The O'Conners: A Made for Love Novella (6 page)

I don
’
t know where this day has gone.

This day? More like this week
…

It seems like just yesterday Avery and I were boarding a plane to come home. Now, we
’
re just an hour and a half away from boarding another plane to head back to Chicago. While it
’
ll be nice not living out of a suitcase, I
’
ll miss our family.

Our family.

Growing up, I never really had a family. Just Patrick. I stopped calling him
dad
a long time ago. He hardly warranted the title. After Rhonda left, he cared more about his whiskey than he ever cared about me. All these years later, he
’
s still just a broken man with not an ounce of remorse for the way our lives turned out.

Well
—
his life. Not mine. I managed to get out. I managed to find my way to Colorado by working my ass off on a football field. My escape led me to Beckham; Beckham led me to Christ; and by His grace, I not only have the most amazing wife, but an entire family. I
’
ll never be able to put into words the way their love and acceptance makes me feel. I
’
m an outsider, adopted in as if I
’
ve been a part of them my whole life
.

It
’
s true that my biological family is out there. Addie, Beckham, and Kenzi aren
’
t the only siblings I have. Rhonda gave birth to three more children that I
’
m not sure I
’
ll ever meet. She left me. My own mother. She never came to claim me and she can
’
t take that back. The fact that she started a whole new family instead
…
it still hurts to think about it. I may have forgiven her, forgiven both of my parents, but that doesn
’
t mean that I want them to be a part of my happiness now. They don
’
t belong here anymore than I belong in their worlds
—
choices they made years ago.

“Call us when you land, okay?
”
says Shannon, pulling me from my thoughts.
“
I don
’
t care what time it is, I want to hear from you.
”
She gives me a stern look as she reaches her hands up. We
’
re not due to land at O
’
Hare until two in the morning. Nevertheless, the look she
’
s giving me assures me I should not argue. I bend down so she can reach my face and she pulls me closer to kiss my cheek.
“
Love you.
”

“Love you too, mom. I promise we
’
ll call.
”

She lets go of me and turns her attention to Avery. Ray steps up with a smile and pulls me in for a hug.
“
You two be safe,
”
he instructs, giving me a pat on the back.
“
You take care of my baby girl.
”

“Forever and always, dad.
”

“Just what I like to hear.
”

Like Shannon did a moment ago, he moves away from me to say farewell to Avery.
“
Bye, daddy,
”
she sighs, holding him tight.
“
Miss you already.
”

“Oh, I miss you too, baby girl. We
’
ll see each other again soon. You take care of my boy, you hear?
”

She giggles and the sound pulls my lips up into a smirk.
“
Forever and always, daddy. I promise.
”

“Alright, honey. I suppose we should let them go.
”

“Two goodbyes in one day. You guys are too tough on us,
”
teases Ray.

Right now, Beckham and Addie are on a plane, making their way to Nantucket for a quiet, cozy honeymoon.

“That
’
s what you get when you have twins! Double the trouble
—
but double the fun!
”
says Avery.
“
Haven
’
t you learned this already?
”

“Doesn
’
t make it any easier. You
’
ll understand one day,
”
says Shannon with a hopeful smile.

I furrow my brow at the thought of Avery and I having twins.
Twins skip a generation, don
’
t they?
Dear Lord
—
I hope so. I can
’
t imagine having
one
kid right now, let alone
two.

“Oh-
kay
, mother
—
you just go ahead and wipe that look off your face right now. Nobody
’
s getting pregnant. You
’
re going to have to wait,
”
Avery insists.

I reach for her hand and lace my fingers with hers, relaxing just hearing her speak those words. There
’
s no doubt that Avery and I want a family one day
—
a big one, we hope; but right now
—
we can
’
t seem to get enough of each other. Sharing one another is not something we
’
re ready for. We
’
re selfishly in love and we wouldn
’
t have it any other way.

“Yes, yes. Be young. I know,
”
Shannon concedes.

“Well, we
’
re going to go now. Love you guys!
”

“We promise to call,
”
I announce over my shoulder. They wave and murmur their final goodbyes as we head for security.

By the time we make it to our gate, it
’
s almost ten o
’
clock and they
’
re just about ready to start boarding the plane. Looking around, it seems as though we won
’
t have too much company on our flight. Can
’
t say that I
’
m surprised. I would imagine that most people trying to get home for the work week would have made an earlier trip. Avery and I, on the other hand, wanted to be sure to squeeze in as much time in Colorado as we could get. I
’
ll be heading into work tomorrow with little to no sleep
—
and it
’
ll be totally worth it.

While we wait in the terminal, Avery makes herself comfortable against my side. She drapes my arm across her shoulders as she hooks her legs over mine. I don
’
t object.
Not even a little
.

“We took
so
many pictures this week. Facebook isn
’
t ready for us.
”

“Let me see,
”
I chuckle, tilting her phone so that we both can look back on the whirlwind that was
Beckham and Addie
’
s wedding affair
.
“
You know, despite the couple hiccups we encountered, everything was kind of perfect.
”

“Of course it was. It was
them
—
they made it perfect.
”
She inhales deeply and blows out a contented sigh before looking up at me.
“
Remember when they broke up? Remember how you
’
d asked me to be your girlfriend the next day and I said no?
”

I grin down at her in remembrance.
“
You said
yes
first.
Then
you said no.
”

“Yeah,
”
she laughs softly, pressing into my side a little more.
“
But do you remember how I said no because Addie was so sad and there was a part of me that felt her sadness? Like there
’
s a string that connects our hearts.
”

“I remember,
”
I reply with a nod.

“That sadness pales in comparison to her current joy. I can
feel
it. It
’
s incredible. Yesterday was one of the best days of my life because it was the best day of hers.
”

For a moment, I
’
m speechless. As I stare into her warm, brown eyes
—
vibrant and alight with
life
—
all I can do is thank God for her. Avery Jade O
’
Conner. She
’
s got the most genuine heart, filled with more compassion, empathy, goodness, and love than anyone I
’
ve ever met. That heart
…
it belongs to me. It
’
s such an amazing truth that there
’
s no way I can take it for granted
—
take
her
for granted. The woman who promises to never leave me.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?
”

I lean down and press a soft kiss against her lips.
“
I love you so much.
”

She smiles and it makes me want to kiss her again. She cups her hand around my cheek when I do.
“
I love you so much, too.
”

Since Sonny is a giant, we always make sure to get him an aisle seat. Usually, that leaves me squished in the middle. Tonight, however, because our flight is pretty light, the seat next to me remains empty. As people were boarding the plane, I thought it was too good to be true. I watched as one passenger after another filed past, wondering who would be the one to snag the coveted window seat. When they sealed the door shut and the seat beside me remained unoccupied, I felt as though I had suddenly gotten an upgrade!

Now, as we coast through the sky at thirty-thousand feet, I
’
ve got my legs stretched out across the empty space as I prop myself up against Sonny
’
s chest. I didn
’
t actually
want
the window seat, as it
’
s too dark to see anything. I
’
d rather be snuggled up with my man as I try and fail to sleep. I know that I need the rest. I might not have work tomorrow, like Sonny, but I
’
ll need to do laundry and go to the grocery store and
…

A smile pulls at my lips as the list in my head runs on. My
Wife To-Do
list. Yes
—
even after almost a year, I
’
m still excited that such a thing exists in my life. Granted, it
’
s not nearly as fun as our
other
To-Do List but
—

Now I giggle, covering up my mouth in an attempt to mute my outburst with my hand. Our flight has been a quiet one thus far and I certainly don
’
t wish to disturb the peace.