22
CAROLINE
“Forever and Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis
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“I don’t want to wait,” I tell him, helping him pack up the rest of our lunch. He stops folding the blanket we finally climbed off of to actually eat the lunch I was cleaning up, but seeing the material in his arms against his naked chest makes me want him all over.
“Wait for what, darlin’?”
I place the last empty storage container into the basket before looking back at him. The rush of him loving me is still surging through my body and mingling with the euphoric high I’ve had since he knelt in front of me, making me feel as if I could take on the world and win it. And right now, becoming his wife is just as grand in my mind of owning the world would be.
“To become your wife,” I answer confidently. No more, not with him, will the shy Caroline Michaels hold back because of her insecurities.
His shoulders move in silent laughter. “What makes you think I’d want to wait?”
“That’s usually what happens, honey. Man asks woman, woman spends every waking moment planning her dream wedding until months of stress and preparation form the most perfect day that you’ll ever experience.”
His lips twitch before he smiles his heart-stopping grin. His green eyes squint as his smile grows. “Darlin’, you planning on takin’ that long?”
I shake my head. “Well, no.”
“How long you need?”
I tilt my head, thinking about it, but don’t get far before he starts laughing deeply. He tosses the blanket on top of the picnic basket a second before his arms are around me. The light peppering of hair against his rock-hard chest tickles my palms and I regret getting dressed before we ate when my nipples harden. I love the feel of his chest hair against my skin as he takes me.
“Linney?”
“Hmm?” I answer, rubbing my hands over him.
“How long do you need?”
“For what?” I lick my lips when I feel him grow harder, the length of him no match for the denim covering it.
“Baby.” He laughs.
I blink, looking from his chest to his face. “Don’t laugh at me, mister.”
“You loved me hard, Linney, then you still let me take you slow. My cock shouldn’t have anything left, but with you lookin’ at me like that it damn sure does. How about you answer me and I can get you home, in our bed, with my cock buried deep.”
I feel his words dance through my body, lighting a fire of need in their path, wetness dampening my panties.
“I forgot the question,” I tell him honestly, breathless for him.
“How much time,” he starts, pressing his mouth to mine quickly, lifting his head to smile down at me, “do you need to plan our weddin’?”
“None,” I hum, pressing myself closer and shifting my hands to glide over his skin until I’ve got a palm against each side of his neck and my face tipped up to look into his. “I don’t need any time, Clayton. I just need you.”
“Baby,” he responds thickly.
“I don’t want anything big, Clayton,” I say. “Your family, Lucy and Luke. That’s it, honey. I don’t want to wait weeks, months, years. We’ve both wasted too much time in our lives while we dealt with our ugly in order to find our beauty. I don’t need to continue to waste time now that it’s even more precious. I just want you. You and me and whatever blessings we find together.”
“You sure you don’t want somethin’ big?”
“Why, Clayton? You have your brother and sister, their families, and I have Lucy and Luke. There aren’t grandparents; my parents and yours didn’t have siblings. I don’t want the town turnin’ our weddin’ into somethin’ crazy because they’re just nosy. All we need is a small ceremony, our family together, and us.”
He drops his forehead to mine, smiling. “I like that, Linney.”
“I don’t want to wait,” I reiterate.
“Then don’t. I wouldn’t have asked you to be my wife if I wasn’t ready to make that happen. You aren’t the only one not wantin’ to wait, darlin’. I don’t want you lookin’ back and wishin’ you had some big weddin’ though either.”
“I would never.”
“Then, Caroline, don’t wait.”
“The whole town’s goin’ to think you knocked me up. They went crazy when news got out about us livin’ together, I can only imagine what they’ll think when they hear about us bein’ engaged.”
His eyes flash, something I don’t quite understand flickering there for only a second before vanishing. I feel his heart thundering against my chest as the silence continues. His throat bobbles when he swallows.
“Clayton?”
He clears his throat.
“I don’t want to rush you,” I finally say when it becomes clear he isn’t going to stop staring at me mutely. My words get his attention, but I keep going. “I’d marry you tomorrow, but I don’t want to rush you.”
“Tomorrow will still be longer than I care to wait.”
“What?”
“Caroline,” he breathes, “I’ve had that ring for damn near the whole time we’ve been together. I had you one night and it took everything inside of me to walk away. I might be a foolish man, but when I saw you at the girls’ baby shower, I knew I wasn’t strong enough to walk away a second time. Every single day since, I’ve been ready, and every day from this moment will feel like it’s not soon enough. Trust me when I say there isn’t a damn way to rush somethin’ that every second you don’t get it feels like a lifetime.”
“Oh,” I say lamely.
“Take the time you need to plan the weddin’ you want. Small, big, or in between. Just don’t take that much time, darlin’.”
“I won’t,” I mutter.
“That’s good, Linney. That’s damn good.”
He lets me go with a short kiss. Silently, we finish cleaning up and stacking the things he’ll pick up later on top of the table. I take one last look at the land around us and feel lighter than I’ve ever felt in my life. His words from earlier return and I can almost see our future kids running around the green grass around us. One day, one day that’s going to be ours, and I can’t hardly wait for it.
The ride back to the ranch is a lot easier—Onyx proved himself to be trustworthy already. I imagine it will take some time for me to get over my fears, but I no longer look at Onyx as part of that. He’s been patient with me and I know, deep down, that Clayton was right when he said there’s a bond between the dark beauty and myself. During the time I’ll have to wait to reopen The Sequel, I hope to learn more from Clayton when it comes to riding. A horse as perfect as Onyx deserves that.
We pass a few ranch hands working with a couple of Clayton’s newer horses in the riding course that’s set up between the Davis personal horse barn and the huge one that houses their stock, for lack of a better word, on the way back. Ignoring them, Clayton continues until we both have our feet on the ground and I’ve finished the last task that he’s coached me through in getting Onyx ready to go back in his stall.
I caress the horse’s neck, not really ready to leave. “I’m goin’ to be back in the mornin’, handsome.”
Clayton laughs. “Handsome?”
I look over my shoulder at him. “Uh, yeah. Look at him.”
“Such a nut,” he mutters, walking Dell down to his own stall.
“Clay,” I hear someone call from outside the barn right before one of the younger cowboys comes in. His eyes go straight to me but shift back to Clayton when Clay makes a disapproving sound deep in his throat. “Sorry, Mr. Davis. Drew had to run to town and you didn’t bring your phone or the radio, but your brother’s been callin’.”
“For how long?” Clayton questions, walking to me and taking my hand before heading toward the younger man. He pauses to grab his hat, placing it back on his head while waiting for a reply.
“Reckon ’bout a half hour ago, maybe close to an hour now.”
“Thank, Tim,” Clayton says, walking right out of the barn and toward the house.
“Is everything okay?” I quicken my pace to keep up with his long legs but feel like I’m more jogging than walking.
“He knew what was goin’ on, darlin’. Only reason he’d be callin’ is if it’s important. Seein’ that Leighton is so close to havin’ the baby, I’m guessin’ that’s why.”
“You’ll get to your phone quicker if you go ahead, honey,” I rush out, pulling my hand from his hold. “Meet you in the house. I’m goin’ to run to my car and grab my phone so I can call Quinn.”
He nods sharply, turning to continue up to the main house. I quickly snatch up my phone before sprinting back toward the house. I pull Quinn’s name up and press the phone to my ear before I even reach the porch steps.
“Are y’all on the way?” she questions when the call connects.
“About to be. Is everything okay?”
“I think so. I haven’t talked to Maverick since he called to say it was time. We had to wait for Jana to get to the house so she could watch Grayson. Tate’s tryin’ to get some information with his doctor magic.”
Clayton comes barreling down the hallway, phone to his ear. “That Quinn?”
I nod. “Here’s your brother, Quinn.”
His breathing is harsh when he takes the phone and places it to his ear. “Quinnie?” Whatever she says to him must ease some of the worry, because his shoulders loosen up and he closes his eyes before exhaling slowly. “We’re on the way.”
He hands me back my phone and visibly struggles with his emotions. “I’ll never be able to hold my shit together when it’s you about to have a baby. I feel like I’m too big for my skin right now. I’ve watched those two fight for this moment for damn near our whole lives. Knowin’, like us, they could have never found it because of that shit they had to deal with in order to do so. This baby of theirs is somethin’ we’ve all of us been waitin’ for so long to meet. I can’t imagine, feelin’ this much over their child, what you givin’ me one of our own will do to me. Never, not until you, did I ever want this for myself. To my knees, Linney, thinkin’ about somethin’ as perfect as our future children brings me to my knees.”
“Oh, Clayton.” I wrap my arms around him and hug him tight.
“I don’t want to wait either, darlin’,” he says against my temple, his head bent and his arms around me. “There’s nothin’ better than travelin’ with you and doin’ it in a way that we don’t waste a second of our time hesitatin’ in takin’ what we want. You’ve got two weeks. Two weeks, and I’m not goin’ to wait any longer than that.”
“Two weeks,” I echo breathlessly.
“Not a day more.”
By the time we make it to the hospital, Tate was able to find out that Leigh was being prepped for a cesarean section. Her baby is just too big and the natural birth she’s been hoping for is out of the question. Tate assured both Quinn and Clayton that they had nothing to worry about, but even with him explaining how common this is, it’s still major surgery. That was almost three hours ago, and even Tate has some worry in his eyes now.
The tension in our area of the waiting room is thick, but when the doorway opens to reveal a crying, smiling Maverick, that tension vanishes instantly. I look over at Tate and smile, both of us letting the two waiting Davis siblings go to their brother first.
“Congratulations,” Tate says after Clayton and Quinn reach Maverick’s side.
“Huh?” I respond in confusion, not taking my eyes off Clayton. When he grabs his brother by the shoulders and pulls him into his arms, I feel the burn of tears start. When both of them drop their foreheads to the other’s shoulder, Clayton’s hat falling carelessly at his feet, and both their arms tighten as they embrace, I know I’m not going to be able to keep my tears in as I witness such strong men be overcome by their emotions. Then, as if they practiced the move their whole lives—each man lifts the arm closest to where Quinn is standing out. She moves instantly, all but diving into their embrace with her arms going around each brother.
“They’ve been through a lot of shit in their lives,” Tate whispers, moving to the seat next to me. “Thick and thin, those three have been each other’s rocks through the worst of it, only sharing that responsibility recently. Maverick findin’ Leighton. Quinn and me. Now you and Clay. Lot of time has passed since they were young kids livin’ a shit life without the love of anyone other than each other, but when you get right down to it, they’re always goin’ to need each other’s support.”
I blink furiously, trying to get my stupid tears to back off, but when Maverick lifts his head and looks at me with his piercing emerald eyes swollen and wet, I feel them start to fall. His don’t stop, but he smiles at me with a small nod before bending his head back to his brother’s shoulder.
“Felt that when Gray was born. There’s no way to explain what you feel when your child is born. Not sayin’ that my son’s birth wasn’t as important, but for them, this is so much more. Me and you, we weren’t around for all of it, but you know as well as I do that they had a dark childhood. Leighton was there. She loves my wife as a sister. Your man as a brother. And her husband owns the rest of her heart. Those three, they finally have it all, and more importantly, they know it. Makes moments like this hit a little harder because there was a time they all thought this would never happen.”
“Their gifts,” I whisper.
“Pardon?” Tate asks.
I look away from the huddle across the room and smile at Quinn’s husband. “It’s their gift for all that ugly they survived.”
I don’t think I really believed Clayton when he told me that months ago, but there are no doubts now. I’ve seen it in Clayton during the course of our relationship, but never as clearly as I do today. I spin the ring on my hand, loving the weight of it, and grin when I realize just how much of a gift my Davis has received today.
“Yeah, you get it.”
“I do, Tate. I totally do.”
“Like I said, congratulations.” He taps my hand, stilling my fingers.
“Thanks,” I breathe, opening my mouth to say more but snapping it shut when I see the siblings release each other and turn to us.
“That’s our cue.”
We both stand and walk over to them.
“I knew it!” Quinn exclaims with a shake to her voice when her husband reaches her side. “Since I was six years old, Tate. I’ve always known it.”
I glance at Maverick, seeing him look down at his boots, but not hiding the smile on his face. Clayton pulls me to his side and I wrap one arm around his back, place my other hand against his hard stomach, and tip my head up to look at him. His eyes are wet and red, but his smile is huge.
“I’ve got a niece,” he tells me in a soft voice full of happiness.
“I knew it!” Quinn cries out again. “What’s her name?”
Maverick looks up, his lips tipping even further.
“Promised Leighton I’d let her tell y’all.”
“Well, bucko, what are we waitin’ for? Take me to my niece!”
Maverick smiles at his sister and we all follow the new daddy down the hallway. Clayton’s been quiet since his brother came into the waiting room, but every time I glance at him he just smiles, so I leave him to his thoughts, knowing he’s anxious to meet the newest member of his family.
We stop behind Maverick when he reaches a closed door. James, their last name since he took Leighton’s when they married, is written under the room number.
“She’s still tired but didn’t want to wait,” he rumbles low, looking down at his hand on the doorknob. “I’d keep y’all here with us all night, but I’m askin’ because I need this time with my wife and daughter. Please, keep it short tonight.”
“I swear, if you don’t get your tail outta my way, I’ll take you out.”
“Quinn, I mean it.”
I look at her as she rolls her eyes. “I know you do, big brother, and I think you understand that I get you. Now get out of my way so I can see my sister and hold the niece you denied me for years, and then I’ll leave.”
Maverick nods at his sister as Tate and I laugh lightly when she starts pushing into the room before the door’s even open all the way. Clayton hangs back while Tate enters, causing Maverick to glance his way.
“I spent ten years worried you’d never come home,” Clayton tells Maverick, his words low. “Ten years I felt nothin’ but fear that I’d lost my brother because I couldn’t protect him enough to keep him here. I’m so happy for you right now. Seein’ you overcome all that pushed you away and kept you gone to find what you were always meant to have . . .” He pauses as his arm tightens around my shoulders. “You made it possible with all that for me to be able to see what I was meant to have. I’m so fuckin’ proud to call you my brother, Mav.”
“I’m just goin’ to . . .” I point toward the open door and try to step out from under Clayton’s arm.
His head tips down to look at me. “Don’t you dare move.”
“We’re all gettin’ what we were meant to have, brother,” Maverick says, breaking the staring contest I had apparently entered with Clayton as we both look to him. “You’ll be in my shoes sooner rather than later, I reckon.” He steps closer to his big brother and lowers his voice. “Don’t let me hear you say you didn’t protect me again, Clay. You’ve always done that. You did it when I was a kid, when I left, and you continued doin’ it when you look care of Leigh when I didn’t. I overcame all that because I had the love of a good woman and the support of you and Quinn. Don’t forget it was you who helped me see my way to her. Means the world to hear you’re proud of me, seein’ that you were the man who taught me how to be one myself.”
I don’t hesitate to step away from Clayton when Maverick finishes, walking into the hospital room and leaving them to have the rest of that moment privately.
An hour later, much to Quinn’s irritation, the four of us walk out of the hospital, leaving Leighton and baby Laelynn Quinn James resting peacefully in Maverick’s strong arms.