by Devney Perry
“Outside? No way. It’s too cold.”
He gave me a crooked grin that soon turned into a huge smile. “I dare you.”
Turns out, it wasn’t all that cold.
It was the Saturday after Nick had asked me to move in and we were having a moving party. We’d spent the morning packing up my house with help from Beau, Silas, Maisy and the Clearys, and now we were back at the cabin to unload.
“I think you might have to build me a larger closet one of these days,” I told Nick. He was standing in the living room, rummaging through one of six boxes filled with coffee mugs.
“Done.”
“I was kidding, Nick.”
“I’m not. I just spent an hour packing your clothes. Closet space is priority one.”
“Funny,” I said. “That box goes to the garage for storage.”
He gave me a quick kiss and turned to the door, then froze. “What the fuck are they doing here?”
I followed his gaze to see two motorcycles approaching. One carried Dash, the other Draven.
Shit.
Nick’s hands fisted at his sides and his jaw clenched tight. It was too soon. He wasn’t ready to see his dad yet.
“You can always ask them to leave,” I said. “I’m sure they’d understand.”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure what to do. Dad’s been trying. He’s called me every day to check on you and apologize for getting you wrapped up in his shit.”
That was news and it softened my feelings toward Draven. “Well, whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”
He pulled me into his arms. “I know,” he whispered into my hair. “Let’s go out and see what they want. Take it from there.”
Hand in hand, we strolled out to meet Nick’s family and our friends all congregated by the trucks packed full of my boxed belongings.
“Dash,” Nick greeted. “Dad.”
“Hey, man,” Dash said, giving his brother a quick hug. After they did their manly back-slapping thing, Dash walked right up to me for a hug. His arms pinned mine to my sides as he wrapped them tight and then picked me a foot up off the ground.
“Hey, Sis,” he said.
“Put her down, Dash. Her ribs are still sore,” Nick ordered.
“Shit. Sorry, Emmeline,” Dash said, immediately setting me down.
“I’m fine.” I smiled.
“Nick,” Draven said, extending his hand.
Nick eyed it for a minute but finally shook with his dad.
Just like Dash, when Draven was done with greeting Nick, he came right into my space. His hug was less exuberant than his son’s but just as warm.
“Emmeline. Glad to see you up and around,” Draven said.
“Thanks.”
“What are you guys doing here?” Nick asked.
“We wanted to come see how Emmeline was feeling,” Draven said.
Nick nodded. He was obviously struggling with what to do. With our friends all standing around us, he wouldn’t ask his family to leave.
“Are you moving?” Dash asked, scanning all of the boxes.
“Emmy’s moving in,” Nick said.
“Nice! We’ll help.” Dash lifted a box from Jess’s truck. “Where should I put this?”
My eyes darted to Nick’s. He was staring back, silently asking me what he should do. I gave him a small smile and shrugged. If Draven and Dash were trying to repair their relationship with Nick, I wouldn’t stand in the way. It was Nick’s decision how far to let them into our lives.
Nick’s shoulders relaxed and he smiled at his brother. “That box goes in the kitchen. Would you like to stay for dinner? After we get everything unloaded, we’re having pizza.”
“Fuck yeah!” Dash answered.
And with that, Dash and Draven joined my moving crew. With the added hands, my boxes were soon unloaded and Nick and a few of the guys went into town for pizza and more beer.
“How are you feeling, Emmeline?” Draven asked me as he helped unwrap coffee mugs.
“Better. My ribs are a bit tender but nothing I can’t live with.”
“Your eye looks better,” he said.
“It is. I can cover up the bruise’s remaining color with makeup.”
“Are these all coffee mugs?” Dash asked as he opened another box stacked on the dining room table.
Maisy and Gigi, who were playing with the kids in the living room, started laughing.
“Emmeline has quite a collection. And they’re all totally hysterical,” Maisy told him.
“Those ones all go out to the garage,” I said. “I’m only keeping the ones in this box inside.”
“Maisy, you feel like showing me the garage? I’ve been known to know my way around a tool bench.” Dash winked.
“Dash! No hitting on my friends,” I scolded.
“Fuck,” he said. “You’re no fun, Sis.”
“I think I’ll like having you at our holiday dinners,” Draven said. “It will be nice to have someone on my side to keep the boys in line.”
I gave him a small smile and went back to my mugs. I had no idea if we would be sharing holidays together. Nick and I both had a lot of hard feelings toward Draven, but I had to give the man credit. He was genuinely trying to heal the breech.
Hours later, I was officially living with Nick. Every box was unpacked. Artwork now adorned the walls, the guest bedroom had new bedding, and my clothes were stuffed in every available nook and cranny we could find.
I was exhausted but happy.
After a fun evening of pizza, beer and wine, everyone had gone home except for Draven and Dash. While Dash had been shamelessly flirting with Maisy, despite my warnings, he’d convinced his dad to get rooms at her motel in town and spend the night. But before they left us, they wanted to have a private conversation.
“The Warriors won’t bother you again,” Draven assured us as we sat in the living room.
“You’re sure?” Nick asked.
“Positive,” Dash said.
“You know we don’t normally share club business with outsiders,” Draven said. “But I’ll make an exception, given your word to keep it quiet.”
Nick and I both nodded.
“Change is coming for the Gypsies,” Draven said. “We’ve voted to start getting out of the drug trade. It won’t happen overnight, probably within the next year, but border patrol is locking down tight and none of us want to risk spending a decade in prison. Dealers aren’t paying us as big of a cut as they used to anyway. So we’re done.”
“We made a deal with the Warriors for our protection routes coming from Canada. They’re buying us out, and we get the guys that killed Stone and the ones that tried to nab Emmeline,” Dash added.
“And you think they’ll leave us alone after that?” Nick asked.
“If they don’t, they’re dead,” Draven said, sending chills down my spine. “Their president knows they crossed a line by going after Emmeline. I think he’s running scared. And they’d be stupid to push back when we’re shifting focus to our more legit businesses.”
“Dad and I’ve been talking about expanding the garage. Bringing in more money to offset the lost protection routes,” Dash said.
Nick nodded. “That’s smart. You guys have a good reputation. If you capitalized on the custom route, you could make some good money.”
“You two feel like moving to Clifton Forge to run the garage?” Draven asked.
“What?” Nick asked. His eyes were wide, much like mine.
“I’m retiring,” Draven said.
“What about you, Dash?”
He shrugged. “You’d be better at it. Besides, I like working as a mechanic. I don’t feel like dealing with the hassle of running the place. If I was the manager, I wouldn’t get to work on as many cars.”
Nick took my hand. “I appreciate the offer. But I’m not coming back. We’re good here. Happy. Emmy’s got a great job. We’ve got our friends. It’s not for me.”
“Figured it was a long shot, but I had to ask,�
�� Draven said and stood. “We’ll get out of your hair.”
Draven shook Nick’s hand before coming to me and leaning down to kiss my cheek. “You’re good for him, Emmeline. He’s happy. Thank you for that.”
“We’re good for each other.”
“I’m truly sorry about all this. I never meant for that to happen,” he said.
“Apology accepted. It’s just nice to know it’s over. And it’s a relief to know who has been breaking into my house.”
His eyebrows knitted together. Did he not know about my break-ins? He shook off his confusion quickly and leaned in for a brief hug. “I hope we can put this behind us.”
“We don’t know each other well, Draven, but you should know I’m not skilled at holding a grudge.”
“I appreciate that.”
Nick and his father had a long road ahead of them to heal their past wounds but today they had taken that first step. And though a part of me was still angry at Draven for putting my life in danger, I was willing to let it go. His apology was sincere and the real persons at fault were Jinx and Wrecker.
With forgiveness in my heart, I stood by Nick’s side and waved good-bye to Draven and Dash.
And the four coffee mugs I had sent with them.
“Is this place real?” I whispered.
My eyes were glued to the beautiful scenery in front of me. Crystal Lake. Aptly named because the water was crystal clear.
Nick had just led me down the path from our campsite so I could see the lake before it got dark. He was standing at my back with his arms wrapped around my chest while his chin rested on my head.
“It doesn’t seem real, that water in the middle of the forest could be that clean,” I said.
At my feet, I could see every stone beneath the water’s surface. Further into the lake, tiny fish were swimming amongst the green, swaying grasses.
“I love it up here,” Nick sighed. We had only been here for ten minutes but I felt the same. “I haven’t gotten to travel much, but of all the places I’ve been, it’s my second favorite.”
“What’s your first?”
His arms hugged me tighter. “The Clover Chapel.”
Pure, golden happiness swelled in my heart.
Nick eventually let me go, hooking his pinky with mine to tug me away from the lake. “Let’s set up camp. Then tomorrow we can take the canoe out on the water.”
“One more second,” I said. The setting sun was beautiful as it bounced off the mirrored water. I took one last moment to enjoy the dimming light before I walked up the gravel path behind Nick.
Our campsite was an open gravel circle surrounded by tall trees. There was a ring of rocks at its center plus an old wooden picnic table off to one side.
“What can I do?” I asked.
“Set up those chairs,” he said, pointing to the collapsible camp chairs. “And then plant your ass in one.”
“You realize that I could help.”
“I’ve got it, Emmy. Sit down and relax. If you want a glass of wine, I put a bottle in the blue cooler. Cups and corkscrew are in the plastic tub.”
“Okay.” I shrugged.
If he wanted to haul all the stuff around while I enjoyed the scenery, fine by me. And by scenery, I meant him. It was no hardship for me to enjoy ogling his behind covered in those damn tan canvas pants. Especially if I got to sit and drink wine this time instead of hiking up a mountain.
The night air cooled quickly once the sun had set and I bundled up in a warm sweater while Nick started a campfire. Then he blew my mind by cooking steak, potatoes and roasted asparagus on the open flames. I had never been camping before and had assumed we’d be eating snack foods and cold sandwiches.
“So what’s our plan for tomorrow?” I asked after dinner.
My belly was full, I had a glass of an amazing malbec in my hand, and Nick was making me a s’more. I loved camping.
“A few miles up the mountain are ice caves. I thought we could hike up there in the morning and come back before lunch. Then we could canoe around the lake,” he said.
“Excellent.”
“Here,” he said, handing me my dessert.
I’d only ever had a s’more at fancy New York restaurants. For a year or so, it had been all the rage. Chefs had made their own graham crackers and served them with ridiculously extravagant chocolate. Then you’d roast a marshmallow over the flame of a candle before assembling the sandwich at your plate. They had cost a fortune.
The s’more Nick had made me, with a dollar milk chocolate bar, boxed graham crackers and a real campfire, was second to none.
For the rest of the evening, we sat in the darkness, side by side, staring at the fire. Every now and again we’d visit but both of us were content to sit and enjoy the peaceful silence while the fire crackled and popped, shooting sparks into the black night sky.
“I’ll never get over how many stars you can see,” I told Nick as I tipped my head to the sky.
“You don’t see that in the city.”
I hummed my agreement and yawned.
“Come on, Emmy. Time for bed.” He led me to our large tent and lit a gas lantern so I could climb into our air mattress.
I drifted off to sleep while Nick went outside to put out the fire and do whatever else you did at night while camping. When he slid into the bed next to me, I turned so he could curl into my back.
“Are you awake?” he whispered into my hair.
“No.”
“Then wake up.” He chuckled.
“No.”
“Please?”
When I rolled, he shifted the hair from my face. “I found something this week. Something I’ve been hoping to find for a long time.”
He brought a hand between our faces. On the tip of his index finger were two rings. My Gatsby hexagon and his platinum band.
“How’d you find those?” I gasped. I’d made a special point to hide them both in a box with our wedding photo and I had personally moved them to Nick’s. Then I’d stuffed the box behind a stack of my clothes in the closet.
“I was in the closet, trying to figure out how I could make it bigger.”
My cheeks felt hot. I was embarrassed that he’d found something I had always hidden away.
“I’ve missed this ring for a decade,” he said. “I hated that I didn’t have it to hold when I missed you. That I could still feel it on my finger but when I looked down, it was gone. And I hated that I thought I’d never get it back.”
How many times had I been tempted to donate them to charity? I was so glad that I hadn’t, that I’d kept them all this time and had never given in to the urge to give them away.
“I was going to wait until tomorrow to bring these out, but I can’t,” he said. “It’s been three days since I found them and I feel like they’re burning a hole in my pocket. Emmeline Austin, love of my life, would you do me the great honor of wearing my ring on your finger? Of staying my wife?”
I nodded frantically. “Yes.”
A wide, white smile filled my vision. The golden-brown flecks spread through Nick’s sage-green irises.
“Hi, Wife,” he said as he slid my ring on my finger.
“Hi, Husband,” I said, doing the same for him.
When it was settled against his knuckle, Nick leaned forward and placed a soft, sweet kiss against my lips. Then he raised my hand and kissed my ring finger.
I slipped my hand from his and into his beard, gently stroking his lower lip with my thumb. “I love you, Nick.”
“I love you, Emmy. Always.”
Tears flooded my eyes. The happiest tears of my life.
I hated that Nick and I had missed so much time together but that sting was nearly gone. There was no guarantee that we would have stayed together, that we would have made it. We had both been so young when we’d married. I had been naïve. He had been learning how to put distance between himself and his family. Those nine years had changed us and made us the people we were today.
Who we h
ad become was who we were meant to be, two people who would hold onto one another until the end. Who would savor every moment together. Nick had my heart completely and I had his.
He rolled me onto my back and captured my mouth. Then his hands began wandering. When my body started shivering, I pulled at Nick’s clothes.
“Condom,” he said, breaking our kiss and reaching over to his bag.
“No,” I said, grabbing his hand and bringing it back to me.
I wanted my dreams. I wanted a family with Nick and I didn’t want to wait.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
I nodded.
It didn’t take long before our kissing became frantic. His lips broke from mine so he could peel off my clothes.
“Hurry,” I pleaded. I was soaked and throbbing.
Nick didn’t delay in lining up his cock and thrusting inside. His hips stilled when he was planted deep.
“More,” I pleaded.
“Tell me you love me,” Nick ordered, pressing even deeper so his cock was against my womb.
“I love you.”
“Tell me you want my baby.”
“I want your baby. So much.”
“Christ, Emmy. I want that too,” he said.
Then he started moving. Hard and deep. His pace wasn’t rushed, and after each thrust, he ground his hips forward so the root of his cock was pressed against me. The pressure focused on my clit.
I was so close to the edge, I was trembling beneath him. When I felt myself build, I gripped the sleeping bag at my sides and held on tight. Hard and long, my orgasm overwhelmed me. A deep moan came from the back of my throat before I screamed with ecstasy.
Nick abandoned his slow pace and started slamming into me, sending another orgasm rocketing through my core. As I came, I opened my eyes to watch Nick pound away toward his own finish. When it came over him, he threw his head back and groaned. The tent filled with his rough and sexy voice.
When Nick’s movement stilled, I wrapped my arms and legs around his body, pulling him as close as I could.
“This is going to be fun,” he said into my neck.
I giggled. “You are not wrong.”
The sound of us laughing together escaped the fabric walls of our tent and rang through the wilderness and into the starry night.