have risked his life to save anyone; he's that kind of man. But I'm crazy about him, too."
"I'm glad something good might come from all this. Thank you for taking care of Brett and helping me bring Violet into the world. I owe you so much."
"You're welcome. I think you should stay in Whisper Lake, Kelly. I would love to have you and Brett and Violet in town, and I know Mom would, too. We need to be a family again, and maybe we'll convince Tyler at some point to come back as well."
"I would really like that, Hannah."
"Good, because it's time to come home." She smiled as the ambulance came to a stop. "And it looks like we are home."
The paramedics came around and opened the back doors. They helped Kelly into the house, while she carried Violet inside. Her mother, Tyler, and Brett were waiting, and enveloped them with hugs and questions.
"I know it's almost midnight. I didn't get Brett up until a few minutes ago," her mom told her. "When I heard you were all right, and you were coming home. I knew he would want to see Kelly right away."
She smiled reassuringly. "That was a good call, Mom. Thank you."
"Thank you, Hannah, for bringing her back." Her gaze drifted to the baby. "And this little one, too. She's beautiful—like her mother."
Hannah glanced over at Kelly, who was fighting back tears as she settled on the couch. Clearly, she'd heard her mother's words, but now her son was climbing into her arms, and all her attention was focused on him. Mother and child were finally reunited.
"You came early," Brett said. "Santa was supposed to bring you tomorrow."
Kelly's smile was filled with tenderness as she stroked her little boy's head. "I couldn't wait one more minute to see you."
"I missed you. You took a long time to come back. What happened to your face?"
"I bumped it, but I'm fine," Kelly said. "And I'm here now. I'm not leaving again."
"What about Russ? Is he coming back, too?"
Kelly's lips trembled. "We'll talk about that later. Do you want to say hello to your baby sister?"
At Kelly's words, Hannah took Violet over to the couch, sitting down next to Brett and Kelly.
"Did Santa bring her, too?" Brett asked. "I thought she was coming on Valentine's Day."
"She couldn't wait that long to meet you," Kelly said.
Her mom and Tyler sat down in the chairs across from them. Her mother wiped a tear from her eye, and Tyler gave her an emotional smile.
"You did good, Hannah," Tyler said.
"She did more than good," Kelly said. "She brought Violet into the world, and she saved my life. My little sister is quite amazing."
"I've known that for a long time," Tyler said.
"Me, too," her mother said. "And, Kelly, I'm glad you're finally home."
"Kelly looked at her mother and Tyler with her heart in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mom, Tyler. I have so many regrets."
"No time for those now," Tyler said. "We're all together. That's what counts."
"You're so big now, Ty."
He laughed. "We all grew up."
The doorbell rang, and Hannah got to her feet. She took the baby to her mother. "Want to hold your granddaughter?"
"I can't wait," her mom said. "Thank you for trusting me."
She nodded as she deposited Violet safely in her mother's arms and then went to open the door.
Jake stood on the porch, his face showing the bruises from his fight with Tom, but he'd never looked more handsome. She stepped onto the porch and moved into his arms. "I missed you."
He gave her a loving smile. "I missed you, too. It felt like it took forever to get back here."
"About twelve years, but we finally made it." She gazed into his eyes, knowing she was revealing all the love in her heart. She was completely vulnerable to this man. But she wasn't scared anymore. She trusted him.
"I won't let you down," he said quietly.
"I know you won't. Really, Jake, I know that. I don't want to start the next stage of our lives with you feeling like you have to pay off a debt. We're starting fresh. We're equal. We're zero-zero, at the bottom of the mountain, the start of the game…" she finished with a laugh.
His grin warmed her heart. "I get it, and I like it."
"Good. How was the drive back with your dad?"
"It was fine. That relationship may take a little time, but I'm going to work on it, too, not so much for him, but for my mom