Page 69 of Lose to Win: Lost Trilogy: Part 3
“Arlene will take good care of you,” dad kisses me on the head when he says that. “And I’ll take care of Puck.” There’s a long pause, but I don’t react. “Deal?” he prompts.
“Deal,” I agree, because I don’t have a choice.
He lets go of me, only to pass me back to Puck. He leans forward and presses his lips on mine. His tongue does a lazy sweep at the seam of my lips, and I open them in welcome.
“Two minutes, Mr. Puck,” dad calls from the doorway before I hear his heavy footsteps fading down the hallway.
Puck’s hands cup my cheeks, preventing me from moving my head one way or the other. His tongue touches everywhere all at once, leaving flames of need behind.
“You need to rest,” he whispers to me in between gentler kisses when he finally stops. “For the baby,” he adds, like he knows there’s no way I could sleep right now.
Another knock on the door makes him growl in frustration.
“Please come back to me,” I whisper against his lips. “I won’t be able to survive any of this if you don’t come back.”
“Notcoming back is not an option, babe.”
His cocky smirk is back on display, making me relax a little.
With another hard press of his lips to mine, he is out of the room. I walk to my bed and sit down, staring into space, my mind completely blank.
“Emily,” Arlene calls softly to me. “Can I come in?”
I rush to wipe the tears off my face. “Of course.”
She comes to sit next to me. When she picks up my hand to hold it against both of hers, I allow it. She is so sweet and motherly, and I love the way she is not scared of showing me how she feels.
“I am worried too, honey,” she finally says. “But I trust Jon,” she adds, referring to dad. “I have always trusted him with my life. Any mistakes that were made over the years…” Now she sounds like she is about to cry. “They were caused by me.”
I’m not sure what to say. I know some of their history, a lot of it actually, but I obviously don’t know it all.
“What I’m trying to say is,” she continues, “that you need to trust your father, not only that he will come back safely, but that he will bring Puck home to you safely.”
“I trust him,” I say with no hesitation. “But I’m scared.”
“Puck is a smart man,” she tells me, seemingly unrelated to what we were talking about. “He’s always been a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for, and that includes my oldest son. Dylan thought that Puck was just there to follow orders. Puck is way more than that.”
“He is amazing,” I agree. “And I want this baby to be his so badly.”
I collapse into Arlene’s arms, taking her completely by surprise and toppling us both over. She never hesitates when she wraps her arms around me and just holds me.
“I understand more than you can imagine,” she whispers to me, reminding me of how Dylan’s conception came to be. “And history will not repeat itself, at least not when it comes for you to choose who you should be with. Always follow your heart, but be smart about it. And you know already in your heart that Puck will love this baby no matter what.”
“I know,” I whimper.
A loud wail of a baby comes from down the hallway, making me chuckle.
“Baby girl is feisty,” Arlene sounds just as amused. “How about we go hang out with Alison and the kids?” she suggests. “She’ll love it, and you’ll get some baby practice, yeah?”
We both stand up from the bed to go to Alison’s room. We are almost there when I stop. I turn to look at Arlene. There’s emotion and nervousness on her face.
“Thank you for coming back into dad’s life,” I whisper. “And for coming into my life.”
She doesn’t say anything. Instead, she wraps me in an aggressive hug, squeezing tight and not wanting to let go.
That’s what I need in my life. People who will never want to let me go. No matter what.
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