Chapter 5
5
Schapelle
I know. I know. I'm taking crazy, adding several more cupfuls of crazy, and mixing it all into my already overflowing bowl…filled with crazy.
I've just married a guy I met a week ago, and now I've agreed to live with him. This is wild, even for me. But when I go all in, I go all in .
Including kissing him once at the ceremony and then at his place after he bought me a mini wedding cake. I was really touched by that, especially since he had no way of knowing if I'd even show up. He seemed uncomfortable when I called him an optimist, and maybe I was off the mark about that, but now that I've had some time to think about it, I think he might actually be a closet romantic…and not even know it.
"So," I say, clapping my hands once I've finished unpacking my stuff in the guest bedroom. "What would you like to do now?"
After telling Brock I'd stay, I drove back to my parents', packed a suitcase, assured them for the millionth time that I knew what I was doing and that Brock wasn't a serial killer, gave them his address, and returned to his cabin.
"I don't know." Brock looks me up and down. I've changed out of my wedding dress into high-waisted, black leggings and an oversized, soft-knit sweater, while he's treating me to my first proper glimpse of him in full mountain-man mode. Yep, the flannel is out and on full display, rolled up to just beneath his elbows, paired with dark denim jeans that accentuate his tree-trunk legs. "What would you like to do?"
The view draws my attention.
Uh, the other view.
The one of the mountains stretching out in a sweeping sea of yellow, gold, and dusty-brown, beneath a clear sky.
"You like hiking, right?" I ask, remembering our conversation from the party.
"I love it," he answers. "But, uh, are you able to? You know, in your condition…" His big hand fumbles awkwardly in the direction of my stomach.
"In my condition?" I quirk a brow, and he winces, like he's only just hearing how ridiculous that sounded.
Ridiculous, but protective, so I'll allow it.
"Sorry. I don't know why I said that," he mutters, scratching the back of his neck.
I smile. "It's fine. Let's go for a hike."
Ten minutes later, we're outside. The scent of pine and fir and damp earth fills the crisp air, and the gently winding trail is wide enough so we can walk side by side. I stayed in my leggings but changed into a long-sleeved shirt and a lightweight down vest. Brock kept the flannel and jeans, only adding a pair of well-worn boots.
"So, how old are you?" I ask, figuring that's as good a place as any to start gathering some information about my husband.
"Thirty-seven," he answers. "You?"
"Twenty-nine."
Hmm. I wonder whether eight years would qualify as an age gap in one of my future stories. Some readers probably won't think so and might want a bigger age difference.
"And what do you do? For work, I mean."
"At the moment, nothing. I've been living off my savings and fixing up the cabin. My old man's a fireman, and some buddies of mine are wildland firefighters, so I was thinking of maybe doing that. It's an honest way to make a living."
"Thirty days from now, you'll never have to worry about making an honest living ever again."
He blows out a breath. "Yeah, I know."
The hairs on my forearms tingle. Okay, there's a story there, too. "You know, for a guy who's about to inherit fifty mil, you don't seem over the moon about it."
"It's…complicated." He leaves it at that, and when we walk in silence for a good few minutes, I assume that's the end of the conversation. Until he starts talking again. "My grandfather wasn't a good man. He didn't think my father was good enough to marry his daughter, so when Ma went ahead and married him anyway, he cut her out of his life. I've never even met him. When he died and left all his money to me and my brothers, and nothing to her, his only child, it threw us all for a loop." The muscle in his jaw ticks. "I'm torn, because while the money is great, the man caused Ma decades of pain and heartache which no amount of money in the world makes up for."
"That is tough." I mull it over. "But you can spend the money however you please, right? You can buy your mom whatever she wants."
The tension in his jaw eases, and he smiles a big, heartfelt smile. "My brothers already have, and I plan to as well. I want Ma to have anything her heart desires."
"Sounds like you have a great family."
"I do. I couldn't have asked for a better Mom, Pa is my hero, and my brothers are so-so." He's still smiling, so I take it he's kidding.
"Do you mind if I ask—what's your family's heritage?"
"Italian on my dad’s side." His smile turns wistful. "I'm grateful they've given me the time and space I've needed to be on my own, but I miss them a lot."
"Do they know about…us?"
He nods. "They do."
"And what do they think?"
"That I'm doing the right thing." He takes a breath and changes the topic. "What about your family?"
"I'm lucky in that regard, too. We're all super close." I fill him in on being a twin and my two younger sisters. "Allie works in Hollywood as a personal trainer to some big-time celebs, and Beth, the youngest, is a snarky bookworm, who lives in Comfort Bay."
"Did they all think you'd lost your mind when you told them what we're doing?"
"Every single one of them," I reply so fast it makes him chuckle.
"And yet you did it anyway?"
"I sure did. Life is an adventure, and I don't want to grow old and be filled with what-ifs , so…here I am."
"Yeah." Our eyes meet. He swallows. "Here you are."
"Now come on, slowpoke." I jab his side. "Are we hiking or what?"
Twenty minutes of brisk-paced walking brings us to a clearing. "Oh my gosh," I say, breathing heavily as I stare out into the cascading valley of rolling hills below us. "This is incredible."
"It is." He takes a few heavy gulps from his water bottle. "I'd forgotten just how incredible."
"I thought you said you liked hiking?"
"I do. Just haven't done it in a while."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm here, then. We can hike every day."
His forehead wrinkles as he looks at me like I'm a puzzle he can't seem to solve. Eventually, he says, "I'd like that."
We admire the view in silence, and I don't know whether it's the exercise, or being out in the fresh air, or getting married to the man currently standing beside me this morning, but a feeling of peace settles over me.
The last few months have been hectic, and I've been pushing myself too hard, coming off a grueling book tour while trying to plot out my next novel. Next, I discover I'm pregnant, get dumped, and move back in with my parents while I sort out my life. And then, I accidentally kiss the wrong person and wind up getting married and moving in with him for a month. It's more out there than anything I've ever written, that's for sure.
But a month with Brock could be just what I need. A chance to chill out, do some hiking, and get my head and my heart sorted out so that I'm ready for the next chapter of my life.
One that involves bringing a baby into this crazy world all on my own…and definitely doesn't involve falling for the rugged mountain man, who may or may not be a closet romantic.