Chapter 28
twenty-eight
Charlie
C ash greeted me every day with a standard, “There’s my beautiful girl.” But the next line varied, trying every which way to get me to confess who was responsible for my mutilated abdomen. “Are you ready to tell me who’s about to have an unfortunate accident involving a rattlesnake and a locked trunk?” Or “Are you ready to tell me who I need to invite on an all-expenses-paid trip to the bottom of the lake right next to the dinghy?” Or “Who do I need to invite on an exciting new adventure called ‘learning to breathe through a straw?’”
It was slightly funny, a tad terrifying, and completely overwhelming. For the first time in my life, a man loved me so much that he just might sacrifice himself to right all my wrongs. Which was why he could never, ever find out.
Exactly one week after we got together, he stopped asking. Maybe he’d finally accepted that trying to pry answers from me was a lost cause. I wasn’t sure. I just knew I was enjoying the temporary ceasefire.
As I waited for Cash to pick me up, I sat in a rocking chair on my parents’ porch, holding baby Cate. She was sleeping soundly, arms bent by her head, full and content on Mom’s milk. I couldn’t get enough of her. Her smell, her coos, her little dimple that was appearing and disappearing right now as she sucked on her binky. Her smiles when she had gas. It was still too early for her to give real smiles but Mom assured me they’d be here fast. I wanted to make sure I was someone she smiled for, so I held her every chance I got.
Jane was in the adjacent rocking chair, scrolling on my phone since she wasn’t allowed to have one until her next birthday.
“What?” Her mouth fell open like she’d just learned something scandalous. “There is no way!”
Cate jerked at the noise.
“Shhh.” I smiled at Jane.
“Look,” she whispered. Then she shoved the phone three inches from my face.
I gripped her wrist and moved it back. When my eyes focused, my own mouth fell open. Because there was a reel—sound off, captions on—of Millie, on the red carpet of some movie premiere, on the arm of a movie star whose name I couldn’t recall. Millie held her hand out and showed off…
“She’s engaged?” I yelped.
“Doubtful,” Jane said with a snort. “Not for real anyway. Don’t you see what she’s doing?
“She’s in cahoots with…whoever that is to get that Opal and Ivy deal. What is it with this woman and diamonds?”
Jane rocked back in her chair. “Opal and Ivy said they won’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. They didn’t like what she did to you on the Nate Midnight Show. They’re actually a pretty classy company. But yeah.” Her fingernails trilled against the armrests. “It’s rumored she’s been trying to get a deal with Lumina Gems.”
“Hmm. They’re not as good as Opal and Ivy, but go for what you want, I guess.”
Jane huffed. “How can you be so generous? She tried to ruin you on national TV.”
Just then, Cash’s Beamer popped over the hill. I gestured at him. “Because I got the guy.”
Janie beamed. “Yeah, you did. And you weren’t even trying to.” She sighed. “Teach me your ways.”
“Anytime, sis.” I scooped Cate up—her little bum wiggling as she stretched—and laid her in Jane’s arms.
“Tell the truth.” Jane gave me serious side-eye. “You’re going to stop on the way to make out.”
I cackled. “I sure hope so.” Then I winked. “He’s a really good kisser.”
“Lucky. But also weird. You’re dating our cousin.”
“Your cousin.” I booped her on the nose. “My…” I thought about it for a second. “Not-cousin.” At least one good thing came from not having Dupree blood running through my veins. “You’ll find your Cash, Janie. Just give it some time.”
I skipped down the stairs as Cash’s car came to a stop. He hopped out, met me at the passenger side door, and pulled me in for a kiss.
His eyes twinkled. “There’s my beautiful girl.”
“Hey you.” I smiled.
“Hi, Jane,” he called as he opened the door for me.
“Have fun sucking face!” she yelled.
He laughed, closed my door, and jogged around to get in.
“Ready for game night?” he asked as he eased us back onto the driveway.
“If you mean—am I ready to whoop some trash? Then yes.”
As we crested over the hill and turned toward the main road, Cash’s gaze drifted over the blacktop that led to the Clean Slate recording studio. But more importantly, the knoll where he wanted to build us a house. He’d taken me to it the day after we got together.
When he looked straight ahead again, my gaze fell to our joined hands, resting on top of the center console. When did that happen? He glanced down at our hands too, his expression dazed.
I watched him while he drove. It was hard not to. He was mesmerizing. Captivating. Breathtaking. Way cuter than whoever Millie was currently ‘engaged’ to.
Cash’s nose was perfect, not even a hint of a bump. I’d been kind of obsessed with it when we were younger. Just caught myself staring every now and then. That nose almost got me in trouble a time or two.
But nothing was as beautiful as his mouth. Something about the way it was shaped had always fascinated me. His top lip cut just right, his bottom lip a little fuller, always twitching like he was holding back a secret. Even after all this time, it was my favorite mouth in the world.
Or maybe that was because I could kiss it now.
He glanced over when he felt me watching. “What? Do I have something on my face?”
“No. I just love your mouth.”
His brows flicked up. “Not as much as I love your mouth. I can promise you that.”
“Doubtful.” I rested both elbows on the console and propped my chin on my fists, staring at those lips. “I’m not sure what I had a bigger crush on when I was younger, you as a whole, or your mouth.”
He rewarded me with an amused smile. “You had a crush on my mouth?”
“I did.” I let out a contented breath. “I do.”
He stopped at the entrance to the ranch, in front of Jeff’s house, and put the car in park.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Aren’t we late?” I shrieked when he yanked me over the console and into his lap.
“Charlie.” His nose was doing that nuzzling thing again. “I need to ask you a question?”
I looped my hands around the back of his neck, savoring every touch. “If you propose to me in the car, I’m going to say no.”
He chuckled. “You’d say yes if we stepped outside?”
I rolled my eyes and smiled.
“I got you something.” My heart rattled in my chest as he reached down into the door pocket. Did he seriously get a ring already?
“Cash,” I warned with trepidation.
“Don’t worry. It’s not a ring. I’m not going to propose to you in the car, silly. I’ll do better than that.” When his hand came up, he revealed a white box with a smart watch logo on the top. “For the race.”
My stomach swooped happily. “You didn’t need to do that.”
He popped the lid off and pulled the watch out. “Sure, I didn’t need to, but I wanted to. Now we can track each other’s heart rate, our pace, and distances.” He held his hand out.
I laid mine in it and let him hook the band around my wrist.
“I already synced our info. And look…” He tapped on the screen and a selfie we’d taken a few days ago appeared. He sat behind me, legs straddling mine as we watched TV. I smiled for the camera. I thought he smiled too. Nope. He gazed at me like he still couldn’t believe I was his. If sixteen-year-old Charlie could’ve seen this picture, she would’ve made much different choices.
“Let me pay you for it,” I said.
“No.” He pecked me on the mouth. “This is what we call a gift. I know you’re not used to your man pampering you but you need to get comfortable.” His lips brushed mine. “This is just the beginning.”
“But—”
He shut me up with another peck. “ Please , let me love you,” his voice cracked.
I relaxed into him, our breath mingling together. “Okay,” I said softly, my chest so full, I thought it might burst. “Thank you.” I tapped the screen to look at our picture again. “I love it.”
“You’re welcome.” His expression shifted from confident to guarded. “You know I’m heading out on tour in a few weeks, right after the Spartan Race.” His eyes turned down, pleading. “Come with me?”
My fingertips traced over his stubble. “Like ride on the tour bus with you? Live off of Corn Nuts and Dr. Pepper?”
“And love.” He smiled and it did happy things to my heart. “Try every weird Buc-ees snack. Pull pranks on my dad. Make out when no one’s looking. Take naps together. Stay up till two a.m. writing songs.” The end of his nose tapped the end of mine. “Because we both know you can write.” He pressed a lingering kiss to my lips. “Dad already said we could hire you to be my Songwriting Consultant.”
I laughed, but it was soft, overwhelmed. My heart couldn’t quite keep up with him. But dang, it was trying. “I mean, I don’t want to be away from you for two months so … Yeah. I’ll come.”
He whooped.
I smiled. “Can I tell you something?” I smoothed his collar. “I think I know what I want to do with my life.”
“Really?” His eyes danced. “Besides being my wife?” he said like it was already settled.
Heat crept up my neck. “Yes, besides being your wife. In five years.”
“Five months,” he countered.
“Five years,” I repeated.
His eyes pinned me in place, all heat and hunger and unspoken want. “Five weeks.”
“Cash.” A frustrated hum vibrated in my chest. “I?—”
“Five days.” There was no teasing in his tone. “Five hours.” Doubtless, he’d marry me in five minutes if I’d let him. His hands found mine, fingers lacing together. “You’re my forever, Charlie,” he said, voice low and warm against my temple. “And I want to spend every night loving you the way you deserve.” Well, that put… thoughts in my head. “Here, I’ll give you a little preview of how it’ll start…”
His lips were firm, coaxing mine open, his breath warm against my cheek. His hand found the small of my back, pressing me into him, while the other cradled my neck, anchoring me in place.
A few minutes later, he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine, knowing full well what he was doing to me. As I struggled to catch my breath, he murmured, “Don’t you want to make sweet love every night?” Even though my eyes were closed, I could hear the smirk in his voice.
“Yes,” I answered honestly. “A lot. You’re really hot.”
He chuckled.
“And…” My fingers wrapped around the sides of his neck. “I love you more than I knew I was capable of loving anyone. Like my heart is maxed and overwhelmed in the best way.”
“Mine too. Which is why I want to make you Mrs. Dupree.”
“I’m already Mrs. Dupree.”
“No. You’re Ms . Dupree.” His head tipped to the side and that smirk appeared. “I was thinking. What if we shook things up and hyphenated our last names so our kid’s name is Sally Dupree-Dupree?”
My laugh was instant, shaking my chest. “We’re having a boy first. A curly brown-haired boy with your eyes. And mouth and nose. Basically a Cash-clone. So instead of Sally, it’ll be Johnny Dupree-Dupree.”
Cash scratched his chin, thinking about it like this wasn’t the most ridiculous conversation ever. “No. That’s not going to work. It’s not catchy enough. What if he becomes a famous NFL quarterback like Blue? It needs to sound cooler.” His fingers brushed over my sides. “What about Johnny Dupree-Squared? We could call him JD2 for short.”
I cackled.
His eyebrows waggled. “You know you want to.” His nose nudged mine. “And we can’t practice the baby-making until we’re wearing the matching bands.”
“We’re too young,” I said stupidly.
He didn’t counter with—‘Clearly we’re not. You were already married once,’—even if I deserved it. Because Cash hated acknowledging that I’d ever been another man’s wife. I hated it. Wished every minute I could go back to that pool in Hawaii and make the right choice. No, back to Africa. Knowing what I knew now, I’d give Lorne a hand to the face the same way I had Brandon.
“Hmm,” Cash purred. “Granny and Gramps got married when she was eighteen and he was twenty—and they have a great marriage.”
“Different era,” I said.
“Anna and Blue were twenty-one and twenty-two.”
“Cash.” I tapped my forehead against his. “What’s the rush? Give us a little time to get used to the idea.”
“It’s not a rush,” he said, voice trembling just enough to tell me he meant it. “I’ve known my whole life I was going to marry you.”
I stared into his eyes, trying not to melt. “Yeah,” I said, on the edge of giving in. Thankfully, his phone dinged, saving me from myself.
With a small grunt, he adjusted me enough to grab it from the console. The text was from Theo, wondering where we were.
Cash barely glanced at the screen before tossing it aside and pulling me right back where I’d been—closer, tighter. The look in his eyes hadn’t cooled. If anything, it burned hotter, and my cheeks lit up accordingly. “You were saying?”
What was I saying? I couldn’t form a coherent thought with him looking at me like that.
“Stop that.” I grabbed his face, squishing his cheeks together until his lips puckered like a fish. He wriggled them dramatically, and I lost it, snorting. “This is your punishment.” I held his face like that, trying to put out the flames. But nope. Even fish-faced, the man smoldered. I groaned but continued on, “I was saying, I think I know what I want to do with my life… I never meant to write an entire notebook full of reply songs. But something about creating calmed me. Turning my feelings into a melody gave me a purpose.”
“I’m wiss-uh-nin,” his lips puckered. But I could see in his eyes that he understood. He’d experienced it too.
“I dunno.” I laughed. “Maybe it was just because I was writing those songs for you but…” I dropped his cheeks and pulled his forehead to mine. “It healed me. I mean, I still have healing to do but it did something for me that nothing else ever had and I think I want to be…a music therapist.”
He cupped my cheeks. “I love that. How can I help? Can you still tour with me? Wait…” He leaned back, forehead crunched. “You’re not moving for school, are you?”
“No. I’m never leaving you.”
“Oh, I already know that.” He pulled me back in, forehead to forehead. “I was planning to come with you is all.”
The difference between Cash and Lorne was insane. Where Lorne did whatever he wanted, never thinking of me, Cash was running next to me, cheering me on. I hoped I could always do the same for him.
No, not hoped. I would. I was determined about that.
My hands were back in his hair, needing to hold onto something before I disintegrated in his lap. “I found a couple of online programs but it’s too late to apply for this fall. I’ll have to try for winter semester.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I love this for you. You love helping people—you always have—and now you know how to use it.”
“School scares me though.” My shoulders fell. “I’m not a great test taker.”
He brushed my hair out of my eyes. “I’ll help you study. We can make notecards and I’ll quiz you. And if it’s a music class…” He held out his hands like I got you . “And I’ll keep your glass filled with caffeine when you need to cram for a test. You’ve got this. You can do anything.”
“Yeah. As long as I have you.”
“You have me. Always.” Our fingers intertwined, making two bridges between us. “But seriously? Can we consider Dupree-Squared?”
I kissed his cheek. “No.”