Will’s eyebrows lifted. Katie’s expression shifted as she looked up at Jasmine.
“I sure did,” Jasmine affirmed. “She’s going to jail for what she did. And she’s never, ever going to be allowed near you again.”
“Really?”
Hearing Katie speak brought all of Will’s emotions rushing to the surface. He’d been so worried she would regress back to where she had been eight months ago. It would have destroyed him.
“Not ever,” Jasmine promised.
The resolute, lifelong vow once again told him how much she loved his daughter, something he’d already known in his heart before that day…something he never should have doubted.
Something he would never doubt again.
“And if she ever tried,” Jasmine added, “I’d stop her again. She doesn’t scare me and she shouldn’t scare you.”
Katie considered that for a long moment. Then she nodded.
“Okay.”
Jasmine met his gaze over the top of Katie’s head. For the first time all evening, he took an unhindered breath.
With everyone standing around them in the small room and members of the hospital staff rushing past the open door, the moment wasn’t right for him to tell her everything she deserved to hear. He couldn’t spend the next several hours attempting to convey how brave and heroic he thought she was. How he’d never met anyone even close to as extraordinary as her. How he wanted to spend the rest of his life trying to make her happy and doing his best to live up to her incredible example.
Instead, the words passed unspoken between them. Every one of them conveyed the love they shared and the path that lay ahead of them.
Together.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Five months later…
“Does Simon have his bow?” Jasmine asked Chelsea, who was serving as the prop master for Pirouette’s upcoming recital.
“Of course he does,” Chelsea replied with a grin. “What good would a Cupid be if he didn’t have his bow?”
Jasmine smiled and high-fived her friend. “Great. Thanks.”
She continued on her way through the backstage area of the high school auditorium where the recital was being held. They needed the big stage to accommodate the performance. Jasmine had developed a partnership with the school before Pirouette opened. A majority of the high school’s dance students now also took classes at Pirouette. By offering those students a discount on lesson fees, Pirouette was allowed the use of their auditorium four times a year.
Today was the dress rehearsal for the studio’s big Valentine’s Day recital. She had hesitated to schedule the event on a holiday, worried no one would attend because they would be out doing other things.
Alima was the one who suggested turning it into a date night event. After the afternoon recital, parents could leave their children with the Pirouette staff for a small fee and go enjoy a date night together. The response had been enormous, once again proving that Alima had a great head for this business.
Another reason Jasmine decided to move forward with the Valentine’s Day event was because Will and his fellow pitchers and catchers had to report to spring training the following day. The recital would allow the players who had kids enrolled at Pirouette to enjoy one last heartwarming memory before the season began.
And as the reigning World Series champions, the team definitely needed to start the season off on the right foot.
She paused at each of the cameras set up around the stage, making sure they were pointed at the best vantage points. Pirouette’s social media accounts relied heavily on their videos. Fans went crazy for them, especially when Katie danced.
The talented little girl continued to blossom. It had been a year since Jasmine first met her in Everly’s waiting room. She couldn’t have imagined that shy child transitioning into the shining star she had become. Even the shocking events that took place before the Open House hadn’t kept Katie from reaching her potential.
Jasmine and Will continued to participate in family therapy with her. Gareth was guiding them all through the difficult aftermath following the incident. It was taking time, but they were all working through it.
Knowing they stood together as a unit helped Jasmine the most. She still remembered how uncertain she’d been about Will’s attitude in the days leading up to the attack. None of those doubts remained afterward though.
He loved her, plain and simple.
The day after the incident, Will hired Ordinem to do a deeper investigation into Carol Ann’s background and Katie’s childhood than had previously been done. After conducting in-depth interviews with Carol Ann, her mother,