Finding Faith (22 page)

That brief conversation led to more conversations, which eventually ended with Faith inviting them to stay for the weekend. It was Madison’s birthday weekend and they were having a huge party at the house with all of her friends. It felt like the right time.
 

Walking over to the dresser, she pulled some undergarments. As she was turning away to walk into the bathroom for her shower, the sunlight caught her wedding rings and the diamonds sparkled. Smiling at the memory of her wedding day, and every day after that, her heart fluttered at the new reality that was her life. Married to the man she loved. Raising a beautiful, smart and precocious little girl. Her career continuing to flourish—after all, she had been promoted to Regional Director three months ago. Life was good now and all it had taken was that first step. A commitment that she would always be true to who she was, not the person people wanted her to be.
 

Surprisingly, she had even reconnected with Denise. Not that they would ever be close again like they were, but the day her assistant had put the call through, Faith had been in a forgiving mood.
 

“Faith Branson,” she greeted into the phone as she continued to make notes on the document she was reviewing.
 

“Um, Faith? This is Denise.”
 

Pausing as she listened to the one person from her past that she never thought to hear from again, Faith almost hung up. “What do you want, Denise?” Not caring one bit that her voice was filled with ice chips, she waited.
 

“Did you say Branson? Did you get married? Wow, that’s great, Faith. Congratulations,” Denise said through the connection.
 

The all too familiar stirrings of friendship bubbled up and she wanted to pick up where they left off. She really did. But then she remembered how they ended things. “Why are you calling me, Denise?” Faith asked, quickly running out of patience.
 

A pause, and then, “I’m sorry.” Contrition filled her voice as Denise said the words Faith never expected.
 

A mere ‘I’m sorry’ would not cut it. Not this time. Faith said nothing.
 

“I miss my friend, Faith. I don’t know why I said the things I did that day. You were the only person I ever trusted,” Denise’s voice cracked on the other side of the phone. “All I can say is that I should never have said those things to you.”
 

“Is that all? I really have to go, Denise,” she said coolly into the phone. She had wondered why she even allowed her to go on for so long.
 

“I’d like to start over. To build our friendship again...well, at least try to anyway. Back then, everything was just falling off the rails and I couldn’t, wouldn’t, see how it was my own fault.” A deep sigh came through the phone, “Anyway, I’m just calling to apologize. Can we maybe meet for lunch one day soon?
 

Faith had agreed to think about it. After talking it over with Cooper, she had called Denise and agreed to lunch. They had talked things over and then they talked again. It had taken months before Faith was even willing to admit that she missed her old friend. She wasn’t sure if they would continue to talk, but she was at least willing to give it a try.
 

Twenty minutes later, Faith walked down the stairs and entered the flurry of activity. Madison was talking to her grandfather, her mouth moving a mile a minute as she regaled him with her daily adventures. Cooper looked up as she walked in and came over to her. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her close and kissed her softly on the lips. “Good morning, Mrs. Branson.”
 

“Good morning, Mr. Branson,” she responded, looking deeply into his eyes. “Everything okay?”
 

“Everything is perfect now that you’re here. Are you hungry?” He asked the question, never taking his eyes from her face.
 

“A little. Maybe some bacon and toast,” she said as she peeked around him at the pile of food sitting on the counter. “Marge outdid herself, didn’t she?”
 

“I think she’s a bit nervous. This is huge for her, honey. Thank you, Faith, I know this means a lot to them,” he whispered to her.
 

“You’re welcome, Cooper. I want her to feel comfortable here. Now, let me go so I can eat,” her stomach grumbled just as she said it.
 

Marge looked at her with a mixture of hope and sadness in her eyes. “Thank you for having us this weekend, Faith. It means a lot to us, to me, that you would welcome us in your home.”
 

Sitting down at the table, Faith smiled at her, “Marge, your granddaughter lives here. You are always welcome.” Pausing to take a drink of juice, she continued, “This all looks very good, Marge,” she commented as she ate a piece of bacon.
 

“Um, Faith, may I have a word with you?” Marge looked nervous, but committed. She had to give it to her. The woman had went through something no mother should ever have to experience. Faith knew it was hard on her, and she tried to respect that. But Marge needed to respect that she was Cooper’s wife now.
 

Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she looked around and noticed Stan and Cooper about to exit the room. Madison was across the room, sitting on the floor playing with her toys, outside of hearing range. “Sure.”
 

“Stan, Cooper, don’t leave. You should hear this, too,” Marge said. Wringing her hands, she looked at Faith with sorrow-filled eyes. “You have to understand. Heather was everything to us. To me. My entire world revolved around her and when she and Cooper married, and then Madison was born,” pausing, she made a sound that could only be described as despair, before continuing. “My family is everything to me.”
 

Stan came over to stand next to his wife, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Dear, are you okay?”
 

“Yes, I’m okay. But this is something I have to get off my chest,” she smiled up at him, patting his hand.
 

Faith piped in, “Marge, it’s okay. I understand. I never held this against you. I know this was difficult for you.” Looking at Cooper, she noticed him simply staring at her with love in his eyes. He mouthed the words, ‘I’m proud of you’ as he watched the scene unfold.
 

“Faith, I was unfair to you. I couldn’t see past my own hurt. It was hard for me to see how Cooper could fall in love with someone else. How my daughter could be replaced so easily,” voice cracking, she paused.
 

“Marge, please don’t do this to yourself,” Faith said. Looking over at Madison again to make sure she wasn’t paying attention to the adults, she continued, “There’s no need for you to continue, truly.” She felt horrible that this woman was humbling herself like this. This is not what she wanted.
 

“No, let me say this one final piece. A few months ago, Madison spent the evening with us. When I was putting her to bed, she said her prayers and I listened. My granddaughter said something that I couldn’t believe. She thanked her Angel Mommy for bringing her Mommy Faith into her life. When I tucked her in, I asked her what made her say that prayer. And do you know what she told me?”
 

Shaking her head, Faith looked at Madison, then at Cooper. Turning her head back to Marge, “No, what did she say?”
 

“She said that only a Mommy that had been sent by her Angel Mommy would love her and her daddy so much. That you spoke to her Angel Mommy all the time, telling her how Madison was doing in school and how Cooper wasn’t eating right.” Laughing and shaking her head, “That you would do this, even when you thought no one was around to see, or judge, or question your motives, helped to open my eyes. I was wrong about you, Faith. It wasn’t my place
to make either you or Cooper feel guilty for finding each other. If Cooper was going to fall in love with anyone, I’m glad it was you.”
 

Getting up from her chair, Faith went over to Marge and wrapped her arms around the older woman. “Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that. Heather will never be forgotten and you will always be welcome in our home. You’re a part of this family, just as I am.” Releasing the older woman from her arms, she wiped her tears away and said, “Okay, now, let’s all get ready to get this day started. We have a birthday to prepare for and a little girl to celebrate.”
 

A smile lit up Marge’s face as she clapped her hands together once and stood, wiping her tears away in the process. Yes, we have tons to do. Madison, dear, let’s go pull out the decorations Papi bought for you.”
 

As they exited the room with Madison leading the way, Faith stood at the breakfast bar. Cooper walked over to her and grabbed her face in the palm of his hands, “Hey, baby, are you okay?”
 

“I am.”
 

“I’m surprised at Marge. I didn’t know she had it in her,” he said while pressing his body against hers.
 

“Well, what about our daughter? That little girl is smarter than all of us.”
 

“Our daughter?” Cooper questioned. “You’ve never said that before.”
 

Smiling, she responded, “But I’ve always felt it. She’s as much my daughter as she is yours.”
 

Bending his head down, he captured her lips in a deep kiss. His tongue stroking inside of her mouth, tasting her with a ferocity that usually preceded a long session of lovemaking. The sound of voices reached their ears and they split apart, both breathing heavily.
 

“You are not going to get us caught doing any hanky-panky. Just save that for later.” Smiling to take away the sting of her words. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you when we’re alone tonight.”
 

“Yes, you sure will.” Stepping away, he ran his thumb along her bottom lip and her teeth nipped his skin. “Oh, baby, be careful what you ask for. You better believe I’ll remember that later. Come on, let’s go prepare for our daughter’s birthday.”
 

“What will we do when we have to do two of these a year?” She asked as she trailed behind him.
 

Turning his head, but not stopping, Cooper had a look of confusion on his face, “Why would we need to do this twice a year?”
 

“Well, we can’t very well not celebrate one child’s birthday and not the other. That wouldn’t be very fair.” Faith waited as her words sunk in and Cooper gradually began to slow down until he came to a complete stop and turned to face her.
 

“What? Do you mean…are you...we’re having a baby?” He asked, his voice was filled with disbelief and a touch of awe.
 

“Yes. He, or she, will be here in another eight months or so,” she responded in a breathless tone. “Are you happy?”
 

“I’m ecstatic.” Bringing her close, he let out a loud yell as he lifted her in his arms.
 

The front door opened and his mother stepped through just as Madison and her grandparents came running from the back. Lifting her up and twirling her around, he shared the good news, “We’re having a baby!”
 

Madison started jumping up and down, yelling that she was going to be a big sister. Both mothers were smiling, Marge with a little moistness in her eyes, and Stan was clapping Cooper on the back. Slowly, the world around them started to fade away as she slid down the length of Cooper’s body.
 

“Thank you, Faith. I never knew my life would change so much, so soon. Thank you for this gift, for loving me.”
 

“You’re welcome. Now, for the rest of the day, let’s focus on our little girl on her special day.”
 

“Whatever you want, baby,” he said as he held her close to him.
 

Closing her eyes, she sent a message up to Heather, “Don’t worry, you can rest now. I’ll take good care of them.”
 

Wiping away a stray tear, she joined the conversation around her, she was ready for whatever came next. Life was good. Faith was finally happy. And as long as Cooper was by her side, she was ready to take on the world.
 

~ THE END ~
 

To My Readers,
 

Thank You for purchasing Finding Faith! I hope you enjoyed the story of Cooper and Faith and their journey to finding each other. If you enjoyed what you read, please take a moment to leave a review!
 

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Reana Malori