He opened his arms and she hesitated only a second before running across the room and jumping into his arms. He held her tight and whispered all the words he was afraid to say out loud.
"You are the breath in my body, the light in my soul and the beating of my heart. I can't survive without you. I love you."
"Oh, Jake. I love you, too."
He bent to capture her lips with his and this time she opened her mouth to his. The kiss was deep and sensual, but heavy with the promise of tomorrow. A promise Jake hadn't been able to believe in for a long time.
"Mama? Daddy?" Peter called from the bed.
Jake pocketed the legal papers Larissa had brought with her and they crossed the room to their son.
"Hey, baby. How do you feel?" Larissa asked, brushing his hair back from his forehead.
"Hungry," Peter said.
Jake laughed. His son was always hungry. "I'll go get you some food. What do you want?"
"Krispy Kremes."
"Peter, how do you know about doughnuts?" Larissa asked.
"Daddy told me about them last night and promised we could go as soon as I leave the hospital."
"Sounds like a good plan," Larissa said.
The doctor entered the room and in a short while Peter was discharged. Jake's parents arrived and Jake felt really worthy of being a Danforth for the first time since Victoria had disappeared. He realized that his coffeehouse business and his playboy lifestyle were just excuses to keep from staying still long enough to feel the guilt.
But he let go of the guilt. He knew his sister was alive somewhere and he knew that they would find her.
"Mom and Dad, will you take Peter in your car? We're going to the Krispy Kreme."
"Sure thing, son," his dad said.
Jake took Larissa's hand in his and led her to the Suburban. "What are we doing?"
"I just wanted a few minutes alone with you, Rissa."
"I thought we settled everything."
"I'm going to call Ted Larson as soon as his office opens and drop the custody suit."
"I know."
"You sound pretty confident," he said.
"Honey, you told me I was the air you breathe. I think that gives me the right."
"Am I the air you breathe?"
She leaned up and kissed his jaw. "No."
"No?"
"You're the blood in my veins."
He scooped her up in the parking lot and spun around with Larissa in his arms. Then he bent and kissed this woman who'd given him more than he ever expected to have—love and a family.
Epilogue
« ^
Jake had decided that their honeymoon in Vegas had been too short and had surprised Larissa and Peter with a two-week trip through the Southeast following Jimmy Buffett's concert tour. This was their last night before heading back to Savannah. They were in Orlando in the parking lot at the TD Waterhouse Center. Jake and Peter wore identical unbuttoned Hawaiian-print shirts and khaki board shorts under grass skirts.
They were parked next to Courtney and Jen, two college girls they'd met at the concert in Miami the day before. They were grilling chicken and making margaritas. Jake came up behind Larissa and slipped his arms around her waist. He kissed her on the neck and whispered delicious promises in her ear.
Larissa leaned back against him and looked over at their son playing nearby. This was the life she'd been afraid to let herself dream of. But here it was nonetheless and it was so much more than she'd ever imagined.
"Mama, look," Peter said.
Their son proceeded to shake his hips and start singing Fins. "Did Daddy teach you that?"
"Yes, come on, Daddy. Let's dance for her."
Peter and Jake did their hip-shaking dance for her and earned applause from the others in the parking lot. Larissa felt a sense of peace and belonging that she'd never thought to find. She closed her eyes. She realized that she was going to have to thank Jasmine Carmody for giving her the family she'd always dreamed of.