by L. K. Gandy
“Brooks! I’m not warning you again, young man.”
“Shit,” he whispers. I can’t help but laugh at the mock horror on his face. “She’s strong as an ox you know that, right? I could probably outrun her though.”
“My money is on Mom, sorry dude,” I say slapping his back as he heads for the door.
“Good luck man. Bring your girl home.” He extends his hand for me to shake.
“Thanks.” I grip firmly.
I rush through taking a shower and putting on new clothes. If I’m going to tell a woman I love her, I’m at least going to look and smell nice, even if it was half-assed. Thank you Gucci cologne, you’re a lifesaver. I jump in the truck and peel out of the driveway, but text Charlee before leaving to let her know I’m on my way. I’ve never been to her house before so she gives me directions. Lord help me, I’m not sure I can trust them. Half the words are missing and I’m pretty sure she’s drunk. What time is it? I look at the clock and notice it’s after five. At least she waited until then. Miraculously I arrive in one piece and at the right house. Sawyer’s truck is parked haphazardly in the driveway, blocking any chance I had at getting mine in there. Opting for the sidewalk I pray that the road is free of dumbasses, and I don’t get sideswiped. The anticipation I feel after ringing the doorbell is almost unbearable.
“Panty boy! You made it! Come in, come in! Join the party,” she says, dramatically pulling my arms through the doorway into the hallway. “Sawyer’s no fun right now. She’s hardly touched her drink,” she pouts. “So you know what? I’m such a great friend, I helped her out with that. It’s not like she asked for it anyway, I’m the one that poured the drink. It was mine to begin with. Possession…it’s nineteenths of the law....or something like that.” She waves her hand around her face like she’s swatting flies. “I don’t know, I’m not the lawyer in this relationship.”
“We don’t have a relationship.”
“Not you, gross.” She pretends to gag. “Me and Sawyer. We’re scissor-sisters, at least that’s what everyone calls us.” I laugh at her drunken state.
“Where is she Charlee? I need to talk to her.”
“She’s in the kitchen panty boy. Ha! Panties.” Good grief, she’s like a two-year-old that just learned a bad word. She doesn’t shut up.
“Sawyer!” I try yelling in hopes that she’ll hear me.
“Branson? Is that you?”
“I don’t know where I’m going. Help me out here.”
“Hang on, I’m coming.” I wish. Her head pops out of a doorway at the end of the hall. I make my way to her quickly.
“What are you doing here, I thought you were going home?”
“I did go home. I talked to my family actually. They were there waiting for me when I arrived.”
“Oh.” Her eyes grow wide. “I’m sure they had plenty to say about the situation.”
“Sawyer, what have I told you about biting that lip?” She gasps slightly at the realization of being caught. “I’m beginning to think you’re testing me, woman.” Raising my hand to rest on the side of her face, she leans into my touch. The warmth I feel radiating from her never gets old. “They were mainly concerned about what this means for them…for Armie. They’re worried you’re going to take him away.”
“What? Why would they think I would be capable of doing such a horrible thing?” She’s horrified at the thought and slowly starts to back away from me.
“Here, let’s sit down,” I say pointing to the couch behind us. “They’re just worried, babe. He’s our boy.”
“You’re right. He is OUR boy. I would never think of taking him away from you, Branson. You’re all he knows, and you’ve done such an incredible job with him. To be honest, I’m not really sure what I had in mind. We just started dating…” she trails off, lost in her own thoughts.
“Sawyer, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Okayyyy…”
“I know we haven’t been together long, but the heart knows what it wants.” I hold her hands together on her lap, hoping to keep her from bolting when she hears what I have to say. Yeah, force her into captivity so she loves you, Stockholm syndrome, great idea. I shake my head, ridding it of my erratic monologue of thoughts. “I’m scared of being that vulnerable again.”
“Vulnerable? What do you mean?”
“When you love someone it makes you vulnerable. You give them the power to hurt you, conquer you…own you. It’s like nothing else in the world. It consumes your every thought, wish, dream; your life. Love is rare. It’s something to be treasured- never to be taken lightly. It captivates your soul, taking it prisoner. You’re no longer in control. Relinquishing that control over to another person has to be the most hauntingly beautiful part of love. That’s what you are to me Sawyer. You’re the beautiful in my life. I love you. Quite frankly, I think I’ve known that since the day I laid eyes on you.”
“Branson,” she says holding a hand over her mouth. Tears fill her eyes before her arms are wrapped around my neck. “I love you, too. I’ve never felt anything like what we have together.” I squeeze her as tightly as I can without breaking her. I’ll never get tired of this feeling. “Everything happens for a reason, I’ve always believed that. You and Armie are my reason. I went through hell four years ago, but it was so I could find you. I know that now. I’m never letting you go.
“ARE YOU SURE HE’S GOING to be surprised?” I whisper.
“I promise baby, he’s going to love it. To be honest, I’m a little jealous,” Branson teases. Today is Armie’s fifth birthday, and we set up bubble wrap on the floor of the entire hallway. He’s still into ninjas so that’s the theme for his party this year again. We have nerf guns for all of the kids, including Branson and his brother Brooks, so they can shoot targets. Each one has a ‘Top Secret Mission’ they have to complete before they go psycho with cake in their systems. I’m happy to say the squirrel that became homeless last year has moved on to another tree, so he’s not in any danger of eviction today. Telling Armie about being adopted was easier than either of us expected. He thought about it for a minute after we explained what ‘adopted’ actually meant and then smiled. He didn’t care. He was loved and that’s all that mattered…that and getting caught up on toys from me. Oh, to be five again. Branson and I are living together in his house. After the ordeal with my parents we decided that putting a label on our relationship was child’s play compared to what we just went through. We’re on the right track in our relationship and honestly I couldn’t be happier. He proposed a few months ago, on the anniversary of the night we first met. I’m glad he remembered because I sure as hell didn’t. Talk about awkward when he started explaining the significance of his choice of day. I got into a little trouble over that and by trouble I mean the good kind.
Telling Jaxx’s parents about Armie was interesting, to say the least. I thought it would cause more friction between the two, but it’s actually brought them closer. Maybe seeing so much of their son in Armie will help them in the healing process. They’re overjoyed at the idea of being grandparents, even if it is bittersweet. Custody has never been an issue between Branson and me, seeing as we’re both with him every day and plan on getting married next summer.
“Oh, I think I hear him.”
“We better hide,” Branson says, pulling me against the opposite wall so we’re out of view. Listening carefully, I can hear Armie yawning as he steps out of his bedroom. Peeking around the corner, I risk being seen, but I have to look. Rubbing his eyes he rests his body against the wall and walks along the side of the bubble wrap until he reaches the bathroom.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I say with my mouth open. I’m dumbfounded.
“What?” Branson looks at me with curious eyes.
“That little shit just pranced around the edges of the bubble wrap and went to the bathroom. How does that happen?” Throwing my hands in the air, I give up.
“Well at least he’ll have an empty bladder before he ste
ps on it. I really don’t want to clean up pee first thing in the morning if it scares him,” he says laughing.
“I guess you’re right. Shh, he’s coming.” I can hear the bathroom door open and the anticipation is about to kill me. ‘POP, POP, POP.’
“THIS IS SO AWESOME!” Armie yells loud enough to wake the neighbors and their hideous mangled looking cat. For the next twenty minutes all we hear is ‘popping’ and laughter. I think I might have made a poor choice, I’m pretty sure I’m developing a twitch, but it’s worth it to see the joy on his face. Branson and I join in the fun. He did it for the fun, I did it mainly to get the stupid things popped so we can move onto something else. Is it too early for wine? Who am I kidding, wine doesn’t have a time limit; it’s cool like that.
“Hey,” Branson says wrapping his arms around my waist.
“What?”
“Just so you know, I’m never letting you go. You’re stuck with me, and this, for the rest of your life.”
“I’m definitely going to need to buy stock in a wine company,” I tease before kissing him. I feel little arms wrap around my legs and look down into mirror images of my own eyes. How I didn’t notice it before I’ll never know. No wonder Branson was staring at me like a creep when we first met.
“Mom?” Hearing that word still makes my heart happy.
“Yes baby?”
“Never let me go, either.”
“Never baby,” I say smiling as I kiss his forehead.
The End
I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE to begin. There have been so many amazing people that have not only believed in me, but pushed me to better myself and my novel. They might not have known what they were doing at the time, but believe me, I noticed. Writing this story is something that I ventured into blindly anticipating that there would be parts I would find difficult. I can honestly say that this has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but I’m blessed to have the ability to do something like this. None of this would be possible without first and foremost the Lord, and those amazing people.
To my parents. Without your unyielding support and love, not only with writing but everything I’ve ever done in life, I would not be where I am today. I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wake up every day proud to be your daughter and I hope I make you proud as well. You’re the best parents a girl could ask for and I wouldn’t trade your for anything in the world, even though growing up I wasn’t a fan of moving everywhere. Thank you for always being there for me and teaching me what family really means. I love you more than you will ever know.
To my handsome husband. You are my real life love story. You are always there for me and have put up with me for the past four and a half years. Thank you for that. Who knew meeting at a Coast Guard graduation would bring us to where we are today, happily married and expecting a baby girl. I’m grateful to have someone like you as my spouse and I can’t wait to see what an amazing father you’ll be to our daughter. I love you (more) and look forward to the memories we’ll make together wherever the military takes us.
To my brother and sister. Thank you for teaching me what NOT to do growing up. Mom always said I was quiet. I guess I learned how to stay out of trouble from watching the two of you. HA! I know I will always have best friends I can count on with you as my siblings. Love you both!
The rest of my family and my in-laws. Your support and encouragement has helped me in this journey more than you’ll ever know. Thank you for that!
My quirky, fun, best friend, Stacy. Listen bish, I have to keep this short and sweet or my pregnancy hormones will take over and I’ll be an ugly, crying mess. I LOVE YOU. I would never have ventured down this road if it wasn’t for your courage to go after your dreams. You amaze me more every day and I couldn’t imagine life without you in it. Thank you for answering all of my questions during this process. You’ve been such a tremendous help and a great friend. Now you have to come visit me when I move. Yuv you, bye.
Kaylin and Emily, thank you both for creating such an amazing cover for NLMG. I had a vision of what I wanted in my head and you brought it to life right before my eyes. I can’t wait to see where the future takes us and I wish you both the very best in your careers.
To my beta readers, both those I work with and those I’ve met through the marvelous tool we call the internet. Anna, you crack me up! You’re always making me laugh and I’m so glad we got to meet. Jessica, thank you for helping me along the way! I am thankful for the time you’ve both taken out of your day to read my story. My ladies at work, I LOVE YOU. I will miss you when I leave, but that means you’ll always have somewhere to come vacation. You’ve made my time in Maine a wonderful experience and I will be heartbroken saying goodbye. Only slightly, because I’m going home, but still…a little sad.
Jenny, my editor. You, my dear, are a life saver. Thank you for your constant communication and quick responses. I would still be stressed out if it weren’t for you. I am grateful that you to carved time out of your schedule for me. I hope we get to meet in person soon.
Bayli, thank you for helping me create a synopsis in such a short time. You’re truly talented and I wouldn’t have been able to write anything more creative than “hey…read this. You’ll like it.” It doesn’t seem like much, but I really appreciate it.
To Kassi, for squeezing me in last minute to get this to the public. Thank you for your hard work!
To you, the reader. Without you this would just be a story that never got told. I hope this is what you expected and then some. I look forward to meeting some of you at signings and can’t wait to hear what you think.