by Bree Cariad
“Well, that was timing,” Deeka remarked.
Seeing the caller, DeLynn grinned and hit speaker. “Hey, Chrissa!”
“Chrissa!” Deeka squealed. “What are you doing, woman?”
“Wow, you’re both there at the same time? This is lucky. I’ve got news.”
“What?” DeLynn asked.
“Davis proposed. I’m engaged.”
Both of them stared at the phone. “You’re engaged?” DeLynn breathed. “Chrissa, that’s amazing! Zachary has such wonderful things to say about Davis.”
“He’s wonderful. I love him more than I thought possible. And he’s already thinking of this baby as his. In fact, the little guy’s due August fifth and I asked him and he was on board with this. If you can’t, I’ll understand, but I was hoping you two could come up and see us. We could get married while you’re here and you can see the baby. I know you can’t answer right away,” she rushed on, “because you both have to ask your guys. But if you can come? I’d love it.”
“I’ll ask Curtis right away,” Deeka promised. “But we’re planning on moving to Italy for six months. If we can change the dates, I so want to see you.”
“I’ve changed,” their friend said with a warning tone. “I’m bigger than a house for one thing.”
“Oh, please,” DeLynn snorted. “You’re pregnant. It happens. I’ll ask tonight and let you know. I’d love to come up and see you and be there for your wedding.” And see Chrissa’s little baby. Instantly she knew she needed to get her mom’s help to start on a baby quilt.
“How are your parents dealing with it?” Deeka asked gently. The Carrolls were a bit of a sore spot with the two of them as Daniel had not budged from his stance that his daughter would not come home until after the baby was born.
Chrissa groaned. “I’ve basically been disowned by Dad because I’m keeping the baby. Mom calls once a week and wants to see me and little Benjamin when he’s born, but with Dad acting the way he is, I don’t know if it’s gonna happen. Davis is über protective of me and you should have heard him go off on Dad about letting me make my own decisions when Dad started lecturing me with all the reasons I shouldn’t keep Ben. I think that was the moment I realized I was in love with him.”
They talked for a few more minutes before Chrissa needed to leave for work. When she hung up, Deeka pulled out her phone. “We probably can’t change our plans, but we aren’t leaving for Italy until a week after graduation. Maybe we can take a trip to Idaho for that week.” A couple minutes later, she started talking to Curtis and DeLynn walked away to give her some privacy.
Chrissa was in love and getting married. Happiness filled DeLynn’s chest. To know her friend was so happy was the best gift. Pulling out her own phone, she texted Zachary. Chrissa and Davis are engaged.
Seriously? That’s fantastic, honey! Maybe we should go see them.
She wants us to come up for their wedding around the time of the baby’s birth.
Sounds good to me. Let’s check with Barrett to make sure we can do this. It will be wonderful to see them married.
Beaming, DeLynn looked up as Deeka walked her way. The way her friend was grinning gave DeLynn the information before she even spoke. “Curtis and I are going up there the day after I graduate. He’s going to get the flight changed so we can leave from the closest airport to her. I just texted her with the news. When she gets it, I’m sure we’ll hear the squeal from here.”
Coeur d’Alene seemed an awful lot like home. Green, green, and more green. With it only being a three and a half hour drive, it was decided that they would drive up on a Friday, stay through the weekend, and come back on Monday. They were invited to stay at Davis and Chrissa’s house and Barrett had no qualms about letting them go. Luckily, Cheryl Carroll was able to convince her husband to let her go as well, so while she rode up with them, she planned to stay a few weeks before returning to Hyacinth.
“This is a beautiful city,” Cheryl remarked as they entered the city limits.
“It truly is,” Zachary agreed while listening to the GPS system which told them to take the next left. “Davis grew up near here and I came home with him for a couple weeks one summer. Have to admit. I was tempted to come back after graduation and would have if Dr. Stren hadn’t suggested me for the position at LCC.” Reaching over, he took DeLynn’s hand. “I’m so glad he did.”
The directions to Davis’s home had them make several turns and head out of town. Before DeLynn could worry that maybe they should call and make sure they were going in the right direction, a sign came up that said Lady of the Lake Chapel. They turned onto the drive for it and both Cheryl and DeLynn gasped. A huge cabin sat in amongst the trees with a smaller cabin right behind it. Standing at the front of the larger cabin was someone DeLynn would have recognized anywhere.
“Chrissa!” she squealed and was half out of her seatbelt by the time Zach stopped the car. She pelted out and ran up to her friend, wrapping her in a huge hug. “You look amazing!” Stepping back she looked at her friend. While yes, she had gained some weight, DeLynn thought she looked wonderful. Her eyes shone with happiness and there was something else. It took a few moments for DeLynn to realize what it was. There had always been a faint restless tint to her expression and it was no longer there. Her friend had found home.
“Thanks, Lynnie. So do you! I—Mom!” she shrieked as she caught sight of the woman walking up behind DeLynn. She quickly leapt past DeLynn, hugging her mother tight. “Mom, I didn’t think I’d see you again,” she sobbed.
“I wasn’t about to miss seeing my baby girl and her new baby. Where’s my grandson?” Cheryl asked eagerly, kissing her on the forehead.
“Oh, he’s sleeping right now, but wait till you see him, Mom. Ben’s such a cutie.”
“That he is.”
The deep rumbling voice brought DeLynn’s attention to the other person at the door and her eyes widened as she took in the behemoth in front of her. Zachary had always said he was big, but she hadn’t realized he meant huge. Davis Roughton had to be at least six feet five inches tall and he was almost as wide as the door he stood in front of. He had dark mocha skin and his brown eyes were just as kind as Zachary’s.
“Zachary, it’s been awhile,” he rumbled, slapping Zach on the shoulder.
“It has, but look how far we’ve come,” Zachary said with a smile. “You’ve got a lovely wife and baby and I’ve got an amazing girl as well.”
The three of them were ushered around the large cabin into the smaller one behind where the two lived. While it was the smaller of the two, it was still over two thousand square feet. “The church put you up nicely,” Zach remarked, looking around at the high ceilings.
Davis shook his head. “I wish. No, I convinced them to let me build. My brothers came up as soon as I took the job and in less than five months we got this built. Before this, there was literally a one bedroom cabin. Definitely wouldn’t have worked for me, let alone with my new family.” The smile that crossed his face when he said the words and the way he looked as he glanced at Chrissa set to rest any worries DeLynn might have had. It was obvious he adored the girl who was currently showing her mother around.
“Ben’s in with us, but we only have one extra bed, so we figured DeLynn and Chrissa’s mom could use the guest room since she’ll be here for a few weeks and Zach, you can sleep on the sofa in the study.”
The enormity of the room was startling, though DeLynn assumed with a man his size, the space was needed. Especially if any of his family were as big as he was. A little cry came through a tiny baby monitor that was lying unobtrusively on the coffee table in the living room.
“Sounds like Ben’s awake. Just a second and I’ll bring him out,” Chrissa said with excitement and darted out of the room.
“Thank you for making my daughter happy,” Cheryl said as they four of them waited.
“She’s a pleasure to be around, Mrs. Carroll,” he assured her. “Even when she’s being sassy, I adore her.”
“You may kiss your bride.” At the words, Davis picked up Chrissa gently and kissed her. DeLynn had watched him for the last two days and had been amazed how such a large man could be so incredibly gentle. Watching him with Ben had just cemented the feeling that Chrissa had found the perfect place for herself. Davis was completely and utterly in love with his wife and son.
The chapel was filled to overflowing with Davis’s flock as well as his family and a few choice friends. The air overflowed with joy and as the reception blended into the evening, DeLynn found herself leaning against Zach watching the revelry, feeling content.
“It was beautiful, wasn’t it?” he said softly into her ear.
“It was perfect. I’ve never seen Chrissa so happy or so relaxed. It makes me wonder if all this was supposed to happen so that she and Davis could meet.”
“It’s hard to tell,” he mused. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy. You can be assured Chrissa will be taken care of. And they only live a few hours away so we can always come back and see them any time we want.”
Cheryl was holding Ben and talking to Davis’s mother and DeLynn thought she looked happier than ever. It made her wonder how much Chrissa’s ramblings about her parents might have been based on fact. Maybe Mr. Carroll wasn’t as good a man as she had always thought him to be. He had come across as very controlling over the last few months.
“Heard from Deeka lately?” he asked.
Laughing softly, she nodded. “Yep. She’s loving Italy. Said she’s murdering the language but everyone’s too nice to comment on it and that if asked right now, she would agree to stay there.” It was a sad thought, but DeLynn could never wish Deeka to stay in Hyacinth when her joy came through so completely.
“After six months, she’ll want to return. I have the feeling she and Curtis will probably travel quite a bit. But I also see them returning to Hyacinth. It suits them too well. Plus I think they both know Barrett would be slightly bereft without his daughter and best friend around.” Taking her hand, he tugged lightly. “Take a walk with me?”
Nodding, she followed him through the woods toward the lake. The crickets chirped around them and as they walked further and further away from the reception, it almost felt like being in their own world. When they reached the edge of the trees and the lake flowed out in front of them, he pulled her to his side and turned to face her. His face appeared so serious and hoping nothing was wrong, she leaned in and placed her hand on his cheek.
“DeLynn, you’re everything to me. Meeting you this last year answered the one last big thing on my hope-for list. Meeting the girl of my dreams. Mum told me after the first time she met you that she knew how important you would be to me and was thrilled because she absolutely adores you. So does Dad. Honey, these last few months have been some of the happiest of my life and I’ve been lucky and have had a very happy life overall. But the time with you eclipses all of it.”
Taking a step back he knelt down and DeLynn lost the ability to breathe. Looking up at her, he pulled a small box from his shirt pocket. “DeLynn Straynar, I love you more than I thought it possible to love anyone. I cannot imagine a day without you in it. Will you marry me?”
Tears leaked from her eyes and as her lips trembled, she nodded. “Yes,” she squeaked, gulping back the sobs as he opened up the box and withdrew a pretty gold ring with a small square diamond on the top. He slid it upon her finger and then kissed her hand before standing and pulling her into his arms. When his lips touched hers, they kindled the fire she had experienced from him ever since the first time he spanked her and as their lips touched again, she felt like she burst into flame. As he slowly drew back, their ragged breaths filled the air.
“I asked Barrett before we left for his permission and he was thrilled,” he whispered. “His exact words were ‘welcome to the family, son.’”
Sobbing a laugh, she nodded and leaned against him. “I don’t think it’s possible to be any happier than I am right now,” she admitted.
They weaved back and forth, dancing slowly to the music of the waves lapping at the shore before the sun went down low enough they knew they needed to return or risk the possibility of getting lost. By the time they reached the cabin, most of the revelers were gone and the last few were helping to clean up. With neither Davis nor Chrissa in sight, DeLynn walked toward Cheryl who was sitting on a folding chair, rocking her grandson back and forth. She smiled up at them.
“Davis and Chrissa are spending the night at a hotel in town and will be back tomorrow morning. Tonight it’s just the four of us.” Her eyes alighted on DeLynn’s hand and lit up. “Did you two just get engaged?”
“Yes,” Zachary said, wrapping his arms around DeLynn from behind. “DeLynn just agreed to become my wife.”
“Congratulations,” she said, her eyes slightly misty with tears. “I’ve known Lynnie for a very long time, Zachary. You’ve got an amazing girl there. She’s always been there for Chrissa and will always be there for you.”
“Thank you.” He squeezed DeLynn. “What do you say we go in and call both our folks?”
Nodding, she drifted a finger over Ben’s full head of black hair, which just set off his angular face and olive skin tone, and followed her fiancé into the cabin.
It seemed like no time at all and school was upon her again. Thankfully DeLynn and Liz had done a lot of the wedding preparations before September as with school about to start, Hand Up became DeLynn’s primary focus, second only to Zach. Now that she had months of experience, she was out in the community drumming up more donations and getting the word out as well as meeting people as Zachary’s fiancée.
There was a distinct expectation of the wife of a man in Zach’s position and thankfully it seemed like everyone thought she fit the bill. The Friday before school started, she was stocking the shelves of the new expanded room the school had given for her project when she felt someone at the door. Looking up, she grinned at who she saw. “Hey!”
“Look who’s here,” Jonah said, walking in, a huge grin on his face. “I hear someone’s engaged to be married. Congrats, girlfriend.” Laughing, she accepted the hug he gave her.
“Thanks. I’m really excited.”
“When’s the day?”
“The first Saturday in December. Which is crazy, I know. I mean, it’s the Saturday before finals. But it’s the best one that fit in everyone’s schedules.” Pausing, she narrowed her eyes. “I thought you were headed to SU this term.”
“Changed my mind.” He shrugged. “I figured I could take my classes here and, well, I broke up with Ken and the thought of going to Seattle with all those hot gay men who are also not interested in a relationship was just too much to take.”
“Really? I’m so sorry, Jon. What happened?” she asked, opening up another box.
“Where do you want these?” he asked, opening up another box.
“On the shelf to the right.”
“He didn’t want anything long term and he didn’t want exclusivity. Don’t get me wrong, Lynnie, Ken’s a great guy. We just didn’t have the same goals.”
Her head popped up and she turned to look at him. “Really? How do you feel about that?”
“Confused,” he said honestly. “And I’m beginning to wonder if I’m the only gay man who wants a real relationship based on something.” They worked together in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. “You mentioned you don’t know if there are any gay guys in Hyacinth, right?”
“Actually,” she said, “a new surgical clinic just opened in town and at least one of the doctors is gay. He and his partner moved into town together. The scuttlebutt is that one of the other docs is gay, too.”
Turning, he raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yep.”
“And how’s the town takin
g it?”
She shrugged. “I think there was surprise at first, but mostly…” As her brain caught up with her words, she felt her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink.”
“What is it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Groaning, she buried her overheated face into her hands. “Mostly they’re wondering how they figured out who was the head of the household and who was the one taken care of.”
Groaning, he shook his head as though her words had disappointed him. “Yeah. Last relationship I was in, some idiot asked us who the girl was. My partner punched him in the face.”
“Not so much that,” she said in a hurry. “But Hyacinth’s based on the value of one person, traditionally the man, as head of the house. He delivers the discipline and is the go-to member of the family. With the relationship being two men, it isn’t readily apparent and let’s face it. It’s gossip fodder.”
“True enough,” he agreed. “It’s kind of nice that your town seems open about their relationship, though. Even in Longdale there are a lot of homophobes and we’re supposed to be more worldly than Hyacinth.”
Standing up and stretching her back, she grinned. “To be honest, I heard about it right after the end of spring term and wanted to call you and let you know. Because even though our town seems mostly okay with different races, I wasn’t sure how they would handle the sexuality thing. ‘Cause some people in that town are kinda backward.”
“Think I can find my own head of house?” he teased.
“I wish I had a guy for you, but if I meet one, I’ll let you know,” she said with a wink.
Laughing, he nodded. “I think staying here for another year will be good for me. Don’t tease me, but I’m kind of a homebody. My entire family lives here and I didn’t want to be three hours away.”
“I totally get that. I’m the same. At some point Zachary’s probably going to want to travel and I’m all for it, but it won’t be easy.”
“Now Zachary’s a fine hunk of man,” Jonah said, fanning his shirt as if he just had a hot flash. “Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll find someone like him.” He paused for a moment. “I deserve someone like him.”