Caleb's Blessing(42)

It takes even more guts and courage to let anyone else in and you’ve done that too. You should be proud of yourself young lady, I am.”

I knew she was going to cry, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand out here if that happened, but before I could move forward he was on it again.

“Don’t start that crying mess because both my son and his mother would have my ass. Now drink up and let’s get back before one or the other of them comes looking. I’m surprised the boy hasn’t started tearing down my place already.”

“Do you really think that I...that I can make him happy?”

“You already have girl. I know my boy, the only time I’ve ever seen him remotely close to this happy, is when he was in one of those damn rings trying to get his dumb ass killed.”

She was back to laughing and snorting as the old reprobate put it on thick.

“You’re laughing but I’m telling you, that boy came out the womb looking for trouble. From the time he could walk he was always looking for shit to get up to.”

“I hope our sons are just like him.” There were still tears in her voice so I pushed the door in alerting them both to my presence.

“I’ll take her dad.”

“Shit, give me that.” He took the glass jar from her but it was already empty, which was a surprise. How had she finished that shit and was still standing?

I hid my smile as I walked over and picked her up from the chair and into my arms. He slipped out of the room when my seemingly tipsy baby face planted into my chest with a heavy sigh.

“You okay baby, how much of that crap did you have to drink?” I lifted her chin with my finger to gauge the situation. Her eyes were a little bright, but she didn’t seem any worse for wear. It could be from all the excitement.

“You ready to go back downstairs to the party?”

“Uh-uh, I wanna stay here with you.”

“No problem, you wanna sit down?”

“No.” She held on tighter and buried her face in my chest again.

“I wanna stay just like this. I like the way it feels when you hold me like this.”

“Oh yeah, and how is that?”

“Safe, loved. Like nothing else matters.”

Damn, she would pick now to say this shit to me when we were miles away from home and our bed, and there was a houseful of people down there waiting to see us.

“We can stay as long as you’d like.” I held her that much closer, wishing that I could read her mind.

I don’t know how long we stood there before she finally lifted her head and smiled up at me.

“I don’t think your sister in law likes me very much do you?”

“Come again?” Totally out of left field. “I thought you said nothing happened when she came by the ranch.”

“It didn’t, not really, besides, I didn’t want to worry you, not to mention I didn’t want to sound like a cry baby.”

“But?”

“Well, that day I kinda got the feeling that she was fishing for information you know. Like she was trying to learn as much about me as she could.”

“And what did you tell her?” I wasn’t panicking as yet, but the less people who knew about her past the better. It was the only way I could keep a handle on shit until I dealt with the asshole.

“Nothing really, I just gave her the basics but I don’t know, I think she’s very crafty that one.”

“I see.” I decided not to say too much, to let her do all the talking since I wasn’t yet sure how this phenomenon worked.

It proved to be the right move, because in the next twenty minutes she gave me a rundown of what she thought of everyone so far.

I was extremely pleased to learn that she was no longer going to fight her feelings for me, but was going to have faith that we would work.

She got a long lingering tonguing for that one before she went on to tell me even more of what was hidden in her heart.

I saw a true glimpse of the girl that she was. Not that I hadn’t already seen into the heart of her behind the walls she’d built up, but this was another little piece of her that she’d given to me.

I wanted to bundle her up, all that she was, and keep her safe for all time. We stood there whispering to each other as she shared her deepest fears through tears that tore the heart out of me.

“No one is ever going to hurt you ever again baby, this I can promise you with everything that is in me, and believe me your ex is the last person you have to worry about because he’s number one on my hit list.”

That got me a laugh and a confession, that had I not already fallen head over heels in love with her, I would’ve then.

“I’m not really afraid of him anymore. I know you’d never let him get me and I know that you’d stand in front of me; that’s my new fear.