MICHELLE
I wake up before I open my eyes, aware of being conscious before I’m ready to climb the rest of the way out of sleep. A stretch hijacks me. I reach my feet for the edge of the bed and my arms up overhead, fingers splayed, toes pointed. When I finally open my eyes, I find David smiling down at me.
“Morning, beautiful.”
“Morning, Mr. Wonderful.”
He grins, a lopsided thing. “Mr. Wonderful, huh? I don’t know about all that.”
“You don’t have to know anything about it. I’ll know it for you.” I put a hand on his cheek, his morning stubble rough against my skin. “You still okay?”
“Oh, believe me hot stuff. I am more than okay.”
“Really?” I scrunch up my nose. “You’re not scared to death?”
David stretches out beside me, his head tipped against mine. “I spent a lot of last night trying to get scared to death. I brought up every single reason to be afraid, pointed out every reason why this won’t work out.”
“You didn’t sleep?” Great. While he spent an entire night worrying, I snuggled up next to him as if our lives aren’t in the middle of getting completely rearranged, possibly against his will.
David shifts. “Not much. But don’t worry. It was good for me.”
“Last I checked, sleepless nights were firmly listed under the Bad for Your Health category.” I sigh. “And coming up with all the reasons to be afraid of what our future holds doesn’t exactly sound like a good thing, either.” The beautiful feeling I woke with dissipates, leaving me with a now-familiar hollow stomach.
“You didn’t let me finish, silly.” David props himself up on his elbow. “For as much as I tried to find a reason for this to be bad, I can’t stop thinking it’s exactly the way things are supposed to be. I love you. And I’m going to take care of you and Claire and this little nugget right here.” He puts a hand on my stomach and smiles.
“Yeah?” I place my hand on his. “Do you mean it?”
“Yep.”
“I want you guys to move in with me.” Pride tweaks the corners of his lips skyward.
I grin. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been living here for the last month.”
“Right, but most of your stuff is still at your house. That bookshelf and all of your books and you can’t even try to tell me those aren’t important to you. The wineglasses I bought you for our second date. Those are obviously a big deal. Your winter clothes. I want everything that means something to you to find a home in this house. I want to pick a room and turn it into a nursery for our baby.” He grins, as if the thought of our baby makes him genuinely happy. “I want to paint Claire’s room her favorite colors even if that means I have to repaint every year because she keeps changing her mind. I want this to be your home, not just your refuge.”
I slide my foot out from under the covers, the rustle of the fabric against my skin filling the silence as I gather my thoughts. “Carmichael Farms will always be my refuge. As long as you’re here, this house will be the one place in the whole world where I know I’m safe.”
“Good. I’m glad you feel that way. And it’s true, you know. I’ll never let anything happen to you.” He stares down at me, his gaze roaming my face. “So, is that a yes? You’ll move in?”
“That’s a hell yes.” I roll onto my side and prop myself up on my elbow. “Wherever you are is home. I don’t ever want to be anywhere else.”
David threads his hands into my hair and kisses me, pressing his forehead to mine when he releases my lips. We’re moving fast but it feels right. I really hope it does to him, too.
“You promise you don’t just want me because of the baby?” I whisper the question, afraid of the words but desperate for the answer.
“I promise.” David whispers in return, as if the truth is too precious for anyone but me to hear. “I want you, Michelle. I want all of you. I want what we have to go on and on forever.”
I smile. “Me too.” My stomach growls and I grimace. “Any chance your mom is down there making breakfast?”
“Not today.” David looks relieved. “She took Claire out to help with the chickens after making her a bowl of oatmeal. You and I are on our own.”
“Does that mean I finally have a chance to cook for you?”
David looks shocked. “You mean to tell me you know how to cook?”
“You can cut a grocery bill in half when you buy stuff like flour and milk instead of premade biscuits.” Even I can hear the note of pride in my voice.
“If you’re trying to tell me that you can make homemade biscuits, then I have no idea why you’re still lying in bed. Get up, woman. Make me breakfast.” He grins.
“You don’t have to be such a caveman about it.” I slide out from under the covers and drop my feet to the floor only to notice the notification light blinking on my phone. I pick it up.
David clears his throat. “Yeah, that thing started going off around five this morning. It’s what finally pulled me out of bed.”
“I’m so sorry.” I tap in the passcode and choke when I see Russell’s name.
Russell: you called a fucking lawyer???
Russell: wtf michelle
Russell: u cant leave well enough alone can u
Russell: whats this about
The texts go on and on but I stop reading after just a few. “Russell isn’t happy about the lawyer.”
“Sounds about right.” David shrugs and slides to the edge of the bed.
“What do I do?” My fingers hover over the reply button. I don’t have an answer for Russell that he’s going to like. Every possible response I come up with is only going to make him madder.
David purses his eyebrows together and stands. “What do you mean?”
“What do I say?” I wrap my arms around my stomach. “I have no idea how to respond.”
David takes the phone but doesn’t look at it. “Who says you have to respond?”
The question stuns me. “I guess I don’t, do I?” The anxiety that started pushing down on my soul as I read Russell’s texts dissipates like dandelion puffs in the wind.
“He is not your responsibility any more. His thoughts? His feelings? You’re not in charge of worrying about that. The only time you have to see him is if he asks to see Claire again.” David takes a breath. “And if things go right with the lawyer, you won’t even have to see him then unless you choose to let him see her. But at that point, it’s all on your terms, not his.”
“What did I do to deserve you?” I meet his eyes, hoping he can see right down to the very bottom of my soul and understand how grateful I am.
“You don’t deserve me.” David hands me my phone. “You deserve so much more than I could ever give you.”
My stomach growls again, impossible to ignore.
“Come on.” David widens his eyes and then offers me his hand. “Let’s get my girl fed. We can start our plans to make you and Claire official residents of Carmichael Farms while we eat.”