Chapter 5
5
ORION
Evan was a mess on the inside and trying not to let it show. Cherry was already skittish and he didn’t need her backing out when she seemed to fill the spot he was about to leave vacant for six months. Jeremy seemed to adore her almost instantly – and he couldn’t have asked for a better start for his son. As they walked into the courthouse, he couldn’t help but remember the last time that he’d done this, and he sincerely prayed for a different result this time.
Mom, I need a break, he said silently. If you could pull a few strings with the head guy, I just need to get through the next six months with no catastrophes. The second I get off the carrier when I return, if my life needs to go straight into the toilet, so be it.
Evan slid a look at Cherry’s wan face. She looked scared, but there was also an inner strength in her eyes. She would be a fighter, keeping an eye on Jeremy. He saw his son put his hand in Cherry’s other one. Evan watched as she smiled at his son, who was beaming up at her like she hung the moon.
“Are you excited, Cherry?”
“Of course,” she replied, but he could hear the tremor in her voice. Excited might not be the word she was searching for, but she was also sparing the little boy’s feelings.
“I’m excited. I’ll even pick up my room for you if you want me to.”
“I want you to,” Evan chuckled, leaning forward slightly and looking at his son disbelieving. “You’d do it for Cherry, but not for me?”
“You always tell me that, Daddy.”
“Because it’s always a mess.”
“Nuh-uh…”
“Uh-huh…” Evan retorted in a hushed voice. A small laugh slipped from Cherry just as they called out their names. “Here we go. Jeremy, come with us, but please be quiet and behave.” His son nodded excitedly, beaming as the trio walked up to the front.
Last time, there had been so many red flags that Evan ignored during his first marriage. Kristie had gotten a text message while they were saying their vows. She didn’t want to kiss him, claiming she had a cold, and the list continued. His mind was racing as he repeated his vows, waiting and wondering what disasters or events would happen during this one. Something had to happen, right?
“And do you, Cherry Jolie Davis, take this man, Evan William Buchannan, as your husband to love, honor, and cherish so long as you shall live?” And Evan’s heart nearly stopped as she hesitated, glancing at the judge before looking at him again.
“Can I say something?” he heard her utter over the pounding in his ears, breaking out in a sweat immediately. Oh, mercy, she’s bailing on me, and it’s practically time. I don’t know if I can get a hardship discharge fast enough now because it’s so late in the day and…
Those thoughts died in his head as she knelt, still holding his hand, but looked at Jeremy directly in the face, smiling at his son. Evan’s knees nearly gave out as his heart staggered painfully in his chest, imagining the tears on Jeremy’s face when Cherry changed her mind.
“You asked me if I was excited to become your mom?” Cherry said to Jeremy in a tearful, hushed voice. “I am over the moon because you are the coolest kid I’ve ever met. We’re going to have such fun being a family together – and I just wanted you to know that before I marry your daddy.”
And Evan choked back a sob of sheer relief as she hugged Jeremy. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen in his life, and he could see the unbridled joy, love, and happiness in his son’s eyes. His kid loved Cherry already like she’d been a part of their world forever, not less than twenty-four hours. Evan would always protect his boy’s gentle heart… and Jeremy had given it to his new stepmother, blindly.
This stranger, this woman who he’d picked up out of a restaurant, was a miracle, and he knew it for certain now. Pasteur was so right in so many ways. It was in those seconds, in those moments, that Evan’s whole mindset was rematerializing.
Sure, Evan though she was pretty, but now he wanted that friendship with Cherry desperately. He never wanted to take any of this blessing, this miracle, from his son’s life. If she turned out to be a harridan to him – but kind to Jeremy? He’d survive – and learn to care for Cherry regardless, for Jeremy’s sake.
She rose, wiping her eyes, and turned back to Evan looking slightly sheepish.
“Sorry…”
“Please don’t be…”
“I just wanted to…”
“You never have to explain.”
“Miss Davis,” the magistrate interrupted. “May we continue now? Do you take Mr. Buchannan as your husband – yes or no?”
Cherry looked at him, seeing that kindness, strength, and resilience in her eyes as she drew in her breath, not faltering or looking away from his eyes.
No, her dark eyes held his with a conviction that raced up his spine in awareness. This woman, this stranger, was a being that would protect his son with everything in her – and she was placing herself firmly behind Evan, trusting him with every ounce of her being.
“I do,” she whispered, not looking away from him. “I take you for my husband and will happily care for your son as my own, Evan.”
“Thank you,” he murmured gratefully, not bothering to hide his emotions.
“Then by the power granted to me by the State of Florida,” the magistrate was intoning over their heads, but Evan barely heard anything because his heart was pounding so hard in his chest. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Mr. Buchannan.”
He saw Cherry’s eyes flicker slightly and didn’t look away from her as he dropped her hand, pulling her close. There would be no wedding night, no liberties taken, because he wanted this woman to grow to care for him for Jeremy’s sake. He would treat her like a queen just to make her feel special and welcome – and this was their first kiss.
His hand shook as he reached up to touch her chin, his eyes searching hers, and he slowly lowered his head. He whispered ‘ thank you’ once more before he captured those lips, committing this to memory and realizing that this single kiss would have to hold him over for months, maybe years, depending on how their relationship went.
“Ewww, Daddy!”
He heard his son’s exclamation, followed by Jeremy’s giggle and a ripple of laughter in the courtroom, but he didn’t care. Cherry’s lips seemed to melt under his, and he treasured her intake of breath at the first touch between them. This kiss needed to be everything to her, wanting to shift her universe because she had certainly changed his.
Standing there, he continued to kiss her tenderly, cradling her jaw in his hand and savoring the taste that was just her. She was sweet, pliant in his arms, and almost seemed like she wanted to be there – as his woman, not as a friend doing a favor for him.
Only to feel Cherry pull back from him. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment as she brushed her hair away from her face, not looking him in the eye.
“Sorry,” she said hoarsely. “I got distracted and carried away.”
“Don’t a-apologize,” he replied, only to hear his own voice break like he was some young, hormonal teenager. “Please. Not ever.”
“My daddy kissed you,” Jeremy was giggling, moving to hug Cherry again. “He kisses me on the forehead or the cheeks. Mouth kisses are gross and look weird. You both looked like you needed to poop. Do you need to go to the bathroom, Cherry?”
“All right, Jeremy,” Evan interrupted in despair as laughter erupted all around them in the courtroom. Cherry’s horrified eyes shot to his in disbelief. He knew his face was red, but that was nothing compared to the scarlet splotches on her cheeks. Obviously, she had not been around a young boy very often because she might not have been so mortified in that moment at his son’s announcement. If it crawled, looked slimy, or had to do with boogers or poop – it was cool to Jeremy.
Evan put a hand on both of their shoulders, ushering them out of there before his son decided to impart some other words of wisdom to the world around them. He handed their marriage license to Cherry, pulling Jeremy along as quickly as possible to the car as Jeremy yapped along beside him.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“We just need to head to the next stop, Jeremy.”
“Are you okay, Daddy? You are frowning more now than when you kissed Cherry. Was it ‘yucky’?”
“No, it wasn’t ‘yucky’ – and yes, I’m okay. I am not frowning. I’m concentrating.”
“Like when you go poop?”
“Oh my gosh… Jeremy, no one is pooping, and that’s not polite to discuss outside of the bathroom.”
“Cherry, was kissing my daddy ‘yucky’ to you? Are you concentrating, too?” And Evan stopped abruptly beside the car, turning to look at her curiously while waiting for her answer. She was hesitating and looked so supremely uncomfortable at that moment that Evan answered his son instead.
“She’s fine, and we’re done with all the kissing. Now, let’s head out before the security office closes. I’ve still got to get my bag together and write down some things for Cherry while I’m gone.”
As he opened Jeremy’s door, his son climbed inside, and Evan finally looked up to see Cherry’s face. She looked almost pained and started to open her mouth to say something, but he stopped her. The last thing he wanted to do was put pressure on her before leaving for the ship at five in the morning.
“It’s fine,” he said simply. “We can talk later if you want, while this one is occupied. Go ahead and get in the car, Cherry.”
Without waiting, he slipped into the driver’s seat and saw her get in the car from the corner of his eye. It was so tempting to lean over and kiss her again, just to see if it still felt the same – but now wasn’t the time. No, right now, Evan was on a mission to finish this massive list of things to do before the offices closed, and he was basically moving back into a small rack on the ship with his closest friends.
He would be leaving everything behind to exist in a seven-foot by two-foot space that had a drawer you could roll out, located in a narrow room lined with those same racks. Three racks on each side – and three racks lining the back of the wall, with one watertight door that led in and out of their room. There would be no privacy. It was like going away to summer camp for adults, except you worked and couldn’t leave. His only breaks would be when they pulled into port if he didn’t have duty.
“Evan?” Cherry said quietly, causing him to look at her. “Breathe. Everything will work out, and we only have one more stop.”
“My stress level is through the roof,” he admitted in a hushed voice. “I feel like I’m almost out of time, like someone walking up to the gallows or…”
“What’s a ‘gallow,’ Daddy?”
“A big wooden porch really high up,” he answered evasively, rolling his eyes at Cherry, who smiled. “We’ll talk later.”
“It’s going to be okay.”
“I sure hope so,” he whispered, starting the car.
When Evan finally pulled up to the house, he could tell they were all ready to simply unwind for a little bit. It had been a massive day, moving from place to place, getting so much done that he knew Jeremy would sleep well tonight from sheer exhaustion. As they brought in the totes, he took them directly to the bedroom.
“Go ahead and make yourself at home,” Evan began quietly, yanking open a drawer. He removed all the paired-up socks, white T-shirts, and his underwear, putting it on the bed because he needed to pack his bag for the cruise. As he reached into the second drawer, he heard Cherry’s voice nearby.
“It’s just a lot…”
And he straightened up immediately to look at her. Would there ever be a time that came when he wasn’t afraid she was going to bolt right out the door running and never stop? Maybe it was because Kristie did that to him, and like a fool, he’d thought everything was okay between them. This time, he wasn’t going to take things for granted. He didn’t want to be divorced twice, even if this really wasn’t much of a choice on his part.
“Jeremy, turn on the cartoons, buddy. We’ll be out in a few minutes, I’m just helping Cherry put away her things,” he called out quickly and heard the TV in the distance before looking at Cherry. “What’s ‘a lot’? You said we needed to talk and…”
“The kiss was a lot,” she replied, unmoving. “I’m moving in with you, my last name is Buchannan, and…”
“I know it is – and I’m sorry it has to be this way, but…”
“But I liked it,” she whispered, her eyes searching his. “I wanted to thank you for taking me out of a job that I despised, out of the apartment that I hated, plucking me out of a life that was barely getting by… and giving me this one.” Her voice was so soft, so faint; it was like the whisper of butterfly wings in the stillness as she spoke to him privately so Jeremy couldn’t hear her. “You’ve got a great kid, a beautiful home, and you’ve given me everything… including hope. I never expected you to kiss me and only wished you would take me out when you get back so we could get to know each other a little better, but this is more than I ever expected.”
Evan threw the handful of whatever he was holding onto the bed – and picked up her hands, holding them in his.
“Look,” he breathed, not holding back and feeling very insecure. “I didn’t have a good marriage the first time around, so I’m sure that I’m bound to mess this up at some point… but you are right. This is a lot to be dealing with – even for me. Jeremy is my greatest joy but just because this arrangement started out differently doesn’t mean that we couldn’t find a way to become friends.”
“I would really like that.”
“And you are right,” he nodded, swallowing as he showed his entire hand to her. “That kiss was incredible, and I wanted it to be something special that stayed with you because six months is a long time. While I’m gone, please write because I do want us to build a relationship,” he hesitated and met her eyes. “I like you, Cherry, and I wish we had more time – but sometimes things are out of our control for a reason, and instead of fighting it, maybe we should just go with it, using it to our advantage.”
“Like getting to know each other,” she murmured and paused, looking away, almost shyly.
“What? Don’t be afraid to be yourself or tell me something. What’s on your mind?”
“Would you kiss me again?”