I faced Preach again and smiled.
“This was perfect, Preach. Absolutely perfect.”
“I’m glad.” He touched a kiss on my lips. “You deserve perfect.”
I leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Guess what?”
“What?”
“I just got a call from Coach Stewart at UW-Madison.”
He inhaled sharply. “And?”
“I got a full ride!” I shouted.
“What?” He yanked me to him. “Really?”
“Yes! Coach called us right before we left for our run. Like, literally… Oh my gosh, Preach!”
“Full ride to UW-Madison!” Preach yelled as he let me down. “This calls for ice cream!”
Yep. Perfect ending to the perfect day.
Chapter Forty-Four
Preach
“Oh, Ryan, you look fantastic,” Mom said from my doorway.
“Thanks.” I straightened my bowtie. “I can’t get this dang thing right, though.”
“Come here,” she said as she approached, her hands reaching for my neck.
“At least you’re reaching for my neck to tie my bowtie and not strangle me,” I joked.
“Amen, honey. Amen.” She winked. “You turned things around really well, Ryan. I’m so proud of you.”
I smiled as Mom worked on my tie. “I’m proud of you, too, Mom.”
She quirked her head.
“Your recovery. Meetings…” I gulped the emotions thickening my throat. “You’ll beat this.”
“That means a lot, kiddo.” She swiped a tear that streaked out from her eye. “So much.”
“I’m sorry I freaked out. I mean…well, you know what I mean.”
Mom yanked me into a hug. “Gave us a little scare, but I knew you’d pull out of it. You’ve got grit, faith, and a family who loves you.”
That I did. My family wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was my family. And we were strong.
Brodie strolled into my room. “Ohhh, don’t you look just adorable?”
I rolled my eyes. He was lucky I was still in my mother’s clutches, otherwise I would have hammered him. “Not any cuter than you.”
He was wearing a lighter-colored tux and carrying his pink corsage for Willow. It matched his pink bowtie. Grace chose a blue dress, by chance, and blue happened to be my favorite color, so it worked out well.
Mom stepped back and smiled. “Perfect.”