From Here to You

by McGuire, Jamie

  My team traded glances, then we wiped our mouths with our napkins and packed up. Within ten minutes, we were all leaving the parking garage in our various vehicles. I looked at the lavender-wrapped gift with a grape-purple bow sitting in the passenger seat of my truck. I’d had it for a month, waiting for the right time to give it to Darby. Thanksgiving seemed like an appropriate day.

  I’d been imagining that drive to the house after work for months—since I’d found the house—pulling up in the driveway, and walking in, and Darby being the first thing I’d see. But I had to pass the turnoff to drive to the hotel. Darby’s only two boxes were behind the bar, her room cleaned and empty.

  The hotel lobby seemed empty, too, without all the hotshots and forestry officials ambling around with a pint in their hands. I stood at the empty bar, thinking Stavros would show up at any moment. Instead, Lane strolled over, a smile on her face.

  “Whatcha doin’ here?” she asked. “I thought tonight was your first night in the new house?”

  “It is. I’m picking up Darby’s boxes. They’re supposed to be behind the bar.”

  Lane leaned over, shamelessly sticking her ass out. I looked away once I realized what she was doing.

  “Nope. No boxes. I think Stavros moved them so they wouldn’t get wet.”

  “Damn,” I said under my breath.

  “I could help you look for them.” She lifted her arms and gestured to the lobby. “As you can see, I’m not busy. I’ll get a key to her old room and see if Stavros put them there.”

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  She chuckled. “It’s Thanksgiving. He hasn’t been in all day.”

  “Okay, well, yeah. We should probably look in her room first.”

  I followed Lane to the front desk and waited while she coded a card key, and then we walked together down the hall. Lane touched the card to the black box, the lock clicked, and she pushed down on the lever. I flipped on the light, following her into the main area.

  “No boxes,” she said. “Are they big? Are they small enough to fit under the bed?” She bent down again, and again, I looked away. “Nothing.” She sat on the mattress, bouncing. “This is as uncomfortable as I remember. Hard to believe you two lived here for so many months.”

  “Maybe they’re in the back room,” I said, pointing behind me.

  Lane placed her palms flat on the mattress and leaned back. She wasn’t as voluptuous as Darby, but the buttons on her shirt still held on for dear life. “I bet you two used the hell out of this mattress. I remember using the hell out of yours. I was hoping when I took this job that we could, you know, pick up where we left off. I didn’t know you were with Darby.”

  “Speaking of Darby, we should go, Lane. I have to get back. She’s waiting on me.”

  Lane rolled her eyes and stood. I turned for the door and felt Lane’s arms slide around my middle. No way was I going out into the hall like that, so instead of reaching for the door, I grabbed her wrists and peeled her off me.

  “Lane, knock it off,” I said with the same tone I used with my team.

  She wasn’t intimidated, instead leaning in and tilting her head.

  I took a step back, my hands still on her wrists. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  She blew out a laugh. “Why are you so angry?”

  “Because I’m in love with Darby, and you’re trying to hurt her.”

  “The only thing I’m trying to do is you.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “I stopped texting you and calling you months before Darby, and then I blocked your number. Why would you think there are any residual feelings? You’re delusional.”

  “Because I see you staring at me, Trex. You can pretend to be the good guy to Darby, but I know better. That can only play out for so long.”

  “You don’t know shit.”

  “I know you don’t fuck her the way you fucked me.”

  “That’s because I don’t fuck her. I make love to her. Stay away from me.”

  She laughed, and I let go of her wrists, reaching behind me for the lever. I opened the door and backed out. Lane followed me, step for step and far too close. When the door closed behind her, I noticed someone standing in my peripheral.

  I took another step back, and this time Lane stayed in place.

  “Hey, Ander,” I said.

  “Hey,” he replied, his brows pulled together. His eyes danced back and forth from me to Lane and then back to me.

  “We were looking for Darby’s boxes,” I said.

  “He was looking really hard,” Lane said. “Everywhere.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Lane,” I said, disgusted. She was hoping Ander would tell Darby, or at the very least tell Stavros. Everyone knew Stavros couldn’t keep a secret.

  Ander pointed behind him. “They’re in the back, next to the fridge. Stavros didn’t want them getting wet in the bar area. Darby has books in there.”

  “Thanks,” I said, taking a step, pausing to point at Lane. “She’s a fucking psycho.”

  “I know,” Ander said as I passed him.

  I rushed to the back, stacked the boxes, and carried them out to my truck, putting them in the back seat. I drove fifteen miles over the speed limit to the house, racing to get home before Darby heard what had happened before I could tell her.

  I pulled into the drive, slammed the gear into Park, left the boxes, grabbed the gift, and jogged into the house.

  Darby was standing at the stove, turning quickly when I walked in, startled. She held her hand to her chest, her eyes wide. When she recognized me, she relaxed. “Oh, hey.”

  I closed the door behind me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I just wasn’t expecting you this early. Did you get my boxes?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, they’re in the truck.” I pointed behind me.

  The dark hardwood floors were spotless, the beige carpet freshly vacuumed, a medley of new smells in the air—wood stain, paint, upholstery, and whatever amazingness Darby was cooking. I hadn’t thought about that bonus when I fell in love with a girl from the south. I was standing in my dream home with my dream girl across the room, about to ruin our first fucking day because of that idiot at the hotel.

  Her eyes glistened more than the chandelier hanging over the dining table as she waddled toward me, stirring spoon in hand. She kissed me quick, then waddled back. “Stirring pie filling! Sorry!”

  I followed her into the kitchen, trying not to laugh. Her shirt was tight, cream and berry horizontal stripes stretching across Maddie’s perfect dome.

  “Uh, I need to talk to you about something,” I said, setting the gift on the counter.

  “What’s this?” she asked, picking it up. “For me?”

  I nodded, and she tore into it, gasping at its contents. “What did you do?”

  “You need a cell phone, Darby. What if you go into labor while I’m at work?”

  She picked it up out of the box. “What’s my number?”

  I tapped on the screen, showing her where to find it.

  “It’s not in my name, right?” she said, looking at the screen with wide, curious eyes.

  “I do know how to keep you safe. I was a federal agent once.” She looked up at me, and I winked.

  She threw her arms around me, kissing my cheek. Something poked at me, something that wasn’t Darby, and I looked down. She put the phone on the counter and held her middle with both hands, giggling.

  I got on my knees, palming each side of her belly. “Listen here, missy. You don’t kick your dad.”

  Darby pulled up her shirt, and a small round something protruded from her belly just enough for me to see.

  I leaned back, then looked up at Darby. “Holy shit.”

  “I know. Looks like an alien is inside me. She was rolling around today. Woke me up.”

  I gently pressed on the knob, and she pushed back. “Maddie Rose, you’re grounded,” I teased.

  “Naomi said it was okay?” Darby asked.


  I stood, keeping my fingers on Maddie’s elbow, or knee, or whatever part of her was bulging from the rest of Darby’s otherwise smooth baby bump. “Naomi said she’d be honored.”

  The knob disappeared to rise again, this time in a different spot. I laughed. “Is she playing hide and seek?”

  “I think so,” Darby said, giggling again.

  Darby’s innie belly button was almost an outie, a dark line now spanning from her belly button to her pelvic bone, and her cheeks were a tiny bit fuller than before, but other than that and her hair growing at least three inches longer and thicker from the prenatal vitamins, there were no differences.

  “So,” I began.

  “Shit!” Darby said, turning to stir the pie filling.

  “Baby, I really need to talk to you about something.”

  “Uh-huh…” she said, stirring.

  “When I went to get your boxes…”

  “Was Stavros there?”

  “No,” I said with a sigh, “Lane was.”

  “Yeah, she asked me to work her shift,” she said, making a face.

  “Darby…your boxes weren’t behind the bar. I went with Lane back to your old room to see if they were in there. She…Jesus Christ…”

  Darby stopped stirring and looked at me with an expression that broke my heart. “She what?”

  I hesitated. Ruining our official move-in day and our first Thanksgiving was already pissing me off. I had no idea how she would react or if she’d be upset, and the thought of her crying made me lose the will to tell her.

  “They were in the back, next to the fridge,” I said. “Stavros was afraid they’d get wet by the bar.”

  Darby arched an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

  I cringed. If I told her, it would ruin Thanksgiving; if I waited, she could find out from someone else. It was going to suck either way. “Lane came on to me, but nothing happened.”

  Darby’s face fell, and she turned to stir again. “Bitch,” she grumbled. “What did happen?”

  “She coded a card key for your room and took me back there to look. She tried to kiss me. Literally threw herself at me.”

  She stopped stirring. “Did you kiss her?”

  “No,” I said, disgusted. Darby stirred again. “I started to leave and she wrapped her arms around me. I peeled her off me and walked out backwards. She followed me, super close. Ander was in the hallway. He saw us walk out. It looked bad, Darby. I admit, it looked really bad, but I swear nothing happened.”

  She was quiet. So quiet that it scared the shit out of me, but I waited, letting her process what I’d just told her.

  “She’s gorgeous,” she said, quiet. “And not pregnant.”

  I slipped my arms around her, kissing her neck. “I’m not in love with her. I don’t care what she is. And she’s not totally unfortunate looking, but she’s a psychopath.”

  Darby breathed out a laugh. “She’s something.” She shook her head. “Not going to let her ruin today. I’ll deal with her later.”

  “Don’t worry about her. She’s nothing.”

  “True.”

  I squeezed her gently, touching my lips to her cheek. She leaned into my kiss, reminding me of the first time I kissed her in the hotel lobby. It felt like a lifetime had passed since then. Now we had a house together, a baby on the way, and I had everything I’d ever wanted, which was scary as fuck, because when I had nothing, I had nothing to lose.

  “How was work?” she asked, still stirring. The pudding had just begun to bubble.

  “It’s our first night in the new house, and our first Thanksgiving, so say no if you want…but Naomi is having everyone over for post-dinner drinks.”

  She smiled. “That sounds fun.”

  “She also wants to go out after. I volunteered to be the DD.”

  “I have to work,” she said, frowning. “How am I going to cross paths with Lane and not slap her? I can’t believe she tried to kiss you! What a whore!”

  “Babe,” I said with a laugh. “Don’t get all worked up over her. Not worth it.”

  “You’re worth it,” she grumbled.

  “Aw. Are you wanting to defend my honor? Because that’s kind of badass.”

  She tried not to smile, but failed.

  “I can walk you in, give you a big ole kiss, and reestablish who belongs to who,” I said. I held up her phone. “Then I’ll blow this up the first ten minutes.”

  Darby shook her head. “Then she’ll think you came in to see her. She’s about that delusional.”

  “No shit,” I said.

  Darby turned off the stove and the oven, and I opened the door, pulling out the turkey while she set the table. She watched me carve the turkey with the brand-new electric knife I’d bought from Target the week before, and then we brought all the dishes to the table.

  “Is it all right if I pray?” Darby asked.

  “Of course.”

  She held both of my hands on the table and closed her eyes. I watched her with a smile.

  “Heavenly Father,” she began, “please bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies. I thank you for this beautiful new house, for the health of Maddie, and for the many blessings you’ve brought to my life. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your sacrifice so that we might have eternal life together with you, and thank you for Trex. I know only you could have blessed me with someone so kind, so loving, and so faithful. In your precious name I pray, amen.”

  “Amen,” I said.

  Her eyes popped open, and she smiled. “I almost prayed for Lane. But it’s Thanksgiving, and I’m just not thankful for her.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Darby was serious, but her trying to be hateful was too damn cute. We talked about her day and her upcoming doctor’s appointment, and I tried to enjoy the food instead of inhaling it. It was so damn good. I’d had only a handful of home-cooked meals in over a year, but it was just one more thing Darby was amazing at.

  We filled the quietness of the large home around us with our laughter and made the darkness our own with candles. It was the most intimate, wonderful Thanksgiving I’d ever had, and I knew the next year would just be better.

  I cleaned the kitchen while Darby got ready for work, and then I drove her to Naomi’s townhouse. Several cars were parked in the street, but I didn’t recognize all of them. They left a space in the drive for us, but before we even made it to the porch, half the team was outside making a scene.

  “They’re already drunk,” I said.

  “Good,” Darby said with a smile.

  I kept hold of her arm while she carried a pecan pie across the yard. It was dark, it was unfamiliar terrain, and I didn’t want her to fall.

  “Thank you,” Naomi said, taking the pie.

  “Well, hello, beautiful,” Sloan said, hugging Darby.

  “Hayden Sloan,” I said. “Meet Darby”—I gestured to her round middle—“and Maddie.”

  “Darby!” Martinez said, hugging her.

  “Othello Martinez,” I said.

  “Just O,” Martinez said, stepping aside. “Or Martinez. Whatever.”

  I pointed at the rest. “And Terrell Kitsch.”

  Kitsch just waved.

  “John and his family are inside,” Naomi said. “Come on in!”

  We led the way, and John stood to greet us.

  “John and Caroline Harbinger,” I said. “Their boys, Henry and Miles.”

  John shook her hand, Caroline hugged her. It was amusing to watch everyone who went in for a hug bend over to reach her shoulders.

  It didn’t take me long to figure out who belonged to the car and truck I didn’t recognize. Zeke and Watts were sitting at the oval table, a bottle of beer in their hands. Senator Bennett was in the living room, watching the sports news on the earlier football game. Zeke stood, making his way over to Darby. He kissed her cheek, and I felt the blood under my cheeks boil. I glanced at Naomi, and she winked at me, clearly privy to some intel I didn’t have.

  “Trexler,” Zeke said, reaching
for my hand. “Congrats on the new house. That’s awesome.”

  “Thanks,” I said. I didn’t realize I had a hand on Darby’s belly until she rested her hand over mine.

  “Trex?” Darby said. “I need to sit.”

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, just need to rest, I think,” she said, rubbing her stomach.

  I led her by the hand to the table, pulling out a chair.

  “T-Rex! You’ve turned into a regular gentleman!” Martinez said, slapping my back.

  Caroline brought her an ice water.

  “Thank you,” Darby said.

  Zeke whispered something in Naomi’s ear and then walked down the hall to the bathroom. Watts tried to hand me a bottle of beer, but I declined. “I’m the designated driver tonight.”

  “You going out with us?” he asked. He was already a few drinks in, relaxed and happy.

  “After I drop Darby off at work, if she’s feeling better,” I said, looking at her.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “You still working nights, Darby?” Watts asked.

  “Yep,” she said. “What have you been up to?”

  “Traveling, mostly. One of the guys has a house in Mexico on the beach. I’ve been spending a lot of time down there. Is that Laney girl still working afternoons?”

  Darby’s smile was strained when she looked at me to answer. “Lane? Yep.”

  “Uh-oh,” Naomi said, handing me a glass of water. “What’s that about?”

  “Thanks. I went there tonight after we were released to get Darby’s boxes,” I whispered.

  “Yeah?”

  “Crazy bitch tried to fuck me in Darby’s old room.”

  “What?” Naomi said, trying to keep her voice down. “Does Darby know?”

  “Yeah, I told her when I got back. She’s pissed, but not at me.”

  “Makes for an awkward shift transition. Glad you told her. Way to avoid a stupid misunderstanding.”

  “I almost didn’t. I was scared shitless it was going to ruin our first night at the house.”

  “Well, looky there. You have a reasonable girlfriend. Congratulations.” Naomi clicked her beer bottle to my glass, and we both drank.

  “Told you she was worth waiting for,” I said.

  “You still believe that shit? You think she’s the one, huh?”