Chapter Thirty-Seven
Phoebe
Ijust finish frosting the carrot bars with cream cheese frosting when Tucker’s motorcycle exhaust catches my attention. He left before I woke up, and he didn’t wake me when he got home. If I hadn’t found his note—or woken up in bed—I wouldn’t even know he was back from Vegas.
“Hey, look who’s up,” Tucker says, and smiles at me as he steps into the kitchen.
He hasn’t taken off his boots, and I’m a little upset he’s leaving again. We haven’t had a chance to talk about everything that happened yesterday.
Or our confessions.
“Hey,” I say. “Are you leaving again? I just made you carrot bars.”
“How long will they keep?”
My heart sinks. “A few days in the fridge. Do you have to leave on a run?”
I’m still not sure what a run consists of, but Tucker hasn’t gone since I came to stay with him. Now that the threat of his family is… dead, he doesn’t have a reason to stick close to home anymore.
His home.
That’s what I hoped we’d talk about today. I don’t really know what the expectations are now. Yes, he loves me, but my place isn’t really a danger to me anymore. What does this mean for us?
It’ll feel weird if we go back to living separately. It’ll be like we’re dating even though we basically lived together for a couple of weeks.
“Nope, you’re coming on a trip with me.”
I frown. “I am?”
“Already talked to Sarah, and she’s going to make sure the bakery is running smoothly until you get back. And Sandy and Merv said they can handle everything at the café, so you’re free as a bird.”
He wants to take a trip with me? “Where are we going?”
“That’s a surprise. But I’ve rented a car because it’ll be a lot for you on the back of the bike, and I wasn’t sure if you’d be up for that long of a trip.”
“How do I know what to pack?”
“You won’t need much,” he says with a smirk and a wink.
Something about Tucker is different. I can’t quite pinpoint it, but when he smiles, it’s more than natural. Like his cheek muscles aren’t rebelling against it.
“When do we leave?”
“Right now.”
“Right… now?”
Biting his lower lip, he smiles and wiggles his eyebrows. “What you’re wearing will be perfect. And we’ll buy anything needed while we’re there.”
“Like… underwear?”
“Baby, I’ll buy you all the panties you want. As long as I get a private showing of them.”
I flush and cut a carrot bar before placing it on a paper towel. “Okay, but you need to try this before we leave. I don’t want your first bite to be after they’ve gone stale.”
Rather than take it from me, he opens his mouth, and I feed him. He seems almost… playful. And it’s really, really hot.
“That’s good,” he says, wiping frosting from the corner of his mouth. “And just like Mom made.”
“Really?”
Knowing how nostalgic they are, that’s the highest compliment he could give me. “Really. Now, we gotta go. We can’t be gone too long.”
“Yeah, we have work to get back to,” I say, covering the bars and putting the pan in the fridge.
Tucker doesn’t move, and I cross my arms under my chest. The wounds aren’t that deep on my wrists from the lovely metal bracelets his father and brother gave me, but they are deep enough to leave scars.
“That’s not why. Baby, I have some bad news.”
My heart pounds, and I hear my pulse in my ears. “What?”
I have no idea what he could tell me. Is there retaliation for what he did to his father and brother? Are we in danger? Is this going to require me to change my name, dye my hair dark, and go into hiding?
“Misty’s complications with the baby are worse than they originally thought. She had a situation come up while we were gone yesterday.”
Guilt takes over. Zep was in Las Vegas to help me while Misty needed him here? “Is she okay? Is the baby?”
“Yes, but there’s a higher risk of her losing the baby now. And it’s risky for her, too.”
“Tucker, we can’t leave. What if she needs us? You’re the first person Zep called before—”
“He wants us to go,” he interrupts. “And when we’re back, we’re on-call. If anything happens, we’ll be on Bernie duty while they handle things. But he told us to take the trip.”
Why would he do that? He and his family need us. What could be so important?
“I don’t feel right about this.”
“Misty demanded it. As long as when we get back, you make her more of those cupcakes.”
“Are you—”
His lips crash against mine, and I melt against him. He hasn’t kissed me since I was taken, and I was worried he thought I might be broken. How I reacted still has me mortified, but he saved me. He just keeps saving me.
“Please?”
“How can I say no to that?” I ask with a giggle. “We’re really going without anything packed?”
He nods. “We have to drive the bike to get the car, so I don’t have room for a suitcase, anyway. But we’ll figure it out.”
“We always do.”
Driving to Las Vegas was the last thing I expected. And being brought to a cemetery was even less expected.
“Tucker, what are we doing here?” I ask, holding his hand as he walks with purpose.
“I need you to meet someone,” he says.
I don’t have to read Joanna’s name when I see her picture. She was beautiful. And the opposite of me. Even though it’s etched in granite, I can tell. It’s no wonder Tucker loved her so much.
“Hey, Jo. I need you to meet someone. This is Phoebe. The woman who helped me find my heart again after I thought it was long dead.”
I expect sadness in his tone. Maybe longing. Instead, there’s pride.
“Hi, Joanna. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“What you don’t know—what I didn’t know until yesterday—was that Joanna only started dating me to help her father kill me.”
My jaw drops, and I turn to study Tucker. He’s serious. And doesn’t look that upset. “What?”
“Yep. Our love started on a lie. She fell in love, though, but things make sense now. What I thought was fate was just strategy by her father. The intense love and passion was a game. Until she screwed up and fell in love with me, too.”
“Tucker, are you sure?”
He nods and gives me a sad smile. “I’m sure. When I realized I loved you, I thought it was Joanna who brought you to me, but I don’t believe that anymore. But I know she would want me to be happy.”
What the hell happened in the hours we were apart? “You’re not angry?”
“I was. I was really pissed, but I understand it. Even though I’d never do it to her, she tried to change things. Her death was ordered, and that’s why we couldn’t get revenge on my father.”
It sounds like some elaborate game, and it hurts my heart. He spent so much time mourning the loss of his love, and knowing it was all just a ploy from her father can’t feel good.
“I wanted her to meet you. This is the last time I plan to come to visit her. Yesterday, I let Joanna go. For good.”
“Tucker, you don’t have to do—”
“Yeah, I do. And I’ve never felt lighter. I felt guilt for so long, but it wasn’t my fault, Phoebe. It was never my fault.”
It’s not exactly a comforting feeling to see your boyfriend so happy after visiting his ex-girlfriend—even at a cemetery—but he does look happier.
“We have one more person to visit.”
He nearly bounces like a little kid, and I giggle as he leads me through a maze to another headstone until we stop in front of a large headstone with a picture of a smiling woman front and center. Patricia Vega.
Tucker’s Mom?
“Hey, Mom. I know I said I wasn’t sure when I’d be back next, but surprise,” Tucker says with a chuckle.
He brought me to meet his mom? Well, her picture. On a headstone.
“And before you give me any signs like before, yes, I know she’s too thin. But she’s a baker, and she really is damn good at it. She made carrot bars that are just as good as yours.”
“That’s not true,” I interject.
I’ve never come to a cemetery other than right after a funeral before. My beliefs differ from most. I believe our loved ones are with us wherever we go, not where their body resides. But it’s a really sweet gesture. Like I’m being taken home to meet Mom.
“It is, but she’s trained. She owns her own bakery, and we met after Ryan robbed her. Then she force-fed me donuts that melted in my mouth.”
Gaping, I gasp. “I did not force-feed you! Why do you keep telling everyone that?”
“Because you weren’t going to let me leave without at least one of them in my stomach. Admit it.”
He’s really playful. Something he’s never been. Not outside of the bedroom, anyway. It’s really refreshing to see. I don’t know exactly what happened between the time he left me and got home, but something changed.
“Okay, fine. But it’s only because I wanted you to be impressed with me before I annoyed you and made you run away screaming.”
“Oh, you annoyed me. In the best possible way.”
I smile. “Thank you for bringing me to meet your mom, Tucker.”
“What happened to your friendship bracelets?”
My smile disappears. “The one you made me broke when Ryan grabbed my arm, and I don’t know what happened to the others. They were gone when I woke up in the basement.”
Gauze covers my wrists still, but I miss my bracelets. The first time someone made me something, and they represented friendship.
“I figured as much. That’s why Bernie and Misty made you new ones,” he says, pulling bracelets from his leather pocket.
Tears fill my eyes as I take them, sliding them over the ugly white wrappings. My friends. “Thank you! They mean so much to me.”
“I made you a new one, too.”
“You did? Where is it?”
Tucker pulls it out of his pocket and winks at me as he slips it onto my left wrist. I stare down at it, and I can’t breathe.
MARRY ME
When I look back up at him, he’s holding a jewelry box, his hand shaking slightly. “Will you?”
“You want to… marry… me?”
“Yellow Crayon, you have turned my entire life upside down in the best ways possible. You wormed your way into my heart, and I know it’s soon. It’s really soon, but you told me that everything is always temporary in your life. I want to change that.”
I gape as he opens the box, and I gasp at the beautiful ring. The center stone is yellow, and I laugh as tears fall at the symbolism.
“I want permanent, baby. I want forever. And I want that with you. If you’ll have me.”
Nodding, I let him slip the ring onto my finger. It’s a little big, but it’s beautiful.
“We can get it resized,” he says. “But I wanted to do this with my mom. It’s a bit morbid, but—”
I kiss him, cutting him off, and wrap my arms around his neck. “It’s perfect.”
“How do you feel about something quick?” he asks.
“It kind of fits the theme of our relationship. What do you have in mind?”
Shrugging, he looks almost bashful. “We are in Las Vegas.”
“Can we get married by Elvis?”
“We can do whatever you want,” he says, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me off the ground. “Anything, Yellow Crayon.”
“Let’s go,” I say.
Finally, I get permanent. He came into my life, and he’s here to stay. And he loves me! All annoying parts of me and all.