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“It was in the little things though that had us wondering if maybe we were wrong. That you weren’t playing with Justine, that you honestly loved her, and she was the only one that brought out a different side of you,” Kevin added.
“Seeing that video, I had to admit that you loved her. So, we stopped by to let her know that as long as that’s all we ever see from you towards her, then we won’t have any problems, but if you ever…”
“Hurting her hurts me. Haunts me,” Tyler said stopping his warning. “The pain in her eyes when I jumped down her throat that first night almost killed me. I just can’t do it, can’t stand to see tears in her eyes, pain in them and knowing that she did what she thought was best for me, stopped any thoughts of not being with her, keeping her this time. Took me almost two months to convince her this was it for me, that what was between us was real, never going to go away. That I wasn’t going to let her run out on me again without a fight.
“Getting married might have seemed fast to everyone else, but she’s been mine since we were fourteen. Even if it wasn’t for another year and a half that I kissed her. We were together from the day she came home. Yes,” he said at the surprise that caused her brothers, “while I was supposedly engaged to Angela, and she knew from the start that the engagement was just to shut everyone up. Keep my mother from throwing eligible women at me,” he added her way making her grimace a bit.
“I was trying to make up for how little attention we’d given you after Hailey’s transplant. You were so different with everyone except the twins. I hoped you’d fall in love, that the right woman and a family would help you be that man all the time,” Barb admitted. “I can see it so easily now though, which is why we asked to stop by actually.”
“I’m guessing since Dad isn’t here, it’s not to tell me he’s stopped complaining that Justine’s mine?” Tyler said and she shook her head no.
“No, but it is something that the rest of us were good with giving to you. Jeremy included,” Caroline said making his eyes darken a hint at the mention of their cousin. “You’ll have to forgive him for saying Justine was hot sometime you know.”
“Maybe I’ll forgive him when he finally meets someone and never turns his eyes towards my girl again,” he grumbled making Justine laugh softly looking back up at him again.
“You know I’ve only ever had eyes for you, honey-bae,” she teased him, earning a soft, lingering kiss that had her brother coughing to interrupt.
“Yeah, why don’t you keep that to yourselves for now? I might be willing to accept that you love her, and she loves you, and that the two of you are together, but I definitely don’t need to see that or know what you do with her when you’re alone,” Noah said giving him a little glare.
“Alright, for now at least,” Tyler said surprising her. “What? I know what it’s like to have little sisters and I don’t want to see some guy mauling them, even if they enjoy it. So, what did you bring us?” he added to his mom and sister.
“Well, two things really,” Caroline said giving them a grin. “The first is from me…sort of. Pretty sure it was originally from Justine to you though based on how you reacted when I claimed I lost it.”
“You can’t mean…” Tyler stopped, opening the box, a smile hitting his lips finding the jacket inside it. He took it out then lifted the sides until he could unzip the inner pocket, finding it truly was his jacket and not a copy of it.
“I didn’t really lose it. I did spill something on it when I took it without asking and ripped the side and didn’t want to admit to it,” Caroline said when he turned his attention back over to her. “I hid it in my closet for years and remembered it when I was over there the other week. I took it to the dry cleaners to see if they could fix it. They managed to get the stain out, but Mr. Hutton told me it likely wouldn’t fit you when I admitted it was yours. That he tailored your suits, so he knew your measurements and the jacket was likely a little small now. So…I asked if there was any way he could make it bigger. The back of it was lined with the same material so he used that to add panels to the sides and on the underside of the sleeves, and we replaced the lining of it with one of grandpa’s old shirts.”
“My father,” Barb added, and Justine grinned knowing how close he and Tyler were until he died when they were seventeen.
“He was the only one who knew about us in high school,” Tyler said surprising her at that news. “He knew from the start because I couldn’t stop smiling after I finally kissed you, babydoll. Told me you were worth whatever fight it’d take to make you mine forever. It’s the perfect addition to it but honestly, it wasn’t losing the jacket that I was so angry about,” he admitted, pulling the piece of material out of the inside pocket which simply made the others more curious. “It was losing this.”
“What is that?” Kevin asked and Justine flushed entirely.
“Probably better to not answer that,” she warned Tyler as he dropped a kiss onto her lips.
“Justine?” Noah said drawing their attention his way and he reminded her so much of their dad when his brow rose, his stare pointed.
“Itmightbe a piece of one of my old dresses, whichmightbe the one that I wore the night that Tyler and I got close,” she offered, and his eyes widened a bit further.
“Are you seriously saying…Justine Elena Crawford!” he shouted when she just grinned.
“Crawford-Anderson,” she said with a grin and a bit of a shrug as Kevin just stared at them.
“Why the hell did you give him that?” Noah asked with a groan. “I mean you seriously cut up your dress for what?”
“The dress was ripped from where it caught on a branch so it was pretty much ruined to start, but I wanted him to have something he could always have close, even when I wasn’t,” she admitted.
“Wait, isn’t this the day you got married?” Caroline asked seeing what she’d embroidered on it.
“One of the reasons we chose that day,” Tyler said, making his sister laugh while her brothers simply groaned in response.
“Well, before we risk Justine’s brothers coming after you, we want you to have this,” his mom said handing over a smaller box and his brow rise in surprise when he popped the lid of it open seeing the ring inside it. “When your grandmother got sick, she left this with me because she never really liked your Aunt Bea—Grace and Jeremy’s mother,” she added for the others. “She wanted one of her direct grandkids to use it. Grace’s husband gave her a ring that was passed down in his family, so it mostly left you and Jeremy. I asked the girls, and they all agreed it should go to you, and Jeremy said if anyone should wear it, it should be Justine because if your grandmother had the chance to get to know her, she’d have loved her as much as you do.”
“Dad will hate it,” he said but his mom just shrugged making him smile as he turned the box towards Justine. “It goes well with your ring but if you don’t like it…”
“It’s beautiful,” she said, stopping his worry. “I’d love to wear it.”
“I love you, babydoll,” Tyler said softly, slipping it onto her finger and it fit perfectly. “Jeremy’s right, Grandma would have loved you. Loved that you don’t take shit from anyone. Would do anything to protect your family,” he added, and she read the truth in his eyes of his meaning of that.
