He wraps me in his warm embrace, gently stroking my hair. “This has been the longest day of my life, Lucy,” he confesses.

I look up at him with glistening eyes. Bringing my hand up to caress his face, I feel his warm stubble under my skin. “I know. It hasn’t exactly been the best day for me, either,” I admit.

His eyes soften and he releases me before taking hold of my hand and leading me to the couch. A small, square box sits on the coffee table, and I eye it suspiciously. I’ve seen it buried in the depths of the closet, and I wonder why he’s pulled it out now.

Kale sits down next to me and leans in to place a kiss to my lips. “I’ve thought about what you said, baby, and you’re right. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and if we’re going to do this, then you deserve to know everything about me.”

I hear the underlying pain as his voice catches, and for a split second, I want to give him a reprieve, tell him he doesn’t have to tell me if it’s going to be too painful. “Kale,” I whisper, but he holds a finger up to my lips and hushes me.

“No, baby. This is my time to talk.” I nod compliantly before he picks the box up from the table and sets it on the couch between us. “I’m going to tell you a story, okay? It’s from a long freaking time ago.”

“Okay,” I say in a shaky breath, steeling myself for what’s about to come.

Kale lifts the lid off the box and then looks at me. “Once upon a time, there was a very naïve, very stupid, completely idiotic nineteen-year-old kid who thought he was invincible. This same kid’s world came crashing down the day his girlfriend approached him with tears in her eyes, telling him she was pregnant. The kid, naturally, was scared out of his mind but, at the same time, was ready to step up. He went to a pawn shop, bought what he thought was an acceptable engagement ring, and was ecstatic when she said yes. This same kid, although he could be considered a dumbass, realized that if he was about to have a family, he’d need to support. He went to a recruiter and, not long after, was shipped off to the Army.”

He pauses, and I slide my hand over his, my thumb rubbing over his skin. “Suffice it to say, that kid was me. It was crazy. Stupid. And I never should’ve imagined it would work out, but I had my head in the clouds. Tara and I… We’d known each other since we were kids, and while it seemed early, it wasn’t exactly out of the realm of possibility that we’d end up married with kids, the white picket fence, all that stuff. The pregnancy just kind of sped things up.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, unsure that I want to hear the rest of the story. He reaches into the box and pulls out a faded teddy bear. A rueful smile crosses his lips as he stares at it.

“When I graduated boot camp, this was the first thing I bought. I couldn’t wait to get home to give it to Tara. She would’ve been seven months along by then, and I already felt so guilty for missing so much time while I was gone.”

“Oh, Kale. You can’t blame yourself. Miscarriages happen all the time, and they’re usually out of the blue,” I tell him, caressing his hand to provide some sort of comfort. “You were trying to find a way to provide for your family. That’s admirable.”

His eyes narrow and turn dark, and I’m not sure what I said wrong. With a shake of his head, he continues. As he recounts exiting the plane and his initial reaction to Tara’s not meeting him in the airport, my heart begins to climb up into my throat. The details of Kaylie taking him to the bar have me nervous with anticipation. I move in closer, knowing that I need to be wrapped up in him, that he needs to be wrapped up in me as he reveals everything.

“When I saw her with a flat stomach, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. Like I’d been punched in the gut. I took her out into that alley, ready to beg for forgiveness for leaving her alone to deal with a miscarriage, because that was my first thought, too. Instead, she practically laughed at me. There was no miscarriage, Lucy. She looked me cold-stone in the face. ‘I terminated the pregnancy.’ Those words haunted me for so long, and while I know I didn’t set the appointment, I often wonder what would’ve happened if I’d still been around.

“That’s what’s always been so hard about this. It wasn’t God willing. It wasn’t a fluke of nature. What should have been the mother of my child decided, without me, that our child didn’t deserve living. Because I wasn’t there to protect him. And I know all the ‘it’s a woman’s body bullshit,’ but that was my child, too. What should’ve been my firstborn… But because I don’t have a uterus and can’t carry a child, I had no say so in whether or not my child was brought to full term, even though I would’ve gladly taken all parental control after birth. She wanted him before. I didn’t get how she could change her mind all of a sudden, and I just kind of snapped.”

His admission floors me. Ever since meeting Tara, I’ve been grieving for him over the loss of an unborn child, but I never, not in a million years, ever expected this depth of hurt to be lingering. Any words of solace that come to mind seem insignificant, so I do the next best thing, I crawl into his lap, trying to get as close as possible.

Looking up at him, I catch his eyes. “I’ve gone through a million scenarios in my mind since Saturday and not one of them ended like this. My heart aches for you. And I understand now why you wouldn’t want to talk about it.” My hand rests on belly. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Kale. No parent, no matter how young, should ever have to go through that. And for the sake of being crude, I think Tara’s kind of a bitch. I mean, I can imagine that she was probably scared and alone, but she could have at least told you, even if it was through a letter or even a phone call. For you to just show up and find out that way seems cruel.”

I feel his chest rumble underneath me as he laughs. “Baby, watch your mouth,” he chastises, leaning in to press a kiss against my lips. “But yeah, I may have called her something a little more colorful the other day.”

I feel my eyes widen, and I squirm in his lap. “You didn’t! You’re the most gentlemanly guy I know. Ginger would kick your ass if she heard you say that!”

He gives me a sheepish grin that slowly turns devilish. “I’m usually a gentleman, but she upset you, and it didn’t make me very happy. Plus, Kaylie thought it was hilarious. But back to what you said… I’ve never actually thought about that. In all my anger, I never let myself think about what it was like for her after I was gone.”

“I know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but it’s been ten years, Kale. In order to really move forward, you have to let go of your anger towards her, too.”

He sighs and gives me a small smile. “I know you’re right. And I think I’m starting to. I was angrier at her the other day for upsetting you more than anything else. What she did is done and I can’t ever change it. I need to stop looking back and focus on the future. On you and Sprout. So let’s finish this,” he insists.

Nodding in agreement, I settle in against his chest and listen carefully as he pulls out every item from the box, giving me a brief history. When he pulls out the engagement ring, I turn to look at him, giving him a questioning smile.

“That’s the first thing to go to a pawn shop,” he says, and I laugh, honestly not caring what he does with it. If she was foolish enough to let him go, to return his ring, then the sight of it doesn’t bother me in the least bit.

The last item he pulls out is an ultrasound, and my breath hitches when I see the image. We’re cuddled up on the couch together, and he brings the photograph in so we can both get a close look.

“I wish I could have met him,” I whisper, hoping I’m not speaking out of bounds.

Kale’s lips press softly against my temple. “So do I, baby.” He leans across the couch and opens up the drawer in the coffee table, pulling out a photo. When he hands it to me, I realize that it’s our first image of Sprout, and my heart melts. “This is why I was so messed up that night. I was overwhelmed at the sight of him, at the thought of actually becoming a father, and I was terrified of letting you down. For the longest time, I locked away what happened, and seeing the sonogram brought it all back to the surface, and it freaked me out. I already loved him so much, and the thought of losing him, or you, was more than I could handle.”

“Kale, you could never let me down, and you’re not going to lose me. Ever. All I wanted was for you to open up. Nothing from your past would have ever scared me away from you, and I would never, ever take your son from you. I love you. Who you are, who you were, and who you’ve come to be.” Pausing, I take his hand and rest it on my belly. “My heart breaks for all you’ve lost. I know I can never replace it, and I’d never try. But I’m here now, and he’ll be here soon, and we’re never going to leave your side. But from now on, you have to be one hundred percent honest and open with me. No more secrets.”

Kale’s eyes are on his hand, and then he looks back at the sonogram. Finally, his gaze reaches mine and he gives me a breathtaking smile. “No more secrets. Scout’s honor,” he says, trying to make that damned pledge with his hand as he gives me a small smile. “I can’t dwell on the past anymore, baby, and I don’t want to. I have so much to look forward to, and that’s what I wanna do. Focus on you, on him, on us. I never thought I’d have a family, Lucy, but what I didn’t realize is that I was just waiting for you. You’re everything I’ve always wanted and never thought I could have. I might sound like a pussy, but the fact that you’re sitting here with me after all this time is more than a dream come true, and I’m never going to let you go.”