Page 142 of Before You Can Blink
I got to celebrate fifty years of marriage with my wife.
I got to retire and take it easy after working hard to provide for my family.
It was nothing at all like I had once pictured, but it was the most incredible life I could have ever asked for.
And I had Daisy to thank for that.
She gave me purpose, which forced me to become a better man—one who was respected within the community, one who learned to put others above himself.
Without her, I would be nothing.
Speaking of my wife, she chose that moment to nudge me with an elbow, saying low, “If you don’t get your head outta the clouds, you’re gonna miss it.”
I snapped to attention, straightening in my seat. Sure enough, there was a line of graduates on the far end of the stage, and the principal called the first girl forward, “Mackenzie Abbott.” There was a handshake, followed by the exchange of a rolled-up diploma, and then the next name was spoken through the microphone. “Reagan Blaze.”
There was a chorus of hoots and hollers so loud from our section that every head in the room turned to stare. And just as our cheers died down, Mac stood up and shouted, “That’s my baby girl!”
Poor Reagan’s face turned beet red, and she brought up a hand to shield it from the crowd, keeping her head down as she rushed off the stage.
Aspen yanked on her husband’s arm hard enough that he fell into his seat. She chastised Mac in hushed tones, but my son-in-law showed zero remorse, arguing loudly, “There’s no way I embarrassed her!”
I had to cover my mouth to hide my snickers, while Daisy buried her face in my shoulder to stifle hers. The man was in his early fifties, and his eccentricity hadn’t dulled with age. Still, I would be the first to admit that his quirky personality brought much-needed laughter—something I was able to enjoy much more of, now that I’d passed on the responsibility of running the ranch to Tripp—to our family.
There was a hissed, “Daddy,” from somewhere ahead of us, and that was enough to have Mac zipping his lips, even as they pursed into a pout.
“He’s gonna have a hard time letting her go,” Daisy remarked.
Humming my agreement, I replied, “It’s never easy.” It was still so fresh in my mind, watching Aspen drive away, headed to California at the tender age of eighteen. It had been like having a piece of my heart ripped out of my chest. “All we can do is hope that she finds her way back home.”
She reared back in surprise. “Look at you finding optimism in your old age.”
I shrugged. “Eh, if you live long enough, you’re bound to have a shift in perspective. Though I’m not quite the prophet my ma was. Couldn’t tell you what Reagan’s gonna end up doing, but whatever path she takes, my only wish is that it makes her happy.”
“And if she’s not, she’ll always have a safe place to land.”
“Damn straight. Our door will always be open. For all of them.”
Daisy let out a sigh as she beamed at me. “Jett Sullivan, family man. Bet that was a plot twist you never saw coming.”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “Never in a million years, but I can’t say I’m too broken up about it.” I leaned forward to stare down the line of kids and grandkids seated beside us. “Would have missed out on all of this.”
“Nowthatwould have been the real tragedy.”
She wouldn’t hear an argument from me. As it was, there were still times when I feared I would wake up to find this all to have been a dream, and I’d return to being that twenty-one-year-old chasing rodeo glory, carefree but utterly alone.
I had zero regrets about the course my life had taken when a certain brunette walked into it and flipped it upside down.
Chapter 36
Jett
Age 75
March
Thebeepingwasback,and that could only mean one thing.
I was in the hospital. Again.
