Chapter 9 Pulse Under Ice #2
Lana also couldn’t help wondering if this was just a phase of grief from her past she was going through—or worse, what if she was just a phase for him?
Already having her heart crushed once and by someone half the man Kayden was, if he did it too, she would be undone for sure.
He stirred a little and squeezed his eyes closed, then they opened lazily and slowly.
Small slits showed only a peak of color, but the moonlight illuminated them like emeralds.
It amazed her how many different colors his eyes could manifest at different times of the day.
He smiled as he gazed at her, but didn’t say anything.
They didn’t need to speak. They had a way of saying everything needed with simple glances or lingering stares.
He wanted her to be his wife, and she was unsure of her future, let alone his.
She leaned closer to him and planted a small kiss on his lips.
“What was that for?” he murmured sleepily.
“Because I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you,” she replied.
“But you won’t marry me.”
“I didn’t say that,” she replied.
“You never said yes either,” he deadpanned.
“I need to talk to you about something,” she said, shifting her weight onto her elbow.
“What is it?” he asked, yawning.
Maybe this wasn’t the right time, she thought.
Maybe I should just make something up and leave it alone.
As she looked over at him, his hair disheveled and adorable, she couldn’t wait any longer.
He had to know what was going on and be prepared for what was coming.
She sat up in the bed and turned on the small lamp on the bedside table.
He sat up, more intent, worry creeping into his face.
Lana wrung her hands, not sure of how to say the words or of what his reaction would be.
“What is it, baby?” he took her hands, enveloping them in both of his, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.
Finally, she took a breath and prepared herself. It’s now or never, she thought. As she opened her mouth, the doorbell chime started ringing throughout the house. It startled her because she’d never heard it before, and also because it was well after midnight.
“Who the hell is that?” he asked and jumped out of bed. Kayden headed for the bedroom door, and her heart sank. The police are here to take him away, and I’m too late. Idiot, she chastised in her thoughts.
She jumped out of bed, shot around him, blocking the door, and the doorbell sounded again.
“What's going on, Lan’?” he shortened her name for the first time since she'd known him, and she liked it.
“Yes.” She replied.
“What?” he asked, confused.
“I’ll marry you,” she said, the words falling from her mouth before she could think. Lana resolved not to tell him she knew about Rachel at that point.
She would just be there for him and explain it all as best she could later.
Regardless of how he took it, there wasn’t much more that could be done.
She was out of time. They both were. Kayden grabbed her and hugged her, planting kisses all over her face.
The doorbell sounded for the third time and caused her heart to skip a beat.
“You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet, you know that?” he asked.
Lana smiled at him weakly and grabbed him again, stealing another kiss, sure that it would be the last for a while.
“Let’s see who’s at the door,” he said, holding her hand and leading her out of the bedroom.
They walked down the stairs, passed the kitchen, and Kayden flipped on the foyer light.
They stood hand in hand at the front door when Lana turned her head to the windows across the house.
The snow had stopped falling, but it was at least five feet out there.
Someone really needed to get there, and she knew it was the police.
She wiped away a silent tear as the bell rang again.
Kayden looked through the peephole, and his head dropped.
“Shit,” he turned and looked at her, worried.
Lana stood in silence and didn’t know what to say. He opened the door slowly, and standing on the porch, through mounds of recently dug up snow was an older woman, a young blonde, and a police officer.
“Hey, Mom,” Kayden said.
Lana’s eyes grew wide as his mother stalked past him and stopped in front of her.
“Mom?” Lana repeated in shock.
Lana was only wearing a thin nightgown and folded her arms over her chest in a failed attempt to cover her see-through material.
“Well,” Maureen started as she eyed Lana in disapproval, “I see nothing’s changed one bit.”
She took off her coat and handed it to him like he was a servant, and he placed it on the coat rack.
She was dressed in Chanel from head to toe, typical of what you’d see in old family money.
A snobbish and trite cliché. The blonde walked through the door next, dressed in jeans so tight, she was sure to contract a yeast infection by morning.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” Kayden asked angrily. The blonde smiled at him, turned her nose up at Lana, and returned her attention to him.
“I’m happy to see you too, Kay,” she replied, then followed Maureen into the living room, shooting darts through her eyes at Lana.
Captain Jackson walked in and nodded to Kayden and Lana and followed after Maureen and Kim. As Kayden closed the door to the house. He mouthed the words “I’m so sorry.” She felt raw and intruded upon by the brat pack that just waltzed into their space without invitation or warning.
“Who’s the blonde?” she asked, her arms still folded across her chest.
“My ex, Kim, and trust me, I have no idea what she’s doing here.”
Kayden stalked into the living room, still in his boxers, towards the group as Lana slowly made her way into the kitchen, hoping she could make it upstairs to put on more clothes.
“What’s going on, Mother? I figured you might make an appearance, but why is she with you?”
“Please put some clothes on, dear. There are some pressing matters we need to discuss,” she replied, like she was the queen of England.
He turned around and started for the stairs that Lana was almost halfway up.
She caught Kim looking at him in his boxers and didn’t like it.
When he made it next to her, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and she kissed him on the shoulder as they walked up the stairs together.
Kim’s smile faded quickly when she saw the affection between the two of them and looked over at Maureen.
“Not to worry, I’m sure that’ll be over and done with once we leave here in the morning,” she replied.
Kim relaxed on the couch a little, but still didn’t like what she saw. Lana and Kayden walked into her room and closed the door behind them.
“I’m so sorry, Lan’, I had no idea she was coming,” he said, turning her around to face him.
“I know Kayden,” she replied, raising her eyebrow to him.
She grabbed his hand and sat him on the edge of her bed. “Listen, I meant what I said. It’s crazy and wild, and we might both be insane, but I’ve spent my entire life playing it safe for far too long. I will marry you, but what I was trying to tell you earlier wasn’t about that.”
“Then what is it?” he asked, searching her eyes.
“It’s Rachel.”
Kayden’s face went from frustrated by the drama downstairs to instantly blank. He wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t moving, and it was as if he’d turned into a statue before her eyes.
“The other day, when you yelled at me for going to see her in the storm, I didn’t have a chance to tell you everything. Things have just happened so fast between us since then,” she said, talking a mile a minute.
He put his hand over hers. “How bad is it?”
She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. And he dropped his head.
“I’m so sorry. The receptionist wouldn’t let me go up to see her. She said she wasn’t in the room any longer—”
“Shh,” he cut her off, and stood from the bed, walking to the window.
Suddenly, his eyes were full of tears, and he ran his hands through his hair. It was something she’d recognized as a stress signal in him. He’d done it on the highway, at the diner, and the first night by the fireplace. She wished there was something she could do, but was drawing a blank.
“Kayden, I didn’t know how to tell you. I wanted to so much the last few days, but you’ve been so happy and inspired, I didn’t want to ruin that for you. It was selfish of me, and I’m sorry.”
He turned to her now, his face now the one full of tears, and she leaped from the bed and ran across the room to him. He held onto her almost too tightly, and she let him as he cried softly on her shoulder.
“It’s my fault. I’m the one who keeps ruining people’s lives,” he said, wracked with emotion. She hugged him even tighter.
“Don’t say that. Don’t you think like that.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he pulled away from her, “I deserve whatever happens to me this time.”
Lana’s face went stern and serious. She held his hand up to her chest over her heart and used her other one to tilt his face to hers, his messy hair in his face.
“You’re my heart now, and the only thing you deserve is someone who is going to stand by your side and have your back.
You’ve opened my eyes to so more than you could ever know.
This doesn’t change anything between us.
Ok?” she said, and couldn’t hold back her own tears anymore.
“I’m here and will be here for you regardless, you can bet your last dollar on that. ”
He smiled, and some of the light returned to his eyes as he pulled her close to him again.
“You sure you want to marry me now?”
“Yes, today, yes tomorrow, and yes to the rest of my life.”