Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Cass
"Ihave something that I really want to get your opinion on," Lilly says as soon as Junk leaves the room and we're alone.
I give her a side-eye, waiting to hear what she's getting us into now.
"What if we got married in Turner Falls?" she asks, her big brown eyes filled with so much hope.
"Turner Falls, eh?" I ask, waiting for her to elaborate.
"Okay, so, I know it's where your mom and dad got married and Lawsyn took us out there yesterday and I fell madly in love with the natural beauty of the falls and the streams surrounding it and I really really want to get married there.
For so many reasons. But the main one being that it is so beautiful and I want that kind of beauty to surround us on a day that is supposed to be so special," she sucks in a deep breath and exhales quickly, trying to catch her breath from that spill of a run-on sentence that I'm certain she didn't breathe during.
I laugh at her and rub my hand across her cheek. "Yes, baby. We can get married wherever you want. Turner Falls is perfect. I've long loved visiting that place since I was a small boy and I have many fond memories there."
"Not too fond, I hope," she says sternly with a questioning glare.
I chuckle and hold my hands up. "No, no. Nothing like that," I promise.
"Good." She shoots me a warning glare, and I find her threatening jealousy adorable.
"Can we go there today, together?" she asks.
"Yes."
I say yes, because even if we couldn't, we can. I've hardly spent any time with her since we've been here because of everything that we're dealing with and I am not about to say no to her. I'd have made it happen regardless of where I was supposed to be.
She kicks her feet excitedly and I grip her ankles to keep her from kicking me in the sack.
"Okay, okay. Let's get dressed and we can go to Turner Falls. Except, when I bring you, we're doing it right," I tell her.
"Oh, because we did it wrong yesterday?" she asks, raising a brow.
I nod. "You definitely did it wrong because you didn't tell me about a single stop you made along the way and if you'd made the correct stops, you wouldn't have been able to not tell me about the delicacies you encountered."
Lilly is up and on her way to get dressed no sooner than the words come out of my mouth.
I trail behind her and we're out the door in five minutes flat.
It's cold outside and gloomy. I open her passenger for her and she climbs in, shivering on the way down.
I crank the car and get the heater going, but it's still cold as fuck.
The drive to the falls is nice. I haven't driven the streets in years.
We come up here for a run every now and then, once a year or so, but I don't spend much time outside of the clubhouse.
Lilly has been staring out the window with a grin on her face since we left the clubhouse.
I love how much love she has for life. Her fire is something to be admired.
We exit the interstate and I pull into the gas station at the exit. It's not really a gas station. It's more of a restaurant that has a few gas pumps out front. And they only serve one thing. Fried pies.
I park at the front of the tanned building with stone on the face of it and a green rooftop.
It looks like it belongs on a reservation somewhere.
Inside, the right side of the building is the kitchen area and the left side has a few tables, restrooms, and a staircase that leads upstairs to some extra seating.
I grab Lilly's hand and lead her to the counter. The menu is vast and she eyes it for a few minutes before she's ready.
"Know what you want?" I ask.
She nods enthusiastically. "I want three different ones and some chocolate milk."
The lady behind the counter takes our order and we end up with six different pies.
I grab them when they're ready and we sit at one of the tables and go through them, trying bites of each.
Lilly got a coconut cream pie, chocolate, and a blueberry.
I got the pineapple, the breakfast one, and a blackberry.
Lilly loved the coconut one so much she ate the whole damn thing in one sitting. I fell in love with the blackberry and we both split the pineapple.
"I told you, you didn't do Turner Falls right if you didn't stop for fried pies," I tell her, wiping a glob of blueberry pie filling from the corner of her mouth.
"These are so fucking good. We have to come here every time we come to Oklahoma City," she beams, shoving another bite of the blueberry pie into her mouth.
When we're done stuffing our pie holes, literally, I remote start the car so it'll start to warm up before we climb inside for the short drive down to Turner Falls from here.
I drive up to one of my favorite spots first, a more hidden gem of the place.
We weave in and out of tent-camping spaces and I park in an open gravel parking lot.
Lilly's curiosity is piqued and she's opening the car door as soon as we stop.
She's out on her feet walking around and looking at the stream just a few feet away.
"I didn't see this yesterday," she says, roaming away from the car while staring at the water.
At the far left is a concrete bridge-like structure that allows for walking over the stream. The air is brisk and it's even colder near the water. I trail behind Lilly, watching her take in the sights.
"This used to be my favorite swimming spot in the summer. Most everyone stays near the entrance and swims at the falls, but I'd always sneak away up here," I say, slipping my fingers between hers.
"I bet it’s even more beautiful in the summertime," she says, awestruck. It's as if she's picturing what it looks like in the summer.
"We'll come in the summer, too, so you can get the full experience. And so I can toss you in the water," I grin.
She laughs hard, and stares at me with wild eyes for a moment. "You could toss me in now," she challenges.
Lilly takes a step away from me and pulls her sweater over her head, setting it on a large rock nearby.
"Lilly, what are you doing?" I ask as she shimmies out of her blue jeans, lying them on top of her sweater.
She's shivering already.
"Going for a swim," she smirks at me. Challenging me.
"Not without me," I protest, tugging my shirt over my head. She takes that moment to close the distance between us. When my head pops out of my shirt, she leans in and kisses me.
"I hate to break it to you, but he isn't going to be coming out to play in this cold ass weather, no matter how ready and willing I may be and no matter how fucking sexy you are getting half-naked in public."
She giggles as I step out of my jeans and shoes, setting them with her clothes. I'm left standing here in nothing but my boxer briefs, staring at my fiancée in nothing but a bra and a pair of her signature lace underwear. God, the things we do for love.
I grab her hand and we stand on the edge of the bridge.
"Ready?" I ask, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Yep!" she chirps, looking entirely too happy about what is about to happen.
"On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
On three, we jump into the ice-cold water. In January. In Oklahoma. I gasp for air when I break the surface, the water is so cold it's chilling me to the bone. Lilly squeals when her head breaks the surface. Her hair is everywhere, and she dips her head into the water to smooth it down.
Reaching out, I grip her wrist and drag her closer to me. She wraps her legs around my waist and her arms snake around the back of my neck. My hands wrap around her torso, holding her as close to me as humanly possible to try and get some of her warmth. It's fucking cold.
Lilly's teeth start to chatter. "So, we could get married up on this bridge instead of by the falls, if you wanted."
"I don't know, you haven't seen the falls when they're in full force. They're at a trickle, right now, compared to what they normally are," I say, kissing her neck beneath her earlobe.
"Okay, fair enough," she concedes, nipping at my neck.
For as cold as the water is, I'm starting to get used to it. Which is going to suck when we step out into that brisk wind.
I move us beneath the bridge, crab-walking across the rocks beneath us on my tiptoes.
There's a natural stairway on the other side of the bridge that we climb up and out.
Lilly is shivering half to death when she steps out of the water.
The air hits me like a ton of bricks when I exit the water and I head to the car to find something to dry off with.
There's still a duffel bag in the trunk.
I rummage through it and find a small towel, that is barely big enough to dry your hands on.
It'll have to do. I make quick work of toweling as much water off of my head and face as I can before handing it to Lilly. "It ain't much, but it's going to have to be enough."
She takes it from me happily and begins wiping drops of water from her skin. Once she's mostly dry, she begins putting her clothes back on. I've got the car running and heater on high so that when we get in, we can try to defrost a bit.
"I love you. I love doing life with you," she whispers, kissing the side of my face.
"Ditto, baby," I tell her.
We ride around the falls and opt not to walk around anymore.
"What day do we want to get married?" she asks, pressing a finger to the center of her chin.
"Tomorrow," I say playfully.
She shoots me a glare. "No. I haven't even picked out a dress yet."
"We can get married on whatever day you want, my love. I don't care. This is your day."
"It's our day," she corrects.
"The details don't mean to me what they do to you. All I need is you," I tell her.
"Okay. I'll pick a date, then. But I don't want to hear any shit about the day I pick," she demands.
"Done."