Page 117 of SEAL of Valor

God is good.

He is there.

And He will never let us walk through the trials of this life alone.

“There you two are!” I pull away as Vivian crosses over toward us. “You do know that there is an entire party going on just for you, right?”

Laughing, Reese lifts the onesie and shows it to her mom. “I had to deliver news.”

Vivian’s eyes widen, and she raises both hands together in front of her mouth. “You are?”

“We are having a baby, Mom,” she says.

“A baby! A grandchild!” Vivian claps and rushes forward, all of her energy having returned now that no one is slipping pills into her system. She wraps both arms around us, absolutely giddy. “This is wonderful! Congratulations.” As she pulls back, she places one hand on my cheek, one on Reese’s. “My Sugars, this is going to be quite an adventure. But the best one you will ever have.”

I look over at Reese. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Her cheeks flush with color, and she smiles up at me.

“Actually, this is perfect timing. Because as it so happens, I have something I want to talk to you two about.”

“What?”

“Well, I’ve decided that it’s time to move.”

Her words hit me right in the gut. The thought of losing her or this place levels me in a way I hadn’t been prepared for.

“Easy there, Weston, I can see the worst-case scenario playing out on your face. Before you get all twisted, what I mean is, I think it’s time you two take the farmhouse and I take the cabin.”

I stare at her. Surely I heard her wrong.

“Mom, are you sure? Why?” Reese questions.

“Because you, my dearest daughter, have a family. A husband and a baby on the way. You are going to need space. Besides, I’m getting a little old for farm work, and that cabin might as well be the best place to retire in the world. Because it is far away enough to give you space, but right there when you need me. Or when I want to come see my grandbabies.” She sniffles, tears in her eyes.

“We can’t take your house,” I tell her.

Vivian clears her throat. “So long as you are comfortable living in that home, Weston, yes, you can.”

I hesitate a moment. When my mom told me we were selling the place and had to leave, I really didn’t care. That place held nothing but memories of my drunken father at his worst. Of fists slammed into sheetrock and broken doors.

But now I have Reese.

I have a family on the way.

And maybe raising them in that same house, giving them all the love I never had, might be the best kind of remedy.

“It doesn’t seem fair to you,” I say.

“Weston, when I was going to lose this place, you saved it. When I couldn’t handle everything on my own, you showed up and shouldered the weight without asking for a single thing in return. This ranch is as much yours as it ever was mine. More so.” She meets my gaze, a smile on her face. “You are my son, Weston.”

You are my son.

Her words settle over me. A comfort I hadn’t realized that I needed.

“I want you two to raise your family in that home. Fill it with laughter, and love each other with everything that you have.” A tear slips down her cheek. “Your father would be so happy for you,” she says to Reese. “He would be so happy for the both of you.”

Katydids chirping around me, I make my way across dewy grass. It’s just after six in the morning, and while getting out of bed when Reese was curled up beside me this morning felt impossible, I knew I had somewhere else I needed to be.