Chapter 9 Pulse Under Ice
pulse under ice
The sun was up, but the sky was dull and gray as blankets of snow continued to fall.
Kayden’s revelation about his new plan yesterday surprised her, to say the least. Lana was embarrassed by how wrong she had been to prejudge him and knew it had a lot to do with her own insecurities.
Maybe all men weren’t alike after all. Her cell phone vibrated, and she picked it up from the bedside table and swiped the screen:
CARMEN: Guess who got DUMPED?! Hint...Dragon in heels
She rolled her eyes but finally responded to her friend.
LANA: Don’t even care. Have so much to tell you.
CARMEN: So you don’t care that he dumped her when he saw the pic she posted of u on FB?
LANA: Nope!
CARMEN: Damn girl, what’s going on up there? You need to call me ASAP!
She put the phone back down, climbed out of bed, and walked into Kayden’s bathroom, where she turned the deep whirlpool tub on. Adding her vanilla bean-scented body wash, she removed what little she had on and slipped into the steaming water.
They had made love three times since yesterday, and her muscles ached in all the right places.
He was insatiable, she thought as she bathed away the night’s adventures.
Lana woke up alone but knew he wasn’t far.
He was probably cooking breakfast or chopping wood since the roads were closed.
He couldn’t go to the hospital to see Rachel even if he wanted to.
Rachel. How was she going to break that to him?
She lay back and rested her head against the cold porcelain of the tub.
Perhaps if I did it now, it wouldn’t be so bad.
Lana knew that the longer she dragged it out, the worse it would be, and his heart being broken was inevitable anyway.
Either the news would come from her or the police, and she couldn’t let them catch him off guard like that. He didn’t deserve that.
Once she was finished in the bathroom, she put on a thick, soft, and fluffy terry cloth robe and slipped on Kayden’s bedroom shoes.
They were huge and she could hardly walk in them, but she didn’t have any of her own, since she wasn’t prepared for the snowstorm.
Tip-toeing down the stairs to avoid slipping, there weren’t any aromas of breakfast being made, just freshly brewed coffee.
He was sitting at the dining room table, intently drawing on the large sheet of paper spread across it.
His back was turned to her, and she didn’t want to startle him, so she went into the kitchen, grabbed a mug, and poured herself a cup of his way-too-strong coffee.
“Morning, beautiful,” he called over his shoulder. That made her smile.
“Morning,” she replied, walking towards him now, mug in hand.
He reached his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him as he drew ruler-straight lines with his free hand. It was a masterpiece, she thought, looking at it.
“That’s amazing, Kayden,” she said.
She could hardly believe her eyes. He had sketched the exterior of the building with stained glass, making it look like a home rather than a diner entrance.
“You like it?” he asked while he pulled her onto his lap and looked up at her.
“I love it, and I know Aunt Mae will too,” she said and kissed him on the nose.
“I love it too, but it’s not for the restaurant,” he replied, returning her gesture of a kiss, but on her mouth instead. He tasted the coffee on her mouth and licked his lips.
“Oh yeah? Then what’s it for?” she asked, perplexed.
“It’s a house I want to build here in Hamby. I’ve been working on it for a while, but I’m inspired to finish it now.”
“Wow, that’s awesome. It’s huge,” she said as he flipped the plans so she could see more.
The house was three stories tall, with a covered lanai, six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a media room, a formal dining room, and a private tennis court. It was beyond anything she had ever seen for sure.
“You’re really talented, you know that,” she said, looking at him.
“If only my mother agreed.”
“Well, show her. You can’t let this stay a secret. Build it and show her you’ve got what it takes.”
He smiled at her.
“I plan to build it and move back here to live in it,” he said, waiting for her response.
He searched her eyes, and she could tell that he wanted to say more.
“I think you should go for it,” she kissed him and stood off his lap, but he took her coffee, placed it on the table, and held her hands in his.
“I was hoping I’d have a roommate,” he replied and kissed her hand, looking up at her with eyes as deep and beautiful as the sea.
Lana froze like a statue, although panic coursed through her body. Was he serious? Could she really move here and leave her life behind? For the first time in a long time, she was lost for words. They had so much more to learn about each other still. She took a deep breath and smiled weakly at him.
“That’s a big question, Kayden. How do you know you want to live with me?”
She removed her hand and grabbed the coffee mug, taking a huge gulp that seared her esophagus.
“Don’t husbands live with their wives?” he asked, pausing for her response.
The question stunned her, and she began choking on her coffee, and he stood.
“Are you OK?” He asked again, taking the mug from her and placing it back on the table.
“I’m fine,” she choked out, tapping her chest, as a small bit of coffee was now in her lungs.
She wasn’t sure she heard him right, and if she did, he had to be crazy. Pulling her hand from him slowly and backing away, the light in his face dimmed.
“Kayden...that’s...we can’t...slow down,” she stammered, “We’ve only known each other a few weeks.”
“I know all I need to. And it’s not as if I’m a complete stranger. You and my sister have been best friends forever,” he replied.
That reminded her again that she still hadn’t called or texted Paula at all, but now she was afraid of the thought.
He approached her slowly, and she backed up instinctively.
“I know you’re caring, bright, and strong-willed,” he reached an arm around her back and pulled her into him. He pressed his forehead to hers as he always did, his eyelashes tickling hers, and kissed her.
“You’re brave, beautiful, thoughtful,” he continued, his kisses getting more intense. “And I’m in love with you,” he said, looking into her eyes.
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think clearly, and definitely couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Oh, Kayden, so am I, but...” she searched his eyes as hers filled with tears.
He wiped one that escaped her face with his thumb.
“But what?” he asked so softly and so sweetly, she almost died inside.
He looked so sure of himself, more confident than she’d ever seen him before. What if he was actually telling the truth, she thought, since she was pretty sure she had fallen for him way longer than she wanted to admit to herself.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” she said, with tears running freely down her face.
“Shh...,” he hugged her and continued, “What’s happening is, for the first time, in a long time, I feel free.
Being with you it’s like someone opened the shades of a dark room and let the light in.
I can breathe again. I feel like I have a purpose and I want to spend the rest of my life thanking you for that. ”
“I wish I were as confident as you,” she said, searching his face, wondering if she could trust another man the way she had in the past. She really wanted to with him, and he was making a very compelling argument.
“You showed me compassion when I least deserved it. You call me on my shit when I need it, and by simply being the most considerate and thoughtful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. The thought of losing you in a few weeks scares me more than anything else right now. That’s how I know it’s you.”
He leaned in and kissed her again, and she didn’t resist. His words floored her as she’d never dreamed she could have that kind of impact on anyone.
She kissed him back as he slowly pulled her robe down around her shoulders, and it hit the floor.
They made love in front of the fireplace as if their lives depended on it.
AFTER A DAY spent cooking together, watching movies, and having more earth-shattering sex, Lana woke in bed, lying on his chest. She thought about everything that had happened since she arrived in town a few short weeks ago and how her life was suddenly spinning out of control in every good way imaginable.
She had literally run into someone she couldn’t stand the sight of, but now couldn’t imagine not being with him every minute of the day.
Kayden was sound asleep, and the moon was full in the night sky, the light spilling through the panoramic windows and filling the room.
She had a lot to think about as she hadn’t said no to his wild proposal, but she never said yes to him either.
She needed to tell him what had happened with Rachel, and there was no way to soften the blow, no matter how much she wished to.
There just never seemed to be a good time to bring it up the entire day.
Also, there was the matter of that Kim girl texting his phone, and so many questions that she needed to be answered in order for her to agree to uproot her life and move to Hamby, let alone marry him.
If anyone had told her a year ago that she’d be in bed with the handsomest man she’d ever laid eyes on, contemplating marrying him, she would’ve called bullshit and then called a mental institution to come and carry them away. A year can change a lot.