A Daddy for Jacoby - By Christyne Butler Page 0,74

seat belt and started down the road before he headed back to the porch, his sister’s words ringing in his head. Talk to Gina? She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in anything he had to say, but he couldn’t let her leave town without her knowing—

Knowing what?

How much it meant to him that she’d believed in him from the very beginning, standing up for him when no one would? How she’d been by his side from the moment his son appeared and never let Justin’s doubts and inner demons get in the way of what he had to do to keep Jacoby safe and happy? How she’d taught him to laugh, to think, to dream?

How she’d changed his life?

“Hey, Dad!”

He opened the screen door and went back inside. “What do you need, Jacoby?”

“Is love spelled with an o or a u?”

Justin smiled.

Neither. In his eyes, his heart and deep in his soul, he knew he would forever spell it G-i-n-a. “It’s an o,” he said. “L-o-v-e. Why?”

“I want to make another sign.” Jacoby leaned over a fresh piece of poster board. “Everyone is saying thank you or how happy she makes us, but I want to make a sign that says ‘We Love You,’ even though I like l-u-v-e better.”

He crouched beside his son. “Why do you want to say that?”

Jacoby looked up at him. “Because we do. Love her. Right? So why not just say it?”

Justin dropped to his knees and reached for a paintbrush.

Why not, indeed?

Gina clapped along with everyone else lining Main Street when the high school marching band led off the annual Memorial Day parade as the church bells chimed the noon hour.

The weather was so warm that she wore the strapless sun-dress and wedge sandals she’d purchased while on vacation. Everyone around her was also dressed for the heat, so she didn’t feel out of place. Here she was, finally feeling like a part of this town and a part of her family, and she was leaving again.

Her mother’s hand landed lightly on her shoulder. “Here come the twins.”

They watched Gage’s precious vintage pickup, decked out in school colors and filled with members of the senior class, cruise down the street. Although the vehicle was barely crawling due to the speed of the parade, Garrett looked nervous behind the wheel. Giselle had been chosen as one of the class princesses and shone again in her senior prom finery.

Gina sighed. The twins had tried to persuade her to stick around for a few more weeks, at least until their graduation, but she promised to come back for the ceremony and party.

She couldn’t stay. Not for one more day.

If she did, she was sure she would end up on Justin’s front porch, again, only this time she’d spill out her heart and make a fool of herself—to a man who’d made it clear he wasn’t interested.

Unless, of course, she was pregnant and he was forced to do something about it.

“I wonder if Gage has seen what they’ve done to his truck,” Racy said, joining them. “Good thing I’ve got airline tickets and hotel arrangements to distract him.”

Gina scooted over to make room for her sister-in-law. “Are you talking about your Paris honeymoon?”

“Yes, we’re finally going. We head out a few days after the twins graduate. Then it’s two full weeks in the most romantic city in the world.” Racy sighed and patted her belly. “I can’t wait, even if I can’t sample any of the French wines.”

“Where is Gage?”

“He’s working the parade route, but we’ll probably run into him later at the fairgrounds for the barbecue. You are coming, right? Before you head out?”

Gina’s car was packed and ready to go. She was driving as far as Hastings, Nebraska, tonight with plans to continue to South Bend and the Notre Dame campus in the morning.

“I don’t know. It’s a six-hour drive to my hotel. I should head out as soon as the parade ends.”

Yes, she was avoiding the town-wide picnic because she’d probably run into Justin and Jacoby. It was going to be hard enough to stand here and watch the library float go by and wave to the little boy. She knew the story-hour kids were being featured. She’d been asked to sit on the float, too, but she begged off.

More groups came by. The 4-H crowd featured every kind of animal from horses to sheep, and the local square dancing troupe do-si-doed and walked at the same time, the ladies’ colorful skirts swirling. The

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