Page 147 of Melt For Us, Daddy
Because he didn’t have an answer for that, or words that would ease her pain, he didn’t try. He simply held his arms open to her, and after a moment of hesitation she launched herself at him. For a long while they simply clung to each other, to their shared grief, in silence.
Ivy and Cordelia returned to the room a little while later with Sarabeth in tow and Ivy’s arms full of what looked like every candy bar the vending machine had to offer. They stayed nearly a half an hour after that before Holden interrupted, telling them their time was up and he needed to get Hannah and Sarabeth back to the apartment he’d set them up in. Sarabeth’s tears tore at Jacob’s heart, but he forced himself to be strong and smile as he promised he would visit her as often as possible.
It took Hannah promising Sarabeth she could try every one of the candies Ivy had bought for their baby sister to finally agree to leave, though there were still plenty of tears. And as Jacob watched the door close behind them, his own chest ached with suppressed grief.
“Jacob? You okay, honey?”
Unable to meet Ivy’s gaze, he nodded woodenly. Cordelia slipped an arm around his waist, the warm weight of her pressing against him, anchoring him. “Let’s go home.”
He let himself be guided out of the room, out of the building and down to Cordelia’s car. Nobody spoke a word until they’d made it back to their apartment and Ivy had helped him undress and change into a pair of comfortable pajamas.
Stretched out on the large bed they’d recently purchased to accommodate the three of them, Cordelia held her arms open for him. “Come here, baby.”
Obediently, he crawled into bed with her, burrowing into her softness as she cradled him close. Behind him, Ivy wrapped her arms around him as best she could, her face pressed against his back.
“It’s okay, baby boy,” Cordelia murmured, pressing a kiss to his hair. “You don’t have to be strong right now. You don’t have to be strong with us.”
At her words, something inside him snapped. And for the first time in more years than he could count, he let go. Let the tears come, hot and unstoppable as he pressed himself against her, sobbing into his Daddy’s soft breast.
“That’s our good boy,” she praised softly, running her fingers through his hair as he wept. “Our good, sweet boy. Let it all out, baby. You’ve been strong long enough.”
He wasn’t sure exactly how long he lay there, his chest shuddering with body-wracking sobs as his women held him and whispered soothing words into his ear. But eventually he ran out of tears to cry and he lay exhausted in their arms, his head heavy, but his heart lighter than it had been in a long while.
Someone pressed a tissue into his hand and he swiped at the tears lingering in his eyes as he sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t know that was going to happen.”
“I did,” Cordelia said simply.
“You did?”
“Of course. I told you the very first time I spanked you that you’d cry for us. It was only a matter of time.”
“This isn’t exactly what I thought you meant by that,” he responded dryly.
Her chest vibrated with quiet laughter. “However it happened, I’m so grateful you finally felt safe enough with us to let go. And I’m proud of you for being brave enough to do so.”
Sighing, he snuggled closer to her and closed his aching eyes. “I feel safer with you two than I’ve ever felt with anyone else.”
“Good. That’s how it should be. But now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, we should talk about today. How are you feeling, after seeing your sisters?”
“Like I haven’t done enough.”
“What you mean?” Cordelia asked.
“It feels like I should be doing more for them. Taking care of Sarabeth, maybe. Hannah… she’s gone through so much already. It doesn’t feel fair for her to take on that burden alone.”
“She won’t be alone.” Ivy’s voice rang out with conviction. “She has you, and she has us. Her family.”
Running her fingers through his hair again, Cordelia pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “And if you want to talk about Sarabeth coming to live with us, we can discuss that, too.”
“Really? You’d do that for her? For me?”
“Baby boy, there isn’t much we wouldn’t do for you.”
“But you don’t want kids. Ivy said so.”
Ivy’s arms tightened around him. “Just because it wasn’t in the plan doesn’t mean we can’t make some adjustments. If that’s really what you want, then we’ll make it happen.”
“I don’t know what I want. Honestly… I never really thought this would happen. Never thought I’d actually get them out. So I didn’t really give much thought to what would happen after. All I know is I want a life with you, whatever that looks like.”
