A Reason to Be Alone (The Camdyn Series Book 2)

by Christina Coryell

  Moving closer, I wrapped my arms around him and put my face against his neck, and I heard him sniffling quietly as he moved his arms around me as well. We cried together for a few moments in that gazebo, and then he gently pulled away and sank to one knee in front of me, giving me one of his incredible smiles.

  “I have to start over, just so I know there’s no mistaking things,” he said with a chuckle. “My name is Wyatt Cole Parker. I’m a pretty fantastic heap of a mess, but you know me. You’re the only person in the world who really knows me. Now that it’s all out there on the table, and I’m not holding anything back from you, I have to ask you again: Camdyn, will you marry me?”

  “You mean you’re going to let me marry you?” I teased, and he took my hands in his.

  “I’m going to beg you to marry me,” he stated. “I know there’s only a handful of days left, but I swear it is physical torture to keep my hands off you.” He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it, and then he sat beside me on the bench again.

  “It will be the greatest joy of my life to be your wife,” I told him solemnly, and he sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, resting his head against mine.

  “How could I have doubted you, my beautiful Camdyn?” he asked wistfully. “I was so scared of losing that look in your eyes… Do you know that you mean everything to me?”

  “I do now,” I whispered.

  “How can I ever make up for what I put you through today?” he sighed, tracing his finger across the back of my hand. “First Stephanie, and then you having to fight me off you…”

  “And then I cried on your dad,” I added. “He told me he was proud of me, and I lost it.” Cole kissed me on the cheek as he laughed softly.

  “I can only imagine what went through your head when Stephanie showed up saying she needed closure,” he stated, and I leaned back and looked up into his face.

  “That’s what she told you?”

  “Yeah, that’s not what she told you?” I smiled up into those brown eyes as I shook my head.

  “No,” I assured him. “She was there because she needed to hear you say that you didn’t want her.”

  “She really told you that?” he wanted to know, eyes growing wide.

  “Yes, she did.”

  “And you didn’t smack her?”

  “I’m not going to say it didn’t cross my mind for a split second,” I told him with a smirk.

  “That’s unbelievable!” he said, furrowing his brow. “She told me she needed to get closure, but she felt like she had it after being with you. She said you were an amazing person, and all I could think about was you upstairs maybe upset, maybe feeling like there was something between me and Steph, and it was killing me.”

  “Let’s not talk about that anymore,” I proposed with a yawn, resting my head against him again.

  “I’m sorry,” he laughed. “You must be exhausted. I should let you go inside.”

  “No,” I pleaded, hanging onto his hand. “Please don’t leave me. Just stay with me, right here.”

  I curled up against him and spread my blanket across us, and we dozed off leaning against each other in the gazebo. When I finally awoke, Cole had lifted me in his arms and was carrying me towards his truck. I considered asking him what he was doing, but I decided I didn’t care, so I just nestled against him. When he slid me into the passenger seat, I reached up to touch his face, and he winked at me, giving me a dazzling smile in the darkness.

  While we were driving down the road, I realized I was still barefoot. I pulled my feet up underneath me in the seat, and then I turned to stare at Cole. He looked tired, and I could tell that the events of the day had done a number on him, but he was still incredibly handsome. The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile, and he glanced over at me.

  “There’s that look,” he sighed, and I couldn’t help but smile at myself for being completely obvious. A few minutes later, he pulled the truck off the road next to a bridge and drove onto the riverbank, parking the truck on the gravel. He opened the door, spread my blanket in the bed of the truck, and then came around to the passenger side and picked me up again. I thought about protesting, but I liked being close to him, so I let him carry me to the back of the truck like a child. He deposited me on the blanket, and then he climbed up next to me and kicked his shoes in the corner.

  “What are we doing?” I asked, giving him a puzzled expression.

  “I am going to watch the sun come up with the woman I love,” he stated, kissing me softly.

  “Hmm… You’re not worried that we’re alone?” I wanted to know, adding a mischievous smile.

  “Should I be?” he questioned, raising his eyebrows, followed by a laugh. “No, I’m not worried. I think I can control myself.”

  “Good, because I can’t,” I teased him as he wrapped his arms around me. “Your kisses are intoxicating.” He tightened his arms as I leaned into him, and together we waited for the sun to show itself on the horizon. As soon as it made its appearance, I relaxed again and let myself doze off against him. We were both startled awake by the sound of his phone ringing, and when he roused himself enough to grab his shoes, I sat up straight in the bed of the truck. Retrieving his phone, he glanced at it for a second and then let his arm drop by his side.

  “It’s eight-thirty,” he said. “The guys are looking for me.”

  “Oh, gosh, I’m sorry,” I told him. He moved to the bed of the truck and hoisted me into the air, and I wrapped my legs around him so he wouldn’t drop me. Kissing me soundly, he spun me around a couple times while I laughed.

  “Let them look for me,” he said confidently. “There is no place I’d rather be than right here with my girl.” When his phone rang again, though, he looked down to see that it was Rosalie, and he decided we better get back to the bed and breakfast. As soon as we walked through the door, me with my bare feet, she lit into him.

  “Cole Parker, you can’t just go taking her in the middle of the night and leaving the back door open like that! I was about ready to get someone to drag the river!”

  “Aunt Rosalie, she’s perfectly fine,” he assured her, and then he moved to her side and put his arm around her. “Look at my incredible fiancée – isn’t she the most spectacular thing you’ve ever seen?”

  “Are you drunk?” she asked with a laugh, and I joined in her laughter.

  “No, I’m not drunk,” he insisted, shaking his head. “I am completely in awe of the fact that this beautiful angel wants to spend the rest of her life with me.”

  “You sound drunk,” Rosalie retorted, opening her eyes wide.

  “I’m just unbelievably happy,” he told her, kissing her on the cheek. “I feel like I could conquer the world today.”

  “Well, you’re late for work,” she answered him with a scowl. “Jake and Artie were over here looking for you.”

  “I can’t work today,” he said, smiling at me. “Aunt Rosalie, is she not a vision of perfection?”

  “Actually, she looks kind of tired,” Rosalie stated. “So do you, as a matter of fact.”

  “Then we shall sleep on your couch,” he stated, adding a wink for my benefit.

  “You’re acting insane,” I laughed, and he grinned over at me. Rosalie rolled her eyes and retreated to the back of the house. He moved back over to my side and picked me up again, swinging me around.

  “What in the world has gotten into you?” I asked as he lowered me to the ground, kissing the tip of my nose.

  “I feel like I’ve been set free,” he answered, resting his forehead against mine. “You know absolutely everything about me, all those things that I have been keeping inside, and you love me anyway. Do you know how awesome that feels?”

  “Yes!” I exclaimed. “That’s the way I felt about you when you proposed to me the first time.” He pulled me over to the couch, and he wrapped his arms around me as I rested my head in the crook of his arm.

  “What were you going to do today?” he asked quietly. I sighed as I snugg
led against him.

  “Write my vows,” I said with a yawn.

  “You mean you still haven’t done those? I wrote mine two weeks ago.”

  “Overachiever,” I whispered, and he kissed my cheek before we both drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Wednesday was spent writing my vows. I had expected to do it on Tuesday, but Cole hadn’t left my side all day. When we woke up around noon, he wanted to make us lunch. We stood together in the kitchen while he showed me how to make omelets. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I knew mentally how to cook things – I was just really terrible at it. He seemed to take such pleasure in teaching me something, I just kept smiling up at him and letting him go on and on. He was definitely a good cook – I had to give him that.

  After lunch, we sat down together and he decided to read a book to me. Seriously, he read a book to me out loud. It was the sweetest thing ever. I loved listening to his voice, and he said I spent two hours giving him that look he enjoyed so much, so we were both happy. Eventually he got tired of talking, naturally, so he decided we should go into town and hit the batting cages. He showed off for a few minutes, and then he insisted I give it a try. I managed to hit a couple, but I told him I was more of a catcher, holding up my hand as evidence. There were barely any marks on it anymore, but he rubbed it gently just the same.

  After the batting cages, he took me out for dinner. When that was over, he drove back down to the river where we watched the sunrise that morning, and he cranked up the radio while we danced in the headlights. It was an unbelievable day, and when he took me back to Rosalie’s, he hugged me like he never wanted to let me go.

  Naturally, the vows came easily the next day. We jogged together in the morning, and then he called me two hours later just to say hi. He came over for lunch, and Rosalie insisted that he stop being so romantic, because he was making her sick. When he left for work again that afternoon, I just scrawled my vows onto a piece of paper like they had been in my head all along.

  That evening at dinner time, Cole showed up looking extremely handsome in a light blue polo shirt and dark jeans, and he told me to change into something nice because he had a surprise. I hurriedly changed into a sunny yellow dress and my knee-high boots before I rejoined him in the living room, and he rewarded me with a dazzling smile. We walked together out to the truck, and he opened the door for me and took my hand.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as I gazed down at him from the passenger seat of his truck. He widened his eyes mischievously but refused to answer. As we drove down the road, it seemed like we were heading to his house. Seriously doubting that he would take me there, I decided to reserve judgment until we actually showed up at our destination.

  Pulling up at his parents’ house, I glanced at him with confusion written on my face, and he chuckled.

  “You’re wondering why I had you dress up to go to my mom and dad’s,” he surmised, taking my hand.

  “Brilliant deduction,” I teased, regarding him with fascinated curiosity. He laughed and leaned across the expanse of the truck to kiss me quickly.

  “Let’s find out then, shall we?” he asked in an irritatingly vague way. I waited until he came around to open my door, and then we walked to the house together hand in hand. Once inside, I was nearly attacked by Charlotte, who had apparently been waiting for us. As soon as she backed away, though, Cole looped my hand through his arm and walked me around the corner. When I saw two women talking to Liz, I grabbed his hand excitedly.

  “Your grandmothers are here?!” I asked him eagerly, and he merely smiled. I had been waiting to meet them ever since he told me about them. The first time he mentioned his grandmothers, I was slightly confused, because I knew Ted and Rosalie’s mother had passed away some time ago. The grandmothers he was referring to, however, were Liz’s mom and grandmother. My own grandmother had meant so much to me, I just knew I was going to love Cole’s, too.

  “Grandma Ivy, Grandma Rose,” Cole began, causing the two ladies to turn in our direction, “I want you to meet Camdyn.”

  “Oh my goodness!” Grandma Rose exclaimed, her white hair cascading softly across her shoulders. “What a lovely bride you’re going to be for my handsome grandson.”

  “Thank you,” I stated sincerely. Grandma Ivy moved in closer for an inspection, pinching my cheek softly and then pinching my waist.

  “You’re awful skinny,” she remarked, “but I suppose you’ll put on a little weight after the wedding.” I studied her face under her short white curls, not sure what to say.

  “Oh, mother, for goodness sake,” Grandma Rose shook her head. “Never mind her, honey, you look lovely.”

  “Well, I didn’t say she wasn’t lovely,” Grandma Ivy retorted. “She’s a very pretty girl, and I’m sure their babies will be just darling. I do love babies.”

  “Okay, Grandma Ivy, we’ll freak Camdyn out by planning her reproductive strategy later,” Cole laughed, easing the tension a bit.

  “Just look at you, my little slugger,” Grandma Ivy focused her attention on Cole then. “How are you old enough to be married, anyway? And so handsome. I must be getting old.”

  “Yes, Grandma, we’re all getting old!” Liz added, inserting herself into the conversation.

  “How is Florida?” Cole asked then.

  “Full of old people,” Grandma Ivy told him plainly, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Mother, not everyone in Florida is old,” Grandma Rose complained, but Grandma Ivy shook her head.

  “Well, then you picked us a doozy of a condo,” Grandma Ivy said. “Old people everywhere I look. And the men that come around trying to talk to us – most of them fifteen years younger than I am. What do they think I am, one of them cougars?”

  “Nobody thinks you’re a cougar,” Grandma Rose assured her, looking at me as though apologetic.

  “Maybe not, but I could be,” Grandma Ivy chuckled, adding a wink for my benefit.

  We all settled around the table for dinner, and I quickly deducted that Grandma Rose was a very sweet woman who was constantly attempting to corral her mother. Grandma Ivy basically said whatever thought popped into her head, and a lot of those thoughts were either inappropriate or completely hilarious. Even Charlotte seemed a little mesmerized by her.

  After dinner, Ted and Jeff retreated outside. Cole remained by my side, but when Grandma Ivy told him she wanted to talk to me alone, he reluctantly retreated. She asked me to follow her down the hall, and led me into Cole’s old bedroom, where she was apparently sleeping that night.

  “I have something for you,” she said quietly, shutting the door behind us. “I want you to keep it on you during the wedding, as your something borrowed. Just slip it under your dress somewhere.” She began digging through her suitcase, finally removing something that she clasped firmly in her hand.

  “Thank you, Grandma Ivy,” I told her. “Whatever it is, I’m sure I will treasure it.”

  “It’s for your wedding night,” she stated then, and I felt my breath catch in my throat a little with apprehension.

  “Okay,” I whispered, afraid to see what it was. I couldn’t imagine what Grandma Ivy thought I would need on my wedding night, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

  “My mother gave it to me for my wedding night,” she added, and I could feel my eyes widen in fear.

  Oh, dear God.

  “I assume you know about what happens on your wedding night,” she continued, and I felt my face growing red under her intense stare.

  “I think I have a vague idea,” I assured her, by now completely filled with dread.

  “Yeah, I forgot you kids have that cable TV now,” she stated, and even through my trepidation I managed to laugh at that. “Keep it close, in case you need it.” I held my hand out, and she dropped a tiny silver thin tube into it.

  “What is it?” I whispered, absolutely mortified at the thought that Grandma Ivy might have used whatever it was on her wedding night.r />
  “It’s a whistle,” she said simply. I was almost embarrassed to ask then, but I had to know.

  “What does it do?” She shrugged and smirked slightly before she answered.

  “Not much, but it will sure startle him.”

  The complete frankness with which she made that last statement caused me to burst into laughter, and I worried a few seconds too late that I might hurt her feelings, but she didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she continued to sit there and look at me as though we were having a serious conversation.

  A seriously ridiculous conversation.

  “So, what if the whistle doesn’t work?” I asked jokingly.

  “I suppose you could try crying,” she informed me. When Grandma Rose poked her head in the door, I was rather relieved.

  “Mother, tell me you are not giving her that ridiculous whistle!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry, Camdyn.”

  “Oh, no, it’s okay,” I told her with a smile. “You never know when it might come in handy.” She shook her head and motioned for me to follow her into the hall, where she led me to Rachel’s old room. After what Grandma Ivy had just given me, I had no idea what to expect. She grabbed her purse and pulled out something small and white.

  “I made this for you, for your something blue,” she stated, handing me a delicate white handkerchief with a blue embroidered “C” in the corner.

  “Thank you, Grandma Rose,” I breathed, feeling tears prick the corners of my eyes. It seemed so much like something my own grandmother would have done, I wanted to reach out and hug her.

  “I feel like I already know you, Liz has talked about you so much,” she continued, sitting down on the bed. “You couldn't be getting a more grateful mother-in-law, I know that. She thinks the world of you.”

  “I’m so very thankful to be part of this family,” I assured her, and she took my hand.