coffee cup in his hand. “Yes.”

Unnerved, Jade was the first one to look away and closed her eyes. “Then I don’t understand. What happened? Tell me something, Austin. Please, before I go crazier than I already am.”

She heard a chair move and glanced over in his direction. He was patting the seat beside him. His face was expressionless but she could see in the hard way that he held his jaw that she probably wouldn’t like what she was getting ready to hear.

“Come here,” he asked her softly, “and get comfortable. You probably want to sit down for this. It’s not a pretty story but you want to know the truth and I want to be the one to give you that truth.”

Wearily, Jade looked over at the chair before conceding. Taking baby steps she crossed the room and collapsed in the seat. She needed to know something and after that kiss; Austin was the man that she needed to know about. Libby was her daughter; she couldn’t remember the foods she liked to eat or her favorite bed time story but she did feel a deep down connection with her that only a mother could sense. She also felt another connection with Austin. One that was much harder for her to understand. The roots between them grew deep and after that faint memory that she recalled, she wanted to know more.

She put two and two together by watching Austin’s interaction with Libby over the last week. He was always patient with her and he had a way of encouraging her to figure things out for herself. Every time that he looked at her love shone brightly in his eyes, a father’s love.

And yet, she didn’t wear his ring on her finger. So what happened? What was it that she was missing?

For the next hour she listened quietly as Austin told her about there high school romance. They were friends all through elementary and middle school. They didn’t have their first date until she was fifteen and that was when he took her to the County fair. His older brother drove them and it was in the back of his truck that they had their first kiss. She listened to Austin tell her stories about special times they shared together through high school; there was the sophomore carwash, the Fall fashion show that the junior class put on as a fund raiser for new computers and senior prom.

As she listened to Austin tell her about his favorite memories of their times together it was almost like she was there reliving them with him. He was so animate about her expressions, the way she laughed, the way she moved. If it wasn’t clear before, it was crystal clear now. This man who has stayed with her over the last week was so obviously in love with her.

He paused for a minute and took a deep breath before saying, “And then I messed up.”

“Messed up how,” she asked him curiously both eager and afraid of what he was getting ready to tell her. This was the information that she had wanted to know. It was the missing link that would at least connect a part of her past to the person she is now. But would knowing be worth it?

Austin kept his eyes locked firmly with Jades as he began to stoically tell her what he had done. When he explained how she walked in on him with that other girl a sharp stab of betrayal struck deep in her chest. Only seconds earlier she had just listened to him tell her how in love they had been and now- this.

She didn’t know what to say. Did that mean he hadn’t loved her at all? She shook her head. That couldn’t be the case because the way that he was looking at her now told a whole different story entirely.

Remaining quiet, she listened to him go on and tell her about when she left town and then how it was five years later before her return after her father died. He even told her that he didn’t find out about Libby until her amnesia. He explained how he wanted to get an emergency custody injunction over Libby and how his brother pulled the birth certificate and discovered that he was listed as the father.

When he was done, he folded his hands in his lap and looked down at the table. “And that’s it,” he finished.

The Grandfather clock ticked away softly in the hallway behind them. Jade let the information sink in. A lot of it made sense to her now. What she didn’t understand though was if they had a falling out and she left town, then why was Austin here now? Why had he come to the hospital and spent all those hours by her side?

If it had been Libby, she would have understood. But he wasn’t there for just Libby; he had been there for her too making sure that she was resting, listening to doctors orders, holding her hand when she needed it and stepping back when she wanted her space.

It hit her then. It was like a switch just turned on inside her head. She knew exactly why he did all those things.It was evident in never wavering attentiveness towards her and Libby and his willingness to share the ugly truth about what he had done with her now.

He loved her.

Jade didn’t remember anything that he had told her but she didn’t see any reason that he would lie. By telling her a part of their past, both the good and the bad, he had given her something really special tonight; something that she would cherish even if she never regained her full memory.

He gave her back a part of herself.

She scooted her chair back and stood up, staring down at Austin. He had given her something and now she wanted to give him something in return. “Thank you,” she told him, “for being honest with me. I have one more question for you though and I want you to be just as honest.”

He tilted his head up and looked at her expectantly.

“Do you still love me?” Even though she knew the answer, she had to hear the words come out of his mouth.

“Yes,” he said simply. “I never stopped.”

Jade smiled. That was all that she needed to hear. She held out her hands to him. He then wrapped his hands around hers and she tugged, wanting him to stand up. He obliged her and she stepped into him, so close that their bodiespressedwere pressed together. “Prove it," she whispered, "kiss me then.”

He didn’t hesitate to comply. Austin dipped his head and slowly covered her mouth with his own. Jade reveled in the sweetness of the kiss and blocked out everything but him, her and the here and the now. Even though her world was in shambles she had this moment, this man and this kiss to keep her together.

His mouth trailed down her jaw line and Jade dropped her head back to give him better access. His large hands spanned across her back, keeping her grounded. She felt her blood heat in her veins and for once she felt something other than confusion and emptiness.

She felt desire.

“Austin, I can’t promise you any kind of future because I don’t even know what or who I’ll be tomorrow but-,” she stopped and a moan passed by her lips when he touched on a certain soft spot below her ears.

“You were saying,” he mumbled against the nape of her neck.

“Eh, yeah. I, I know what I want tonight- right now.”

“And what do you want Jade?” he said pressing hot, open mouth kisses against her already sensitized skin.

“You,” she breathed. “I want you.”

A/N** I’m leaving work so this is unedited- If you pick up on any mistakes please feel free to point them out.And just so you know, this isn’t the end by no means.There are still about 6 chapters left to this story.