Chapter Ten
“Is it me or is Max acting weirder than usual?” Molly asked, snuggling up with Dale on the sofa.
“Not that I know of. He’s probably found a new project or something.”
She tapped the electricity manual open on his lap. “And how are you finding your new career choice?”
“Very dull. Very boring, but I’ll get to use some pretty awesome tools. I’ll get to wear a tool belt.”
“Now that sounds kind of sexy.”
“You want to see me all dressed up, and nowhere to go.”
“Nope,” she said, taking the book from his lap and placing it on the floor. She straddled his lap, locking her fingers at the back of his neck. “You’ll always have somewhere to go, but at the end of the day, I know you’ll be here.” She pressed her lips against his, and he gripped her ass.
They had done it.
Molly moaned as he pressed his cock against her, and she felt like they had finally found each other.
“Are you happy?” she asked.
“You have no idea how happy I am.”
“I know you’re still a little upset that the kids don’t always call you Daddy.”
“But at least they don’t call me anything else,” he said, laughing. “It could be a lot worse, and to be honest, babe, I don’t blame them. I’ve got to prove that I’m their father, and that I’m not going anywhere. They’ve seen me many times before, and now I’m living with their mom, taking her away from them, and loving her more than anything in the world.”
“I fell in love with you a long time ago,” she said.
“You did?”
“Yes. Back in kindergarten. It was one of the first days and I’d fallen down. Hurt my knee or something, and you were there, helping me up. I fell for you then, and no one else has even gotten close to take my heart. I’ve never told anyone that before.”
He smiled. “I recognized you, Molly Tatum. I’ve noticed you a lot over the years, and it wasn’t just in high school. You have no idea how fucking happy I was when you picked me. I wanted you to say yes to me. I couldn’t fucking believe it.”
“Because I loved you, and there was only ever one guy I wanted to ask me out, and he finally did.”
“We’ve wasted a lot of time that could have been spent together, like this.”
“I know. Let’s make a pact not to miss any more.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She leaned in to kiss him, and was trailing her hands down to open his belt when a scream came from upstairs.
“I’ll go,” Dale said. “I want to go.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“I just listen to them, and put them to bed.”
“Yes. Give them a hug, tell them everything is going to be okay.”
She climbed off his lap and watched him head upstairs. Grabbing their empty cups, she placed them in the kitchen sink and decided to make her way upstairs, just in case they were being a little difficult.
“Nothing is going to get me?” Luke asked.
“Nothing is going to get you. Look.” She stood near the door so she couldn’t be seen, but she could look in. Dale had gotten on the floor and crawled under the bed. “Your mom even vacuums underneath the bed.”
She pressed a hand to her mouth to contain her laughter.
Luke and Sasha were laughing. They’d put both children in one room as Dale was determined to create the ideal princess room for his little girl, and neither of them wanted her there while they were decorating.
“See, no bad creatures hiding under the bed. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Your mommy and I will never, ever allow anything bad to happen to you. I’m a light sleeper, and you just call for me, and I will come running every single time.” He ruffled Luke’s head, then Sasha’s. “I’m never leaving either of you guys. I love you more than anything else in the world.”
“Do you love Mommy?”
“I’ve loved Mommy for a long time. Longer than I think she realizes, but it has taken me a long time to be her prince.”
“If you weren’t her prince, what were you?”
“The biggest jerk in the world.”
She tried to contain her laughter as they both gasped.
“I love you, Daddy,” Luke said.
She saw the love and happiness in Dale’s face. “I love you as well. I won’t be going anywhere. I’m your daddy, to both of you.” He took hold of Sasha’s hand. “I won’t let you guys down again.”
“We love you, too.”
Her heart filled with so much love and joy as she watched Luke and Sasha climb into his lap and hug him tight.
This was the family she always wanted, and it was a dream to finally be witnessing it. She stepped back as he put them to bed, turning off the light and leaving it ajar a little. He turned toward her. “Do you need a hug?”
“My jerk face has become a prince.”
“Did you ever doubt it?” he asked.
“There were a few times it was touch and go.”
“I’ve got lots of plans for all of us, Molly.”
“I like the sound of this.” He carried her through to their bedroom, laying her down on the bed and settling between her thighs. He teased her hair, and she felt the hard ridge of his cock pressing against her stomach. “I saw Chloe today at the grocery store.”
She tensed up. “What happened?”
“Nothing. I just wanted you to know that I’d seen her, and nothing happened. Unless you count Mrs. Lemon, our old history teacher, telling me that for a boy as bright as myself, I should have known better. She also congratulated me on finally getting my head out of my ass, which she also told me she could say now seeing as she wasn’t on school grounds.”
Molly laughed. “I wish I could have seen that.”
“Yeah, well, I told her, and the entire store, that I loved you more than anything in the world, and that you were mine.”
She got a thrill at just hearing him say that.
“I’ve been yours forever, Dale. There hasn’t been anyone else that I’ve wanted.”
He slammed his lips down on hers, and she moaned as she gripped him tightly against her.
She wouldn’t take anything for granted, and the past that had been, that was where she was going to keep it. It was time to move on, and find this new path with the love of her life.
****
Everything was ready and in place. Dale had watched as Max looked like a crazy person organizing the best wedding in Winters Fall. His friend had also said that he was taking it back to where it first started.
“You really think this is going to work?” Dale asked.
“I’m the one in charge. I have everything in order. I’ve decorated the main high school corridor, right near Molly’s old locker room. I’ve got several people arriving very soon. Everything that is everything is in order.”
“He’s done really well,” Aria said, coming toward them. “The main hall is where the party is going to be, and he’s made sure everyone has kept it a secret. You should be impressed. I am. I didn’t think he could pull something like this off.”
“It wasn’t easy. The priest should be arriving any second, and I’ve got June on Molly duty. Trey’s bringing them both to the school in about an hour. The cake is here.” Max ran through his list.
Dale moved toward the window as he saw several of their old school friends and teachers arriving.
“You invited the school?” Dale asked.
“Look, Molly walked around this place heavily pregnant, and people didn’t exactly have the best response to her. I wanted you to have the chance to put that right. Here and now. By marrying her in front of everyone. Come on, Dale, that’s pretty romantic.”
“It is,” Aria said, sucking on a lollipop.
“I’ve got to go and give everyone the heads-up. We want mostly students in the corridor, and one or two teachers, so the rest can wait in the main hall. Don’t touch anything,” Max said.
“I think he could be a wedding planner.”
Aria chuckled. “He really is something, right?”
“He’s also really sorry about what happened with you,” Dale said.
“I know.”
“You’ve not forgiven him?”
“Maybe just a smidge. Helping him with this has been a lot of fun.”
“I think he’s found his calling, and could end up with quite a few requests.”
This brought another chuckle from Aria. “He’s been waking me up in the middle of the night to go over plans. At first he wanted to do it at some fancy restaurant. When we got the quote because of it being soon, and not much planning, Max told them to go and get fucked. We were looking for locations, and we passed the high school.”
“He broke in to check it out, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did. He wanted to see if his idea was right. I’d say it was one of the most rebellious things I’ve ever done.”
They both stood at the window as Max organized people and clapped his hands. Through the glass Dale heard him yelling for them to move their fucking asses, and that he didn’t have all day to pull this off.
“That’s Max, through and through.”
Five minutes later Max entered the corridor, holding his cell phone. “June, Trey, and the bride are on the way.”
“How are we doing this?” Dale asked.
“We’ve got two ideas,” Max said. “You could meet her outside and bring her in, or I’ll bring her in and place her against the locker, and you propose. That’s what you did to ask her out on a date, right?”
“Yes.”
“Now, you’re getting to propose to her, and of course, marry her.”
Everything was in place, and Dale nodded his head. “Bring her here. In front of everyone, I want to make it right.”
Max clapped him on the back and left.
“You’re doing the right thing.”
“I know I am. I love her more than anything in the world.” Standing near her old locker, he smiled. Everything was going to be okay.
The corridor was full of old students, who carried on conversations with each other while Aria stayed with him. She offered him a lollipop to help with his nerves. He didn’t need a lollipop. He needed his woman.
Time passed, and finally, silence fell along the corridor.
“Move out of the way, suckers. Luke, Sasha, cover your ears and pretend Uncle Max did not say those things.”
Dale turned to see people part, giving Max and Molly room. June and Trey each held Luke and Sasha’s hands. He gave them a smile as they beamed at him. He wondered if Max had gotten them to help.
“What’s going on?” Molly asked.
Max placed her against the locker. “I can only do so much. It’s now on you.” Max slapped him on the back, and now it was his turn.
Going down on one knee, he took her hand. “Molly Tatum, I fell in love with you long before I asked you out. I was an ass—not a nice guy at all.” He remembered about their kids waiting and listening. “You thought I proposed marriage out of a duty to you when I got you pregnant. The baby you carried in our last year of high school was mine. Sasha and Luke are both mine, but so are you. I didn’t ask you to marry me out of obligation. When you told me you were pregnant, I was the happiest guy in the world, because you picked me, and, Molly, I pick you. I’ll pick you every single day of the week, of the month, of the year. You are the love of my life, and there’s no one else I want to be with. I’m hoping that you will give me this chance as you’ve not taken the ring off that I’ve given you.” He rubbed the ring in question with his thumb. “You will not regret picking me. I promise you.” He pressed a kiss to her hands, and stared up at her. “Will you marry me?”
He’d been so worried that she’d tell him to fuck off, or say no, or something.
“I’m supposed to ask you,” she said.
“Is that a no?” he asked, his heart pounding.
She nodded her head. “Yes. A million times yes, but I wanted to ask you.”
That one word was music to his ears. “I don’t care. I love you. Yes?”
“Yes. I’ve wasted six years. I’m not going to waste any more. I love you, Dale, more than anything.”
He got to his feet and pulled her into his arms, slamming his lips down on hers, pressing her against the locker. She wrapped her arms around them, and cheers rang up and down the long corridor. He didn’t care about the cheers. All he cared about was the fact that he finally had his woman.
“Hey, hey, that’s supposed to be after the priest says the magic words,” Max said. “Stick to the schedule.”
Dale took her hand and lifted it up in the air. “She’s mine!”
Max and Trey both let out a loud whoop, which the corridor copied. Molly curled up against his side, and together they faced the priest.
This was long overdue, and as he held her, promising to love, honor, and cherish her, Dale knew he’d never forget a moment of listening to her repeat the lines, or their vows to one another, which they both made looking into each other’s eyes.
When the time came for him to kiss the bride, he did, in front of their school, exactly as he should have done all those years ago.
He’d put right his own mistake.
Pulling away, he smiled down into her face. “Hello, Mrs. Molly Lewis. Your name finally fits.”
Sasha and Luke rushed to their side, and Dale held them all. His family, now complete.