Chapter Twenty
There was only one thing left to fix, and then Clark was going cold turkey.
A reformed meddler.
Anna. He wanted another chance with her. A real chance. Not one based on his fucked-up need to make everything right.
Jake had been dead on the money. Clark had spent his life trying to fix everything. More than once, he’d fixed something only to make the situation worse. Anna, and his relationship with her, was a prime example.
If he’d just apologized, paid George’s medical bill, and asked her for a dinner date, maybe he could’ve established a real relationship. The chemistry was there. The attraction was there. He and Anna had so much in common. He really liked her. But instead of behaving like a normal human being, he’d swooped in like some superhero and tried to make everything perfect.
Custody had never really been his issue to contend with in the first place, but he’d realized how important it was for Louie to stay with Anna. No matter the cost, he wasn’t willing to let another little boy grow up at the hands of a critical, hateful father. Not if he could do something about it.
But he’d learned an important lesson. It was always better to let other people find their own way in the world. It was better to be a source of support than a fixer.
He had to show Anna he’d changed. Clark went through a dozen scenarios in his head, discarded them one by one until he landed on a perfect setup sure to lure Anna into his scheme.
Clark fired up the F-150 and headed to the costume shop.
“I need the worst superhero costume you have.”
The woman behind the counter tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. “I don’t understand why anyone would want a terrible costume.”
Time to turn on the charm. “It’s kind of a long story, but the truth is, I’ve upset my wife.” My wife. “I need to make things right with her. I want to make her laugh.”
How many times, just in the last year, had he uttered that phrase? “Make things right.” No wonder it was starting to piss people off.
The lady warmed up instantly. “I have an idea. Let’s search the damaged ones in the back room. Maybe we can find something just perfect.”
He followed her back to a storeroom filled with all sorts of abandoned costumes. Pirates mixed with princesses, warlocks tossed onto piles with vampires. “Where should we start?”
The woman shrugged. “We haven’t cleaned this room in years. See what you can find. It’s on the house.”
Clark would’ve much rather purchased three costumes from the neat and orderly racks than dig through this mess, but he was doing it for Anna. Imperfection was key. No matter how much it itched.
An hour later, he emerged into the store with an armful of spandex in a veritable rainbow of colors. “How much do I owe you?”
The woman was flipping through a magazine. “Not a dime. I’m just glad you’re taking it off our hands. Less to clean up.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“You do that. And send us a picture of the costume. We like to put them up on the wall.” She pointed to a corkboard lined with photos behind her. No way was he sending them one.
After a stop at the craft store, he headed to the cabin to assemble the costume. He threw the shopping bags onto the bed and got to work.
An hour later, he looked in the mirror.
He’d certainly accomplished the goal. Nothing matched. Yellow leggings with avocado green underpants over them. Like a seventies nightmare come to life. The cape was black with a red reverse, no doubt originally part of a vampire costume, and it was ripped in several very obvious places. Bright-red boots that looked like they belonged to a professional wrestler’s garb completed the look.
He elected not to wear a mask, even though he had several to choose from. He wanted Anna to be able to see his face, hopefully read the sincerity in it.
In short, he looked ridiculous. Just what he intended. He smiled into the mirror and hoped like hell the plan worked. He wasn’t sure he could stand one more night in the bed alone. He couldn’t stand one more night without Anna in his arms.
Clark jogged up to his loft office and sat down at his computer. He quickly printed the pièce de résistance and placed it on his chest with double-sided tape. Along with a mismatched bunch of artificial flowers, he totally looked the part of Captain Won’t Try to Fix It.
He tried very hard not to itch at the mismatched and ripped costume. He wanted to run back to the store and get a nice, shiny matching costume in a nice package. But he wasn’t going to give in to the urge. Clark was turning over a new leaf.
“Come on, Chewy. We’re going for a ride,” he said, grabbing his keys off the foyer table. The dog nipped at his heels and jumped up and down. “Too bad I don’t have a costume for you, too. Louie would love to see you dressed as my sidekick.” At the mention of the boy’s name, the dog went crazy. Clark snapped a leash onto his collar and said, “I know. I miss him, too. Let’s try to get him back to the cabin.”
When he opened the door, Anna was standing on the other side. Chewy pulled at the leash and jumped onto Anna’s leg, leaving a scratch.
Clark pulled back on the leash. “Chewy, down.”
Anna bent and ran her hands along the dog’s back as if to calm his nerves. “He’s grown,” she said, looking up at him. Clark’s heart skipped a beat and he couldn’t speak. “Can we talk?” she asked and stood.
He nodded and gestured for her to come inside.
He sat on the sofa, as she took the chair by the fireplace. Judging by her stiff body language, she was here to ask him to file for divorce as quickly as possible. He’d promised himself every day since she and Louie had left that he’d go by the attorney’s office. Every day, he’d put it off, told himself tomorrow would be the day.
Then, after the scare with Jake and coming to terms with his flaws, he’d decided to skip the attorney and win her back.
But now it was too late.
…
If Anna had to describe the costume in two words or less, she’d say “visually assaulting.”
He was still holding flowers, except they didn’t look like flowers she’d expect to see outside the confines of a cemetery.
It was comforting to know she wasn’t the only one cracking up.
Chewy had gotten over his initial excitement and was gnawing on his leash. He seemed to be paying no attention to either of them. Guess the dog hadn’t missed her as much as she’d missed him.
“Are you doing birthday parties as a business now?”
He shook his head. “I had a plan. I was going on another superhero mission.” He pointed to his chest. “Ah, shit. I must have lost my sign. There’s irony in that somewhere, but right now I’m just nervous that you’re here to beg me to file the divorce papers.”
Anna wrinkled her brow. “What sign? What plan? What is going on, Clark? Have you been drinking?”
“Nope, although I wish I had been. It might take the edge off a bit.”
“I’ll put Chewy in the backyard for now. Can you pour us some wine?”
“I would love to.”
Clark brought the bottle into the living room along with two glasses. He poured one for Anna and handed it to her. “I don’t want to get divorced,” he said when she sat back in the chair and took a sip of her wine.
“You don’t?” Her heart did something weird, fluttery. “You don’t want a divorce?”
He shook his head. “I want to see if we can make our marriage work.”
“But it wasn’t a real marriage,” she said. “We agreed that it was on paper only.”
“My heart didn’t get the memo.” When he grinned, he looked boyish, and if she weren’t already in love with him, she would’ve fallen in that moment.
“Mine, either,” Anna admitted. “But what if the heat is all there is?”
“No way. The heat is fantastic, but it isn’t the best part.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Okay, it’s tied for the best part.”
“What’s the other part?”
“You. I really like you. You make me laugh. You make me feel at home. It’s like you’re the other half of me.”
It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. “Thank you.”
“But the kid is really what closed the deal for me.”
“He is pretty special, isn’t he?”
“Chewy misses him like crazy. We can’t keep the boy and the dog apart. It’s just wrong on so many levels.”
“You want to stay married for the dog?”
“Is that such a bad reason?” He smiled at her and her insides warmed.
“I’ve heard worse. So what’s with the costume?”
“Jake helped me to see some things I’ve been missing, and I wanted you to know I’ve changed. I’m a fixed fixer. I’m going to learn to keep my nose out of other people’s business.”
“I’m glad you were a meddler when I met you.”
“You are?”
“I wouldn’t be Mrs. Wainwright if you hadn’t insisted, but I would like a hiatus on the meddling.”
“If I agree to step down the meddling, will you stop being so damned determined not to need anyone?”
Anna couldn’t stop the smile. “I’ll give it my best.”
“Will you stay, Mrs. Wainwright?”
Anna looked into Clark’s eyes. She’d missed him. Every day, every hour. She missed his laugh, his smell, his taste. Just months ago, she’d have sworn she never wanted to take a chance on love again, but now, with this man so close to her, she realized she did want to try again. With him.
“For Chewy, I’ll give it a shot.”
“Was it the costume that convinced you?” He pointed to his chest and then wrinkled his brow. “Damn. The sign was the best part, and I’ve lost it.”
“You can tell me all about it while we’re peeling these avocado briefs off you.”
He opened his arms, and she walked into them. He kissed her. It was sweet at first, but it quickly turned supernova. Hands, lips. Anna ran her hands along his back, pulling him close. She ran her fingers lower until she felt something strange.
The sign wasn’t lost. It was plastered to his ass. Anna felt it when she reached around to check out the goods.
“This the sign?” Anna asked, taking it off his backside and holding it between them. It read Capt. WTF. “Why are you Captain What the Fuck?”
He shook his head. “Captain Won’t Try to Fix It. Maybe I took some liberties by abbreviating to make it fit.”
Anna laughed. “Don’t ever wear this costume again, especially the sign.”
“You got it, wifey.”