Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
NANCY
My new home is obscured by a cloud of dust, and I have sneezed four times since stepping foot inside. Right as the fifth arrives, Karl’s arms are around me, and I’m being carried outside.
“I think I underestimated how bad it would be after being uninhabited for so long.” He laughs nervously as he sets me back down, his right arm still wrapped tightly around me as if he’s afraid I’m going to run away.
I’m not, for the record. It’ll take a whole lot more than a dusty old cottage to scare me off.
“How long?”
“Hmm?” he hums, looking down at me.
“How long has it been empty?”
“Oh, hmmm…” His brow furrows. “A few years. I think the last time my aunt and uncle were here, they stayed in it. That was four Christmases ago, I believe. I’ll go back in and open all the windows so at least it’ll air out.
Screens will keep out any unwanted critters.
” His arm loosens, and I grab his hand before he can get away from me.
“I can help with this. A little sneezing never hurt anyone.”
“You don’t have to,” he assures me, the line between his eyebrows becoming more pronounced.
“I know I don’t have to. But doing it together will get it done faster, and I think that’s the right move. Also, you went to battle for me with my parents. I’m happy to go into battle with you against some dust particles.”
“Alright,” he agrees, leading me back inside.
He releases my hand, albeit reluctantly, and heads to the left while I go right.
As curtains are thrown back, the interior becomes more visible.
It’s pretty bare-bones, and the few pieces of furniture that are present are covered in sheets.
I guess that’s a good thing. We won’t have to clean layers of dust off the bed and couch.
It takes a bit more effort than I had expected to get the windows open.
The sound of wood sliding against the frame fills the small space.
But the fresh air makes a difference almost immediately.
As much as I want to explore, I’ve been battling an entire brigade of sneezes since we walked back inside, so I hurry back out.
“Well,” Karl says as he joins me on the short flagstone path, “I guess we may as well go introduce you to the in-laws.”
“What if the neighbor is still there?” I ask as we walk back to the truck.
Karl shrugs. “She’s great, and she’ll want to meet you eventually, so I guess this is an efficient approach. Get it all done in one go.”
A high-pitched giggle bursts out of me before I have a chance to quell it, and he looks at me with wide eyes. “Unless you’d rather… not?”
“No, this needs to be done. I mean, I’m excited. Really, this is exciting. I can’t wait. It’s just—” I stop my rambling mouth and take a couple of steadying breaths. “Promise me if they freak out you won’t let go of my hand.”
Karl closes the space between us and takes both of my hands, bringing them up to his mouth and kissing my knuckles.
“I promise I’ll never let go of your hand,” he vows, holding my gaze.
I see it in his eyes, a confidence that I do not possess.
Yet anyway. But I have a feeling that the longer I’m around Karl, the more confident I’ll be in just about all areas of my life.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around a reaction that isn’t negative.
Karl is so insistent that it’s going to be fine, but all I see is my mother’s expression when I said what we’d done.
Outrage and disapproval painted across the severe lines of her face.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve already been written out of the will, my existence erased from their lives. Nancy? Who’s Nancy?
Karl pulls me into his body. His warmth chasing away the chills of disappointment that come with remembering my mother’s words.
The pressure of his arms around me is also a reminder that he feels something on a totally different level than I do.
It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, something deep and all-consuming.
Something I don’t have a word for yet because as I wrap my arms around him, I know my touch isn’t conveying the same thing despite the fact I desperately want it to.
His lips rest on the crown of my head, and he hums out a sound of absolute contentment. It calms my nerves all the way to my toes. His sureness is grounding.
Back in the truck, he takes my hand, squeezing gently for the entire drive back to the main house, as if reassuring me everything is going to be okay. Matt is walking up the porch steps and turns back wide-eyed as Karl puts the truck into park.
“Now?” he shouts.
Karl gets out and walks around to my side, where I seem to be frozen. I hear him confirm as he swings my door open and leans in. “Ready?”
I look from the house to him and back again. “I guess so.”
He holds out his hand, and I take it, sliding down from the truck. I half expect him to take off at a run, dragging me behind him, but he keeps pace with me, continuing a steady rhythm of squeezes on my hand while we make our way to the large white farmhouse.
Matt stands at the door, holding it open for us.
“Want me to, ugh,” he asks, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “Wait out here?”
“Nah, you can vouch for us. Dad’s going to think it’s a joke.”
“I mean… I’m still not sure it’s real.” Matt laughs.
“That makes two of us,” I agree. “But I definitely signed some official-looking papers.”
“And there will be pictures soon,” Karl says as he steps into the house.
I follow and copy him as he takes off his boots. When I’m standing there in my socks, it hits me that if I have to make a run for it, having to put my boots back on will slow me down. So I really hope it doesn’t come to that.
“Mom? Dad?” Karl calls as he takes my hand again and leads me through a properly lived-in living room off the foyer.
“Kitchen.” I hear a high, clear voice call back.
Holy shit, this is happening. I am meeting my husband’s parents. What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t like them?
“Oh!” A woman with the same dark brown hair as Karl says as we come into view.
“I didn’t realize you were bringing company.
” She’s smiling at me. A big smile too. Every single thing about this woman is different from my mother.
Mrs. Hore is all soft lines and smiles, whereas my mother is all sharp angles and scowls.
“What’s with the shouting?” A man asks as he comes into the kitchen.
He’s Karl, but thirty years older. The same blue eyes as his stare back at me.
“Hello,” he greets me, stepping forward, his hand held aloft for me to shake.
“William Hore.” His grip is strong as my hand disappears in his calloused one.
“Nancy…” I nearly say it, nearly use my new last name, but nothing comes out.
“Nancy, this is my mom, Elizabeth.” Karl gestures to his mom.
She reaches out and shakes my hand, offering me a warm smile that I was not expecting.
By the time she looks back at Karl, the creases in her forehead have become more prominent, clearly confused about who the hell I am.
“Mom, Dad, Nancy is…” He pauses, and my heart races ahead of me.
He’s second-guessing everything. He’s going to say I’m his friend or girlfriend.
He’s going to chicken out. He’s going to—“My wife.” I can feel his eyes on me, but I keep my gaze firmly on my in-laws as those two words land.
It’s not disgust or anger I see on their faces. Shock, absolutely. My in-laws are definitely two people in shock.
Mrs. Hore looks from me to Karl and back again. “Sorry?”
Karl’s arm wraps around me, and he pulls me softly into his side. “Nancy is my wife. We’re married.”
“Okay, so you did say that. I wasn’t sure if the cheese I ate earlier had been off. I did say it tasted funny,” she muses, looking over at her husband.
He pulls his gaze from me and nods. “Yes, you did say that. But I didn’t have any, and I also heard what you heard, so…” I watch his mouth move noiselessly.
“No words are coming out, Dad.” Matt laughs from behind us. “Your lips are just flapping.”
“His lips are always flapping,” Mrs. Hore mutters as she takes a tentative step forward, as if she’s approaching an injured animal. But it’s just me here, her surprise daughter-in-law. When she reaches me, she looks over at Karl. “You’re being serious?”
“Yeah, Mom, I’m serious. I wouldn’t joke with you about something like this.” The way his voice softens makes my heart melt a little bit, and I watch as her eyes fill with tears.
“You got married without inviting your parents?” It’s a line that would put me on edge if it weren’t for the way the words bounce through the air and the fact she’s smiling brightly at me.
“It’s not how I would have preferred it, but welcome to the family.
” She pulls me in for a hug, away from the safety of Karl’s touch, and I can’t seem to stop myself from tensing for a second.
I’ve never been hugged like this. Or at least I haven’t been in recent memory.
When her hold loosens, I almost pull her back in. I want to try this again. Be ready for it this time. But the minute she steps out of my reach, Mr. Hore is there, crushing me to him. “How do you feel about cows, Nancy?” he asks, making everyone laugh and all the tension in the room disappear.
“Well, I really like what they make. Cheese is my favorite food in the world.”
Mr. Hore claps Karl on the back. “You did good, son,” he states as another round of laughter fills the kitchen.