Page 73 of Twin Threats In Austin
Rochelle smiled.
“Everyone is gathered in the waiting room,” Dalton said. All his family in one place for the first time in years sounded pretty damn good to Camden.
“Let’s go,” Camden said, holding tight to Rochelle’s hand. She gave a slight squeeze, which offered more reassurance than words could.
“By the way, her last name is Arnoult now,” Dalton revealed.
The trio walked into the waiting room, Dalton leading the way. Camden wasn’t sure what he expected to find or how he expected to feel. Warmth spread through him at seeing his entire family together in one place. The only people missing were his grandparents, but knowing they were together down the hall was enough.
After a round of introductions with all the new faces in the family, Camden’s gaze landed hard on the woman who’d been sitting quietly in the corner. She was a shadow of the person he remembered. The years had not been kind to her.
She stood up when all eyes ended up on her. “First of all, thank you all for allowing me to be here with you.” Her chin quivered. “I’ve imagined this day for more than twenty-five years.” She sniffled. “I’d like to say you’ve all grown up to be people your father would have been so proud of.” A few tears rolled down her cheeks. Dalton couldn’t help but notice the rock on her ring finger. “I’d like to explain what happened all those years ago if you’ll allow me to.”
“Go ahead,” Jules said. “Some of us have been waiting a long time to hear what happened.”
Camden didn’t realize, until now, how important this moment might be for his brother and sister. Even his cousins were rapt with attention. Did they have questions too? Camden’s father was their uncle, after all. They were all connected by marriage and blood.
“Okay,” Sandra Arnoult said after taking a sip of coffee from the Styrofoam cup. “After I had Dalton, I suffered from postpartum depression. Of course, no one called it that at the time. Or knew much about how it impacted a woman. Your father did his best to help me, but I was in too deep.” She glanced around the room. “Have any of you suffered from depression?”
Heads shook.
“It’s hard to explain unless you’ve felt it,” Sandra continued. “But I fell into a dark hole.” She set down the coffee and then crossed her arms over her chest like a barricade. “So much so, that I began to believe I might harm one of you. The thought scared me to the point of not allowing myself to hold Dalton or be in the same room alone with either of you.” Her gaze shifted from Camden to Jules. “I convinced myself that you’d be safer if I left.”
A man entered the room. Before anyone could tell him this was a family meeting, he walked over to Sandra and put an arm around her shoulder.
“This is my husband,” she said. “We met at the hospital where I eventually sought treatment. By then, too many years had passed. I learned your father died. I reached out to your grandfather, who thought reintroducing me back into your lives might cause more confusion than anything else. I respected his wishes.”
Jules gasped. “Grandpa Lor asked you to stay away from us?”
“He was only looking out for your best interest,” she said. “And I learned a long time ago that no one is perfect.”
“You two met at a hospital?” Jules asked.
“I’m the attending physician at Dallas General, where your mother was in group therapy,” Dr. Arnoult said. “I’m on the third floor. She was on seven.”
Sandra looked up at her husband with adoration. “We passed each other in the hallway one day because I got off on the wrong floor.”
“Bumped into each other is more like it,” Dr. Arnoult said with a warm smile.
“And then the next day in the elevator,” she said.
“That might have been planned on my part,” he said.
Sandra looked around the room. “I know it’s too much to ask for your forgiveness. I just thought it might help for all of you to know that I didn’t take leaving this family lightly. In fact, it broke me, but I believed in my heart that I was doing the right thing for you. That I was keeping you safe. So I suffered without realizing how much more I might be hurting the ones I loved by walking away.”
She broke down in tears.
Jules was the first to walk over and bring their mother into a hug. At this point, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. So many missed opportunities. So many years had gone by. And for what?
Grandpa Lor had done his best to protect those he loved. Camden couldn’t be upset about what was already done. But they had today. And they had tomorrow. And the next day.
It was time to let go of the past and charge toward a bright, new future. A future he hoped to spend with Rochelle.
When chatter had quieted and hugs died down, Camden brought Rochelle to the center of the room.
He took her hand, and got down on one knee. “Rochelle Paddock, I could live a thousand lifetimes without ever findinganyone like you. It’s the only certainty in life. Of that, I’m sure. So here I am in front of my family, asking if you think you could possibly ever feel the same way about me. I’m head over heels in love with you and I want to ask you to marry me in front of my family and my mom.” He took a deep breath as he gazed up at her. “Will you do me the incredible honor of marrying me?”
Rochelle glanced around the room before locking on to him. His heart skipped a few beats as a knot tightened in his chest. The thought of losing her would gut him. Had he asked for too much, too fast? Because he was willing to wait until she was ready if she’d give him the chance.
