Sometimes, Forever (Sometimes Moments #2) (24 page)

After they had said hello to Jenny and the rest of the staff, Cooper and Peyton walked out of the hotel, past the area where they had become man and wife, down the path, and into the forest. They found the perfectly smooth rock that had been the marker they had been looking for. At the rock, Peyton handed their son to Cooper and took hold of Pluto’s lead and the basket. He knew that a small embankment was ahead and she’d much rather Cooper held Callum as they trod down it.

Finally, they entered the clearing.

Cooper took in all the trees that surrounded them in a circle. It was still the same as it had been when she had first shown him this spot almost three years ago. The spot Peyton and Callum Reid had spent much of their lives in. Cooper had felt like he was imposing on her memories with Callum. She had told him never to think that way, that Callum would have wanted her to share this with him. They hadn’t returned until today. For their son to fall in love with this spot in the forest. To escape from the world when he was older here.

Peyton dropped the basket on the ground. She then walked Pluto to the middle of the clearing and took in the trees.

He looked down at his son to see him staring at his mother. Cooper bounced him to get his attention. “This is a special spot for Mum,” he said and then reached behind him and pulled out the envelope from his back pocket. He had written it five months ago. He had wanted to give it to her at the perfect time. Her suggestion of returning to the forest was it. She would feel close to Callum Reid here.

As he held the envelope, he took in every letter that spelled the same name as his son. The man his son was named after. Peyton’s footsteps caught his attention and he noticed that she had gone to the tree that marked her and Callum Reid’s initials. Taking a deep breath and holding his son tightly, Cooper made his way to her. Peyton’s fingertips were on the carving as Pluto sat at her feet.

“Peyton,” he said, getting her attention.

She spun around and he saw nothing but her love for him staring back at him. He never got jealous of Callum. He had said those horrible things when they were first dating, and he had almost lost her. He’d always regret saying them. Cooper presented her Callum’s letter. Peyton took it from him and stared at it. After several silent moments, her eyes locked on his.

He smiled as he took Pluto’s lead from her. Then he kissed her forehead and turned around, giving her space to read the letter.

“Come on, Callum, let’s set up your blanket so you and Pluto can play.” As he led Pluto back to the middle of the clearing, he felt at peace with his life. When he was twenty-five, he didn’t want any of this. He couldn’t imagine himself having any of this.

Now, months shy of his thirty-first birthday, Cooper couldn’t imagine not having any of it. He wouldn’t want a life without his wife, his son, and his dog. When he reached the basket, Cooper bent down and opened it with the hand that had Pluto’s lead around it. Then he pulled out the large brown blanket.

“Can you help Daddy?” he asked his son.

Cooper held up the end of the blanket and Callum latched on to it. He slowly shook it out, watching his son’s eyes go wide when the blanket flew in the air. It took some attempts, but somehow, they managed to get the blanket laid out. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to have Callum sitting on it with Pluto. When Cooper set his son down, he reached over and picked up Pluto, setting the puppy down next to them. He took off his lead, knowing that the dog was in unfamiliar territory and wouldn’t run, especially without Callum. The beagle loved the eight-month-old.

For the next ten minutes, he had spent his time watching Callum and Pluto play then glancing over to find his wife reading his letter. Then he noticed Peyton walking towards them with pieces of paper in her hands. When she reached him, she got on her knees in front of him and cupped his face in her hands. She glanced down, smiled at their son playing with their dog, and then focused back on him.

“This right here,” she said. “I have everything I could have ever wanted underneath my fingertips. You gave me life after Callum Reid. I never thought there could be one, but you made it possible. You are so much more than enough. You gave me our son. You have loved me when I gave you every reason not to. You have loved me and stood by me. My happiness is because of you. Callum will always be part of me. You have our son and me because you worked and fought for us. You are my forever, Cooper Hepburn. You are my best friend, my lover, my soul mate, my once fiancé, my one and only husband, and more importantly, you are the father of my son. Our son. My best moments are the ones I’ve spent with you.”

She kissed his forehead.

Then his nose.

And then finally, his lips in a chaste kiss.

She whispered, “Life is a cluster of sometimes moments. And my sometimes led to you and my forever moments. Sometimes, forever, you became my everything and gave me everything. You’re my hero, Cooper Hepburn.”

Cooper turned his head to see their son staring up at them, Pluto lying on his lap. Right here was where he was supposed to be. He focused on Peyton and committed that loving simmer in her eyes to memory.

His wife.

His soul mate.

His lover.

The mother of his child.

His biggest dream come true.

He wrapped his arms around his wife. “No,” he breathed. “You’re my hero, Peyton Hepburn.”

Actually, it’s only just the start of their happily ever after.

Dear Callum Reid,

You don’t know who I am, but I like to think you had an idea of me. My name’s Cooper Hepburn, the husband to Peyton Hepburn and father to our child, Callum Stuart Hepburn. I’ve been meaning to write this for a while, but when Peyton got pregnant, my focus was on her and getting ready to welcome our son into our lives.

I feel like I know you. I’ve heard enough stories to know I would have liked you … Actually, that’s probably a lie. I would have respected you, but I think if I had met you, I would have hated you. At the time, you had my wife’s heart. And that would have killed me. You still have a place in her heart, and that’s something I would never want to have. Her love for you will be something I can never try to claim.

I want to say that we’ve had the easiest of loves, but I would be lying. We’ve had an adventure, and adventures come with many complications and many successes. Peyton claims that I’m perfect, but I’m far from it. I try my best to be for her. But I want to tell you the two worst days of my life. They were the times I thought I had lost her. I will never forget those days.

The first day was when we were dating. I didn’t know you very well then. I was still trying my best to get her to trust me. It was the day after we’d first been intimate. She had cried, and I hated myself for making the woman I love cry. I didn’t understand why she had cried. I didn’t know. Peyton made me leave, and she didn’t talk to me for almost a week. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I stormed to her house and demanded to know what I had done. She wouldn’t answer me, and that’s when I yelled at her. It was the first and last time I ever yelled at her. From the top of my lungs, I screamed, “You’d rather me dead and Callum alive, don’t you? You hate that I’m alive and he’s dead! You hate that you slept with me. You wish it were him and not me! Well, guess what, Peyton? He’s dead! And right now, the way you look at me, I’d rather I were the dead one. Maybe you’d love me more.”

I’m not proud of those words. I’ll always regret saying them. Peyton didn’t speak to me for three weeks, and I deserved it. I had accused her of not loving me because I wasn’t dead. I was scared to lose her, but I had said everything that ensured that I would. I was jealous of you. I have never been jealous of anyone until I was of you, Callum. I wanted Peyton to love me. I wanted Peyton’s heart. I believed there wasn’t room for her to love me after you. I had planned to work the rest of my contract and return to the suburbs. But I needed to leave quickly. I wasn’t needed in town anymore. It was the night before I was going to leave when Peyton was at my door, crying. She apologised, saying that she was being selfish and that she should have told me. Graham had told her of my plans to leave. She begged me not to go. She begged me to listen to her. When I agreed, she said only three words, and they were ‘I love you.’

I have no explanation for how I felt when I heard those three words. But I think you know what it’s like to be loved by Peyton Spencer. When I confessed that I loved her, too, she cried and kissed me. That night, she told me everything about you. She told me that she’d cried because she’d realised she felt guilty for loving me more than she loved you. That, in some way, she felt as if she was cheating on you by loving me. I had never felt like more of an asshole than those weeks of my life. I almost lost Peyton and I didn’t want that ever to happen again.

The second worst day of my life was when our son was born. It’s a terrible thing for a father to say but just listen. You’ll understand. Peyton went into labour, and we rushed to the hospital. Everything went to plan until after my son screamed and Peyton’s hand fell from mine. Our son was too big to be born naturally and a caesarian was performed. Peyton didn’t even see him before her eyes shut. She was haemorrhaging and losing a lot of blood. The helpless feeling of knowing my wife was about to die was surreal. I had never felt so lost in my life. At that moment, I was blessed with a beautiful son, but I was close to losing the love of my life.

I also knew what it must have been like in the last moments of your life. I felt like I was you, Callum. I didn’t know how to say goodbye. I didn’t want to believe what was happening. I thought of my life without Peyton, and it was impossible. I was scared. The jealousy I held for you disappeared and every self-doubt I had left me. The only thing that mattered in my life was ensuring my son grew up with his mother by his side. Peyton doesn’t know why I named my son after you. Why? Because while the doctor was trying to save her, she called out your name and reached out in the direction the nurse had taken our son. I wasn’t envious or jealous that she hadn’t called out for me. Peyton had named our son and I was proud.

I’d never thought the feeling of being Peyton’s husband could be surpassed. I was wrong. Being the father of her child did. The relief of knowing we were going to raise our son together comes close. I prayed to God to save her, but I also prayed to you, hoping you’d influence Fate.

Peyton showed me your last letter to her. You spoke of her experiencing life’s firsts after you, Callum. Those life’s firsts she shared with me. And they have been the best moments of my life. (I also fell in love with her mother’s French toast the moment Peyton introduced me to them!)

Everything you wanted her to achieve, she has. She became someone’s fiancée, someone’s wife, and the mother of someone’s child.

For whatever reason, I was blessed to be that someone.

And for that, I thank you. You played your part in our forever. You brought Graham and Madilynne together. If they had never married, I would have never taken over the farm, never met Peyton, never fallen in love with Peyton, never asked her to marry me, never married her, and never held and loved our son.