Chapter 30

Chapter Twenty-Seven Hope Maybe I'm still passed out in the hospital and dreaming all of this. I close my eyes and try to concentrate on waking up. Nothing happens. When I open my eyes again, Caleb is still looking at me with a smile on his face. He leans in close to my ear and whispers, "I'm still here." "Caleb, we can't just run off to Vegas and get married." He moves his fingers from under my chin and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me in closer to him. "Give me one reason why we can't," he says and my mind scrambles but pulls up a few good reasons why. "Well, to start with, we hardly know each other. It would be crazy to get married after only dating for a few months." He quirks an eyebrow at me but I stand firm on this and wait for his response. "Hope, you're carrying our baby. What we don't already know about each other we're going to learn real soon. We're going to be connected for the rest of our lives through this life that we've created." His hands slide to my sides and his thumbs brush over my abdomen, sliding beneath my shirt to feel the skin over where our little surprise is growing. "Ok, then what will your family think? I imagine they're not going to support you running off and getting married to some jobless woman that's responsible for a small kid. It's crazy." I rest my hands on his arms so he knows that I appreciate what he is trying to do, but he doesn't owe me anything. "Madeline and Ben were there when I met with Tiffany the first time. They heard when I told her we were getting married. I think if we had met a few years ago it would be different, but we've all grown up a lot over the last few years and have each experienced love. No one will question my choice. They might all talk about it together, but unless they're truly concerned for me, they'll keep their opinions to themselves." "They would be right to worry, Caleb. They don't know me that well either." His arms wrap around me again as he pulls me into a hug. "Hope, Madeline opened up her home to you, spent time with you and knows that you're an amazing caretaker. If you were just in this for money, you wouldn't have taken your brother and ran. My family has heard nothing but great things about you from Madeline and Jackson. You're the most selfless woman I've ever met." I close my eyes and rest against his chest. "I can't ask you to take on Nathan. It wouldn't be fair." Loving me is one thing, but taking on a six-year old boy that isn't even family isn't a reasonable request. "You don't have to ask me, Hope. Nathan is already a part of my life. I could never let you walk away with him. He's going to be like a big brother to our baby, so he'll be like a son to me." I have no idea what I've done to deserve Caleb in my life. For so many years I've prayed that I could get out of the life I was stuck in and have Nathan be safe, it's hard to believe that perhaps it is really going to happen for me. "I'm worried that you'll get resentful of me. It isn't the 50's anymore. We don't have to get married just because I'm pregnant." His lips kiss my neck and I hear him chuckle softly. "Hope, can you just let me love you? I'm not doing this because you're pregnant. I decided I wanted to marry you before I even knew about the baby. The only thing that's changing is the time frame in which it's happening. You don't have a lot of family and I don't care about a big wedding for mine. What difference does it make if we get married tomorrow or next year? I want to spend the rest of my life with you, that's all that really matters. The question is, do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?" I take a moment to really consider his question. There's no one I would rather spend my life with. Maybe this is not how I would have planned my life to play out, but it's impossible to argue that this isn't a hundred times better than my plan. If Caleb wants to marry me, protect me from my mother and provide a better life for Nathan and this baby than I could, I need to let him in. "Yes, Caleb. I want to marry you. I guess I'm just having a hard time with how quickly my dreams are coming true. I don't want you to marry me out of some obligation or feeling of responsibility because I've brought you into Nathan's life." With a kiss to my forehead, Caleb separates us so that he can look into my eyes again. "Hope, maybe I'm remembering it differently then you. You didn't bring me into Nathan's life easily. I fought to be a part of it. I'm not marrying you out of obligation; I'm marrying you because I love you and loving you means loving Nathan too." "Ok." As the word escapes my mouth it takes with it all of the fear and anxiety about a life full of struggle and fleeing. Maybe this won't last forever—or maybe it will. In the end, I would be crazy to not give us a try out of fear that it could end one day. If Caleb loves me, then I'll take a chance on forever with him. "Ok, you will marry me?" Caleb asks, pulling my hands up to our chests. I nod again and this time when I look at him I let my joy show on my face. "Yes, I will marry you." Caleb scoops me into his arms and spins me around. Carrying me down the hall to Nathan's room, he kisses me again before setting me back down at the foot of Nathan's slide. "Nathan, your sister has just agreed to marry me and I need to make it happen before she changes her mind. All I need is your permission to marry her and we'll all be on a plane before your bedtime. What do you say, buddy? Can I marry Hope?" I think he's kidding at first, but he's standing there with his eyes locked on Nathan's and a look of determination on his face. "Does she still get to take care of me?" Nathan's serious and I love the way he's considering Caleb's offer in such a mature way. "Absolutely. I would never take her from you. I'm just asking that you share." Nathan considers it for a minute with all the seriousness of a protective father. I know that Caleb has just negotiated successfully with a six-year-old when Nathan's face lights up and a smile spreads across his little face. "Ok, you can marry my Hopey."