I found her in the kitchen on a stool peeling some kind of vegetable, and without giving her a chance to waylay me, took her face in my hands and kissed the shit out of her. "Wyatt." There she goes again, calling my name in that come fuck voice of hers.
"Say it again." I kissed her temple as she gave me what I wanted. "Wyatt." I almost forgot that we had company as I gave her-her flowers, until the hooting and hollering started.
"What's going on in here?" Dad slammed through the backdoor while ma dabbed at her eyes. "Our son's being romantic. It's so sweet."
"You want romance I got romance." He picked her up and laid one on her, which made her twitter and blush like a schoolgirl. "There, you think your son got more game than me?"
"Oh Jack hush, I don't see you bringing me any flowers." She sniffed at him and went back to her cooking. "Hey now, I sent you roses just last week." He gave me the stink eye like I'd brought my girl flowers just to show him up with his woman.
"That's different, those were store bought; he took time and chose these special. Here let me find a vase for your flowers Traci." Dad slapped me behind the head before mumbling something about upstarts and heading back out. No one was surprised when he came back ten minutes later with flowers from the garden.
"You know how many thousands of dollars I coulda saved over the years if I'd a known you prefer tumbleweed?" He joked as he gave her-her flowers. While everyone was occupied with the Marie and Jack show I pulled her off the stool and snuck her out.
"Wyatt I'm supposed to be helping your mom." She fussed at me as I grabbed her coat from the hall closet and bundled her into it. "She'll be fine I have something I wanna show you." I took her hand and led her out of the house and across the property to my old hangout spot. "You gonna be okay in those things?" I looked down at the gravity defying heels she had on her feet.
"Yes, I'm an old pro at these things I have to be or I'd look like a twelve year old. Who's gonna take a twelve year old attorney seriously?" Makes sense but I happen to like her tiny frame, it gives me ideas about picking her up and carting her around in my arms.
We came to a place that was very dear to me, a place where my family had always found hours of enjoyment. One I'd never shared with anyone else outside my family or our few close friends.
"This is where our sons and daughters are gonna play one day." I guess she was getting used to hearing me talk about our future since she didn't so much as bat a lash at that one. "You built this?"
"My grandfather did, for my dad and his friends, then when we got old enough to play in it, dad, Chad and I remodeled it and added on the extra room." It had once been a tree house but had since been turned into a fort. I'd spent quite a lot of time here. Some of my best life decisions had been mulled over here. "Let's go up, don't worry it's sturdy."
I helped her up the stairs to the room that was outfitted with chairs and floor cushions. It looked like someone had been keeping the place clean because the dust was at a minimum. "Wow this is amazing. How many girls did you bring up here hotshot?"
"Not one, this is a very special place, only the best of the best get to trespass here. Have a seat." I helped her down onto one of the cushions and took the seat next to her. I had to think before I spoke because as much as my mind was already made up, she was right, it was a little crazy the way this whole thing was unfolding.
"Have you ever been in love before Traci?" It burned a hole in my gut to ask but I had to. I didn't want anything between us, no old hang-ups no misconceptions. "No, I've always been too busy with school or my mom's illness."
"Your mom's sick?"
"Not anymore, she kicked the cancer when I was in the eight grade and it hasn't been back since. For a long time it was touch and go and my dad and I were always afraid you know. That was the scariest time of my life, it taught me a lot. It made me realize that the future isn't promised, so you have to make the best of life."
I could see her then, my little Traci trying to be brave for her mom. I listened as she told me about her life back then, her fear of losing the woman she loved so much. The fear she felt when her dad would cry at night and she didn't know how to help as she laid in her own bed fighting the same demons.
She had a pretty good childhood otherwise from what she said and I was glad of that. I guess being in love with someone makes you want to protect them even from their past. Because all I could see in my mind's eye was a much younger Traci dealing with a killer that had destroyed so many, and it made me ache for her.
She seemed to have overcome it though, there was no lingering tinge of sadness in her as she told of her mom's remission and the way things had progressed after the death sentence had been lifted.
"So what made you decide to be a lawyer?"
"I've always been fascinated I guess. When mom was recuperating she used to watch a lot of those true crime shows. Since I spent every free moment with her back then the seed was planted and I've just worked towards it ever since."
"What about your dad what does he do?"
"My dad's a contractor, we lost the family business when he had to cut back to take care of mom. He tried getting back into the swing of things after but then the recession hit not long after that and well … "
"Where's your family?"
"They're in Nebraska, that's where I'm from."
"And the reason you didn't go home for the holidays?" She got really quiet and looked away from me as if ashamed of what she was about to say. I braced myself for the worst.
"I couldn't afford it this time, plus my boss wouldn't give me the time off."
"Your boss, you work?"
"Yeah, I'm an intern at a law office downtown."
"So you're really serious about being a lawyer huh? Ever think about having kids, a family?"
"Honestly, no, I've just always been focused on my career goals."
"Why not do both?" She shrugged her shoulders and picked at her clothes, the way she does when she gets nervous.
"I'll be straight up with you, I want kids, lots of them in fact. Until last night I couldn't see the woman that was going to walk beside me forever, I could always see ten steps ahead when it came to my life, but that one thing always eluded me. Until I saw you, and after talking to my dad today I know I'm on the right path."
"Your dad, what did he say?" I looked at her so she could see the sincerity of what I was about to tell her. "He said that when he first saw ma he knew, kinda like what I'm feeling now. I won't lie to you. You seem to need time but I can't give it to you. The way my life is I'm always on the road. I'm going to be gone in another couple of weeks. But I don't want to leave here with things unsettled between us."
"Wyatt do you know how crazy this all sounds? We just met not even twenty-four hours ago and already you're talking kids. This is all new to me. I have no experience with this kind of thing."
"Are your parents happy together?"
"Yes very. Why what does that have to do with anything?"
"So are mine, it has to do with you saying that you have no experience but you do. You have your parents and the love they have for each other. That means you have a pretty good idea of what happily ever after looks like and trust me, I wouldn't risk my happiness for anything less than a sure thing. I don't go around feeding women a line of bull. I've had plenty of encounters but not once have I ever came even remotely close to wanting to give my all to anyone."
"I don't care that it's too soon, don't care that you're scared and unsure. I'm sure enough for both of us and I know in my gut that this is going to be something beautiful. Like I said, I can't give you the time you seem to need, so you're gonna have to take this next week and get to know all you need to. In the meantime I'm calling dibs. When you're not working or studying your time is mine. It's the best way to get to know each other right? Let's get back before ma sends out a search party."
Traci
He seems so sure, so final about this, like he truly does know. He makes me want to believe. It's not like I'm not attracted to him, what's not to be attracted to? But I can't make a life decision based on my attraction to this man, or can I?