“What, why?” I asked, following her out of the laundry room and down the hallway to where the para lockers were at. “What's going on?”
Perry had a little pep in her step. “You’re going home early.”
I stopped right where I was, confused. “Perry, I don't have a ride home and... did I do something wrong?”
She swung my way, eyes wide, shaking her head. “Oh no. You didn't do anything wrong.” She practically bounced with excitement. “Your husband came, and he wants to take you out for lunch. But your uncle said you're pretty much done for the day anyways, so you could go home.”
My eyebrows rose. “Oh. Which husband is here?”
She shrugged. “I don't know. I think it's Lincoln.”
We were by my locker, and I proceeded to open it and grab my things. “Was he wearing jeans and a leather jacket?”
She shook her head. “No, he's wearing a suit and tie and his hair had this crazy wave to it.”
My lips curled up into a smile. “That's Tyler.”
Pushing away my worries, I grew excited about Tyler coming for me and wondered what he had planned.
Perry followed me all the way to the front entrance where, of course, Tyler was waiting.
He was standing, hands in his coat pockets, talking to my uncle who seemed, currently, surprised by something.
Both of their gazes swung my way, and my uncle’s narrowed in on me. “So...” he gestured to me. “You’re pregnant?”
I glanced over to Tyler, who shrugged and came over to greet me with a kiss. “Sorry,” he whispered against my lips and then hugged me to his side.
Turning back to my uncle, I gave a grimace of a smile. I’d worried he would be upset, and by the look of him, he was. “Yes,” I finally answered, my hand drifting down to my stomach, “but it hasn't been confirmed yet. I have a doctor’s appointment next week.”
Tyler squeezed my side for comfort while my uncle sighed, dragging a hand through his hair.
“You and Marissa...” he trailed off and shook his head. “Too young.”
“Maybe so,” Tyler interjected with ease, “but at least we’ll be young enough to keep up.”
My uncle tipped his head in a slight nod. “True. Let us know how the appointment goes. Marissa goes in tomorrow.” He opened the front door. “Off you go. Have fun and I'll see you tomorrow, Faith.”
Unsure what to do in this situation, I kept my voice polite. “See you tomorrow.”
I gave a wave to Perry and Tyler then stepped outside into the bitter cold, and we raced to Tyler’s green jeep that was still running and got in.
Toasty warm heat chased away the cold and seeped through my coat and clothes into my chilled skin.
Rubbing my fingers together, I finally asked what I wanted to know. “Where are we headed and how in the world did you plan this all?”
He tossed me a smirk as we drove away from SSK. “I like to keep my wife guessing.”
I reached up and punched his shoulder. “Hey.” When I retreated, he grabbed my mitten covered hand.
“Come on. I want to know.”
He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I wanted to surprise you. Everyday you drive with Kayden, and I miss having my time with you. So, I called your uncle and asked if I could take you today. Lincoln is scheduled next weekend for a date, but Kayden gets his when he takes you to your doctor’s appointment.”
Love blossomed in my heart and spread throughout my chest. This was going to work. It might not always be this way but, as my hand drifted down to my stomach and I thought about what was to come, I was grateful for the time we had now.
“I am surprised. So, where are we going?”
He chuckled. “Fine. Have it your way. I figured we’d go grab a bite to eat and then we'd head off to the bank.”
“The bank?”
“Mm-hm. We haven't put you on our accounts yet. We want you to be able to have access.”
Feeling a bit mischievous, I lifted my voice with excitement. “Oh? Access you say... to anything?”
He gave another chuckle. “Yes, within reason. What’s that saying? What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours? I think that’s how my mom put it.”
“Tyler!”
“Just kidding.”
Thinking about what he’d said, I realized I hadn’t added them to the account that was set up from the sale of my parents’ house. “So, should I add you on my account too? The one from the house?”
He gave my hand a squeeze. “Only if you want to. I’m not asking you to, but sometimes it's nice to have another person on the account in case things go wrong.”
“I wasn’t keeping it from you. I honestly didn’t think about it. You’re–”
He applied pressure to my hand to stop me from speaking and spared me a glance, his deep blue eyes offering reassurance. “No-no-no-no. I didn’t think you were keeping it from us. None of us did. It’s your money.”
“But... you're right. I should get you on the account,” I admitted, watching him drive. He was more careful when he drove with me, most likely aware of how stressful it was after my family's death. “What if we needed access and I couldn’t do it?”
“If that’s what you want, Faith, we can do it, but I don’t like the ‘what if’ scenarios. The only way we’d need access and you weren’t able to do it would be if you were in the hospital or... let’s just say for house improvements that you insist on doing, hm?”
I sobered. “Fair enough.”
Being on the road, thinking back to my parents in the what if scenario, like Tyler had said, I wanted my life to be my kind of perfect. Not perfectly perfect, but perfect in the way that I never had. I wanted no regrets.
I once compared myself to an unlucky penny. Undesirable and left to drown in a puddle of melting snow.
I rubbed my belly, thinking about how wrong I had been. I wasn’t a penny at all. I was an unlucky teen who found three of the luckiest pennies in the world. And this baby was a mint 1942 copper. Rare and wanted.
Always wanted.
***
Tyler and I ate at the diner then went to the bank. Now we were on our way to the home improvement store. Once there, Tyler drove around the parking lot three times trying to find a parking spot that was closer. He said something about not wanting to be too far away and have me slip.
“Come on, Tyler. Seriously, that spot was fine. I can still walk, you know.”
He glanced over, his dark gaze dropping to my belly, then back to the road ahead. “I just want to get something closer. It's cold outside, and all the snow and everything... I just don't want you to fall.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed, looking out the window as Tyler drove down yet another row.
“Ha,” he said when a car started pulling out of a closer spot. “There’s one.” He waited for the car to pull out completely then proceed to pull in.
I unbuckled and reached for his forearm before he could get out. He paused and twisted my way. “What?”
I wiggled my eyebrows which made him grin. “Come here.”
He bent his head down, his masculine scent filling my senses, and I lifted my lips up to his, giving him a nice, slow kiss. He reached up and cupped the back of my head, taking the kiss a little deeper before drawing away.
A small tilt of his lips paired with raised eyebrows made him look happy but perplexed at the same time. “What was that for?”
I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my cheeks, making them bunch up. “For being you. I’m just happy.”
When I said that, Tyler’s eyes lit up and he leaned in real close. One hand met the door frame and the other the seat beside my hips as he surrounded me. Warm breath fanned my face as he spoke low and whispered to me, “It makes me happy that you're happy.”
My heart squeezed with an emotion I couldn’t explain. Somewhere between love and... more that I felt for this man. He would do anything to see me happy. To make our lives together as full of happiness as well as
be there for the times I wasn’t happy. I knew that. I’d known that when he married me. But in this moment, in his jeep with snow falling outside and on our way to go look at appliances, he wasn’t just saying it. He was doing it. Making me happy and showing me that he loved me.
Hot tears pricked at my eyes, and without words he kissed me once again before pulling away.
His eyes narrowed in on me as he changed the subject. “Now stay there and be a good girl and let me come around and get you.”
My tears stopped and my body flushed. He hopped out before I could even say anything. Be good? Be a good girl?
Tyler rounded the jeep and opened the passenger door. Resting my hand on his arm, he helped me out. I threaded my arm through the crook of his elbow after he shut the door, and we started walking up to the store doors. “Tyler, do you think of me as a child?”
He scoffed. “No.”
“Why would you tell me to be a ‘good girl’? You’ve never said that to me before.”
His arm tightened slightly around mine in a hug. “I'm sorry? I just...” His eyebrows drew downward as his midnight blues eyes darkened with confusion. “I was teasing you. I’ve heard Lincoln tell you that before, and I didn't think you'd mind.”
My cheeks flamed hot as I ducked my head and swallowed. I leaned in to him to whisper, “Tyler, Lincoln only says that while we’re in bed.”
Tyler slowed his steps and his hold loosened. “Ohhh... I didn't realize,” he said, shaking his head.
“Well, um.” He picked up the pace and then totally avoided the subject. “Do you have any thoughts or ideas on what kind of appliances you like? Finish and brands?”
Amused by the quick change of subject, I gave a small chuckle. “I have no idea what I’m getting into in here.” I sighed in relief as we walked into the store and a wave of warm air greeted us. Winter wasn’t harsh this year, but snow was snow. Cold and wet. “I know we need a gas stove, a microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and maybe a new fridge, but above all of that, I have no clue. All I can think of is that I grew up with white finishes, and I can’t even begin to name a brand.”
Tyler unlinked our arms and drew me close. “It's okay. I'll help you. I'm pretty sure that things have changed a lot, and this is my first time too. So we can be appliance shopping virgins together.”
I nudged his stomach. “Appliance virgins?”
He shrugged and gave me a loving squeeze. “Just go with it.”
Chapter Eight
Friday
I needed to learn to cook.
As I watched five-year-old Jace at the toy stove trying to fry plastic bacon in a water cup, I knew that would be what I’d look like when others tried to watch me cook.
I knee-walked over to him and picked up the perfect replica of a real frying pan on the floor, amused by his enthusiasm at trying to stir the bacon in the cup.
“Maybe this would help?” I suggested, holding up the frying pan.
Little wide eyes swung over to me, taking in the pan. He stared at me, then the pan, then back at me, only to shake his head. “Nu-uh. I’m making a hot bacon smoothie.”
I frowned, letting the pan drop, and shrugged. “Okay.”
Hot bacon smoothie? My nose wrinkled and my gag reflex wanted to take over, but I gritted my teeth and knee-walked over to Gina, who was not even a year, and tickled her stomach.
As I played with the little girl, my thoughts strayed again to my lack of cooking skill. So far, we'd been surviving off leftovers from the guys’ mom and Sarah. I was glad Jace wasn’t cooking.
I could at least attempt to cook, but it didn't help that our appliances currently weren’t in upstanding condition. However, I did have the crockpot that I was gifted from my bridal shower.
If I wanted to have my perfect home, I needed to learn to cook, and keep my husbands fed.
That’s what ran through my head as I picked up toys from the kids who had just left to go eat lunch at SSK.
I had worries about not being perfect. I was striving for it, but as Kayden had said, we didn't need to be perfect, just happy. And I wasn't sure why or what had me so... I couldn’t think of the word—maybe uncomfortable? Unsatisfied? I shouldn't be. I had my house. I had my guys. So why wasn't I happy?
The clock chimed for lunch, and all the paras rounded up their kiddos and headed toward the hallway and kitchen for mealtime.
Perry paused with little Gina on her hip and waited for me to stand.
When I was eye level with Perry, my gaze turned over to Gina in her arms. She was eating a slobbery fist. I drew it out of her mouth and cooed. “Such a good baby, aren’t you?”
Gina kicked her legs and let out a happy sound. She had the bluest eyes that could make anyone melt, just like Lincoln’s. It was a shame she ended up here.
Perry chuckled. “She is a little sweetheart.”
Drawing away from the temptation to hold Gina’s wriggly little body and snuggle her, I stepped back and looked around the room. It was like a tornado had whipped a Toys R Us around and dropped it. “I’ll stay and pick up a bit while you feed her.”
“Sounds like a good trade with how she eats!”
I laughed and agreed. “She is a messy eater.”
“Hey, Faith?”
I turned back to Perry to find her paused in the archway that led to the hall. Her short brown hair was pinned back to one side and her eyes crinkled as her lips drew up into a sweet smile.
I couldn’t help it as my lips twitched upward. “Yeah?”
She gave what I could only call a nod of approval and said, “You’re going to be a great mom.” Then she left before I could say differently.
I stood there as realization dawned. My hand rested on my lower stomach. I was worried about being a good mother. The thought had me staggering and finding the closest chair to sit on. Was that what this was all about? My uncertainty? My worries? That I wouldn't be a good enough parent?
I sat there for a good while until my uncle came and found me. He stood just inside the entryway between the hallway and the room. I glanced up and found his eyebrows drawn down with concern. “Are you okay?”
He stepped my way but paused when I stood, dropping my hand from my stomach. “I'm fine. Just...” I shrugged, folding my arms over my body. “It's all overwhelming at the moment.”
He nodded, not judging me. “Your mother, she was full of spirit. When she was younger, I remember her having big dreams and being determined to follow them.”
Bitterness ate at me. “She chose to abandon me when she lost Austin. Just like my father. Her determination? Where was that when I needed her? Her determination to live. To move on?”
My uncle sighed. “Things like that, addiction, it takes a toll on the body. No matter if it's drugs or alcohol abuse. It's hard to come back from. I’ve heard some say you have to hit the bottom to be able to rise to the top. Your parents were at the bottom, but there was nobody there to help them when they were at their lowest.”
I bit my lip, trying not to cry. “I was there.”
“Yes, but I should have been there for her—for you. I can’t change what happened. Why do you think I do what I do?”
My heart ached. “But you weren't there for me.” My eyes lifted to his and saw the hurt. My resolve softened a bit. “You weren't there for me,” I repeated, “but you were there for me in ways you could be. And for that, I’m grateful.”
He gave a rough cough. “For all the good it did me. We stayed away to focus on Marissa’s behaviors and years later, she’s still in trouble. We’re not even sure what to do about it.”
I went over to my uncle and placed a gentle hand on his forearm. “Just love her. Let her make those mistakes and support her as she’s figuring things out, but don't make decisions for her. She'll need you both to help her, but ultimately she’ll need to figure out the rest.”
He drew me into an awkward hug. He whispered against my head that I was a good kid and he was sorry he couldn't be there when I needed hi
m the most.
I drew away and wiped my nose. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
I walked off toward my locker for a much needed break, with my emotions everywhere. It seemed as though I could hardly control the waterworks nowadays. Sometimes it was embarrassing.
Once at my locker, I pulled out my phone to check and see if I had any messages. There was one from Reyna asking if I could babysit her little one next week on Tuesday, the day before my doctor's appointment.
I responded back with a yes and then moved on to my next message from Tyler.
He had something to do after work so Kayden would be the one picking me up. Knowing Kayden would be the one to come and get me, I texted Sarah asking if she would be interested in teaching me some crockpot skills. I was hoping that Kayden could run home and get the crockpot then take me back to Sarah's. With that underway, I put my phone back in my locker and returned to work
***
I often heard when you give a man a fish, you feed him for one day, but if you teach him to fish, you feed the man for a lifetime.
After work on Friday, Kayden picked me up and took me to Sarah's. She was going to teach me the crockpot lifetime meal and we’d work up from there.
Now in her kitchen with the pot, I just had to figure out how to unclamp the lid.
“It latches on from the sides,” Sarah explained as she brought out the intimidating ingredients for the meal we were going to make.
I found the clamp on the sides of the lid and loosened them. “Ah-ha!” I triumphed proudly. “It came off.”
She laughed. “Only you.”
I eyed the cans of soup and chicken Sarah was putting on the counter. “What are we going to make?”
“Chicken sauce. All you need to do is add the rice.”
“But I don't have...”
Sarah pulled out another appliance that looked similar to the crockpot and gave me a wink. “I have you covered. It's a rice maker. You can take our old one because we bought a new one.”
“You don't have to–"
I paused when she gave me one of her, ‘do not mess with me’ smiles and stated, “I'll buy your child all yellow jammies if you don't take it.”
Honeymoon Blues (Faith Series Book 6) Page 5