Chasing Daylight

by Carey Heywood

  I went through the same thing after Rachel was attacked. She couldn’t do anything to convince me I wasn’t responsible for what happened to her. Since Diane was fixated on Mitch and took that out on me, he’s going through that now. Taking care of Rachel has helped me deal, so I’m not stopping Mitch from seeing to my every need.

  “Ready to go, babe?”

  I lift my arms and grin. He reaches down and scoops me up.

  “I’m going to miss all of this getting carried around,” I tease.

  “You don’t need to have broken toes for me to carry you around,” he replies, kissing my cheek.

  He carries me up the stairs and all the way to his truck before going back to his apartment for the wheelchair. It’s handy he already had one since I haven’t been able to walk. I hope I’ll get the all clear at my follow-up appointment today.

  Once he’s back in the car, I ask, “So this means the sponge baths aren’t going away either?”

  He chokes and I laugh. Zeus lifts his head to confirm Mitch isn’t actually in distress before resting back down on Mitch’s thigh. Based on his reaction, I’m guessing he enjoys those baths as much as I do.

  Zeus is always popular at my doctor’s office. Today, a little girl with a broken collarbone fawns all over him. Thankfully, she’s called back before we are; otherwise, it would have sucked to separate them.

  Once it’s our turn, I’m wheeled directly to the x-ray room. Then Mitch, Zeus, and I wait back in the room for the doctor to tell us if I’m all better or not.

  We don’t have to wait long. There’s a light the doctor clips my current x-ray to before clipping my original x-ray from the emergency room below it to show us the difference.

  “So I can walk?”

  He nods. “You’ll need to take it easy at first. Your situation is unique in that you broke all of them. You may have some discomfort since you’ve been keeping pressure off them while they’ve been healing. Start slow and build back up to your normal activities.”

  The moment the doctor leaves the room, Mitch pulls me into his arms and kisses me.

  “Should I try to walk to the truck?” I ask, my face splitting with my grin.

  He cringes. “Are you sure?”

  I bump his stomach with my elbow. “It’s not like we won’t have the chair if I get tired.”

  I push the wheelchair, leaning slightly against it to lessen the impact of carrying my own weight for the first time in a while. Mitch and Zeus walk slowly next to me. I can tell Mitch wants to make me stop and get into the chair more than once; but he keeps his mouth shut. I make no argument when he lifts me into the truck instead of letting me climb up into it.

  Once he and Zeus are in the truck I ask, “Would it be crazy if I used a walker for a couple of days?”

  He shakes his head. “I think I still have one if you want to give it a try.”

  I hang my head. “I’m so weak.”

  When I was first released from the hospital after the abrasions on my wrists and ankles healed, I would tread water every day at the Gramercy Square pool. I was doing good until we had a few cold days in a row, and I froze my ass off. I haven’t been in the pool since.

  He reaches out to hold my hand. “This isn’t a race.”

  Once we’re back at the complex, I decide I’m rested enough to walk some more but still push the wheelchair. After Diane died in a fiery crash of karma, Gramercy Square has been without a leasing agent. While in my eyes, Mitch can do anything he puts his mind to; he sucks at being a people person and tends to scare prospective tenants away.

  Cathy has come up from Florida and has been staying in one of the empty units while she covers the front office. Before we left for my appointment, we promised her we’d stop by afterward to let her know how it went.

  Mitch holds the door for me and I almost fall over at the greeting that meets me as I push the wheelchair in.

  “Go, McKenzie,” all of my friends and Mitch’s family boom.

  Mitch puts his arm around my waist, taking my weight as Rachel comes to push the wheelchair into the corner of the room.

  “How did you know we were going to get good news?” I laugh, wiping tears from the corners of my eyes.

  Rachel comes forward to kiss my cheek. “We hoped and Mitch texted me from the doctor’s office.”

  My eyes widen and I look up at him. “You sneaky man.”

  One by one, I’m hugged and kissed. The outpouring of love is overwhelming.

  “All of this for not having broken toes anymore?” I laugh, my throat thick with emotion.

  Alec’s family is here. Rachel’s parents are here. Mitch’s family is here. The other vets from the Critter Haven and Spa and even Frank and Spencer are here.

  “This is all too much,” I protest looking for Mitch.

  A throat clears behind me and I turn. My eyes fill with fresh tears and I cover my open mouth with my hand. There with Zeus sitting next to him, is Mitch on one knee and holding a diamond ring.

  “Oh, God,” I gasp.

  “McKenzie Anne Williams, I can’t imagine my life without you by my side. Before you came into it, I spent my time chasing daylight; but the light within you is so pure and powerful, the dark no longer has power over me. Will you marry me and lighten the rest of my days?”

  I nod, unable to speak, and watch him slide a beautiful ring with a sunburst of diamonds onto my finger. Everyone around us cheers. He stands, pulling me into his arms and lifting me up to give me a kiss I’ll never forget. Still holding me up, he breaks our kiss.

  With his face right in front of mine, he says, “You haven’t actually said yes.”

  “Yes,” I shout, before pressing my lips to his and all of our family and friends cheer again.

  After our kiss, Mitch makes me sit in the wheelchair. My ring is so pretty that I let him boss me around. He does not leave my side and neither does Zeus.

  “Want cake?” Rachel asks.

  “Always,” I laugh, and then laugh again when I see the cake.

  It’s a white sheet cake with a wedding dress and a tux on one side, and congratulations on your engagement written on the other, surrounded by pearl icing beads.

  “What would you have done if I had said no?” I tease.

  Mitch smirks while Rachel answers for him. “We all knew there was no chance you would say no.”

  I roll my eyes, but can’t disagree. I love this man and am beyond thrilled at the idea of spending the rest of my life with him. Someone brings Mitch a chair and I share my cake with him.

  Taking my hand in his, he rubs his thumb over the top of the ring he gave me. “Do you like it?”

  I lift his hand to my lips and kiss the inside of his palm before turning my head and leaning my cheek against his skin. His eyes warm and I’m lost in the love shining through for a moment before I answer.

  “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”

  His throat tightens as I watch him gulp.

  “I still can’t believe you’re mine,” he whispers.

  I suck my lips between my teeth and nod, trying not to cry all over again before I respond. “And you’re all mine, forever and always.”

  Our moment is broken when someone shouts for us to get a room.

  Mitch glares in the direction of the sound, but turns back to me when unable to discern its source.

  “So, what kind of wedding do you want?” he asks.

  I shrug. “Something simple, maybe at the beach. What about you?”

  “I only want you to have whatever you want.”

  “Did I hear you say a beach wedding?” Cathy stands in front of us.

  I laugh and nod.

  “You pick whatever date you want and even if it’s booked you can have the beach house for it.”

  “Even if it’s booked?” Mitch quirks a brow.

  She waves her hand. “I’ll just cancel whoever’s booked it.”

  Before I can tell her that’s not necessary, she’s already crossing the room to sp
eak to Mitch’s mom.

  Since there isn’t anyone around us, I take the opportunity to whisper in Mitch’s ear. “Back to my ring, be ready, tonight I plan to show you just how much I love it.”

  “Oh God, harder,” I moan and Mitch delivers.

  He’s on his knees behind me, powering into me, my hands on the wall behind his bed are the only things holding me up. We’re well into me showing him how much I love the ring he got me. I started this by sinking to my knees in front of him and taking him into my mouth. That was going fantastically; I was all over making him lose his mind.

  Then he flipped the tables, and me, and I was on my back with his tongue between my legs. I came so hard I almost blacked out, but not without begging for his cock first. He’s giving me what I asked for right now. With one hand stroking my clit and the other clutching my hip, I am right on the edge of another one.

  Before it can claim me, I’m moving again, now I’m on my back, staring up at the man I just agreed to spend the rest of my life with. He’s looking down at me with a tenderness so at odds with the rough and wild sex we’re having. His hand coasts up my body to hold my cheek, his fingers in my hair. His lips drop to mine and he gives me a kiss so sweet it takes my breath away.

  Our eyes stay locked on each other as he sinks back inside me. My hands drift up his arms, trailing over the firm dips and ridges of his biceps and corded shoulders to wrap around his neck. It’s uncanny, his ability to say so much without using a single word. This look tells me he loves me. That he’ll always love me. That he’ll protect and cherish me, and that he treasures me.

  I try to say the same things with my eyes, but add my words just to make sure he knows what he means to me. He ends my words with a kiss, a kiss that doesn’t end. A kiss that even though he’s spilled his release inside me, after I pulsed with mine all around him, still goes on.

  Neither of us wants it to end. If I could manage it, I’d happily kiss him forever. Sadly, that would get in the way of eating and we’d starve to death. So, after our lips part, I decide a second best to kissing Mitch forever is lying on my side with his face right in front of mine. He’s so handsome, also kind of scary big, yes, but knock me on my ass handsome. He has every excuse to be vain; but instead, he’s protective and caring.

  Where Tyler made me feel like I was never good enough, with Mitch, I know he wouldn’t change a thing about me. I’m not perfect; but somehow, I’m perfect for him. He isn’t perfect either, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.

  “Open your eyes, Mrs. Brooks.”

  My eyes flutter open and I look back at Mitch in confusion.

  “Why is Zeus sitting on the front porch of that house?”

  Mitch shrugs. “I think he feels at home there.”

  Home?

  Wait, home?

  My head turns as I stare at the home in front of me. “Does this mean . . . is this . . . did you.” I can’t seem to finish a sentence. I take a calming breath and point at the house. “Is that our house?”

  Mitch walks up behind me, wraps his arms around my waist, and leans down to rest his chin on my shoulder. “Yes.”

  “But, how?”

  For the past six months, we’ve been looking for a place. Mitch is still most comfortable sleeping in basement-style rooms, and finding a house with a basement master is near on impossible.

  He releases me, and moving around to stand next to me, he takes my hand in his and pulls me toward the front door. “Let me show you.”

  I glance around as we make our way up the front walk. From the front, our house looks like a traditional ranch style house. It’s a whitewash brick with black shutters and flowerbeds on either side of a rich red front door. Mitch pulls a key from his pocket and after unlocking the door, holds it open for Zeus and me.

  I step into a large open floor plan space with clean white walls and warm toned wood floors. It’s a blank slate. To the left is a farm style kitchen with white cabinets and appliances so new their stickers are still on them. Mitch leans one hip against the counter and grins at me as I explore, opening up cabinets, and then the fridge and oven as I imagine our things here. With a kitchen like this maybe, I can learn how to cook.

  “What do you think?”

  “We so need an island right here.” I point to the space in front of the sink.

  He nods. “Anything you don’t like?”

  I lean back next to him. From here, I can see into the living and dining space. Across the room is a wall of brick with a fireplace and a thick rustic wooden mantle. We can mount Mitch’s TV above it and get an oversized sectional sofa to sit facing it. This house may be empty, but I can already imagine living in it.

  “So far I love it, but I still need to see the bedrooms.”

  He gestures for me to lead the way and with Zeus at my side, I do.

  There are three bedrooms, one a master, and a hall bath leading off the living space toward the right side of the house. Since they’re empty, there isn’t much to get excited about, that and the fact the master is on the main level.

  “I don’t understand,” I admit, lifting my hand toward the door to the master.

  Mitch grins. “There’s more.”

  He takes my hand and moves me toward a door I had assumed was to a linen closet. When he opens it, I see steps leading downstairs.

  “Is that . . . ?”

  He doesn’t let me finish. “Go check it out.”

  I flip the switch on the wall, illuminating the stairs. They are plain wood, not painted or carpeted. I hurry down them and find myself in an unfinished basement. The space is huge, the entire foot print of the upstairs. Where the upstairs is a finished blank slate, this basement is about as unfinished as it gets. There’s no sheetrock on the walls. The studs and insulation are exposed, and the floor is plain concrete. The only natural light in the space is a door leading out onto the backyard.

  “All right,” I admit, “I’m not sure what to think of this space.”

  He tilts his head for me to follow him and walks over to the backdoor, opening it and holding it for me to step through. The backyard is a good size with trees lining the back edge of a wooden fence. There’s a picnic table with some papers on it, a brick holding them down. Mitch sits and I join him.

  He lifts the brick and hands me the first sheet of paper. It’s a drawing of the back of the house only different. On the basement level, the back door is now a set of French doors, and a large picture window is on either side of it. On the main floor, a deck runs across the back of the house with steps leading down to a stone patio spilling out from the French doors.

  “Oh,” I sigh. “It’s beautiful.”

  He takes the sheet from me and hands me the next in the pile. It’s the basement level based off the French doors and picture windows from the last picture. The walls and floors are finished and one side of the room is now a massive closet and bathroom. The other side of the room has a bed and a sitting area. Another change is the stairs; they’re not only finished, but twice the width as the current stairs.

  My eyes sting as I imagine it all finished. I turn to him, still holding the sheet in my hands. “I love it.”

  He takes the sheet from me and sets it back on the pile, putting the brick on top of them. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “What part of town are we in?” I ask, watching Zeus explore the backyard.

  “We’re only five minutes from Alec and Rachel’s house.”

  I gape at him and throw my arms around his neck. “How?”

  We have been actively looking at houses for a while now and I would remember seeing this one.

  “The house belonged to someone Cathy knew. She talked them into letting me look at it early. I jumped on it when I saw it; and I’ve been sweating bullets hoping you’d like it as much as I do. I wanted to surprise you with it.”

  My mouth drops. “Is this where you’ve been sneaking off to?”

  If I were a less confident woman, I would have thought he was cheating
on me the way he kept disappearing. With the changes in jobs, taking over in the leasing office of the complex, and helping Rachel train a new girl at the Critter Haven and Spa the past few months, I haven’t had time to be paranoid.

  “The bones of everything upstairs are good. All I’ve done is paint and refinish the floors. It’s taken longer than I thought it would though because I was trying to make it a surprise. I wanted the basement to be further along before I showed it to you, but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

  “Do Alec and Rachel know?” I ask.

  He nods and I swat his belly.

  Over the past year, Rachel has made a full recovery from her brain injury. She is back to grooming like a beast at the Critter Haven and Spa. Her return could not have come soon enough considering how much I sucked at it. I don’t think we lost any customers during that time because people felt sorry for me. Turns out, I’m much more suited to showing and leasing apartments. It’s also fun to work with Mitch, especially now that I finally know where he’s been disappearing to each day.

  The Critter Haven and Spa is offering boarding again. Since Tyler is still behind bars, there have been no more disasters there. Alec hired a girl named Hannah to handle the evening shifts and she’s now living in my old apartment. Rachel and I have tried to befriend her; but she’s shy and always has her nose in a book. We haven’t given up on her. Unless she moves, Hannah is stuck with us.

  “Have you been doing all of the work by yourself?” I ask.

  “Nope,” he shakes his head. “Alec and Luke have been helping and Luke’s friend Clay.”

  He wiggles his brows at me when he mentions Clay. I have developed a slight crush on him. Yes, my husband is the most gorgeous man I have ever met; but holy cow, Clay Bradshaw is dreamy. I blame my ovaries. Mitch and I are thinking about me going off my birth control; and every time I see Clay with his niece or their baby boy, I melt into a puddle. There is nothing hotter than a sexy ass man holding a little baby. Once, when we were over at Luke and Lindsay’s place, Clay and Courtney were there too, and Mitch held baby Tony.