"Thanks old man. I was leaning towards the RFID chip but I had a problem going under her skin, this is the next best thing."
"That's my boy, chip off the old block."
Damn straight. It was just good to know I wasn't the only one who felt this way. Of course because of the shit that was going on in her life she might not appreciate my efforts, but what she don't know won't hurt her.
After leaving him, I snuck upstairs for a quick set up. I found some candles and set them up around the room and set the iPod to a certain playlist, one that I was sure would be perfect for what was coming. It was still early yet so I left things as they were before heading back out.
"Let's go for a walk around the property baby." I had snuck up behind her and whispered the suggestion in her ear after returning downstairs. I felt a weight lifted off my shoulder now that things were set in motion. Tomorrow I was taking her to pick out a ring and under the pretense of having it reset I will let the guys outfit it with her tag.
"Bye ma." I left her and my sister snickering as we left the room for the outdoors. She hadn't really had a chance to see her new home yet. I figured a nice walk around outside in the evening air might loosen her up a bit for what was to come.
It felt like I'd been waiting a lifetime although in actuality it had only been a few days. The anticipation was more than anything I've ever felt. In just a few short hours our lives will change forever.
Chapter 8
Traci
I tried my best to calm my nerves as he took my hand and walked me out of the house. I fought hard to concentrate on my surroundings, on how beautiful everything was. It was almost surreal to think this was going to be my new reality. That for the next forty or fifty years I would call this place home.
I had long made peace with the fact that my life had gone off the rails since that night just a short while ago when I met him. My friends all seemed happy for me, no one was telling me to put the brakes on and take it slow.
His mother was full of excitement. All she could talk about was the wedding and how great things were going to be. I think it was going to be a while before the butterflies in the pit of my stomach went away, but it was a small price to pay for the absolute happiness I was beginning to believe awaited me.
I've always been an observer, whether because of my career choice, the long days spent at my mother's sick bed, I don't know what it is, but somewhere along the way I had learned to silence everything else and focus. In the short time I'd known him I can honestly say I have yet to witness anything about him that was off putting.
Even with Carl's craziness nipping at my heels, I felt no fear of taking this very huge step; in fact Wyatt made me feel safe, like nothing and no one would ever get to me as long as he was at my side. Everything was happening so fast though, but after listening to his mom and sister, I realize that it was just as fast for him too. That he was willing to take the risk, and that went a long way to putting me at ease. T his amazing person was willing to risk everything on me, on us.
This morning while he'd been gone, I'd used some time between studying old case files to run a little research on him. It was better than hiring a PI. The Internet was a font of information.
I tried not to look too hard at the beauties on his arm as I scrolled but it was hard to since almost every frame captured him with his arms around some hot young thing. He'd already explained that to me and I chose to believe him. Not to mention his mom swore up and down that he had never brought anyone home, not since he was a teen and she had insisted.
"You're thinking again, what is it this time, the wedding?"
"Among other things." I swung our arms between us as I tried to get my thoughts in order. When I peeled back all the layers this was one of those things that you read about in books or saw at the movies, but never seemed real. I kept replaying our every moment together and trying to find that one thing that jumped out at me and said ‘here it is'.
We all knew how Wyatt felt, he had taken one look and fallen in love, or so his story goes. It had taken me a little longer, if you can call three days long. Even though I'd pretty much come to terms with my own feelings, I still thought it wise to ask one last time, kind of like giving him an out in case he needed one.
"Are you sure about all this Wyatt?"
"If you ask me that question a thousand times the answer's not going to change. Look, I understand why you're nervous, why you might even be scared, I can and will do whatever I can to alleviate that, but I'm not going to stop feeling what I feel and I'm not going to hold back."
He didn't give me a chance to answer, just turned and took my face between his hands. "Look at me sweetheart." I lifted my eyes to his, my heart racing in my chest as I bit into my lip. His nose flared and there was a shift in the air as he drew me closer.
Whatever he was going to say got lost as his lips came down to cover mine in the softest, sweetest kiss we'd ever shared. When he finally lifted his head I was breathless and more than a little turned on. He had that strange affect on me, an ability to make me forget.
"You know when you go for a job and they want you to have experience first, and you're wondering how you're supposed to have that without having a job? This is kinda like that. How will you know if you never try? But there's one thing I want you to think about, you see those two people back there, what they have; I want that. I'm not gonna get that by fucking around. I'm not gonna get that by cheating on you, lying to you or hurting you.
In all my years I've never seen my father make my mother cry not unless they were tears of absolute joy. That's what I have to offer you. And since I love you I want the best for you, and baby that's me. So you hold onto your fears and your doubts for as long as you need to, I'm not going anywhere."
He says the sweetest things. All the things that make me feel silly for holding back like this. So what this was beyond unconventional? Haven't I been happier in the last few days than I have ever been before?
And didn't I sleep in his bed wrapped in his arms without being mauled? He'd proven time and again that he could be trusted and even more he's shown that he does feel something for me. I can keep going around and around in my head with the same questions, but in the end I think I've already made up my mind. Still I couldn't help putting him to the test, this was my life after all.
"Okay here's the deal, can't we just have a relationship first before jumping into marriage?" I can't believe I found the courage to actually say those words out loud. I would die if he agreed but I had to know, had to give it one last shot. "I mean marriage is so final … "
He stopped moving and turned to me. "So what you're saying is that you just want to use me for my body, but I'm not marriage material?"
"What?" My mouth hung down to my chin. He did not seem pleased, not one little bit.
"That's what it sounds like to me. No deal cupcake, you get the whole package." He passed. What guy in his position wouldn't have gone for that? For some reason that one little thing removed the clouds and that nagging fear in my gut was gone. Now I had to make it up to him because he was steaming mad.
My smile when I turned it on him was from my soul. "What're you grinning at Red, you playing me? What's going through that head of yours now?" Before I could answer I found my lips captured once more, as he lifted me off my feet, the man was obsessed. "Fuck if I'm not marrying that." He held onto my hand as we walked on as though afraid I was gonna bolt.
"You know I'm going to take you tonight don't you?" It was good that he'd stopped us before asking me that, because my knees went weak.
"Do you do that on purpose?"
"Do what baby?" He trailed a finger down the side of my face.
"Make your voice go all seductive and dreamy?"
"Getting to you is it?"
At least it allowed me to sidestep his question. I wasn't brave enough to have that conversation, because there was something he didn't know, something that could be a dream changer.
Wyatt
She's hiding something, I don't know what, but I'm coming to know her, all her little nuances. Her eyes shift or changes according to what's going on in her head. I think I'll keep that little bit of knowledge to myself for now, but it sure did come in handy.