Unconditional Love

by Kelly Elliott

  I sat there not really knowing what to say. I knew in my heart I was ready to start my journey with Azurdee. “Do you read the letters to each other?” I asked.

  My father smiled. “No. After you write them, you place them together and then roll them up and put them in the bottle. Then you send your bottle out to sea.”

  Tristan laughed. “Why? I mean, if you’re going to pour your damn heart out, why wouldn’t you want the person to know what you said?”

  My father looked at Tristan and shook his head. “I guess once you’re ready, you’ll know the answer to that question, son.”

  I had to admit I was a bit confused as to why you wouldn’t read the letters to each other either, but I just went with it. I looked back down at the black box. “What’s in the box, Dad?” I asked.

  He leaned back and stared at the box. “It’s your grandmother’s engagement ring. She gave it to me right before she got sick. She wanted one of you boys to have it. Now, you don’t have to use it if you don’t want. I know things are different these days and young ladies like to pick out their own rings and such, but if you want…the ring is yours. To which ever one of y’all is wanting it.”

  He opened the box and I smiled the moment I saw the ring. I remember being little and spinning my grandmother’s rings around on her finger. I closed my eyes and could almost smell her perfume. When I opened them again, my father was staring at me. I smiled and reached for the ring.

  “I remember how much she loved this ring. She would take it off before she did anything.”

  Tristan let out a laugh. “Remember the one time she thought she forgot to take it off before she worked in the garden, and she had us looking for over three hours before she found it on her damn ring holder in her bathroom. Here she had taken it off and had forgotten.”

  I laughed and nodded my head. The oval-shaped diamond was at least a carat and had small baguettes lining the white gold band. It was simple, yet elegant.

  My stomach dropped when I pictured slipping my grandmother’s ring onto Azurdee’s finger.

  My father cleared his throat. “Now, Tristan, you’re older, and per your grandmother’s wishes, the ring was to either go to whoever was planning on marrying first, or to the oldest. Now you boys have to decide, who gets this ring?”

  I looked over at Tristan. I knew he had feelings for Ryn and Liberty. I also knew that he thought by bringing Ryn home, he was making the safer choice, and this last week was proving his thinking wrong. The feelings he had for Ryn were stronger than he wanted to admit.

  Tristan swallowed hard and then stood up. He pushed the bottle back toward our father and looked at me. “Well, I sure as hell am nowhere near ready to be making any commitment to anyone…let alone start some damn journey. I know how much you love Azurdee—I think you are the better choice for Gram’s ring.” I looked at my father and then back at Tristan. “Tristan, Ryn is…”

  Tristan laughed and said, “A good time. That’s it. That girl has no desire to settle down with anyone and that’s what I like about her. We’re just having a good time.” He looked back at our dad and said, “Sorry Dad, I’m not quite ready for all of this right now.”

  He turned and walked to the door, opened it and walked out, closing it softly behind him. I slowly turned back around and looked at my father. He raised his eyebrow and said, “Honestly, I thought that whole thing was going to play out differently. I thought it would be you getting up and walking out.”

  I pulled my head back and looked at him with a shocked look on my face. “What? Why?”

  He raised his eyebrow at me and said, “Really?”

  I shrugged my shoulders and said, “She’s changed me, Dad. I can’t imagine my life without her in it. I mean…this past year has been nothing but hell. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, dreaming about her. I would be sitting alone and she would pop into my head and I would have to force myself not to text her and ask her what she was doing.” I let out a laugh and shook my head. “Then when we finally… Well, let’s just say I can’t get enough of her. I want to be with her all the time. When I’m gone for work she’s all I can think about. She consumes my world, Dad.”

  He smiled and said, “Welcome to the journey of love. Hold on tight, son. Shit’s about to get real.”

  I was totally caught off guard by my father’s response. I began laughing, which caused him to laugh. Before I knew it we were both in tears as we laughed our asses off. There was a knock on the door, and when I turned around I saw my mother walking in. She had a concerned look on her face and attempted to smile but was doing a bad job of it.

  My father stood up and said, “What’s wrong?”

  She took a deep breath and said, “Tristan just told me he was leaving early. Something about having to get home to take care of something for work. What did you say to him, Peter?”

  My father let out a sigh and said, “Nothing, sweetheart. Your son is just running from love.”

  She nodded her head and said, “Yes, I know. I’ve been watching him the last three days avoid poor Ryn like she had a disease or something.”

  I stood up and looked down at my father. “Thanks, Dad.”

  My father stood up and held out his hand and said, “Just always remember…hold on, son, during both the good and the bad times. Just hold on.”

  I nodded and slipped the box into my pocket and reached down for the bottle. When I turned around, my mother had a tear slowly moving down her cheek.

  I walked up and wiped it away before kissing her gently on the cheek.

  “She loves you, Michael. I see how much you love her just by the way you look at her.”

  My heart began pounding again in my chest. For the first time in years I wasn’t afraid to open my heart to someone.

  I nodded my head and whispered, “I do, Mom. I really do love her.”

  Joyce grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. She held me tightly as she whispered, “Have fun tonight, sweetheart.”

  I pulled back and smiled as I let out a giggle. “I’m sure I will.” Tristan, Ryn, Lark and I were all heading to the local dance hall in town. It wasn’t lost on me that Lark’s mother had been walking around with the biggest smile on her face for the last day.

  Lark threw his arm around me and began walking toward the door. My stomach still did that weird little dance anytime he touched me. I looked up at him and smiled as my heart plummeted in my chest.

  “I really like you in a cowboy hat,” I whispered as he raised his eyebrow.

  “How much do you like me in it?”

  For some reason, I thought back to Lark and me on his motorcycle. The flush must have shown on my face, because he put his mouth to my ear and whispered, “I’d really love to know what you’re thinking about right now, mi amor.”

  “The morning on your bike in your parking garage.”

  He stopped dead in his tracks, stood back and tilted his head. Then he put his arm around me again and started laughing. “My naughty little girl.”

  I was shocked when we walked into the dance hall and saw how packed it was. “Where do all these people live?” I asked as Tristan and Lark laughed. Ryn did a little hop and said, “Oh my God. My favorite song!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me out to the dance floor where we danced to “Blurred Lines” and laughed our asses off. I couldn’t believe how many guys came up to us and attempted to dance. I was pretty sure Lark was close by making eye contact with them, because they all quickly moved away from us.

  “Are you having fun?” Ryn shouted.

  I nodded my head and asked, “Are you?”

  Ryn smiled bigger and nodded her head. “More than I thought I would.”

  I began chewing on my bottom lip. I wanted to talk to her about Tristan and ask her what her true feelings were for him. I could see a difference in Tristan and I also saw how he was fighting it. I glanced over and looked at Tristan. He was texting someone and looked up toward Ryn. When I saw him walk toward the door, I knew he was going outside to talk
to Liberty and I instantly got pissed. I looked back at Ryn and smiled.

  I moved closer to her and yelled out. “Cowboy at ten o’clock is looking hard.”

  She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “Number, please.”

  I tilted my head and said, “Eight, easy.”

  She did a little dance move and turned around quickly. She looked over and saw Lark standing alone. When I saw her face drop she looked back at me and said, “Well, since Tristan seems to be talking to Liberty again, I might as well have fun, huh?”

  I stopped dancing and stood there with my mouth open. “You know about Liberty?”

  She smiled weakly. “He was on the porch last night talking to her. I heard him tell her he missed her. I had a feeling he was seeing another girl as well as me, but I kind of thought him bringing me here…well…”

  I shook my head and said, “Oh Ryn, I don’t think…” She held up her hands and said, “It’s not a big deal. I’m always the one they want to just have fun with. Excuse me Dee, I’ve got a cowboy to wrangle.”

  Ryn had been calling me Dee for the last week, and I knew she did it knowing it bugged the hell out of Lark. I watched as she walked up to the cowboy and said something in his ear.

  The song changed and he scooped her into his arms as they took off two-stepping. I felt Lark’s arms wrap around me as he whispered into my ear, “Dance with me.”

  I turned and looked into his beautiful eyes and nodded my head. “Play It Again” by Luke Bryan was playing and I knew how much Lark loved Luke Bryan.

  We danced in silence for about a minute before Lark asked, “What’s wrong, Azurdee?”

  I glanced over and saw Ryn dancing with the cowboy. I swore I saw her wipe away a tear. I looked up into Lark’s eyes and said, “Ryn knows about Liberty.”

  Lark’s face dropped. “Did you tell her?”

  I shook my head. “No! She heard Tristan talking to her last night on the porch. She heard him tell her that he missed her. Lark, my heart is breaking because I think Ryn has fallen for Tristan. I see it in the way she looks at him.”

  Lark looked up and found Ryn dancing. He looked around and shook his head. “The stupid bastard has been texting Liberty all day and ignoring Ryn.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  Lark shrugged his shoulders. “Scared maybe about his feelings for Ryn. I don’t know. She was supposed to just be the fun one. I don’t think he counted on falling for her like he has.”

  I looked down and then back up at Lark. “Ryn told me she is always the one they just want to have fun with. I hate that she is hurting. I really like her.”

  Lark pulled me closer to him and said, “It’s Tristan and Ryn’s problem. Let’s not get involved. I just want to feel you in my arms.”

  I snuggled closer into his chest and let out a sigh as we finished dancing to the song.

  As the night went on, Ryn drank more and more and Tristan sat in a corner at the bar and watched Ryn dance with everyone but him. Lark and I had danced so much I was beginning to get blisters.

  “Ugh, why did I wear new boots tonight?” I said as I pulled the boot off my foot and rubbed it as Ryn washed her hands in the ladies’ room.

  She smiled and said, “Well with the way you and Lark are cutting up the dance floor, it’s no wonder you have blisters.”

  I smiled and said, “I love Lark in this environment. He’s so happy and carefree. You can tell he just loves being in the country.”

  Ryn giggled and said, “Yeah, both of them are right at home here, aren’t they? I think Tristan’s plan is to move back home in a few years and take over the ranch for his dad.”

  I put my boot on and said, “Do you like the country?”

  “Hell yeah. I grew up in the country. My momma still brews her tea in the sunlight.” She smiled and shook her head. “I come from a small Texas town where if you blinked when driving through, you’d miss it.”

  I smiled and asked, “Do you go home often?”

  Her smile faded and she said, “No. I walked away from the bad memories and don’t care to ever go back.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  She grabbed my hand and said, “Come on…let’s go dance.”

  As we walked out of the restroom, Ryn was approached by the same cowboy she danced with at the beginning of the night.

  “Angel, dance with me again,” he said as he held out his hand.

  Ryn looked over toward Tristan, who was looking down at his phone.

  “Sure,” Ryn said as she gave me a small smile and walked away with the cowboy as Jason Aldean’s song “Why” began playing. I turned and looked at Tristan and marched over to him. Lark was sitting next to him and he jumped up and took a step back when he saw me marching up.

  I grabbed the cell phone out of Tristan’s hand. He jumped up and yelled, “What the fuck, Azurdee?”

  “She knows about Liberty, you ass. She heard you telling her how much you missed her last night on the porch.”

  Tristan took a step back and scanned the dance floor as he said, “What? I thought she was asleep.”

  I pushed the cell phone into his chest and said, “Well, she certainly has been awake all day and knows you’ve been texting Liberty. She is falling in love with you, Tristan, and if you don’t feel the same, then take her home and let her go. Stop talking to another girl right under her nose.”

  He looked down at me and then looked at Lark. I could see the confusion laced all over his face. “I don’t. I mean, I don’t know how I feel about…” He glanced up and stopped talking. “Motherfucker.”

  Lark and I both turned and looked to see that the guy Ryn was talking to was moving his hand across her ass and it looked like he was about to try and kiss her.

  Tristan began walking out on the dance floor and Lark grabbed him. “Dude, you’ve fucking ignored her all day and all night and you get pissed when another guy is giving her attention. Azurdee’s right. You need to make up your mind.”

  Tristan looked back at the dance floor and then pushed Lark away. “I’m going home. Make sure she doesn’t get drunk and leave with someone.”

  My mouth dropped open and I said, “Wait. You’re just going to leave her here? Alone?”

  Tristan looked at me and gave me a weak smile. “She’s not alone.”

  He turned and walked away as I looked back out and saw Ryn pushing the cowboy away and saying something to him. When I looked back at Tristan, I saw he was watching what was happening. I thought for sure he would stop when he saw Ryn was pushing the guy away, or attempting to. Tristan shook his head and kept walking.

  “Shit,” Lark said as he made his way out to the dance floor to rescue Ryn.

  Ten minutes later, we were in Lark’s truck and heading back to the ranch. I heard Ryn once attempt to hold back a sob. I turned and she shook her head and looked out the window.

  When we got to the ranch house Tristan’s truck wasn’t there. Ryn jumped out of Lark’s truck and practically ran into the house. I got out and went after her as Lark called out for me.

  “Give me just a couple minutes!” I called over my shoulder. By the time I got to Tristan’s bedroom, Ryn was grabbing all her things and throwing them into her bag. The tears were streaming down her face. One look from me and she lost it as she sat down on the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have come. I knew it. I had a feeling he was seeing someone else, but I ignored it. I shouldn’t have come here. I thought maybe things would be different.”

  I sat down next to her and put my arm around her as she dropped her head onto my shoulder. “Don’t say that, Ryn. Joyce and Peter love you and I think Tristan’s just scared of his feelings for you.”

  She let out a laugh as she wiped the tears from her face. “Azurdee, you’re sweet, but let’s be honest here. He’s been texting another girl all day today and I’m not going to stand by like some pathetic woman who needs a man in her life.”

  I looked down a
nd said, “I don’t think of you that way.”

  Ryn stood up and grabbed a few more things and closed her suitcase. “I know you don’t. I’m really glad we met. Let’s keep in touch, okay?”

  I stood up and hugged her. “Where are you going? How are you going to get home, Ryn?”

  The tears began to build in her eyes as she dropped the suitcase and stood there. “I…I don’t…I don’t know.”

  Lark cleared his throat from behind me and I turned around to see him standing there with a slight smile on his face.

  “Ryn, why don’t you stay in the guest room tonight. Azurdee and I are leaving in the morning and heading to South Padre. I can take you to the airport.”

  Ryn swallowed hard and nodded her head. She picked up her suitcase and followed Lark to the guest room.

  After getting Ryn settled in, I went back to Lark’s room and began packing. When Lark walked in he wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “I want you.”

  I smiled and turned around. “May I ask you something?”

  He moved back and ran his hand through his hair and nodded his head. “Sure you can.”

  “Your mom…she’s been acting…different since yesterday.”

  The smile that spread across his face caused me to squeeze my legs together and long for his touch. I couldn’t help but smile back. “Why is she acting different?”

  He slowly pulled his T-shirt up and over his head. I licked my lips and just took in his upper body. When he moved his hands down and began to unbutton his pants, I put my hand up and said, “Oh no. I want you to tell me what’s going on before I agree to do anything with you, Mr. Williams.”

  He kicked his pants away and stood in front of me in a pair of boxer briefs looking all hot and shit. My mind was beginning to go places it shouldn’t, and I swear I felt dizzy.