From The Wreckage - Complete (73 page)

The days start to fly by as the air finally turns cooler. To Jules’ surprise, her mother calls her and asks where West’s next play-off game is, saying that she and Jase want to show up to cheer him on. Jules doesn’t ask about her father, and tries to pretend it doesn’t hurt that he won’t be there, but it does. West’s team wins the South West Division Championship, all but, securing him a spot on A&M’s roster next season.

Even with the regular season now complete, West and Jules stick to their weekend only dating rule as West continues to have daily football practices. Freemont has one last game to play, either a bowl game or the National Championship, they just have to wait two weeks for final rankings of all the other teams.

“Do you have a sec?” Cassie asks the day before Thanksgiving while Jules is studying alone in her room.  

“Of course.”

“I wanted to tell you, I’m sorry about the library.” She sits on the edge of Jules’ bed and smiles hopefully at Jules.

Up until now, both Austin and Cassie have avoided talking to Jules about their strange confrontation that night on the ball field. Austin told her Cassie isn’t studying at the library anymore, but he didn’t elaborate what had happened between them previously. She looks at Cassie sitting before her now and decides to let her two friends confide in her when they are ready.

“It’s fine. I’m sorry I pushed you,” she says, sending her a smile.

Cassie looks down at the hem of her shirt and tugs at a loose string. “He’s not a bad guy, is he?” she half-states and half-asks the question.

The desire to prod her suite mate for information plagues her. “Not at all. I mean, he’s not a saint by any means, but he’s a great guy. He’s super smart, too. I was shocked when I figured that out.”

Cassie smiles at that. “Imagine that, a jock with brains.”

“Right?” 

The girls share a light laugh before Cassie gets up to pack. 

“Jess mentioned you are going to Tyler with her for Thanksgiving. She’s going to give you a tour of our old stomping grounds.” Jules teases, trying to keep the mood light whenever she talks about Cassie’s mother, Gwen.

“Yeah, apparently Gwen decided to take a little cruise with her boyfriend instead of having me come home.” She waves her hand dismissively, letting Jules know she is fine with the end results.

The situation with Cassie and her mother makes Jules reconsider her own weekend plans. After some heavy thinking, she calls home to tell her mom she’s planning to celebrate the holiday with West and his family instead of coming home. West begs her to reconsider, arguing the need to forgive her father, but she stands firm. 

On Thanksgiving day she is surprised when she is helping Mindy set the table at the house and her mother and brother walk into the house, followed by her dad.

She eyes West, who looks guilty, as Mindy whisks her mother and brother into the kitchen and Jules hears Carson asking Jase to play corn hole in the back yard.

“What are you doing here?” Jules asks her dad as she goes back to setting the silverware.

“I came to apologize. To both of you, Jules,” he says sincerely.

Jules laughs angrily, displeased at the surprise entrance of her family. “Oh really? Good luck,” she replies sarcastically, setting a spoon down with a little extra force.

West rounds the table and stills her hands, sending her an encouraging glance, “Baby, just listen to him, for me. Please?”

Jules takes a deep breath and turns, crossing her arms over her middle as she faces her father for the first time in weeks. 

“Honey, I know now I didn’t handle things the right way. You have to understand where I’m coming from, as your father. Forget all of the issues you were having by that point and my worry about your behavior, and consider that night. You ran out after you were told no, you went to a party where you and West both drank, and then you got into a car. I know what happened after that wasn’t West’s fault. But, back then, I couldn’t think clearly. I walked into that ER in the middle of the night to find West covered in your blood and being told they were doing everything they could to save you.”  His voice cracks slightly and the blood rushes to Jules’ face as her eyes water.

“It was the second time in only a few months where I thought I’d lost you and I was angry. I couldn’t be angry at God, so I got angry at West. I know it was wrong, but when I saw you… I flipped, sweetheart.”

“But why then didn’t you ever tell me the truth. You acted like you had no idea where he was or why,” she points out, and West’s hand goes around her back.

“I was trying to protect you from getting hurt. I thought you’d get over it. As time went by and you slipped deeper and deeper into a depression, I realized I might have done the wrong thing, but I couldn’t change it at that point.”

Jules swipes at her cheeks as her father stands there waiting for her to say something.

“He called me earlier this week, Jules. We talked for a while and I forgave him.” West turns her cheek to look into her eyes. “What really matters is that we are together now.”

“No thanks to him.”

“You’re wrong. He may have handled it wrong, but in the end what he and my dad did… it helped me. If I hadn’t worked through my grief about my mom, and then about you and the guilt I felt, I’d still be that scared guy waiting to screw up again.” He looks at her, his thumb caressing her cheek. “Forgive him. He loves you.”

She nods, looking at her father. “I’m still angry with you. What you did to us hurt, but you’ve been my biggest supporter my entire life and I know you love me.”

Rushing forward, she allows her father to haul her into his chest for a tight hug.

“You have to accept that we are together, daddy. I’m going to marry him some day.” The second she says it, she curses herself mentally.

Her father pulls her back and looks a bit shell shocked at her, “Marriage?”

“Well, I mean -” 

“Yes, sir.” West steps in as she stumbles to find an excuse for her words. “I plan on marrying your daughter someday, but don’t worry. I’ll ask for permission first. If she lets me,” he teases.

 

New Year’s Eve.

It was always West’s mothers favorite holiday and, as West dances under the stars with Jules, he can’t help but think of how much she’d love this night. Tonight was a night for lovers as they watched Carson and Mindy tie the knot in a small, romantic ceremony on a beach in St. Lucia. It was intimate and perfect and something his mother would have planned. When they’d decided on New Year’s for their wedding date, they knew it would be best to go small, so they chose a destination wedding with only Mindy’s parents, her best friend growing up, Jules, Austin, West, and their Dad. They decided to have a huge reception party in mid-January for all of their friends and the extended family.

Jules, standing there across from him in her strapless cream dress and her red hair tied up, exposing her long neck to his gaze, had made him crazy all night. He couldn’t stop thinking about the moment when he would pledge his life with hers someday. 

Last year for New Years, he sat in his room at Crestdale and looked at the ceiling in misery that he would never get her back. This year, he’s the MVP of the National Junior College Football Championship game, he’s waiting for the official word that he will be starting for A&M in the fall, and if that’s not enough, he’s dancing in the Caribbean with the love of his life and contemplating taking her gown off as soon as the new year rings in.

“What are you thinking?” she asks.

They’ve been swaying to the music of the waves for the last thirty minutes, the sound of revelry from the resort in the distance. He looks down at her and smiles at the way she is watching him.

“I was thinking how much I’d love to undress you right now,” he admits boldly.

She smiles and drops her hand to his pant pocket, removing his phone and checking the time. 

“Only five minutes, and then you can have your way with me.” 

“Promise?”

“Absolutely. I’d be offended if you didn’t,” she smiles and laughs, kissing him deeply as they resume their dancing.

“What are
you
thinking about?” West asks a moment later.

She smiles up at him, the moonlight shining in her blue eyes. The warm water laps at their feet as they stand in the sand.

“I was thinking about how far we’ve come.”

He kisses the tip of her nose, “How so?”

“I cheered for your team when you played Pop Warner in fifth grade. You probably don’t remember-”

West chuckles softly. “Are you kidding me? Of course I remember. Where do you think that crush I had on you came from?”

She stops swaying and shakes her head with a rueful smile. “Our paths were always on course with each other’s, West Rutledge. From fifth grade to kisses in a closet, to finding each other in the wreckage and creating this beautiful love out of the ruins of our lives after the tornado. We were meant to be, weren’t we?”

“Baby, we’ve been through more storms than two people our age should have to go through, but you know what? We’re still here, together.”

A few minutes later, the music cuts off and they hear the party guests start to count down from twenty-five.

“Hey, cheerleader?”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to love you for the rest of your life. You’re okay with that, right?” 

“Promise?”

“Absolutely.”

“You know, you’re not really such a bad boy, Rutledge.”

He leans down and presses a kiss to the ticklish skin below her ear and whispers, “I would be happy to show you just how bad I can be, Buffy.” 

“I have no doubt you would enjoy that.” She smiles and pushes him back. “However, I’ve decided you are now my Angel.”

“Seriously? I’m Angel now, huh? The one you want to be with, even though you shouldn’t be?” he challenges, raising his brows. Jules shakes her head.

“No. You’re the guy I want and always belonged with, but things happened and life got in the way. Buffy and Angel — everyone knew they were meant to be together from the first time he walked into her life.”

“That’s some damn fine logic,” he whispers into her ear as the revelers behind them celebrate and shouts of ‘happy new year’ fill the air and fireworks light up the sky.

“You know what?” he whispers, pulling her gaze from the colorful display over the ocean and leaning down to kiss her. “I want you to know that when all is said and done, no matter where we are or what we have, we will be okay even if our love is all that remains, because I don’t need anything as long as I have you. I know it’s not going to be easy with football and school, and I know we’re young-” He stops pointing out their obstacles when Jules frowns at him.

“My point is this is a new year and it’s the first year of the rest of our lives. Happy new year, love.”

“Happy new year. Now kiss me and take me to bed.”

“Yes ma’am,” West laughs and scoops Jules into his arms, kissing her deeply as a rainbow of colorful fireworks light up the sky.