"Yeah Chad," Jesse Ludwell chimes in, his mousy brown eyes peering over Duke's shoulder as he lays his arm across the top of the booth behind my back, his fingers drawing a line across my shoulders making me lean forward with a disgusted look on my face. Chad's fingers squeezed even more into my knee and I put mine on top of it, trying to keep him calm. "You can't be here to make sure your little girl here stays faithful. She's been known to lay down for us before, what's gonna stop her once you're gone?" His words shocked me, my mouth falling open, my eyes going wide and rimming with tears at the accusation.
I could tell Chad had had enough, his face flushing red before he jumped to his feet, getting nose to nose with Duke, other men in the room getting up but hanging back. Waiting. "Tell your little bitch to keep his mouth shut," Chad spit out in Duke's face, "or I'll shut it for him." Chad's chest heaved in and out, his eyes locked on Duke's face, his hand coming up to rub at his chin, scratching into his beard.
"Jesse James Ludwell," came the shrill command that only a mother can carry in her voice, Janice coming around the corner like a plump little freight train. Jesse's face paled, "Duke Wyatt Orr, get your trouble making asses out of her before I whip both of you with my mixing spoon," she got right in Jesse's face, waving a thick wooden spoon around.
Duke just smiled at Chad, adjusting his Earnhardt Racing cap, moving the chew around in his mouth. "We planned on havin’ some lunch Aunt Jan," he said, not letting his eyes leave Chad's.
"Well you can go get some drive-thru from the Sonic cuz you ain’t eatin' here," she said, her chubby little hand on her waist as she still waved the spoon around at her son and the silent Jarrod and Garth. "Get," she yelled, smacking Jarrod in the shoulder making him jump.
"Till we meet again, boy" I heard Duke whisper, brushing past Chad with bumping his shoulder into him. The effect that he wanted he didn't get though, because as he teetered off to the side bumping into one of the stools, Chad stood still as a statue, watching him leave with the turn of his head. The four men left the diner with sour looks on all of their faces, Chad taking his seat across from me once more.
"I'm sorry," I whisper, placing my hand over his, squeezing his fingers as he laces them into mine. Jesse's words still echoed through my head, basically calling me a whore in front of everyone here. I silently prayed that Chad didn't believe it. I prayed that he knows I was being truthful with him when I had told him that I had slept with three men in my life. Him, my college boyfriend, Bruce, and Duke.
"Don't apologize for them," he said, bringing his blue eyes to mine, squeezing my fingers lightly and lifting my hand the place a kiss to my palm, "they'll be the ones apologizing sooner than they think."
"Please don't go after them," I say, leaning across the table, inching my face closer to his.
"When you were still asleep this mornin'," he gave me a crooked smile, picking at his food with his fork. I know he's going to change the subject and I let him. "Harlan came to visit me. He said he wanted nothin' to do with Duke, that he was sorry bout goin' along with him and that he was havin' a party Wednesday night out on the farm, invited us and I said yeah. He gave me his word that he'll watch out for you when I'm gone," the serious look he gave me scared me a little but I know that he's just being protective. Like Randy would've been.
"Okay," I say, going back to my food just as Janice came to our table, white Styrofoam take-out containers in her hand.
"I'm real sorry bout that," she said, her eyes darting from me to Chad as she set the containers on the table, "these are for you to take home and lunch is on the house." Turning to Chad she put her hand on his shoulder, "Don't let my dumb-ass son or his bastard of a cousin ruin your time at home. They both need a good ass kickin' and Bubba said he'd be willin' to help."
"Hell yeah," came the loud echo from the kitchen, all of the locals in the room laughing and joining in, whistles and cheers making me smile and laugh as Chad did the same.
"Really though," Janice leans down between us, her voice almost a whisper, "don't let anyone damper your time together, and by the way," she smiled, looking from me to Chad, "it's 'bout God damn time," she giggled, kissing both of us on the cheek and waddling away.
We ate most of our lunches, leaving a forty dollar tip and taking the take-out containers. Chad and I hold hands on the drive home, the windows rolled down letting in the sun warmed air. We unloaded the boxes of my things, stacking them in the spare room along with building the bedroom set and setting the mattress and we collapsed on the couch, resigning to watch television till dinner with Dana.
Wrapped up in his arms, my head across his chest, my eyes started to close, the beat of his heart lulling me to sleep. I heard Chad whisper, "You're beautiful," against my lips before kissing them lightly and I was in heaven, drifting off to dream of this man I had finally attained.
CHAPTER SEVEN:
Dana's house was overly warm from the working oven, the smells of turkey with all the fixings flowing out the front door as we entered, a bowl of cut fruit in Chad's hands while I carried a pitcher of Sangria we had thrown together after our nap. Dana was humming away in the kitchen, her thin frame adorned with her normal red and white checked apron, the leopard print slippers I had given her last Christmas on her feet. "Hi you two," she grinned, her eyes lighting up as she hugged us both, kissing me on the cheek and taking the pitcher from my hands, "everything is almost done if you'd set the table."
I was straightening the silverware that Chad had set out when his phone started to ring, playing a tone that I wasn't familiar with. He took his phone around the corner into the living room as I heard him answer it with a "Yes, sir." Oh no, I thought, a million bad things going through my mind. I froze, a knife still in my hand hovering above the napkin that it had been resting on, my eyes locked on the edge of the wall where Chad had disappeared.
My heart started to race and my fingers gripped the knife, my mind not registering the pain from the blade cutting into my fingers until Dana grabbed it, "Hun, you've cut yourself."
"Wh-oh huh," I mumbled, looking down at my hand and the blood seeping through the napkin Dana had wrapped around my fingers. "Oh, I didn't," I start to say, looking up to see Chad re-entering the dining room, a smile fading from his lips.
"What happened," he said, taking the last few strides to me in a mere second.
"Oh, just a little accident, nothin' serious," Dana said, a sidelong glance coming my way as she pulled me down the hall and into the small bathroom. "You need to get a hold of yourself or you'll never make it through," she gave me a serious look, washing my fingers I see that the cut isn't that deep, just a little more than scratches. "My son is smart, well not when it came to you. With you he shoulda opened his mouth a long time ago, but with life and his job, my son is smart."
She wraps gauze around the three fingers that had been affected, wrapping medical tape over that and making sure I can still bend my fingers. With her hands on my shoulders, she looks me right in the eyes, "We are victims of war as well as those who fall in battle, because for six to nine to twelve months a year, our hearts are out there, and we have no way to know if they are safe every night or not." Her eyes were rimming with tears along with mine and I took her into a tight hug, her arms wrapping around my neck.
We stand there for a good ten minutes, just hugging each other, silent tears falling down our cheeks. "Alright hun," she pulls me to her side, both of us facing the mirror as she wipes her fingers under her eyes, "let's go eat." Her smile makes me laugh as I wipe my eyes.
Chad is standing in the kitchen, stirring a pot of grits, his smile wide as he turned to us. "Who was on the phone son," Dana asks, going back to her food as I leave them to sit at the table, taking a long drink of my wine.
"Just the Sarge," he says, a seriousness in his voice, "with some last minute instructions. We gotta be on base at 0600 hours on Monday, in desert gear and the plane leaves at 0700." I could hear Dana mumbled an acknowledgement, shuffling and the clanging of pots filling the
silence. Dana was right. Chad was right. I needed to be strong, I need to know that my man will do his best at everything he does, including his effort to come back to me.
Dinner passed with conversation about the plans for tomorrow, Chad saying that he was going to start painting the kitchen because he didn't want to leave it all for me to do. We said our goodnights around eleven, Chad's arm around my waist as we walk out into the chilly night air. I wrap my arms tight around my chest to try and ward off the cold. Kicking my shoes off as soon as we got in the door I scurried across the slippery hardwood floor to put my fuzzy slippers on, a chuckle coming from Chad, his blue eyes seeming to dance as I look at him.
"You know what I wanna do," I say, a sly smile crossing my lips, my fingers tracing lightly along the arm on the couch.
"What's that," he said, stalking towards me, taking his sweatshirt off slowly and letting it fall to the floor.
"I wanna watch the Notebook and eat popcorn snuggled up next to you right here," I patted the couch, Chad's crooked smile meeting my lips for a light kiss.
The popcorn was made and sitting on the table, the movie cued up and on the main menu as I jumped onto the couch, springing up and almost falling off before Chad caught me. Pulling me onto his lap he kisses me till I'm panting for breath. "You're crazy," he smiled, leaning close to my face.
"Yeah, but you're datin' me," I say, a laugh rolling through his chest as he kisses me, his hands roaming my body. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling my face closer to his, hearing a slight moan of contentment run through him. His strong arms cradled me to his chest, one set of fingers massaging into my scalp while the others rubbed at my back.
We never did get to watch the movie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 24, 2012
The sun was still low in the sky, just peeking through the branches of the old birch tree that sat right outside the glass sliding patio door in the kitchen. The grass was frosty, it being only thirty-two degrees on the thermometer attached to the door and my breath fogged the window as I held my coffee close to my chin. The little cement patio was cute and I daydreamed myself out there, sitting in a cute little bistro chair, having a summer lunch with Chad and Dana, a dog running around the yard, barking wildly as Chad threw a tennis ball for it to chase. I smiled against the lip of my mug, enjoying the warmth the fresh coffee brought as it's peppermint flavor slid down my throat.
"Well don't you look cute," Chad's sleepy yawn came from behind me, swinging around I see that he's shirtless, just the way I like him and in his fleece pajama pants. His bare feet shuffle across the hardwood floor, heading for the coffee.
I just smile and do a silly curtsey, my jean overalls sagging all over. They were unflattering, but they were useful when doing jobs like painting, which we had planned out last night. My long sleeve Henley underneath was a thermal material, being already stained with my black hair dye from months ago and I was wearing a pair of old converse sneakers. Chad leaned his butt against the counter ledge, his coffee mug to his mouth as he scratched at his beard, running his hand up and through his hair. "All ready to work, I see," he smiles stretching his thick arms up and over his head, the sound of his joints popping being audible throughout the kitchen.
"Well I figure if we get started early it'll be dry for dinner," I wanted to make him dinner. A special dinner with three to four courses complete with wine and candles. I already had the perfect hot little outfit picked out.
I had already moved the small furniture away from the walls, covering them with old sheets and blankets from my house and I had a ladder that I had trucked up from the basement set up, my paint tray all ready to go. "You want me to make you some breakfast," I ask, moving to go into the fridge, but Chad just shook his head, taking another sip of his coffee and I nodded, taking a paint can off of the island.
I had only gotten one half of a wall done when Chad joined me wearing an old tattered pair of faded jeans, old Nikes and a t-shirt that made me pause and stare, just the sight of it bringing back a flood of memories. It was a black and a well faded ACDC shirt. The same exact shirt he had worn the night he had taken my virginity at that house party and he noticed my stare, his smile crooked as he rolled the paint onto the opposite wall from me. "You still have that," I breathed out, trying to get back to the task at hand, but my arms were shaky.
"Yeah," he said, quietly but with an underlying passion that made my heart race and my skin tingle, "it brings me to happy place when I wear it." Oh, realllllyyyyyy, did he really just say something that makes me fall in love with him even more? I smile to myself, rolling the burnt-orange colored paint on the white wall, a little tear sneaking out and rolling silently down my cheek. At that second I took a deep breath, telling myself that I was going to be the strongest woman I could for this man. I realized in that moment that a driving force behind his will to live was me, coming home to me, lying in bed with me, so in turn I had to be strong for him. To let him know that I would be okay while he was gone, even if I wouldn't.
We finished the five walls of the kitchen just before two, having one entire can of paint left over and we collapsed on the couch, my head automatically going to rest on his shoulder while his arm went around my shoulders. I sighed out loud, my lips vibrating as I exaggerated it, the loud rumble of my stomach joining the noise. Chad threw his head back against the back of the couch, his laugh echoing through our silent little world, bringing giggles to my chest. "Hungry much?" he got out through the chuckles, squeezing my shoulders to his side.
"Mmm, yeah," I say, rubbing my hand over the jean material on my stomach, "Chinese sounds good." I smile wide at him as I swing my legs over his lap, my nose rubbing his as I kiss him lightly, his hands falling to my waist tugging at my overalls. This was what it was going to be like after Chad decided to retire. We would have days just like this and maybe a kid or two, filling our lives with love and strife and all that good stuff to keep us on our toes. We had laid on the couch last night after making love for what seemed like forever, the menu music of the Notebook playing over and over again, just talking, Chad confessing that he thinks he might retire from the SEALs soon. I had told him to do whatever made him happy because as long as he was happy, I'd be happy, which was the deep down truth.
We called and ordered forty dollars’ worth of Chinese food from the closest place, about thirty minutes away and not bothering to change out of our paint splattered clothes we were out the door ten minutes later. I don't know what came over me today but I am in a wonderful mood, rolling down the windows and leaning out as Chad honked his way through town, waving to everyone who waved back. The radio was cranked up , blaring out the windows and sunroof, Chad and I singing along, me being very off key.
The little Chinese restaurant was located in a strip mall, surrounded by a Big Lots and a Staples store, the woman smiling cheerily at us as we entered. I'd never ordered enough food to fill two and a half brown paper bags, but there we were, Chad carrying the bigger two while I handled the little one with the rice and sauces. I was so happy in this moment and I can't help the wide smile that crosses my face.
Our journey back out to his truck was halted as I saw Duke leaning up against the passenger door, his arms crossed over his chest. "What the fuck," I say, my steps angrily hitting the pavement, my old sneakers squeaking as I storm over to the ignorant Redneck. "Are you stalking us," I say, my face flushing as Chad came up to my side, his hands clenching around the paper bag corners.
"That's not very nice," Duke smiles and spits on the ground right at my feet, his blue-green eyes coming up to meet mine then skating over to Chad, "you two seem to pop up wherever I am. Now don't ya look like a happy lil' couple, gettin take out n all," he leaned forward, brushing at the paper bag in my arms and I pull away from him.
In the blink of an eye Chad had the bags on the ground and Duke up against the door of his truck, his hand around his throat. He was nose to nose with Duke and I pulled on his arm, "Let him go Chad," I try n
ot to yell as Duke wheezes out a laugh. This was what he wanted. He wanted to get Chad in trouble, to provoke him into something. I needed to stop it.
"Leave Ray and me alone," Chad ground out, and I could see his fingers twitch around Duke's throat, "if you don't, I'll make you wish you were dead." His hand squeezed tighter around Duke's throat and I grabbed Chad's jacket sleeve, screaming a tearful, "Stop," Chad's hold releasing instantly.
Duke coughed and rubbed at his throat, spitting on the pavement at our feet, backing away from us back to his truck a couple parking spaces away. "You'll regret that Navy boy," he pointed at Chad, kicking his scuffed boots at an imaginary rock as he jogged to his Dodge.
Chad stood there as Duke roared out of the strip mall parking lot, his hands clenching and un-clenching by his sides, his chest heaving in and out as I looked at him, my hand on his chest and a few fearful tears streaming down my cheeks. I picked up one of the larger bags Chad had set down, wiping at my eyes with the back of my hand and reaching for the door handle. He climbed in the driver’s seat without a word, practically throwing the bag in the backseat, cranking the Silverado to life and peeling out of the parking space, roaring through the yellow light and out onto the Rural highway towards home.
I sat there with my hands sandwiched between my knees, looking out my window, unsure if I should say anything till I felt his fingers on my elbow. Turning to him I saw that he's raised the center console and his arm was outstretched to me, his fingers rubbing lightly at the tender skin begging me to slide over. I couldn't deny him especially since he had a notable sadness in his eyes and I slid over as his arm wrapped around me, my head going against his chest. "I'm sorry I scared you," he whispered, kissing the top of my head and brushing the stray hairs back from my face as I looked up at him.
Two Weeks With a SEAL (The Wakefield Romance Series) Page 10