A Love Rekindled (The Game of Love #1) (9 page)

“
You
didn't know, Luke,” Renee said. “I told her to tell you a
million times. You didn't know.”

“
She
pushed me all the time to tell you,” Jessica said. “She
was always on your side. What happened yesterday?”

Jessica
put her arms around Renee as well.

“
You
can go back and see him now,” the woman at the desk called out.

“
Can
I go with you?” Luke asked.

“
Yes,
of course.”

“
Let's
go,” Luke said.

The
three of them went back and Jessica slowly entered the room. Be
strong, she told herself, as she opened the door. She saw Lucas and
was relieved to see his open eyes looking up at her. His arm was
wrapped in something, he had something around his neck, and he had
some bandages on his face. He was sitting up and he seemed to know
what was going on.

“
Hey
baby, how are you?” she asked softly.

“
Okay,
my arm hurts mommy,” he answered.

“
I
brought someone with me,” she said. “Is it okay if they
come in to see you?”

“
Yes,
who is it? Is it a surprise?” he asked.

“
Yes,
it's a surprise,” she said. “Are you ready?”

“
Yes,”
he said, with a smile.

She
opened the door and walked in with Renee behind her.

“
Aunt
Renee is the surprise?” he asked, with a frown.

“
Thanks
bud,” Renee said, as she laughed.

The
door opened all the way and Luke walked in. Lucas' eyes lit up and he
had the biggest smile on his face.

“
Daddy,
is that you?” Lucas asked.

“
Yes,
it's me,” Luke said, as he walked over to the bed.

Lucas
moved to get up, but Luke hurried to lean in toward him.

“
You
have to sit still bud,” Luke said.

Luke
sat on the bed next to his son, put his arm around him, kissed his
head, and held him tight. Jessica saw tears in Luke's eyes. She felt
so bad for the time he missed with his son and for the time she had
lost with him. Luke looked into his sons eyes. It looked like he was
memorizing everything about him.

“
I
can't believe it's really you,” Lucas said. “Me and mommy
watched you play football on television. You're really good.”

“
Did
you?” Luke asked. “I can teach you to play if you want.”

“
Don't
you have to be with your team?” the little boy asked. “They
needed you so they could win. Don't they still need you?”

“
No,
the only place I need to be is here with you,” Luke said, as he
held his son. “Can I stay here and spend time with you?”

“
Yes,
you can stay,” Lucas said. “Does that mean I will get to
see you all the time?”

“
It
sure does. We can do everything together. I am never leaving you. I
will always be here with you,” Luke said.

Jessica
walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. She rubbed Lucas' leg
through the sheet.

“
How
are you feeling little man?” she asked.

She
wanted to take him into her arms so bad. He was her baby and she had
been so afraid of losing him, but she knew after everything Luke had
been through, he needed to be next to his son.

“
I
am hurting on my arm and my head, but I am happy daddy is here,”
Lucas said.

“
Good
baby, I'm glad,” she said.

The
doctor came into the room to talk to them. Renee stayed with Lucas
while Luke and Jessica went into the hallway with the doctor. He told
them that Lucas had broken his arm and needed surgery to fix it. He
would have a cast on after for six to eight weeks. He told them that
someone would need to be home with him for a week or so before he
could go back to school. The surgery would be the following morning,
and he would have to stay that night as well. They were watching him
for a concussion since he had hit his head, but everything seemed
okay so far. The doctor walked away and Luke wrapped his arms around
Jessica.

“
I
am so happy he's okay,” Luke said. “I was so afraid to
lose him and I had not even had him yet. I would do anything for
him.”

“
Luke,
I am so sorry for letting you go and for not telling you about Lucas.
I know an apology is not going to take away what I did. I thought I
was making the right decision, but I see now, that I made the wrong
decisions. I hope that one day you understand why I did it. I know
you will never forgive me, and I'm okay with that. I just hope you
know how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt anyone,” Jessica
said.

“
I
know you didn't mean to hurt me or him,” Luke said.

“
I
can take the week off, but then I won't be able to take the week off
at Christmas vacation,” Jessica said.

“
No,
I will stay with him this week, if that's okay with you,” Luke
said.

“
Of
course it's okay. You're his father. If you want to be there, then
you will be there. You can help make any decisions you want. I want
you to be as big a part of his life as you want to be,” she
said.

“
I
want to be with him Christmas week too. Maybe we can go somewhere,”
Luke said.

“
I
am going to take tomorrow off for his surgery, and you can take him
home Tuesday while I am at work,” she said.

“
I
want to be there with him while he is healing. I want to help him
with everything he needs. He needs his dad and is mom right now,”
Luke said.

Luke
kissed the top of her head as she opened the door and went back
inside. Renee asked what the doctor said. She looked so scared.
Jessica and Luke explained the surgery to Lucas and Renee. They made
it sound fun and exciting. He would have a cast. He could have his
friends at school write on it. They told Renee he would have to stay
the next night as well. Renee plopped into the chair and cried. Luke
walked over and knelt in front of her. He hugged her and told her it
was not her fault and that nobody blamed her. She had brought him and
his son together, and he was so thankful for that.

Officer
Jenkins, who was as the accident, came to the door and Lucas was all
excited. He let Lucas look at his badge and play with his cuffs with
his other hand. He explained that the accident was not Renee's fault
and that the other driver was texting and did not see her car.
Jessica could tell that the officer felt bad, because he kept
mentioning that is was not Renee's fault. He looked over at Renee as
she wiped her tears.

“
I
should have seen them. My nephew could have been killed. I should
have protected him,” she said.

“
There
was so no way to avoid them,” he said, as he walked to her.
“You could not have changed anything. Your nephew is going to
be okay. It's not your fault.”

He
looked into her eyes and Jessica thought it was so sweet that he was
so caring. She had never seen an officer look so caring before. It
was nice that he went to check on Lucas. He walked over to the door
and handed a card to Renee on the way out.

“
Call
me if you need anything. My name is Dillon,” he said softly.
“We will call you with the information you requested. Have a
good day. I promise you, it was not your fault.”

The
door closed behind him. Renee let out a sigh.

“
Auntie
Renee, come here,” Lucas said.

Renee
walked over to him and hugged him.

“
I
love you Auntie,” he said.

“
I
love you too buddy,” she said.

Luke

He
sat next to his son, holding him, for hours. It felt amazing to meet
him and know that he would be in his life. Lucas asked him questions
about football and his family. Luke told him about how excited his
grandma would be to meet him. Lucas was excited to find out that he
had a grandma. He had never had grandparents before. Luke thought
about how he was going to tell his mother. He knew she would be
happy, but he didn't want her to have hard feelings toward Jessica.

Luke
was hungry and knew that everyone else was also. He asked the nurse
if he could bring some food in. They said yes but that Lucas could
not eat the following morning. Luke asked him what he wanted to eat,
and he decided that he wanted pizza. Luke went out and brought back
pizza and soda. He had stopped at the gift shop and bought a kids
magazine, a coloring book set, and a stuffed turtle on the way back
to the room with the food. Lucas was very excited to get his first
present from his daddy.

They
all ate dinner and the nurse told them visiting hours were over. Luke
told the nurse he was not leaving his son for one minute alone. She
said the parents could stay but that was all. Renee let out a breath
and gave the nurse a dirty look. Jessica asked her if she was going
to be okay, or if she wanted her to go home with her. Renee said she
would be fine. She knew Lucas was okay, but she would be back first
thing in the morning. Her little man hugged her tight and told her
how much he loved her. Luke reached into his pocket and handed her
keys.

“
What
are these for?” Renee asked.

“
How
were you planning on getting home?” he asked.

“
Oh,
I really hadn't thought about it,” she said, as she shook her
head. “My car was totaled.”

“
Once
Lucas goes home, I can take you to get all of your stuff out of your
car. You should call that officer and make sure we have a few days.
We will go and get you a car after that. Until then, you can use
mine,” Luke said. “Is that is okay with you?”

“
You
sure you don't mind me using your car for that long?” Renee
asked.

“
I'm
sure,” he said. “I'll walk you out, so you know where it
is.”

Renee
said goodbye to Lucas and Jessica.

“
I
will see you in the morning. I want to be one of the first to see
your cool cast,” she said, as she walked out the door.

Luke
and Renee walked outside in silence. He walked her over to his car.
She had a huge smile on her face when he opened the door.

“
I
get to drive a nice sports car. Are you kidding me? You do know that
I totaled a car today right?” she laughed.

“
It
was not your fault,” he snapped. “Yes you are driving my
car. Have fun.”

She
laughed.

“
Renee,
thank you,” he said. “You have no idea how thankful I am
that you told me to talk to her. I would never have known. I'm pissed
at her, but I understand why she did the things she did.”

“
I
begged her a million times to tell you, Luke,” she said. “I
want you to know that. She had a very hard time breaking up with you.
Her pregnancy was rough. Are parents were horrible to her. It was so
hard for her not to tell you. She wanted you to have your life and
dream. Please don't be mad at her. She loves you. She has never been
with another man. Did she tell you that? I can't say that I supported
that. I'm sorry. I am so glad you know and that he gets to know you.
I know you will be a great father to him. He loves you. She has told
him so much about you. He knows about your high school, college, and
professional days. I do give her credit for that. Not a day went by
that she didn't mention you. Everything she ever said was positive. I
hope everything works out for you two. I really do.”