Axton (Creed’s Lake MC #3)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Belle

I escaped the salon without any long-term trauma, I hoped. Stephanie and Heidi were helping me organize the bags of clothes that were brought to Axton’s from the apartment.

“Whoa, these are Jimmy Choo.” Heidi held up a pair of high heel shoes.

“I don’t even know if I can walk in them.” I hung a sweater up in the closet.

“You are so lucky to get her hand me downs. I bet these are three-hundred-dollar jeans.” Stephanie hung them on a hanger then handed them to me.

“Is that a lot?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s a lot. She’s rich on her own without Creed and she had to spend it. She’s expected to as a high-profile actress. You’d never know by her personality though. We adore Morgan and Addie.” Heidi handed me another sweater.

“Tell me more about you, Belle. Granger had been in touch with Creed, and he told us some things, but tell us more.” Steph said.

“Well, did they tell you I have a degree in education? I need a license but I’m a teacher.”

“Perfect! We need teachers here at Creed’s Lake. A lot of the kids can’t go to public school because they are running from their abusers and Morgan can’t teach everyone.” Steph seemed happy about that tidbit.

“That’s really about all. I’ve served God my whole life and took care of my father at the end. We aren’t really allowed the kind of friendships you have here. Women weren’t to gather in groups and definitely not gossip.” I explained.

Heidi was looking down at the skirt she was hanging up. “So, all that talk at the salon. I should apologize, I’m just so used to it that I don’t even think about it anymore.”

“It was uncomfortable but also confusing.”

They looked at each other then at me. “Confusing?”

“I realize there’s slang, but I don’t know all of it and of course I’ve never been with a man.”

Heidi sighed. “Let’s make a spot here on the bed and talk.”

“About what?” I wasn’t so sure.

“How much did your mother tell you about sex? I think this is important because…well there’s a lot of it here at Creed’s Lake and it’s what a lot of people talk about, so it’s only fair that we prepare you. This community is eighty percent men and Melissa, so it’s going to come up.”

Heidi and Steph cleared a spot, and I took a seat. “Just that we lay down for our husband’s and they do the work. It’s painful, and not exactly pleasurable but it’s our duty.”

“Oh boy.” Heidi sighed. “We have a lot to discuss.”

An hour and a hundred questions later, I wasn’t just blushing but smiling. Heidi and Stephanie told me a lot and I knew my mother was wrong. They explained my mother never made love to a man. That if a woman is expected to just lay there in the name of duty it would cause discomfort. A woman needed to want it then their bodies will prepare them to accept the man inside them. That explained a lot because I had some worries I was wetting myself just a little bit lately since I met Michael. I didn’t tell them that though. Then I learned about orgasms and that really caught my attention. It wasn’t just a lesson on how to have sex, but an anatomy lesson. I also learned that I might have been pure, but Koty was most likely the only male virgin over eighteen that lived in the community. That meant my Michael had sex with other women. They explained its healthy and perfectly normal, but it still made me sad. Sharing a husband was something our church prepared us for, but they didn’t prepare us to have very strong emotional feelings for a man they didn’t arrange for us. Most brides I knew never met their husbands before their wedding day. They were brought in from communities up north and the girls I knew were sent to their husband’s. I’d rarely ever see them again.

It was a long but fun day. I never got to know women on that kind of level before. Zoey, my doctor, was very kind. Then I met more women at the salon where the stylist showed me more modern ways to style my hair. Then we went to Morgan’s monster of a house, where she gave us all makeup and taught me how to apply it. Everything she gave us was brand new. Most didn’t want to accept it at first, but she explained that makeup companies wanted her endorsement all the time and would always send her more than she could ever use. They even encouraged her to let her friends try it. Then Steph and Heidi took me to the commissary and showed me how to use my badge for groceries and I bought a few things. After that we arranged my room and the two of them showed me how and when to wear the different kinds of clothes Morgan gave me. Then they gave me the sex talk and I did eventually tell them how I felt about Michael and how he acted around me. Their eyes grew really wide, and they smiled like I gave them really good news. They said maybe he wouldn’t be so grumpy all the time anymore. I couldn’t even imagine a grumpy Michael.

They needed to go get their kids from school, but they quickly picked an outfit for me and helped me freshen up my makeup. Then they told me to make dinner for him and Koty, and that he would really appreciate it. I felt weird in the dress they chose for me, and the boots only had a slight heel so I could walk in them with ease. I had been prepared for a major fashion change. I knew if I didn’t want to stick out too much I’d have to get used to wearing things that showed off my figure. The dress I was wearing was like a very tight long sweater that ended above my knees. I usually wore white stockings, but the girls chose a black sheer pair, and a pair of black boots that went almost to my knees.

“Alexa, play Sam Barber.” I gave the invisible robot an order like Steph showed me and music turned on. I remembered the name of the young man that played the music I liked last night. I was in the kitchen preparing dinner when I heard the door open and turned to see Koty walk toward his bedroom. He really didn’t look all that happy, so maybe he had what the girls called blue balls since Zoey felt around on his earlier that day. I shrugged it off and decided that was definitely his own problem.

Axton

I was in a foul mood by the time I made it home. What was expected of me was unbelievable. Then we had a video call with General Pennington, and I ended my day by getting the summons for the stupid as hell lawsuit in West Virginia.

Koty jumped out of my side by side, and I sat there for a few moments to gather my thoughts. By the time I made it to the garage door, I heard music. When I opened the door I knew Belle had been up to something. Our house smelled amazing, and she must have learned how to use the Alexa. Then I walked into the kitchen and my jaw dropped. Long legs, form fitting dress, ass…that fucking ass. My mouth was watering before my eyes landed on her hair. It was shorter and looked shinier, softer, and had waves in it. Then she turned and she took my breath away. Holy shit those eyes. My God they stood out. She was wearing makeup, and I had no idea she could have looked sexier than she had without it. She didn’t look as innocent, instead she looked like a grown woman, and I liked it a lot.

I chuckled when she reached for my hand, lifted it then twirled before she wrapped herself up in my right arm and had me swaying to the music with her ass pressed up against me. My other hand landed on her hip. She turned her head to look up at me and smiled. “I had an amazing day, how about you?” She asked.

I chuckled. “It’s suddenly getting a whole lot better.”

She unrolled from my arm, and I pulled her into me to coax her into a slow dance for just a little longer. I loved her laugh when her chest met mine. It felt like her laugh could cure the world of all the hate and anything else that’s negative about this world. “I see you’ve made a few changes. You know, you were already beautiful before the new hair and makeup.”

She blushed but melted into my arms and laid her head on my chest. “Why does this feel like there’s no problems left in the world to solve?”

I took a sharp breath then kissed the top of her head. I couldn’t go through with the marriage thing. Not with the lawsuit happening, and the fact that she didn’t even know me. What she just asked confirmed what Koty warned me about earlier today. She would grow attached and that couldn’t happen. She didn’t understand the world and didn’t even know who she was yet. She already depended on me so much and their plan would only make her even more dependent, defeating the purpose of fighting for her freedom. She would leave one gated community for another and never see the world. I knew her for a week, and she didn’t know how big the world really was and going through with it might have just added to her problems. I shut my eyes and laid my head against hers as I took in her scent. If the woman in my arms had any kind of life experience and had memories other than the ones formed in that cult, I wouldn’t hesitate to date her. It was the first time I had wanted that since Natalie. I’d want to do everything I hadn’t wanted during my adult life. I could have taken her on dates, taken her to meet my friends and family. Take time to get to know her and we could have shared life stories, but she didn’t have any to share. There was no first boyfriend, no first kiss, no prom, no friends, no celebrations, nothing but serving God and her father. The way she was in that moment while in my arms…she was trained to serve a man and that was never something I ever wanted. She should have dreams of her own while I had mine, and we would share them. Not her living to satisfy me. I went to war and fought to preserve the freedoms of everyone, not become the reason an amazing young woman didn’t have any freedom of her own. I may have only known her for a week, but I knew what I really was. The first man to show her respect and kindness. The man her father told her she would marry. If we followed through with the plan, she wouldn’t ever agree to a divorce, even if it was a fake marriage.

She quickly pulled back. “Dinner, I’m going to burn it.” I had to let go of her, but it felt so wrong.

She pulled something from the oven that made my mouth water even more. I couldn’t move, just stood there watching her move around our kitchen like an expert. “Do you enjoy cooking?” I asked and she smiled at me which made my heart race.

“Yes, my mama says I’m a natural chef. I always loved being in the kitchen. I like to experiment with different flavors and create my own recipes. This is a French onion meatloaf, and I made potato casserole, and we have salad. It’s one of Koty’s favorites.”

“What else do you enjoy?” I asked.

“I love to read. Zoey said I need glasses and that’s why I get headaches sometimes. Anyway, I like gardening, and children always make me feel happy. I liked college, but not all of the students. Some were snobby and made fun of the way I dressed, but I still liked learning. I also like to travel. We went on trips to the other communities, and papa would take us to other places during the drive. We stayed in hotels and one time I flew to Canada with him. I had a passport and everything.” She took off her oven mittens. “I liked spending the day with the other women. They were funny and I learned a lot.”

“Have you ever had a crush on a boy, like when you were in college?”

She blushed. “Yes, another student but he wasn’t the right boy for me.” She went to the cupboard for plates, and I grabbed some forks and followed her.

“If you met a guy outside of your community, would you have left to be with him?” I asked.

She paused for a second then placed a plate down on the table. “Not while my papa was so sick, but I think if he was the kind of man that wouldn’t stand in my way of my career of teaching and I felt strong feelings for him, yeah I would have left. My only struggle would be with the shunning and never seeing my mama again. But look where I am now, I will be shunned by everyone but my mama and papas most faithful followers. I’ll probably never see my brothers again.”

“And be satisfied to be his only wife?”

She laughed. “You have a lot of questions. I never wanted sister wives. I would have done it to make papa happy, but I think once he was gone I may have ended up running away.”

“A divorce?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Spiritual marriages don’t need divorces. The church could offer an annulment if my husband would have raised a hand to me, but I’d leave the church anyway. I was really scared when we left mama’s house that night. I halfway believed in the things papa taught, but had enough doubt to help me along this journey. I’m adjusting to life outside the religion rather quickly, I think.”

“It’s a big world out there, Belle.”

She crossed her arms as she spoke. “I had one dream growing up, and that was to go to school and become a teacher. I wouldn’t mind doing some traveling, but right now I want to be in a classroom. I still have faith in God, Michael. I just don’t have faith in my papa’s religion. I have an education, and I might still be na?ve about some things, but I’m also smart. Koty also thinks I’m too na?ve to know what I want, but it’s not true. I didn’t just want my education so I could teach someday, I wanted it so I could learn about the world around me. I don’t think many people would understand what kind of journey I want in life. It’s not to visit Paris or Rome, though it would be nice, I want friendships and to experience…to experience things that most people seem to think are simple. I like being domestic, and I love the idea of raising children with a man that would love me and only me.”

Shit… “I want to date you.” It slipped out. Shit! Fuck! I didn’t know how to do that, and I sure as hell wasn’t expecting it to slip out. I just fucked it all up. Dammit she made me nervous. I was trying to say what I always regretted not saying to Natalie. Well, not the love part, but the being together part. I never did that before, never had a girlfriend. “I might not be good at it though.” I couldn’t bring myself to look at her.

“I want to date you too.”

Thank God! But I still couldn’t look at her. “But I have to ask you to temporarily marry me.”

I heard her take a sharp breath. “You have to ask me to marry you? What…I am so confused.”

My eyes finally met hers. “We have to follow through with your father’s prophecy to stop Jeremiah. We need to produce a marriage certificate and show your family my birthmark. They have to believe I’ll be their bishop so I can help them start new lives and make sure they never take another child bride. Your brother will take back his permission from Jeremiah to marry you and help more people we believe he is hurting. Your father left a huge estate for your legal husband, and I want to use that money to help people like your mother. The rest will go to support a new division of Creeds Lake that will focus on missing Indigenous women, and hopefully prevent anymore being kidnapped and probably killed. I like you, Belle. I want to date you, but a real marriage isn’t in the cards, so it won’t be a spiritual marriage. We don’t know each other well enough to make it a real marriage.”

She was obviously frozen. “Wait…you mean marry, get papas money, invest it in my family so they can start new lives then help women that are being hurt by bad men? Like sex traffickers?”

I tilted my head. “You know what that is?”

“I read, Michael. I have an education. I may not know much about some subjects, but I know people get kidnapped and forced into human trafficking. Papa didn’t allow me to read about matters of the heart, but he did allow me a glimpse of what might happen to me if I dared leave the community. He exposed me to the scary things, just not the good things.”

I looked down at my shoe. “So, what do you think? And just so you know, this isn’t about sharing a bed with you. I just want to have an opportunity to spend time with you and see where it goes from there.”

I looked up and she was blushing. “I’d like that, a lot.”

“What do you think about the marrying me thing? If we don’t work out, will you be okay with a divorce?” That part made me nervous.

“Well, if you’re a grumpy jerk then yeah, I’ll sign for a divorce.” She laughed. “It’s just paperwork, not a marriage. A marriage happens when two people vow in front of God to always love and honor each other, not a judge. All I ask is that you set a tiny nest egg aside for me and Koty. Creed’s Lake isn’t a permanent home for us, we know that, and we will need to start over somewhere else at some point. We don’t need much, just enough to start new somewhere.”

I nodded. “Absolutely, and I will do as I promise. At first we thought about donating it to the reservations, but now that we looked at the vast number of missing women, we will need to start a new division and your father’s money will support it. It will only be used to help Indigenous people. I think it’s time someone steps up and does something about an issue that’s been ignored. We will include Canadian cases as well.”

Forty minutes later, I hoped Belle would have been up for a date. “Winter boots, jeans, sweater, hat and gloves.” I said after Koty left the dinner table.

“What?” She giggled.

“I’ll take care of the dishes, and you go get dressed. Tonight is our first date.” I declared.

A huge smile formed on her face. “Really?”

I chuckled. “If that’s okay with you.”

“Of course. I’ll be right back.” She left the dining room, and I think that might have been the fastest I ever saw her move.

I loaded the dishwasher and wiped everything down when I heard her voice. “Koty, I have a date with my fiancé, so we won’t be home tonight.”

I heard his bedroom door open. “A fake fiancé and don’t forget it. You are not to get attached to the idea of being married to him. It may not be what he wants at the end of all this, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“How do you know it won’t be me breaking his heart?” She teased and I smiled, but knew it was a chance I was taking.

When she walked into the kitchen, I was putting on my coat when my heart melted. She looked so damn adorable wearing a white hat with a fuzzy ball on top, a white down coat, and white boots. Her copper hair was still falling over her shoulders. How could anyone look that fucking amazing in winter clothes?

“Where are you taking me?” She was obviously excited.

“I figured if that winter wonderland had to exist, we might as well take advantage of it.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes! That sounds like so much fun! I have one question though.”

“What’s that?”

“Okay, please don’t think I’m weird, but can I sit on Santa’s lap? We never got to celebrate, and I always wanted a Christmas.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “As long as Santa keeps his hands to himself, that’s fine with me, but it’s up to you.” I gave her a wink.

“It’s not the same Santa that was sodomized by the little elf is it?” She asked as we walked out to the garage.

“That was Scott Drakos and Melissa. Eventually, you’ll know to turn off your ears when they’re around.” I shut the door behind us then walked to my truck to open the passenger door.

“Yeah, today she said he was being a stingy little bitch since that incident.”

I paused then laughed. “What did you just say?”

She climbed up into the truck. “He’s been a stingy little bitch.” She repeated herself.

I was still laughing. “That’s the last thing I expected you to repeat.”

“I learned a lot today. Not just at the salon, but Heidi and Steph gave me an educational course.”

I shut my eyes and thanked God. “Thank God it was Steph and Heidi, and not Melissa.” I paused. “Wait, was my sister at the salon today?”

She froze. “Yes?”

Why did that make her nervous? “I’d rather Melissa not make the two of you feel awkward, but I’m glad you met Kayla. You have a lot in common.”

I shut her door and made my way to the passenger side. For some reason, when I got in the truck, she looked like she was trying to hide a laugh. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you like Kayla? You know I raised her, right?”

She looked out the passenger window. “I like her just fine. She’s a very nice girl.” Why did it sound like she was laughing or crying? “Just drive, Michael. Please?”

“What’s wrong?” I reached over and put my hand on her shoulder.

“Nothing.” Her shoulders were shaking like she might have been crying.

“Did Kayla say something to upset you?”

She finally turned and looked at me, but she was laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I was confused.

“Just some things Kayla said. They were very funny and it’s girl code. Sorry, can’t share.”

I snorted. “Knowing my sister she probably made the girls keep the conversation clean. That makes me feel better.” I started the truck and put it in reverse. Maybe Kayla would have been a good person to consult about clean dating. What kind of things I could take Belle to do to make sure there was no focus on sex. I honestly had no clue how to date a woman. I had an idea how to treat them because respect was everything, but not how to date them. Holy shit, Irons ordered her documents and had them overnighted. In a few days she would have a state identification, and I would be married to the girl I wanted to date. The thought was absolutely insane. I was glad we had that talk earlier. I didn’t feel as if I would have been holding her back as much if I wanted to work our way up to something more serious. I couldn’t do that until things were settled with Natalie and put to rest. My biggest problem was keeping Creed in the dark. I never told Natalie’s story to anyone and not even Kayla knew the whole story. It was something I never wanted anyone to know, but in reality I knew it was going to come out eventually.

“Do you think it will snow soon?” She asked. “Heidi said there was some weather coming tonight.”

“Yeah, but it’ll only be a few inches.” I answered.

“Do you mind if I want to celebrate Christmas? Everyone is so excited about it, and I’ve never really celebrated anything before.”

I glanced at her as I drove. “Do you want a tree and the whole nine yards?”

Her eyes lit up. “Really? We could have one?”

“Sure, maybe after work tomorrow I’ll take you to get one of the trees Morgan ordered then get some decorations from the commissary.”

“Yay!” She clapped and making her happy was the best feeling ever.

“You’re growing into this outside world way faster than I expected.”

She glanced at me with a smile. “I trust you, Michael. You said for me to start enjoying things and forget all the false sins I was taught to fear. Life doesn’t seem so scary anymore.”

I pulled into the community center parking lot. “I’m very glad you’ve decided to make the best of it.”

Her eyes were beaming with joy, and her smile warmed me up inside. “Are you kidding? I’m about to give Santa my first ever Christmas list. Oh, I didn’t have to write it down, did I?”

There wasn’t much of anything I wouldn’t get her. “No, just tell Santa and he will remember.”

She went to get out, but I stopped her. “Wait, don’t move.”

I hopped out and jogged to the passenger side to open her door. I then helped her down and was rewarded with a hug. “Wow, you’re affectionate.” I wasn’t used to it, but I liked how she felt. Anyone else wouldn’t get away with it, just her. I once laid Drakos out for trying to hug me.

I took her hand, and we walked over to stand in line for Santa. We didn’t wait long, and the whole time I got to hold her hand. Jesus, I was down to being a pansy ass bitch. I liked holding her hand, hugging her, and all that shit. Fucking weird.

“Go on.” I prompted her when it was her turn. She clapped and practically danced over to Santa. I gave that prospect one hell of a look that told him to behave himself.

“What would you like for Christmas this year, young lady?” Santa glanced at me a few times, obviously scared shitless.

“I have a long list, but okay, I’ll start with asking you to please pray for my family…oh and please pray for Mr. Drakos and Melissa. Could you make them stop sharing so many stories?”

I laughed and so did Santa. “You’re the third person to ask that question tonight.”

I snapped a photo with my phone.

“What can I bring for you this Christmas, something that can be wrapped and placed under the tree?” Santa asked.

She pointed at me. “Can you bring him?”

Santa looked at me and his eyes squinted. “Axton? Why him?”

I growled and Santa sat up straight. I guess my asshole behavior was catching up to me. “Sorry. I umm…how about a scarf or maybe a necklace?” He tried speaking like Santa.

“Okay, fine. I’ll take one of those cell phones. My papa let me have a computer but never a phone. It doesn’t have to be new, just something that works with the internet.” She finally answered and that was as good as done. I’d buy one off the DV division since I couldn’t leave on lockdown.

“Is that all?” He asked.

“Maybe one for my brother too.” She said.

Done.

“Thank you, Santa.” He handed her a candy cane and she raced over to me. “Did I do it right?”

“You did perfect.”

Belle

I stood as stiff as stone as Michael wrapped his arms around me and ice skated. He was laughing because I was so scared. “Loosen up and move with me.” He was behind me and practically holding me up.

I tried and eventually I started to catch on. I almost fell about twenty times, but my protector always caught me. It started to snow so I slowed, and he pulled me into him. He laughed when I opened my mouth and tried to catch a snowflake on my tongue.

“You…are adorable.” He kissed the tip of my nose.

I scrunched my nose. “But you have to think that as my soon to be fake husband.”

“I think that as the real guy that wants to date you.” He kissed the tip of my nose again. “Next time, that might not land on your nose.” He warned me and yes, I wanted that so bad. A real kiss on my lips. I should have asked Santa for a real Michael kiss for Christmas. “Come on, let’s go around one more time.” He took my hand and off we went.

Twenty minutes later, we were curled up together under a blanket with hot chocolate in our hands. The horse was pulling our carriage, and I couldn’t describe the feeling of it. “I don’t feel as old tonight. For the first time in my life, it’s like all my dreams are alive and I don’t have to hide my thoughts and dreams anymore.” I rested my head against his shoulder as the carriage took us around the lake so we could admire all the Christmas lights. “Is this what they call Christmas Spirit? I know someone outside wants me for evil things, but I have a huge amount of hope in my heart.”

He squeezed me a little tighter. “That sounds exactly like Christmas spirit.”

“Do I have to be a religious person to enjoy this holiday or is being faithful to God enough?”

He kissed the top of my head. “Being faithful to yourself is the same as being faithful to God. No, you do not have to subscribe to a certain religion.”

“I can be faithful to you as well.” I said.

He lifted my chin then lowered his head. My heart raced then he kissed me on the nose.

“Dang it! I hoped you’d miss that time.”

He chuckled as he looked down at me. “Bellemy Ashford, you are so much more than I could have dreamed when I first saw you in that bed.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That was super cheesy. Not cringe but definitely cheesy.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “We don’t have to rush anything.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.” I really did think it was cute.

He chuckled. “You’ve only been here for twenty-four hours and you’re already rolling your eyes like Morgan and Addie.”

“I’m a quick learner.” I bragged.

He squeezed my body again. “That’s an understatement. You’ve made some huge strides in a very little amount of time.”

I saw the lake and the Christmas lights danced as they reflected in the water as snow fell from the sky. “Michael look at it. He’s here you know, God. It’s so beautiful and maybe this is a sign. He likes the path I’m taking. Nothing has ever felt so right in my life, despite the fact that I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”

“What path do you think he’s happy you’re taking?”

I turned my head and looked up at him. “Can I ask you a question?” I avoided his question.

“Sure.”

“I’ve met a lot of people in my life. I went to college and there were a lot of people there. I student taught and met students, teachers, fathers, and lots of other men. I visited other communities and met men more like how my family is, but I never met someone like you. I never felt someone near before I saw them. Never felt anxious like there’s butterflies in my stomach, and I never felt so safe. Does that scare you? Because oddly enough, it doesn’t scare me.”

His eyes softened. “You’ve known me for a week. I can be moody at times, and I might not end up being who you think I am.”

“Do you feel moody around me and just hide it?”

“Actually, I feel moody until I am around you. That’s new for me.” He answered.

“We don’t date in my world, so please forgive me because it’s confusing to me. I’ve probably seen thousands of other men, why didn’t they attract me the way you do? I feel drawn to you, and I never felt that before.” I learned very quickly that Creed’s Lake was filled with handsome men, but none I saw so far compared to Michael.

“Well, I don’t date either, and I feel the same about you. That’s why we need to take our time and date. I’m in no rush to speed whatever this is up and miss the best parts of getting to know you. I want you to know for sure that I’m the guy for you before we dive into anything.” He pushed some hair behind my ear and under my hat.

“I don’t care that you’re the biggest asshole on Creeds Lake. I want to make you my asshole.”

His eyes grew before he threw his head back and laughed. “You heard about that, huh?”

She smiled then winked. “Maybe I like a guy that can tell it how it is and not sugar coat everything.”

He ran his thumb down my cheek. “I guess that’s good news for me.”

“My papa said my greatest downfall was my curiosity. It was true, but I was taught not to ask questions. I think I’ve asked more questions today than in my whole life. It feels so good to ask questions and nobody snaps at me.”

He smiled and I noticed a snowflake on his eyelash. “I happen to adore your curiosity, and I like how comfortable you feel around me enough to ask me your questions.”

He had no idea what he was setting himself up for. “Will you be visiting other women while we are doing this dating thing?”

He tilted his head just a little and his brows furrowed. “Of course not.” He studied my eyes.

“Mama said men have different needs than us and I don’t want you to get angry because you’re not visiting other women.”

“That’s not how it works, Belle. Men and women have the same needs. I think things happen and suddenly a man doesn’t want the company of any other woman.” He reassured me.

“I like that, and I think it’s the same for women.”

Our ride came to a stop and Michael helped me out of the carriage and then walked me to his truck.

“What are your plans tomorrow?” Michael asked as he drove toward home.

I was looking forward to the next day. “Stephanie is picking me up after the operatives leave with the kids to take them to school. We are going to bake cookies for the children’s Christmas program tomorrow night. Then we’re going to decorate the banquet room for it. I’m kind of excited. I haven’t done anything like that since I student taught.”

“I forgot all about that, the Originals have been asked to attend, and they’ve requested residents as well. Morgan requested as many people come as could fit in the theater because a few of these kids only have one parent that can attend if they’re in the DV program.”