by Bree Cariad
Barrett grinned. “Since the fourth of July festivities are kicking off and they would have had to skip Saturday, they happen to be having one tonight.”
Spluttering a laugh, Curtis shook his head. “Then I really need to go back to the inn and put on some nice clothes.” He didn’t seem like he wanted to leave, but he took off and as she watched him drive away, her father put his arm around her and pulled her back into the house.
“You can’t tell anyone,” he reminded her.
“I know.” She couldn’t stop smiling.
“I have to be at the meeting tonight to give my okay to his request. So just make dinner for yourself. The council meetings can go on forever sometimes. I don’t know when I’ll get home.”
“Okay.” Deeka floated into the kitchen, pulling out a pot as she hummed softly, her eyes darting to her bracelet every few seconds.
“Happy?” he asked a few minutes later, popping into the kitchen, having changed into dress pants and a button-down shirt.
“Very,” she admitted. He beamed and hugged her, kissing the top of her head before leaving. Wondering how she would get through the celebration weekend without Chrissa wanting to drag everything out of her, she heated up some soup and then went into her bedroom to eat and read. Re-reading Morts-Vivants, it was almost like hearing his voice.
Saturday morning dawned bright and Deeka stretched as she looked through her large bedroom window into the trees outside. When would the town council make its decision? She assumed it would probably be the next town council meeting which wasn’t for two weeks and that felt like a lifetime. Added to the issue, her father had agreed to let her spend the day with her two best friends which meant she had to find a topic that roused Chrissa up enough that she wouldn’t pounce on what Deeka couldn’t tell her. Sometimes Chrissa was better than a bloodhound when it came to sniffing out secrets.
The sound of water running told her that her dad was in the bathroom showering so she had at least a few more minutes to lounge before he knocked on her door. Some Saturdays he let her sleep in—actually most Saturdays he let her sleep in—but when there was a large event like this, he was like a kid in a candy store and would want them to get going first thing. She already made plans to meet up with DeLynn and Chrissa by nine so he could go do whatever it was he wanted to do.
Thinking about her dad, she had mixed feelings about the future. When she did get married and moved out, he would be alone which was horrible. Deeka could only hope that maybe he would open himself to love again. He would make someone a pretty fantastic husband. And yet she was also afraid a new wife wouldn’t want anything to do with his daughter which would make things difficult.
A knock on the door made her jerk. Realizing the water had shut off, she called, “Getting up!”
“Feel like waffles this morning?” he asked through the door.
“Yum!”
His chuckle drifted off and she got up. After making her bed and grabbing her clothes for the day, she made her way to the bathroom and got ready. The water was, unfortunately, already cold but she braved through it and quickly got dressed. She had just turned off her hair dryer and was brushing her hair back from her face when she heard voices. Straining to hear them, she could make out tone but not who it was.
Hoping it meant her dad would be spending the day with Curtis or with some of his other friends, she pulled on her denim shorts and a simple blue t-shirt before opening the bathroom door and going back into her bedroom. After stuffing her pajamas into her laundry hamper and realizing her laundry situation was dire—she needed to do it tomorrow—she pulled on a pair of low boots and walked out into the living room, startled into freezing like a statue as she caught sight of the three men in front of her: her father, Curtis, and Alexander Covington, Sr.
“Deeka, you remember Alex Covington, don’t you?” her father said in a calm voice, beckoning her forward.
“Of course,” she said, shaking off her surprise. What was Alexander Covington doing here? She met him at the Kinsleys’ a few weeks ago, but didn’t see any reason he would be at her house. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Covington.”
“And you as well, Deeka,” he said in his deep voice. When he held up a piece of paper in front of his face, it only took a few seconds before she realized what was going on and then it felt almost impossible not to scream and jump up and down.
“Miss Deeka Brea Williams, we the undersigned have given our permission for you to be courted by Mr. Curtis Layton Brenten, for the process of one year, starting on this date and ending no later than one year from today. As a courted female, you are never to be in the presence of another male without either Mr. Brenten or Mr. Williams present or a female trusted by one of the aforementioned gentlemen. Your rights from Mr. Brenten are as follows…”
The stages of the courting were a bit of a surprise. By stage four he could spank her. Eek. As much as she wanted the kind of relationship her father had raised her in, it was kind of scary to consider having Curtis spank her.
“...Nine through twelve. These last four stages depend on if a marriage proposal has been proffered and accepted. If so, the engagement will take part during this time with the marriage to take place at the end of the courting ritual. If it has not been proffered, all former stages will be adhered to until the end of the courting. If this agreement is entered into willingly, then we the undersigned give our seal of approval.” Pausing, Alex Covington looked up from the paper and directly into her eyes. “Miss Williams, if you would like to enter this courting, please sign next to the X.”
If she would like to enter this courting…As if she would even think of saying no! As she reached for the pen, Curtis reached forward to stop her. “Be sure about this, Deeka.”
“I am.” She squatted down and placed the contract on their small coffee table, quickly signing her name before handing it back.
“Congratulations,” Alex said with a warm smile. “I would stay longer, but my family is heading out for a week’s get-together at our vacation home. I need to get going.” As her father walked him to the door, Curtis rolled his chair over next to her and took her hand, gently pulling her onto his lap.
“Hey,” she whispered but instead of responding, his hand rested lightly on the back of her head as his lips softly met hers. Warmth cascaded through her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
A clearing throat had Curtis pulling back. His green eyes were filled with so much warmth she didn’t want to move from his lap.
“Let’s set down some ground rules,” Barrett said, walking over and sitting down on their sofa. As he didn’t insist Deeka move next to him, she assumed she was okay where she was at. “First off, as far as I’m concerned, you’re in stage two. You’ve spent a lot of time here, Curtis, and I know I can trust you with my daughter. But let me be clear about one thing. Deeka stays a virgin in all ways until her wedding night. I do own a gun and I will use it.” His voice sounded so firm, her eyes widened even as Curtis nodded, not seeming to take offense at all.
“Now,” her father said, his voice returning to normal. “Deeka had plans to spend the entire day with her friends and as you two cannot appear out together until your courting banns are post—” Before he could finish the phone rang and he stood up to answer it. “Williams…Calm down, Chrissa…Of course, I’ll put her on the phone.” Shaking his head, he walked over and handed Deeka the phone. “Chrissa’s in a real state. I can’t understand a word she’s saying.”
Hopping off Curtis’s lap, Deeka walked toward her bedroom. If Chrissa was in that kind of mood, privacy would be the best course. “Hi, Chrissa,” she said as she walked down the short hallway.
“Oh my god!” Chrissa shrieked. “Congratulations! Are you excited? When did it happen? Are you going to be spending time with him today?” All the questions poured out so fast Deeka felt her dad was right. She was almost impossible to understand.
“Whoa,” Deeka said with a giggle as she walked into her bedroom, closing t
he door behind her. “Slow down. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
Taking a long breath which meant Chrissa was truly trying to contain herself, she explained. “I just saw your courting banns!” Her immediate squeal made Deeka jerk the phone away from her ear. “Oh, Deeka! I’m so excited for you. And it’s so romantic. You thought he wasn’t interested but he was.” A long sigh flowed through the line and Deeka smiled.
And then her friend’s words hit her.
“The banns have already been posted?”
“Yep! Just about two minutes ago.” Chrissa let out a joy-filled laugh. “I was driving by and saw Mr. Covington posting one and thought I would stop by to see who else was being courted and it was YOU!” As Chrissa squealed again, Deeka could imagine her jumping up and down.
“I’m still reeling from it,” Deeka admitted. “And they just asked and had me sign this morning, so you found out literally minutes after I did.”
“Well, then get back to him,” her friend said, the smile evident in her voice. “And let me and DeLynn know if you want to spend it with him. We’ll both understand.”
“Thanks, Chrissa. I’ll let you know.”
“Yay!” Chrissa got in before the line cut.
Grinning as this meant they didn’t have to hide their relationship, Deeka wrenched her door open and ran out into the living room. “The banns have already been posted,” she announced. Curtis looked confused even as her father laughed.
“Well, that was fast.” Turning to her boyfriend, he explained. “Once a courting has been signed, the banns are posted—usually the next morning—and once that happens, you don’t have to stay silent about it. In fact,” he added, his eyes darting to Deeka, “I know you had plans to spend it with Chrissa and DeLynn, but if you’d rather spend time with Curt, I think they’d understand.”
“But if you’d prefer to go with them, that’s fine too,” Curtis assured her, reaching forward and pulling her onto his lap again while wrapping one arm around her.
“Actually, Chrissa said if I wanted to spend the day with you that they’d be fine with it.” And right now, Deeka wanted to spend all her time with him. She could see her friends later. For one thing, she half expected them to show up on her doorstep first thing tomorrow morning to get the full scoop.
“Then I would love to attend the festivities with you, Deeka,” Curtis said in such a warm tone that she leaned against him, completely and utterly happy.
Curtis drove them to the park and for the first time, she got to see him drive. It was an interesting experience because he only used hand controls. And the hand controls were so unassuming that if she hadn’t actually been looking, she never would have noticed. It was nice that someone designed a way so that he could still drive without a problem.
The park was filled with people, blankets strewn haphazardly over the grass as people lazed about. Curtis used his forearm crutches today and the two strolled down the center area of the park. In one way she wished they could be hand in hand, but understood at the same time why they couldn’t. He needed to be able to rest his weight on his hands. She was at least able to put her hand lightly on the interior of his elbow, though.
They received a few looks from people who didn’t know about their courting yet. Deeka wanted to hold up a sign so they would stop staring. Thankfully her friends had a similar idea.
“Oh,” Curtis said in surprise and she looked over and followed his gaze, giggling when she saw a huge posterboard hanging from a tree.
Congratulations
Deeka Williams
&
Curtis Brenten
On your Courting Year
Love, DeLynn and Chrissa
“Well, I guess that should spread the news,” she said with a laugh, smiling up at him. Instantly his face spread into a wide smile.
“So what good food do they have?” he asked once they began walking again.
“TaterPig,” she said emphatically.
“Tater what?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.”
Throughout the day more people learned of their courting and they were besieged by people wanting to offer congratulations, advice, and in some instances, catty retorts. Especially after they went to retrieve Curtis’s wheelchair when his legs began to give him troubles. She had never seen them spasm before and was at first afraid he was going into some sort of seizure and wasn’t sure how to help, but when he explained it was just muscle spasms due to his condition, she suggested getting his chair. He gave her the strangest look at that point: half shock, half adoration, as though he couldn’t believe she didn’t mind being seen with him in a wheelchair. Deeka just beamed back.
Once they had some food and were situated under a nice large pine tree in the shade, she allowed him to pull her onto his lap and the two ate as they enjoyed the soft breeze blowing by.
“Deeka!” The shriek had her turn and giggle as her two best friends ran toward them. “Congratulations!” they both called, beaming.
“Thanks.”
Chrissa’s eyes went from Deeka to Curtis’s lap to the chair and back and her eyes twinkled. Her mouth opened and instantly tactless poured out. “Oh, the chair has its uses. You can sit on his lap everywhere.” DeLynn put her face in her hands, shaking her head from side-to-side even as her body shook with laughter.
Deeka turned to see how Curtis took her words but he burst out laughing. “One of the perks,” he agreed. The four of them chatted for a few minutes and Deeka was thrilled the three of them got along. It would have been uncomfortable if they hadn’t.
As DeLynn and Chrissa left to go get some food, DeLynn turned back, her expression apologetic. “Deeka, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you should know that Wally is annoyed and already spreading some pretty horrible barbs. He only stopped speaking around us when Chrissa threatened to fix his nose permanently.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“Wally? The kid from the store?” Curtis asked calmly.
“Yeah. He’s such a dork.”
“It’s obvious he likes you but if he grew up here he knows how things work. What’s his obsession all about?”
“Not sure,” she admitted. “He tried to kiss me last year and I punched him in the nose.”
“Ah, that’s why you punched him.”
“Yep.” She curled back against him.
“Deeka, I want you to promise me that you will not engage that young man at all.” Curtis’s voice was so sincere that she sat up and turned to look at him.
“We live in the same area. I shop at the grocery store he works at. It isn’t like we won’t run into one another,” she reasoned.
“I’m not saying to keep so many miles between you. But I don’t want you confronting him about me, us, or about anything. If he tries, just walk away.”
“Don’t you want to punch someone who is such a pain?” she hedged, not ready to give him that promise yet. Right now she really wanted to go yell at Wally.
“Punching never solves a thing,” he reasoned. “It’s just brutality for brutality’s sake, Deeka. Promise me you won’t give in and confront him.”
Seeing no way out of it, she nodded. “Okay, I won’t confront him.” Though if he confronted her, she planned on retaliating.
“Or respond if he confronts you,” he insisted.
Rolling her eyes at him, she giggled when his eyes twinkled. The man was two steps ahead of her. While she wanted to give him what he asked for, she didn’t want to lie. “All right. I promise to try my best to walk away when he’s a jerk. That better?”
She expected him to laugh. Instead, something in his expression firmed, making her breath quicken. “All right, but your best had best have you walking away or you and I will be having a rather private conversation.”
His words hit home and even as her cheeks filled with heat, Deeka found herself somewhat excited. She just wasn’t sure why. “Okay,” she said, her voice more breathy than she ever remembered hearing it.
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“Thank you,” he said, kissing her cheek and setting her on her feet. “Now who carries that mint and chilies ice cream you told me about? It sounds interesting.”
Chapter 6
There wasn’t much notice. Deeka had just barely begun to wake up before she heard the running footsteps, her door thrown open, and two bodies landed on top of her. As she squawked in surprise, the questions started.
“How did it happen?”
“When did the dinners start?”
“What does your dad think?”
“Just a minute.” Deeka yawned, turning over and giggling as Chrissa slid off her bed with a thump. “Let me wake up first.”
“We brought donuts and coffee,” DeLynn said happily as the scent wafted past Deeka.
“So that’s how you got past Dad so early.”
“He was easily bought with two cinnamon rolls,” Chrissa said, springing to her feet. “So get caffeinated up. We want the info.”
Nodding, Deeka took a long sip from the hot hazelnut macchiato DeLynn handed her before speaking. “It kind of all happened Wednesday afternoon. I knew he was going to the council to ask that night but I had no idea they would act on it so fast. Though,” she admitted in amusement, “he’s never officially asked for a courting dinner.”
“And your dad?” DeLynn asked, kneeling at the bottom of her bed with her legs tucked tightly underneath her. “How does he feel about it?”
“He’s thrilled, I think. Dad thinks very highly of Curtis and is happy for this little development. But he’s also got to be realizing that if this works out, he’ll be alone again.”
“Little development,” Chrissa scoffed. “This is huge! He could be your forever.”
“I hope so,” Deeka said, grinning as she sipped more of her drink. “And,” she added, taking a bite out of a glazed-old-fashioned donut, “Dad officially started us in stage two so we’re going on a date tonight. Just us.”
Both DeLynn and Chrissa’s mouths dropped open.