A Simple Life

20. 2

“Junk-punch—not just for adults.”

She lost it, slapping her hand over her mouth and laughing.

I wanted her to laugh. To see the twisted beauty behind the event. We would be adults and talk to Abby, but right now, Quinn needed this release.

“Someday you will remind her of this, and she’ll be horrified,” I said, pulling her close and kissing her.

“I hope it becomes a distant memory to her.”

“I hope she never forgets it,” I insisted. “And she isn’t being punished, right?”

“No,” she sighed. “The whole thing was punishment enough.”

“Good.”

I tugged her head to my chest. “Relax a bit, darlin’. I think we all need a bit of recovery time.”

She snuggled closer. “Yeah.”

I woke up to Abby’s smiling face looking at me. “Hey, Pumpkin.”

“Hi.”

I glanced at my watch. “We have to leave in about twenty minutes. Where’s Momma?”

“Right here.”

I looked over my shoulder to see Quinn in the corner. She was watching us quietly.

“Everything okay?”

Abby leaned closer. “Momma and me talked while you were sleeping.”

I was glad they’d had some time to discuss what had happened earlier. “I see.”

“I’m not in trouble.”

“No, you’re not.”

“But I won’t punch people.”

“Good plan.”

She dropped her voice, covering her mouth, as if telling me a secret. “You’re not supposed to teach me no more bad words, Farmer John. Momma says I’m like a parrot.”

I had to contain my smile. My bad words had been used perfectly today, but I knew I couldn’t say that. “Momma is right,” I said seriously. “No more punching or bad words.”

Then Abby smiled. “But Momma is going to put me in real karate classes!”

“Well, that’s a good idea.”

“I think another good idea is we get ready to go,” Quinn stated.

Abby scrambled off my chest. “I’ll get my shoes!”

I sat up. “She seems fine.”

“You were right, I think. She is fine. We talked, and I’m leaving it alone now.”

I stood and pulled her off the sofa. “Good. Can we forget about him and go back to the birthday celebrations?”

She smiled at me. “Yes.” She patted my chest. “Are you okay? I mean seeing, ah, her ?”

“The only thing I thought when I saw her was how grateful I was not to be him. And once I knew who he was, I decided he deserved whatever she did. I hope she drains him dry.”

“Even after your warning?”

I chuckled. “She’ll sweet-talk her way out of it. But at least I would have made her sweat a little. And he deserves what he gets. Between the epic junk-punch from Abby and the one coming from her eventually, he’s in for a world of pain.”

Amusement danced in her eyes. “Couldn’t happen to a better asshole.”

I nodded. “Cooties.”

She giggled. “Full of ’em.”

“How they met, I have no idea, but she has obviously recreated herself again. And this time, he was the idiot that fell for it. I think they’re both going to suffer.”

“She’s pretty,” Quinn offered. “He likes that.”

I shook my head. “She’s hard and fake. She might have the outside package he is looking for, but inside, she is a cesspool of greed and selfishness.” I trailed my fingers down her cheek. “You’re real. Beautiful—inside and out. There is nothing fake about you. And I love you.”

She kissed my finger resting on her cheek. “I love you.”

I winked. “Now, let’s go make some more great memories, darlin’.”

“I’d love to.”

The rest of the afternoon was a quandary. There were moments of laughter. Lots of smiles from Abby, but Quinn’s seemed forced at times. I caught her more than once looking upset, but when she would see me studying her, she forced a smile to her face and a lighthearted tone to her voice. Internally, I cursed running into her ex. He had spoiled what should have been a perfect day for Quinn. Secretly, I wished I’d had the chance for one good punch myself.

Instead, I was living vicariously through a child who had the satisfaction of throwing said punch.

The boat ride was wonderful, the sun and breeze refreshing, the views of the city spectacular. Quinn finally relaxed and seemed to be enjoying herself. We took turns pointing out different things to Abby, who, as usual, asked lots of questions.

I got her a gooey funnel cake, and we sat at a table, watching the city as it went by.

“Wow,” Quinn said in amazement, looking at the horizon. “Too many buildings.”

I chuckled. “Too many people.”

Quinn leaned her head on my shoulder. “I like our view better.”

I pressed a kiss to her head. “Me too.”

When the boat docked, we took a walk, then headed back to the hotel. Abby wanted a bubble bath, so Quinn filled the tub, adding bubbles, and left her happily singing a made-up song about her boat ride.

I watched Quinn for a few moments, curious. Something had been off since she and Abby had talked. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but Quinn was too quiet. I needed to know what had upset her. Did it have to do with the talk with Abby, or was the earlier incident still playing on repeat in her head?

She stood by the window, staring out at the skyline. I wrapped my arms around her. “Miss the city?”

“No.”

I buried my head into her neck. “Miss our little Richton?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll go home in the morning.”

“Good.”

“You okay?”

“I’m good,” she replied too quickly.

“Quinn…”

She turned in my arms, looking troubled.

“What is it?”

“Would you be upset if we didn’t go to dinner? If we stayed here and ordered in room service?”

“If you wanted to go home, I’d be okay with it. Whatever you want to do, Quinn. Today is your day. Whatever makes you happy.”

“You do. You make me happy.”

“Then why do you look so sad?”

She hesitated, and I took her hands. “I thought we were past you hiding from me.”

She looked down at our joined fingers. A tear splashing on my skin made me hold them tighter.

“Tell me.”

Her voice shook when she spoke. “She thought he was going to hit me. That’s why she punched him.”

I had thought the same thing from the furious look on his face, which was why I had started to block him. But hearing Quinn’s words, my rage was instant. “I thought you said he didn’t hit you.”

“He hit me once, years ago. But he knew the words hurt more, so he used those as his weapon of choice. But he liked to grab me, scream in my face. I learned to tell when he was about to. His hand would flex, the way it did just before—” She swallowed and met my eyes. “I didn’t know she saw that too.”

“That bastard.”

“How can a small child notice something like that?” she whispered. “She never said anything to me until today.”

“She is incredibly smart,” I assured her. “She gets that from you.”

“I should have left sooner.”

“You left when you could. Stop beating yourself up. Stop questioning your choices. You can’t change them.” I lifted her chin to mine. “She is fine, Quinn. Thriving, even. And today hasn’t set her back. Listen to her singing, telling her dolphin friend her stories. She’s happy. She’s safe. I know it sounds stupid, but junk-punching him was probably therapeutic for her. She knows she doesn’t have to fear him. And she has us. We’ll make sure she stays okay. We’ll find a therapist if you think she needs one. But, baby…stop, please.” I shook my head. “I wish I had kicked his ass. I still want to. He needs a good beatdown. Especially with this new information.” I huffed. “If I had known that, I would have taken him out. Put him in the hospital. I’m still tempted.”

“I don’t want you near him. I need you. I need you with me.”

I folded her into my arms. “I am. Now, I need you with me. In the present.”

“Ask me what I miss the most about Richton.”

“What?” I asked fondly.

“The farm.” Her lips trembled. “I don’t want to go back to my house tomorrow. I want to stay with you.”

Delight flooded me. I cupped her face. “Quinn, baby. Are you sure?”

“I don’t want to wait to be happy. You make me happy. You make Abby happy. You’re right. You’re it for us too, John. We both love you.”

I tugged her close. “Then we’ll have our own party in the room with our girl and order in whatever you want. Tomorrow, we’ll go home, and you’ll stay.” I drew in a long breath. “On one condition.”

Easing back, she frowned, tensing. “Which is?”

“You stay—as my wife.”

Her eyes widened.

“Marry me, Quinn. Let me adopt Abby. Let’s be a real family. Let’s make sure nothing and nobody can take her away from us.”

She was speechless.

“Quinn and Abby Elliott has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

She flung her arms around my neck.

“Yes!”

QUINN

Richton came into view, and I sighed happily. I glanced at John, who met my eyes and winked. He knew how much I wanted to come home. Last night, I had no doubt that if I said I wanted to leave right then, he would have calmly checked us out, driven us home, and never uttered another word about it.

But we stayed. Ordered room service. Watched a silly movie with Abby. He understood without saying a word that I simply couldn’t leave her last night. Not with what had happened and what she had confessed to me.

“I would hear yelling and look, Momma,” she whispered. “He was always mad. And his hand pumped. I saw it yesterday and thought he was gonna hurt you. I had to stop him.”

My heart had cracked at her words.

I had cupped her face and pressed kisses everywhere. “You are so brave, baby. But it’s my job to look after you. Your job is to be a little girl.”

She had smiled up at me. “Now that Farmer John found us, I can. He protects us.”

John was right. She was smart beyond her years. “Yes, he does.”

“He loves us. He told me.”

“He told me too.”

I smiled in happiness as we turned up the driveway to the farm. Home. I was home.

I had felt more at home here in the past days than I had ever felt anywhere in my adult life. John was home. With him, I was safe. Loved.

And I was never leaving this place, or him, again.

John stopped the truck and turned off the ignition. “We’re home, family.”

Family.

I finally had it.

“So, I asked Quinn to marry me,” John said casually as we sipped coffee after dinner at Laura’s dining room table. She had gone all out, making a delicious meal and having a birthday cake for me. There had even been a few gifts. Thoughtful, heartfelt ones I would use and love.

I watched Laura carefully for her reaction, worried she would feel it was too soon and we were rushing into it. Instead, there was only joy as she sprang from her chair and hugged me, then John. Bob followed suit and shook John’s hand. He glanced at his wife with a wink.

“You called it, honey.”

John looked at his sister. “Called what?”

Laura laughed as Bob explained. “She came home from the town hall meeting and told me you’d be married before the fall. Probably sooner. And she was right.”

John gaped at her. “You thought that back then?”

Laura shook her head. “You couldn’t vote against her. You were trying so hard to hold on to your curmudgeonly ways, but they were already slipping. I saw the way you looked at her when you thought no one was looking.” She threw a wink at me. “And how you glanced at him, Quinn. I could feel the connection between you.”

“So you threw out the swing suggestion?” John questioned her.

“Once you let it slip you had kissed her, I knew I had to push you along.” She shrugged. “It worked, didn’t it?”

John laughed. “Yeah, it did.”

“When and where is the wedding happening?” Then she frowned. “Why aren’t you wearing a ring? Was it too big? How did you propose? After dinner? Tell me all the details.”

We exchanged glances.

“Ah, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. No ring. Nothing fancy.”

Laura frowned. “You don’t have a ring?”

“I don’t need one. I have his heart. I’d like a band once we get married, but we need to work out all the details.”

“What aren’t you telling us?”

John looked over his shoulder. The kids were playing outside on the trampoline. He drew in a deep breath and told them the story of my birthday. They listened, their eyes growing round as John told them about what Abby had done. I added what she had told me and how I needed to stay close. John finished with him asking me to stay and be his wife.

For a moment, they said nothing, then Bob snickered.

“Dammit, I wish I had seen the takedown.”

Laura grinned. “I bet it was epic.”

John grinned. “It was.”

We shared a laugh, especially when John reenacted the way Preston fell. “What a wimp. She’s a quarter of his size. I’m surprised she even found anything to hit.”

I chuckled. Compared to John, Preston was certainly lacking in size and knowledge. Sex with him had never been great, but he’d always told me it was my fault. I knew differently now.

Laura shook her head. “How is it she is so like you with no shared DNA?”

“What?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?”

She leaned forward, happy to tell her story.

“You were about ten. It was later in the day, and Dad was in the storeroom. Mom had a difficult customer who was arguing with her at the counter. You didn’t like how aggressive he was being, and suddenly, you grabbed a rake from the display beside the register and told this guy to back off and leave your mother alone. I ran and got Dad. He calmed everyone down, and the customer apologized and left. You were so upset, and Dad took you out back. I thought you were going to get punished for yelling at a customer, so I followed to ask him not to. But Dad hugged you and said he was proud of you for protecting your mom. After he closed the store, he took us all out for ice cream, but you got a triple scoop.” She tilted her head. “You don’t recall that?”

John huffed out a laugh. “Now that you reminded me, I do.” He grinned at me. “I guess Pumpkin is like me. Must be the farmer gene that has kicked in.”

We all laughed.

He winked. “I’m good with that.”

I leaned forward and kissed him. “Me too.”

Laura clapped her hands. “Okay, let’s discuss this wedding.”

I sat on the porch, the cool of the evening welcome. Abby was asleep in her bed, tucked up with Enid, Fluffy, and Flipper, the new dolphin. She was happy and content. She had had no nightmares last night, and not once had she mentioned her father or what had happened. John was right. It was a moment, and she wasn’t dwelling on it, so neither was I.

We had chatted about various options with Laura. All we really knew was we wanted to be married soon and it would be small.

I liked the idea of being married here, in the backyard, with his family and a few friends. The only people I would invite would be Cathy and her family and my staff.

John seemed fine with it, although Laura had a place she wanted me to see. I agreed because she seemed so excited to show it to me.

John came out, sitting next to me, but first dropping a kiss to my mouth. “Hey.”

I cupped his face, bringing it back to mine. “Hi.”

He rocked for a moment. “You don’t have to go look at this place with Laura. She’s just excited.”

“I don’t mind.”

“She says it’s pretty.” He bumped my foot with his. “I want you to have pretty.”

I reached out my hand, and we laced our fingers together.

“The fireflies are busy tonight,” I observed.

“They are.” He looked thoughtful. “Maybe we could get married in the evening and have little blinking lights.”

“That would be nice,” I agreed.

He sighed. “Laura gave me shit.”

“About?”

“I told you I loved you in a totally unromantic way. I asked you to marry me without getting on one knee, no ring, and no flowery promises. She says I botched it up.”

I shook my head. “I disagree. I love that you told me for no reason. And your proposal was said with love. I don’t need the flowery promises. I need you. Your heart. Your love.”

“You have it. All of it. But if you like the pretty place, I want you to have that too, okay?”

I smiled. “Okay.”

He stood, holding out his hand. “Let’s go to bed, darlin’. I’ve got some fireflies lighting up my pants I want to show you.”

I let him pull me from the chair. “I can hardly wait to see.”

It was Friday before we made it to see the venue. The week had been busy at the restaurant and on the farm. Still, John found time to load up my furniture and bring it out to the farm, rebuilding the bedroom set in the other guest room for Abby, who was beyond thrilled we were staying. I wasn’t sure her feet were touching the ground yet. Every day, John would appear at the restaurant and follow me to the house to help me pack up a few boxes to add to our ever-growing invasion of the farmhouse. But his smile never left his face, and last night, I had looked around, amazed how quickly emptying the place had happened. It helped when your landlord owned the house, had family and staff with trucks, and was determined not to give you a chance to change your mind.

Not that I would. He made me too happy.

Laura picked me up since John told me he was really busy with some farm work that afternoon. Abby had a playdate with Bethy, which gave me the time to go and see the venue.

“If you like it, I’ll come with you next week,” he assured me.

We pulled up to a nice homestead, the lawn green and the flowers swaying in the breeze. Laura followed the driveway around back and parked in the large lot, pointing at a small building. “That’s it. It’s called Shades of Light.”

“How did you find out about it?”

“It’s my client’s. She is getting ready to open it, and she agreed to let you see it and use it as a practice run if you want it.”

Her phone rang, and she looked at the screen. “I have to take this. Go in and see what you think.”

I approached the building, taking in the old wood, the charming elements of the flowers and shrubs, the small rock fountains bubbling away in the sun, and the soaring pitch to the roof. Inside, I stood in awe. The ceiling was all glass, as was the back wall that looked out onto a wooded area. There were fairy lights everywhere. Beams and huge wooden pillars that soared twenty feet in the air. More flowers and decorations. The room was set up with tables and would easily hold sixty people or more, depending on how it was arranged. I could already see it at night with candles flickering, the stars overhead, and music playing. Laura had told me there was another building that housed a kitchen for catering and a space for the wedding parties to prepare in. I walked to the back, staring at the trees. I could see they, too, were strung with lights, and I could only imagine them at night.

The building was beyond pretty, and suddenly, I desperately wanted to marry John here. I knew he’d love it as well.

I heard the door open behind me and footsteps.

“I wish John could see this,” I said.

“Well then, darlin’, you got your wish.”

I spun with a gasp. Behind me stood John, holding Abby, who was beaming. She clutched flowers in her arms. “Hi, Momma.”

I had to swallow before speaking. “Hi, baby.” I walked toward them. “What are you doing here?”

John nudged Abby with a wink. “Being romantic.”

She giggled and extended the flowers my way. I took them, kissing her cheek, then rising on my toes to kiss John.

He smiled. “Beautiful.”

“It is.”

“I meant you.”

“Oh.”

He pulled out a chair, indicating I should sit. Once I did, he set Abby on my knee.

“I like this place.”

“I think it would be magical at night.”

He nodded, then dropped to a knee in front of me. “Let’s add a little day magic, okay?”

“John,” I whispered, feeling breathless. “What are you?—”

“Shh, Momma. He needs to talk,” Abby said, tapping her lips.

I nodded, the tears already forming in my eyes even as I grinned at her bossiness.

“I’m not good at romantic gestures, Quinn, but I’d like to spend the rest of my life getting better at them. With you.”

He took in a deep breath. “You agreed to marry me as part of a demand, and I think your life has had too many demands already. I want it to be because you want to. I want you to marry me as much as I want to marry you. We both want a simple life, but I think, together, we’ll make it extraordinary.”

He reached out and took my hand and Abby’s. “I want to marry you both. Make you my family. We can start with the three of us and build from there. Make a life together. With me, your hearts are safe. You are safe. You belong with me.”

He dug in his pocket and pulled out a flat box, handing it to Abby. She opened it and squealed at the pretty gold pumpkin with tiny emeralds for eyes. “You stole my heart with your smile, Pumpkin. Can I marry your momma and be your daddy for the rest of my life?”

She launched herself at him, hugging him hard. “Yes!”

He sat her on his knee. “Your turn, Quinn. I know you said you didn’t need a ring, but I wanted you to have one.” He indicated the bow on the flowers. “That one is very special to me. I never thought I would meet a woman amazing enough to give it to, but you have proven me wrong.”

I looked down, picking up the ribbon, where a ring sat. The wide gold band was dotted with emeralds and diamonds. Small, twinkly gems that glimmered in the light. “This belonged to my gram. My gramps gave it to me with the farm and told me one day I’d find the right person to share both with. And darlin’—that’s you.” He swallowed and paused. “Will you marry me, Quinn? Make my life complete? Let me belong to you?”

Unable to speak, I nodded. He took the ring off the ribbon, sliding it on my finger.

He smiled. “Perfect. Just like you.”

Then he kissed me.

And I knew my life had changed forever.

John was right. Together, we would be extraordinary.

It was as simple as that.