Chapter 18
Eighteen
Adam
There is nothing better in the world than watching my girl take in the sights and sounds of the city.
It’s unimaginable to me that she’s twenty years old and the farthest from home she’s ever gone is the small town of Maple Creek, ten miles from her childhood home.
Until we got married four days ago, she hadn’t even been to Maple Creek for over two years.
“Everything is so big,” she murmurs, staring with wide eyes out the windshield and side window of the truck.
I hold her hand against the console, stroking her fingers because she likes it when I’m touching her. I’ll never complain about touching her. If I had my way, she would be glued to me for the rest of our lives. Usually, she is.
“See that tall building on the left?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the hospital.”
“Oh wow. It’s huge.”
“Yep. It’s the biggest one in the city. If anything ever happens to any of us, that’s where we’ll go.”
“Okay.”
I drive into the center of the city and parallel park before hopping out and rounding to help Rebekah out of the truck. She’s grinning widely. “So many people.”
I chuckle. “Yeah. It can be overwhelming. It’s so peaceful and quiet up in the mountains.”
“And it’s loud here. I can’t hear the birds or the wind or the scampering of small animals. The cars and city noises are drowning out nature.”
I wrap my arm around her and guide her toward our first stop. I haven’t told her where we’re going today. It’s a surprise.
“What’s this place?” she asks as I open the door.
“It’s a jeweler.”
As we step inside, a middle-aged man in a three-piece suit glances up. “Hi. You must be Adam.” He extends a hand. “I’m James, the owner.”
I shake his hand. “Nice to meet you.” I called James yesterday to let him know we were coming and what I was looking for. “This is my wife, Rebekah.”
James holds out a hand to her next. “I love that name. My wife’s name is Rebekah.” He beams. “So, we’re looking for wedding sets today?”
“Yes.”
Rebekah gasps and tips her head back to look at me. “We are?”
I chuckle. “Yes, sweetheart. I told you we would buy wedding bands as soon as possible. I can’t have my wife running around town with no rings on her finger,” I tease.
She rolls her eyes. “Running around town… Pft.”
She’s right. She’ll never be running anywhere alone. It would give me heart palpitations. She doesn’t even know how to drive, though that’s on my list of things to teach her in the coming weeks. Everyone needs to know how to drive. It’s a safety issue.
“I pulled some possibilities out and set them up for you to look at, but we can change anything if none of them have the right feel.”
I guide Rebekah over to the display as James rounds to the other side.
She leans over and stares at all the diamonds.
There are no price tags anywhere. I asked James not to display them.
I don’t want my girl worrying about money or even knowing that the rings we will buy today will cost more than everything she’s ever owned in her life combined, including her family’s land.
I stand behind my girl, leaning around her with both arms, and pick up a gold band with a round diamond in the middle surrounded by pink stones.
This one calls to me. Not that I will make this decision for her, but I’m drawn to it because it’s dainty and pink.
“Give me your hand, sweetheart. Let’s see how this one looks. ”
She gasps as I slide it on her finger. “Oh my…”
“That looks so pretty on you.”
“It must cost a fortune,” she whispers.
“Don’t you worry about that,” I order, my voice slightly stern because I know she responds strongly when I put my foot down.
She has her hair down today, and she’s wearing a pale pink dress that’s fitted across her chest and flows out below her breasts.
It reaches midthigh. If she twirled, it would flare out and everyone would see the sexy white lace panties I know are under the skirt.
I’m the one who handed them to her this morning.
She doesn’t have a bra on. She doesn’t need one with the type of bodice this dress has.
The straps are thin, allowing me to kiss her bare skin as often as I want.
Brushing her fiery curls out of the way, I do so now.
Goosebumps rise as she shivers.
Other than our wedding when she wore her mother’s dress, Rebekah told me she hasn’t worn a dress in longer than she can remember.
It was never practical. She’s always been the sort of person who liked to traipse through the woods, explore, get dirty.
For the last several years, she’s had to do so just to forage for food.
Getting dressed up is a new thing for her, but she’s beaming. I think she likes how she feels. Or maybe she likes the way I look at her, my stare heated.
I toy with the ring on her finger. It’s growing on me more by the second. “Would you like to try on some others? There are hundreds of rings in here.” I move my hand out of the way so she can look at the rest of the ones James pulled out for us to look at.
The owner politely lets us chat without interrupting. There’s a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. It must be nice to work someplace where most of your clients are the happiest they will ever be.
Rebekah takes some time to look carefully at everything in the case. “Is it weird that I like the one you chose?”
“Nope, but I’m not the one who has to wear the ring, sweetheart. It should be something you love.”
She holds her hand up to stare at it. I guessed her size, and apparently I guessed well. It fits her perfectly. It’s so dainty, just like her fingers. A giant stone would look pretentious on her, and she would hate it.
James sets two more rings closer to us. One is a thin wedding band for her. The other is larger and matches the female band. “These two complement that ring very nicely, but there are other options if you’d like to peruse a bit.”
Rebekah twists her head to look at me. “I don’t need another ring.”
“Sure you do. We did things out of order. The one you’re wearing now should have gone on your finger in some beautiful location when I got down on one knee. The band is what I would have added to the engagement ring at the ceremony. We’re rectifying those two missed steps now.” I kiss her nose.
A deep contented sigh escapes her lips as I pick up the tiny band and nestle it against the first ring.
“So pretty,” she murmurs.
I slide the matching ring onto my finger and hold it up next to hers. “What do you think?”
“I love them so much.” She turns in my arms and wraps herself around me.
I hold her tight, rubbing up and down her back. “I guess we’ll take these.”
“Ohmygod, this is delicious.” Rebekah’s eyes roll back in her head, and she moans around the nacho she just ate.
I chuckle. “One of the most common and simplest foods known to humankind, and my girl thinks she’s having a delicacy.” I stuff another one in my mouth and watch as she carefully picks up the perfect bite while hovering a few extra seconds, her gaze fixed on her ring.
I wanted to take her to a fancy restaurant, but we’re only four days into our relationship, and so far we’ve consumed every meal off one plate. I remembered this Mexican restaurant from when my family came here years ago. I was so glad it was still here.
The nachos are spectacular, and even though I hate that my girl is sitting next to me and not on my lap, this way she can eat as many as she wants and stop when she’s full.
She grins up at me. “Thank you.”
I lean over and kiss her. “You’re welcome. After lunch, we’re going shopping.”
She frowns. “What do you need to buy?”
“You need a lot of things. We’ll return the stuff that didn’t fit and get more clothes. More toiletries. More of everything.”
“It’s going to take me a while to get used to wearing a new outfit every day. I’ve never known anyone to do that.”
I shrug. “All we have to do is toss the laundry in the washing machine and turn it on. No need to wait weeks to do a load.” I glance down and pluck playfully at the front of her skirt. “It seems you like the dress, yeah?”
“I feel like a princess.” She beams.
“Then, let’s get you more dresses.”
Her brow furrows. “Why? No one will ever see them.”
“For one thing, even if we rarely leave the property, I bet there will be a lot of people living there soon. Now that my brothers are all settling down, they will get married and start families. That’s eleven adults you’ll see on a daily basis.
But more importantly, what matters is how you feel.
If getting dressed up makes you feel pretty, then you should do it as often as you want.
I like the way your face lit up when you put that dress on this morning. You’re glowing.”
She smiles. “I do feel pretty.”
“Then we need more dresses.” I tap the edge of the plate. “But first you need food in your tummy. Eat some more, sweetheart. You’ve only had a few bites.”
She carefully chooses another chip and pops it into her mouth. When her tongue peeks out to lick the corner of her lips, I’m so captivated that I want to drag her out of here so we can make out in the truck.
I’ll do my best to restrain myself for a few more hours. This is my wife’s special day. I won’t cut it short because of my raging hormones.
She needs this escape. All of our time has been spent dealing with the aftermath of her father’s tirade and his death. In the early morning, the sheriff came out after his deputies, and the three of them determined the actual cause of death.
Evidence would suggest that Sharp stomped into the shed with the intent of burning it down.
He obviously hadn’t intended to go down with the fire or cause a premature explosion with his own homemade bomb.
But the universe had other plans. For one, there were several animal traps in there.
Sharp must have knocked one off the wall and then stepped on it, trapping himself among the rising flames.
On top of that, he had a box of ammunition with him.
He’d obviously meant to take every possible opportunity to kill us off one at a time.
He had enough shotshells for a small army.
He’d planned to reload until his shotgun got knocked out of his hand.
Instead, he stepped in that trap and was literally trapped after he lit his premade cocktail.
He probably died in the initial blast, but he burned in the fire.
In addition, when the flames got hot enough, those cartridges melted, and the shotshells went off like popcorn. Sharp got pummeled with shrapnel.
I haven’t told Rebekah the gory details. I simply told her he died quickly and didn’t suffer. Even though he was a mean old bastard, she wouldn’t want to picture her father suffering.
None of us believes that was the case. Had he been on fire, he would have screamed. Had he simply been trapped, he would have screamed. That means he had to have died in the explosion. Not a great way to die, but faster than burning alive.
At some point down the road, we’ll discuss what Rebekah wants to do about her childhood home and property. I decide to broach this subject while we finish eating. “When you’re ready, we need to talk about what you want to do with your homestead.”
“What do you mean?”
“There is a deed in the box you brought from the house. Your father owned it, so now it’s yours and Hannah’s.
You could keep it or sell it off. I don’t think the house itself is worth saving.
It’s in very bad condition. Someone could get seriously injured if the roof collapsed while they were inside.
We should probably tear it down eventually.
You can either sell the land or hang on to it. ”
She stares blankly ahead for a few minutes, thinking. Finally, she says, “Do you think we could leave it for a while? I’m worried about Hannah. What if she comes home someday and no one is there?”
I nod. “That’s a good point. Why don’t you write her a letter and leave it on the kitchen table? That way, if she shows up, she’ll know where to find you.”
Rebekah smiles. “Brilliant.” She sits taller. “I’ve been wondering how she would ever find me. I pray for her to come home all the time. I hate thinking she’s alone in the world. Do you think she might have died?” This last part is whispered.
I set my hand over hers. “I don’t know, sweetheart, but I can certainly put out feelers.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I can ask around, send some people out to other neighboring homesteads to see if anyone has seen her. Who knows? Maybe she’s been living a few miles away for two years and you never knew it, especially since she didn’t have a car or a license at the time.”
Rebekah’s eyes are wide. “Do you think we might find her?”
I cover her hand with mine. “We’ll certainly try.” I’d move the mountain to the other side of the Earth if my wife wanted me to and it was within my power. Finding her sister is important to her, so I’ll hire some investigators to dig around.
When the plate of nachos is polished off, I lift Rebekah’s left hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles next to the rings. “Let’s go shopping.” Lord knows we need to lighten the mood and return to enjoying our day.