That was a lesson in futility, so I headed to the house to drop off her shit and answer ma’s hundred and one questions. “I don’t like it not one bit.” She ranted her way around the kitchen lighting into me like I’d given the asshole lessons in how to be a fuckwit.
“I know ma, we’re taking care of it.”
“Well how are you supposed to do that if you don’t even know where he is?”
“Jace is working on it.” She mumbled some shit under her breath but stopped harassing me. I called Traci to see how she was doing before hitting the home gym for some much needed relief.
It was almost time for lunch by the time I was done so I snuck out the house to go get her before ma got her hooks into me again.
I took her to eat at one of my favorite places and was reminded of what a circus my life is. In a small town like ours everybody pretty much knows each other unless you’re an outsider. So I spent most of the hour fielding questions and accepting congratulations.
“And who’s this?” Joe the owner of the bistro came over to our table when the hoopla died down. I took her hand in mine and kissed her knuckles. “This is my fiancée.” She almost fell out the damn chair but I squeezed her hand to keep her quiet.
Joe’s is like the local gossip mill. I’m not stupid I chose this place for a reason. I was locking her in. By the time we left everyone knew she was mine and I was pretty sure they would all look out for her from now on. She was hard to miss, five-two and a head full of red hair.
My eyes were glued to her ass on the way out and she caught me. I couldn’t resist patting that plump flesh as we crossed the door. “Quit it Wyatt, people are watching.”
“So? It’s mine isn’t it? I can touch it if I want.” I sounded like a two-year old brat but whatever.
***
Traci
***
Oh he’s good. He thinks I don’t know what he’s up to but I’m onto him. I would tell him that he could stop now, that I am well and truly caught but it was fun watching him try to corner me. His fiancée, the man has no shame. The butterflies in my stomach weren’t as busy as they were just this morning. I’d had some time to think while away from him, and now instead of the sickening fear of what could go wrong, I felt a new joy for things to come.
Since I’d always locked myself away from the whole relationship game I had nothing to measure this up against, though I was pretty sure this wasn’t the norm, but it looked like it was ours. His mom had whispered to me quite giddily that she’d never seen him react this way to anyone, and she too seemed pretty sure that this was it. If I wasn’t mistaken she was already picking out wedding patterns. The whole family is nuts.
True to his word he hung around my work place for the rest of the afternoon after having some kind of powwow behind closed doors with the judge. I was more than a little surprised when the man I knew to be a brusque no nonsense semi tyrant called me into his office afterwards.
It was like night and day. “Congratulations on your engagement.” His eyes went immediately to my finger, which was obviously bare. “You make that young man buy you the biggest rock you can find, you deserve it. Now, you’re one of the brightest interns to ever come through these doors, I have high hopes for you if you don’t get bogged down with babies and whatnot, and if I know Marie you’d be knee deep in kids before you can blink.”
“Now on to this other mess. Why haven’t you ever told me that you were being harassed by some idiot? I expected better from you young lady. Now I’ve called my detail and given them a heads-up. Wyatt has promised that he will take care of you after hours and I’m sure he can. I’ll stay on top of it on my end, but no more secrets.”
“Yes sir.” I left as fast as I entered more than a little confused by the change. “What did you do to him?” I whispered to Wyatt who had taken up residence at my desk. “Are you really going to stay here all day?”
“Yep, as to what I told the old man, nothing more than that you’re my girl and he better be treating you right.” He pretty much dismissed me after that and went back to reading the magazine he’d been pawing through.
I tried to ignore him as best I could while I did my thing but it wasn’t easy. Coming onto end of day the tension in the air grew heavy. It was a feeling I wasn’t familiar with, like anticipation mixed with trepidation. It could be a direct response to the covert looks he kept throwing my way when he thought I wasn’t looking. Or the way he would secretly run his finger down my arm or along my thigh.
By the time he walked me out to his car I was a nervous wreck. The day had finally caught up to me. I had just moved in with this guy, into his bed. He had told about twenty people that we were engaged, and the night was coming.
The shakes were back in full force, but that was no longer because of any lingering doubt, and more because of the unknown. What if I disappointed him? He was so male, so forceful in everything he did. How could I hope to match that, or to keep up?
***
Wyatt
***
She’s nervous as fuck and there’s no need for me to guess why. All day I’ve kept her on the edge, small touches here and there, secret looks. The anticipation was rising as the clock ticked. I was sure of what the night would bring, my mind was already made up. But I can only imagine what was going through that head of hers.
I kept conversation to a minimum; this was as much new territory for me as it was for her. Maybe it was because I was the one who was sure of us that I wasn’t freaking the hell out, but I figured it was up to me to lead her along until we were on the same page.
Ma was like a kid in a candy store when we got in. I’m gonna have to keep an eye on her she seems to have a hell of a lot for my girl to be doing, cock blocker. I did notice that it seemed to relax her when ma dragged her off to do who knows what, gave me time to get in a workout and take a shower.
I put a call into Jace, it was my third or fourth of the day. “Still nothing?”
“Nah, he went under somewhere I guess, and there’s no next of kin listed for him at his job or at the school, but not to worry, we’re staying on top of it.”
“You think he went home?”
“Not sure and if he did we don’t have the manpower to monitor. I can put in a call to someone down there and see. I think those boys still got a hard on for him.”
“Fine, you do that and let me know.”
I hung up and went in search of her after leaving the gym. She wasn’t downstairs so I took the stairs two at a time with my heart in my lungs. I guess I was going to have this sickening fear whenever she was out of my sight, at least until he was behind bars.
I heard the water running in the shower and barely restrained myself from going in. Good, she was settling in. I went to the guest bathroom and took a quick shower to get the stink off before joining her in the bedroom.
I had decided not to tell her what Jace had said; as far as I was concerned her part in this thing was done. Walking over to her I wrapped my arms around her from behind. In all the bullshit I had all but forgotten what had caught me in the first place. Her ass.
“I love your ass baby.” I rubbed myself against her while nibbling on her neck and holding her close. “Are you afraid?” She shook her head no but her body was telling me different, she was as stiff as a board again, but I knew it was up to me to relax her for what was coming.
“Let’s go down dinner will be ready soon.” I looked around the room trying to think of what I could do to make it special for her. I wanted to give her something; she deserved soft music and candlelight. I knew fuck all about this shit though, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna ask ma. She’d probably try to oversee the shit.
***
Dinner was quite the affair. Ma kept nagging about people calling her all day with news of our engagement. She was not too pleased that she didn’t get the chance to have a big party and show off her hostess skills.
“You know I think we should have a formal announcement in the papers, and do thing
s the right way.”
“Ma, why can’t we just get married and be done with it?” I guess that was the wrong thing to say because not only ma and Traci jumped on my ass, but my sister had her say as well. You’d have thought I suggested we get hitched at the drive through or some shit.
“Okay-okay but whatever y’all come up with it better be doable in a coupla weeks.” I stuffed a forkful of food into my mouth and ignored the screeching. Dad was shaking his head and Chad the ass was grinning.
“Boy you really don’t know your mother do you? You’re the first of her little chicks to tie the knot, we’d be lucky it don’t rival the royals.”
“Oh you hush Jack.”
“Just trying to help Marie, I’m with you all the way.”
“Traitor.”
“I like my nice soft bed son, you can’t fault a man for that.”
“Okay fine, ma, you can plan whatever you want as long as we’re married in the next two weeks, that’s nonnegotiable.”
“Two weeks isn’t time enough to plan a wedding this size.”
“What size, it’s going to be us, Jace, Cole and her girls and parents, that’s what, ten-fifteen people?”
They were off and running again, but funnily enough my girl had gone back into her shell. No worries, she was probably having cold feet again, I planned on putting an end to that shit tonight.
The talk at the dinner table was all about the wedding and from the way they were talking I was pretty much superfluous.
“Let’s go to the study son there’s something I need to show you.”
I winked at my girl before following dad out the kitchen. He looked around the door before closing and locking it. What the hell was he up to? He probably had a bottle of moonshine or some shit hidden away in there. It wouldn’t be the first time, but I wasn’t in the mood, I needed all my faculties about me tonight.
“Now listen, I know this thing is sudden and you haven’t really had time to plan. Have you chosen a ring yet?”
“No, I was thinking I’d take her down there and have her choose what she likes.” I had my own ideas about what I wanted her to have, but I was gonna give her first shot.
“Well, given the stuff that’s going on with this guy harassing her, I think you might wanna have her tagged.”
“Have her what?”
“It’s a chip, you place it in her ring, that’s about the only thing a woman never takes off, so you wanna use something that you’re sure she would have with her at all times. I put one in your mother’s when I took it in to have it reset. That’s just the excuse I used, but it’s the best peace of mind I’ve had in years.”
“Ma know you have eyes on her?” I barely kept a straight face when asking him that.
“Nope, and that’s the way it’s gonna stay. She goes off with her friends I don’t have to worry about whether or not she’s in trouble because I know where she is. This baby can track her ass to Siberia.”
“How do I get one?”
“I’ve already put in the call, I was getting your sister’s anyway.”
“Dad…”
“What? Until she gets married she’s still my responsibility, and don’t tell me you wouldn’t have thought of it if you knew this shit existed. Trust me, this thing will make you sleep better at night, especially with you being out of town so much, watch this.”
He did something to the watch on his wrist and a little green dot appeared. “You wanna hear?”
“Damn dad what else does that thing do?” For the next half an hour he showed me what his little toy could do.
“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.
The Champ: Bad Boys Book 5 (The Bad Boys) Page 10