Chapter 11

A husband is someone who, after taking out the trash, gives the impression he just cleaned the whole house.

-E-card

Payton

“He’s not going to make it.” I said.

 

Cheyenne and Ember’s eyes held sympathy, and I knew that they didn’t think he would either. They tried to keep my spirits up, but I just couldn’t. Max had been in jail for four days now. One delay after another kept him there, and they were using the holidays as an excuse to keep him longer. In the meantime, I’d missed my first Thanksgiving with him due to their bullshit. If I saw that chief in a dark alley, I would kick his ass.

 

“He’ll be here.” Ember tried her best to assure me.

 

“Fuck this. Alpha!” I yelled.

 

Alpha jumped up from his place on the couch and trotted to me. I turned, grabbed my keys, purse, and stomped out of the house. The click of my cowboy boots announced my arrival to all of the men, but I didn’t spare them a glance. I walked right up to Max’s Blazer, allowed Alpha to jump in, hiked my dress up, and climbed in, using the steering wheel as a handhold.

 

I made a mental note to speak with Max about adding a step to his truck. The yard was wet due to it raining non-stop for the past miserable assed four days. I took off, weaving around the parked cars, and was just about to make it to the driveway when I found myself stuck in mud. I growled with impatience. The tires spun and spun, flinging mud up in rooster tails ten feet behind me. I snickered to myself when I saw people running out of the way, but tried one last time before finally deciding that I would need four-wheel drive to accomplish this.

 

I threw open my door, hopped down and splashed in the puddle, which was now brown due to the truck tires stirring up the mud. I walked around to the front tires, clicked the hubs in place, and stomped back to the open door, hauled myself back inside, and threw the shifter down in to four wheel drive.

 

The truck battled for traction, found it, and then I was off down the road, slinging mud and dirty water as I went. Mud was being flung off the tires onto the side of the truck, and I was glad that I didn’t have to wash this beast. I turned on the radio and was blasted with Garth Brooks singing about his friends in low places.

 

I sang along to the song, and arrived at the police station within six minutes. I parked illegally in the front of the station, got Alpha and myself out of the truck, and stomped my way up the front steps. The woman who blushed like a virgin when Max spoke with her four days ago was working again. She saw me coming and her eyes widened.

 

“C-can I help you, m-miss?” She asked uncertainly, while eyeing my attire.

 

I looked down and grimaced. My wedding dress that was white when I left my grandfather’s house was now stained with mud, but I didn’t give a shit. A week ago, when I bought it, I thought it was the shit. It came to rest at just about knee level. It was fitted at the top, and resembled a large ballerina tutu at the bottom. Pure white with sparkling sequins at the top, it made me feel beautiful and pretty. Now it just enraged me that I was ready and Max wasn’t out to marry me.

 

“Yes. You can take me to your Chief.” I commanded.

 

She picked up the phone and made a call. The Chief arrived a few minutes later looking aggravated that he’d been interrupted.

 

“What do you need, Mary?”

 

The blushing virgin, Mary, nodded her head into my direction.

 

“That would be me. I want my fiancé out, now. We’re getting married in fifteen minutes.”

 

“I’m sorry, I can’t help you. He’s being questioned right now. He’ll be out as soon as he can get out. This is all up to the judge now.” The Chief said.

 

I stared him down for a few seconds before saying, “Take me to him. Now.”

 

We stared at each other for a few minutes before his mouth twitched, and he motioned for me to follow him. We walked through the maze of hallways before he opened a door that read ‘Questioning in Progress” and let me through it. I stopped short when I saw that the room he led me to had a one-way mirror.

 

My gaze connected with Max’s form instantly. He was in a pair of jeans that fit him just right, and a black t-shirt. His face was sporting facial hair that would look god-awful in our wedding photos, but that was the least of my worries at the moment. He also looked to be sleeping. I smiled my first genuine smile in four days when I witnessed this. The man had an uncanny ability to sleep absolutely anywhere.

 

“Tremaine.” The detective that was questioning him shouted.

 

Max opened his eyes as if he was waking from a lazy afternoon nap. His eyes connected with the man questioning him, and he stared right through him. I shivered a little at the chill that emanated from him, and wrapped my arms around my middle.

 

“What?” He asked softly.

 

“Did you have sexual relations with this woman?” The detective asked.

 

Max didn’t even glance down when he answered. “No.”

 

“She was raped according to the autopsy. You were the last to be seen with her.” The detective explained.

 

Max studied him. He studied the detective for so long that he actually started to shift in his seat uncomfortably.

 

“She was raped before she left New Mexico. I’ve already told you that we were going to help her, yet you refuse to acknowledge that fact. What other way do I have to explain it to penetrate that thick skull of yours?”

 

The young detective started to lose some of his fine control. The Chief muttered “rookie” under his breath, while shaking his head. I watched intently as Max leaned forward slowly and asked, “What is it that you have against me?”

 

“I have nothing against you.” The detective visibly swallowed.

 

“Damn, he’s good.” The Chief surmised.

 

“So why is your pulse so high? Why are you clenching your fists under the table? Why are you so close to throwing up?” Max taunted.

 

“I’m not close to throwing up.” The detective squeaked.

 

“What’d she give you in exchange for you setting me up?” Max asked him.

 

The detective blanched. “I-I don’t k-know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Bingo.” The Chief said happily.

 

“You knew he was going to figure this out?” I asked perplexed.

 

“I knew the kid was up to something when he jumped to be on this case. He tried to get it from Richard, but I passed him over due to his inexperience. Max is hard headed; I knew he could get the confession out of him. I just needed this on tape.”

 

We watched for a few more minutes before Max finally broke him. It was uncanny how all he had to do was speak to him, and the detective admitted to everything. According to the detective, a little over a week ago a woman approached him and asked for his help. She’d threatened the man’s sister, and he had a bad feeling about it. He knew she was serious, too. She made him wear a wire to work every day, and, apparently, monitored his conversations throughout the day.

 

“You know, all you had to do was say something to somebody, and this would have been resolved. Now a young woman was brutalized and killed due to your stupidity.” Max said harshly.

 

There was no sympathy in his voice what so ever.

 

My temper spiked as I realized that Max was in here for four goddamned days just because the Chief had a traitor in his midst. It started as a small irritation, but then slowly wormed itself into a full-blown hissy.

 

My hand raised on its own volition and slammed itself against the one-way mirror. It landed with a sharp smack, making the Chief jump and Max to turn and eye the mirror. The young man was now on his knees crying, and that just added fuel to the fire. What did he have to cry about?

 

“So let me get this shit straight. You purposefully took the man I’m marrying away from me for four days. You made him miss Thanksgiving with his family. You made him sit inside a goddamned jail cell when he should have been with me? Do I understand you right?” I hissed.

 

The Chief took a visible step back and regarded me with worried eyes.

 

“I’m sorry, but it was necessary.”

 

“Can you let him go? We’re supposed to be getting married right now.” I ground out.

 

“Of course, honey. I hope that baby you’re carrying doesn’t end up a troublemaker like this one. He deserves it after all the shit he put me through.” The Chief said, as he gestured in Max’s direction with his head.

 

I didn’t feel like wasting my time, but if I did, I would have told him that I wasn’t a princess either. I was awful as a child, and he was lucky that he didn’t have Max and me in the same town growing up. We would have been trouble to the ninth degree. Plus I wanted to rip his balls off and feed them to him.

 

“Go get my groom.” I demanded.

***

Max

“You could have at least told me you were trying to flush someone out. I would’ve understood.” I said to the Chief.

 

“You’re right, I could have. Just thank that woman of yours, and get to the wedding before she castrates my entire force. She’s nuts.” He said.

 

“Payton’s here?” I asked startled.

 

I scanned the holding room, but didn’t see her anywhere.

 

“Yes, sir, she is. I’m lucky she didn’t lop my head off with the attitude she threw. She wasn’t happy, in the least, to know that I didn’t really have a reason for you to be here.” The Chief explained.

 

We rounded the corner to the lobby when my breath caught. Payton staring out the front door was the perfect sight for sore eyes. She was in a white strapless dress that hugged her curves flawlessly, and stopped about three inches above the knees. The skirt was full and fluffy, reminding me of a child’s dress that was meant to twirl around in; but she in no way, shape, or form resembled a child. Her boots had pointed toes that looked like they would hurt like a bitch to be kicked with; they even had fuckin’ spurs on them. Her hair was up in a proper up do with stray tendrils that slipped free. She looked so goddamned beautiful it took my breath away.

 

Feeling my hot stare, she turned quickly, and my eyes about popped out of my head. The top half was made of a corset-type thing. Her perky breasts were perfectly proportioned, but what flabbergasted me was the mud that splattered the front of her dress. Hell, now that I looked closer it was all over her boots, too.

 

“What the fuck is all over you?” I asked her.

 

“Well, I got stuck in your truck. Good thing your four wheel drive works!” She said teasingly before taking off at full speed and hitting me like a freight train. A tiny freight train. Well, maybe a caboose of a freight train.

 

Her legs curled around me, her spurs poked me in the ass, but that didn’t make me let her go. My arms went around her bottom to help support her, and I buried my face into the crook of her neck. She was wearing perfume, just subtle enough for me to smell it, but not enough to make me want to gag.

 

“God, I missed you.”

 

“I kind of missed you, too.” I said as I walked us both out the door.

 

Right as I got outside, thunder boomed, making my body feel alive.

 

“You know, Sam has a saying when it rains.”

 

“I’ve heard about his saying, Max. You’re ahead of the game on that one.” She said teasingly.

 

Sam liked to say it was ‘baby making weather’ whenever it rained so hard that you didn’t want to leave the comfort of your home. Kind of when the wind blows so hard the power gets knocked out, and with nothing left to do, you ‘make babies.’ The weather we were experiencing was definitely the perfect example of ‘baby making weather.’

 

“You got that right, honey.”

 

“So you’re happy?” She asked worriedly.

 

“The only thing that could make this moment better was if I wasn’t in jail the past four days.” I said teasingly right before my eyes caught sight of my truck. “What the heck happened to my truck?”

 

Payton looked over her shoulder and laughed. It was absolutely covered in mud from the wheel wells in the front to the very back. She even managed to get some on the back window, and that was extremely impressive when she wasn’t even trying.

 

“I got stuck in the front yard. I already told you!” She giggled.

 

Opening the passenger side door, I held it open while Alpha jumped in, and then placed Payton on the seat. I grabbed the seat belt and strapped her in, but stopped and rested my head on the softness of her belly. I gave it a soft kiss, and then jogged around the car once the skies opened up and a torrential downpour drenched me. A quick glance up at the sky showed me that the black clouds wouldn’t let up for a long time.

 

“Are we still getting married outside?”

 

“Um, not exactly.” She squirmed.

 

“What does that mean?” I asked carefully.

 

“What does what mean?” She evaded.

 

“You know what I asked, turd.” I said as I rolled my eyes.

 

“You’ll see.” She said mysteriously.

***

“I, Payton, take you, Max, to be my husband. I promise to care for you, even when you are being a titty baby about a minor cold. I promise to always make sure you are fed, but if you continue to leave your Little Debbie wrappers out, I will kick your ass. I promise if you fall in public, that I will turn around and laugh at the wall instead of at you. I know I may have some annoying habits, but I’m glad that you can overlook them and still love me anyway. I mean, I do the same for you. I promise to make sure to always spray the air freshener after you stay in the bathroom for forty-five minutes in the morning. I also promise to understand when our marriage is interrupted for hunting season.”

 

Laughter followed her proclamation, but I would not be one-upped.

 

“I, Max, take you Payton, to be my perfect little house wife. I promise to leave my socks and wrappers laying around, to give you something to do during the day instead of sitting on your ass. I promise to fix your car if it isn’t working right, but I’ll be damned if I let you borrow mine. That one is mine, not yours. I promise to watch most of what you want to watch on the TV. That does not include the show that has soldier’s returning home, nor does it include the baby show where all you do is cry. I have a dick, not a vagina. I promise not to freak out again like I did a few weeks ago when you asked me to go buy you tampons. Finally, I promise to try very hard to put the toilet seat down so you don’t fall in in the middle of the night like you did last week. I’m sorry your butt got wet.”

 

Payton was in tears by the time I finished. Her laughter was contained, but everyone else in the audience had no such concession. Bennett was guffawing, nearly falling out of his chair. The same went for Ember, Blaine, and Cheyenne. I gave my sister a wink, and returned my gaze to Payton.

 

“Well, then. By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss the bride.” Preacher Collins proclaimed.

 

Payton threw herself into my arms, and my mouth devoured hers. Catcalls went up through the room, and by the time my tongue found its way back into my own mouth, both of us were out of breath and panting in desire. A crowd of sixty wasn’t enough to dampen it either.

 

“So, Mrs. Tremaine, how does it feel?” I asked her as we walked down the aisle.

 

“How does what feel?” She asked.

 

“To be married to the sexiest person on the planet.”

***

“I can’t believe you rented a circus tent.” I said to Tony.

 

He gestured to Payton, who was dancing with her brother to some sappy song.

 

“Anything for my baby.”

 

He really did mean that, too. He would do anything when it came to his girl, and I only hoped that I lived up to the large shoes I had to fill when it came to parenting. My dad was one hell of a man, and so was Tony. I just wished my father would be here to witness the birth of his grandchild.

 

“Can you believe she got married in that?” Jessie asked Tony.

 

“Jess, honey, you know that girl is crazy. Who are we to tell her she can’t wear what she wants to wear? Moreover, she’s twenty-fucking-four years old. She’s old enough to make her own decisions.” Tony told his wife.

 

Jessie’s eye turned to me and glared. “And you!” She hissed and pointed to me. I put my hands up in a placating gesture, but it didn’t work so well when I had a beer in one hand and a piece of pizza in the other.

 

“What?” I mumbled around a bite of pizza.

 

“You couldn’t find something more suitable to wear? You had to come in jeans and a t-shirt that says ‘Tell your boobs to stop staring at me eyes’?” She sneered.

 

“I was in jail! I walked out of the police station and came straight here. Payton got mud all over her dress. Didn’t you spend a shit load of money on that thing?” I asked trying to divert her attention away from me.

 

“That’s true. We spent over eighteen hundred dollars on that dress. Payton tried to pay for it, but I told her that her daddy wanted to pay for it.” She smiled.

 

Tony’s beer sprayed out of his mouth, and he sputtered, “What?”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t I tell you?” She asked innocently.

 

I left them bickering, because soon it would turn into threats of death and dismemberment and I didn’t want to be around for that part of the argument. I scanned the room for Payton and found her at the far end of the tent jumping up trying to grab what looked like a pig in a blanket from Bennett’s out stretched arm. Bennett was laughing his ass off, and having too good of a time to see what she was in the process of doing.

 

She was just rearing back to kick him in the shin with those hell boots when I caught her up in my arms and hauled her back against my chest.

 

“Let me go, he’s trying to eat my wiener!”

 

“It’s not your wiener, it’s my wiener!” Bennett laughed.

 

“I’m gonna shove that wiener up your nose when he lets me go!” Payton threatened.

 

“You wouldn’t know what to do with a wiener the size of this.” Bennett said as he took a large bite of said wiener.

 

I tried not to be offended by the wiener comment.

 

“Don’t you know better than to steal food from a pregnant woman?”

 

Everyone froze what they were doing and faced us. Even the music cut off. Silence reigned through the tent, and only the pounding of the rain on the tent’s roof broke the silence.

 

“Uh, Max? I haven’t told anyone yet.” Payton said.

 

I watched as happiness filled those whose faces were right in the forefront of my vision and couldn’t help the smile that broke over my face.

 

“I can see that.”

 

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. There was no more wiener stealing, and she even got Bennett back for the food stealing by tripping him when he was carrying his drink back to the table, which he then spilled on his pants, making him look like he’d pissed them. I just hoped this family didn’t corrupt my poor innocent child; although, I knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

 

I was one lucky man, and in days and weeks to come, I would have to remember these good days, because dark times were on the horizon. I just hoped I’d be able to keep Payton and my family alive.