Page 105 of The Nice Guy
Covering her mouth, she leans forward and lets out a sob. “She was a better mother than I gave her credit for.”
“She wanted the best for you. Her home life wasn’t the happiest, and she wanted you to have a life she didn’t,” Dr. Mackle says. “That’s what Joey told me.”
“I wish she knew everything she ran from is everything I’ve longed for. She couldn’t fool me because I know she didn’t love any of the men after Daddy. She married a few times, but it was always for what they had, not love. It makes me wonder if she died still loving Daddy. It might be wishful thinking, but it’s also hauntingly romantic.”
He smiles and nods. “She loved Joey. They were inseparable after meetin’ at a football game. Did she ever tell you the story?”
Brynlee shakes her head. “No, she didn’t. She always changed the subject if I asked anything about Daddy.”
“She was datin’ a football player from her school, and she snuck out of her house to go to the game because she was grounded. Stole her father’s car, and on the way home, she blew a tire, spun out, and almost crashed as she drove into a ditch. Joey, who just got his ass handed to him by her boyfriend on thefield, stopped and helped her out. Changed the tire and got her out of the ditch without a scratch on the car. And that was that.”
We look at each other. “Oh my God,” I mutter.
“What?” Dr. Mackle asks. “What’s with the look?”
“Mama,” she whispers, her lip quivering.
Our guest looks confused, if not slightly concerned, and I chuckle. “That’s basically how we met,” I offer. “Brynlee spun out into a ditch, and I stumbled upon her.”
“I thought she’d be upset with my decisions after she passed, but I think Mama and Daddy did this,” Brynlee says. “I know it sounds crazy, trust me, but what are the chances we’d meet almost exactly the way they did? That you’d finished a job just miles away when I ended up in a ditch driving to my new life? And the issues in the house you helped with.”
“The world works in mysterious ways, and I wouldn’t put it past the two of them. They were electric when they were together. I have no doubt they’d find a way to be together on the other side and give you the happy endin’ they didn’t get,” Dr. Mackle says.
I swallow the lump in my throat. Her parents approve of me? “The book you gave me to show her… Do you want that back when she’s finished?”
Shaking his head, he smiles. “No, you keep it. Joey would want that. He’d want you to know how much he loved you. You and your mother were the only women in his life. He never even entertained another woman after his divorce. Kathy was it for him.”
Standing, he shakes my hand. Brynlee stands as well, but she hugs him tightly. He wraps his arms around her, and I see the tears. Dr. Mackle’s as affected as she is.
“I’m glad I have the chance to know Joey’s daughter. It’s like part of him is still here.”
“Thank you, John. You’ve given me more than you know. In a way, I have a piece of both Mama and Daddy with me.”
I walk him to the front door, shake his hand again, and shut it. The moment I turn around, Brynlee throws herself into my arms. “Hey, it’s okay,” I say, rubbing her hair as she cries into my chest. “It’s okay. Please don’t cry, Bryn. I hate it when you cry.”
“I don’t want a long engagement,” she says and looks up at me. “I want to get married as soon as possible. Something small. Well, as small as your family allows considering there’s like a hundred of them. I want to start my life with you as soon as I can.”
My heart swells, and I kiss her, lifting her into the air as her fingers scratch at my scalp. “Whatever you want. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“And babies,” she says. “Not seventeen, but I want at least two. Maybe four.”
The thought of her pregnant with my ring on her finger and my last name makes me want her more than ever. “I can’t wait.”
“How much time do we have before we have to go to brunch?”
Glancing at the clock, I groan. “Not enough time to show you how much I love you.”
“I need to go home and shower, too. And I should really unpack. Oh… I am not looking forward to cleaning out the kitchen.”
“Give me fifteen minutes, and I’ll come to your place and clean out the kitchen while you get ready.”
“You really are the perfect man, you know that?” she says with a laugh and kisses me. “Thoughtful, kind, sexy, and never shying away from the dirty jobs.”
“Tell me I’m a nice guy,” I whisper against her lips.
Biting her lower lip, she winks. “The nicest of the nice guys.Mynice guy.”
Epilogue
