Chapter 21
Later that night Remi sat on their new sofa, his arms spread out to either side, resting along the back of the sofa as he sat right in the middle of the sofa, his gaze slowly taking in the new look of his home.
It was filled with touches here and there that indicated a female lived there — his female.
Everything in the house was touched by her, and he loved it.
She’d somehow managed to transform it into a home that spoke of her presence, while at the same time choosing the colors and textures that he’d chosen when he built his house back in Louisiana.
He turned his head to admire the wall to his right.
It was covered with a collage of framed family photos.
In the center was an elaborate yet empty frame.
Right above it was a frame that held a photo of himself and Cristie as little kids.
They sat together on the grass with sunlight dancing through their hair, both of them laughing.
And placed here and there around that framed photo were others.
There were photos of Riley and Maia, and of Sebastian and Cristie.
He didn’t know how she’d managed it, but there were photos of Daniel and Avaleigh, and himself and Angelle, too.
There were candid group photos of the members of their Pride and the members of their Shifter Clan.
The entire wall had become an homage to everyone they loved, and all that helped them grow into who they were today.
He heard a door in the back of the house open and kept his attention on the hallway, waiting for Cristie to come toward him.
When she finally walked into the living room, she was barefoot, wearing a pair of faded jean shorts and one of his torn teeshirts.
She carried an over sized cigar box in her hands with what looked like rubber bands around it keeping it closed.
It was about the size of a large jewelry box.
“You finish putting your things away?” he asked. “I could have helped with your clothes.”
“No need. I got it done. And this is the last thing,” she said as she lifted the box a little to make sure he knew she was talking about the box she carried.
She held the box reverently like it held the most precious of jewels inside as she took a seat next to him and tucked her feet beneath her, sitting cross-legged and facing him on the sofa.
“What is it?” he asked.
“When I was little, my mom and dad would take me on wonderful vacations and adventures. Sometimes they were only a town over, but I didn’t know that, and didn’t care.
We hiked new places, tried new things, went to amusement parks, and water parks, and rode horses and went to the beach.
We went somewhere new and had new adventures every year, at least once.
But during the very first vacation, I felt like something, or someone was missing.
My dad noticed and asked why I looked sad. I told him that you weren’t there.”
“Me?!” Remi said, surprised.
Cristie nodded. “We’d just moved to Missouri not more than a year or two before that first vacation, and even though I had friends, and I had people around me that loved me, I missed you. You were my first friend, and you always took care of me.”
Remi lifted a hand and gently ran his fingertips across her cheek.
“My dad told me that it was okay to miss you, and that I should make a special effort to remember what I really loved about the places we went so that when I saw you the next time, I could tell you all about it and share it with you. It made me feel better, but I decided that I could do better than that. I knew you loved rocks and collected your own. So, I picked up a rock that I thought was pretty near the river we hiked beside during that vacation, and put it in my pocket so I could give it to you the next time I saw you. It became a ritual. Everywhere we went, when I noticed I was at my happiest, I’d look around for a pretty rock and take it home with me.
One day after I’d collected a handful of them, I had them laid out on my floor in my bedroom and was making sure they were each where they were supposed to be.
It made me feel closer to you. Anyway, Roman came upstairs one day and saw me playing with them.
He went home and came back with this box and gave it to me to keep them in.
I’ve opened it so many times over the years to add rocks to it, take rocks out to just hold and remember, that it now needs rubber bands to keep it sealed.
I didn’t know why then, but it was important to me to make sure I brought you back a rock from everywhere I went.
I had it with me at Havoc’s wedding and wanted to give it to you. ”
“I’m so sorry, Cristie…”
“No, that’s not… no. No apologies. It wasn’t the right time to give them to you, then.
But it is now. So, here they are. One rock from every place that ever made me so happy to be there.
These memories are yours. I collected them for you, because though you didn’t know it, you were with me everywhere I went. ” She held the box out to Remi.
Remi reached out and took the box from her very carefully, setting it on the sofa between them. He looked up at her, not sure how to express what he was feeling.
“Go on, open it,” she encouraged.
Remi removed the three rubber bands, two side to side around it, one top to bottom.
He picked up a rock, a pretty dark green and rust colored one and held it in his hand, feeling the weight of it and the feel of its smooth surface against his palm.
He turned it over to see the back and realized she’d written the name of where she’d found it.
“Tennessee.” He looked up at her. “You thought of me every single vacation you took?”
She nodded. “I missed you. I wanted you with me.”
“This is the best gift, Cristie. The absolute best gift I’ve ever received. I don’t think there’s anything I could ever receive that contains more love and genuine emotion than this. I’ll treasure it always.”
She smiled at him. “You like it? Really?”
“I’ll never be given a gift filled with so much heart as this one.”
She smiled at him and leaned toward him, kissing him.
He kissed her twice, then set the Tennessee rock on the sofa and reached for another.
“This might take a while. I want to visit all the places you went,” he said, choosing another and taking it out of the box.
He held it up to her. “Do you remember where this one was from?” he asked, before turning it over to read whatever was written on the other side.
She grinned at him. “I remember where they’re all from. That one’s from Six Flags in Texas.”
He sat back against the cushions at his back, and held the stone in his right hand, his fingers closed over it, while holding up his left arm for Cristie to tuck herself under and lean against him.
“Okay, tell me what we did at Six Flags,” he said, closing his eyes and imagining everything she said as she described everything she remembered about that trip.
They spent all evening going through the lifetime of memories she’d collected for him and the last thing they did when they went to bed was to place the box on top of their dresser, in a place of honor where they’d see it every single day as they went about building their lives together.
~~~
“Riley said it’s a done deal. Cristie and Remi are official!” Lucas said as he helped Anahla clean up the kitchen after dinner.
“I’m so excited for them. I don’t think there’s any time happier than when you find your mate, except for when you’re first mated and everything feels so magical. You get the feeling that no one in the world has ever felt what you’re feeling and nothing else will ever come close,” Anahla said.
Lucas chuckled, and pulled her in for a hug. “I still feel like that every time I look at you.”
“Good! Because you’re kind of stuck with me. I’m a little possessive,” Anahla said with a grin.
“I’m already planning my mating celebration,” Tia said as she flipped television channels in the living room.
“You are fourteen,” Keegan said tiredly.
“Doesn’t matter. You can meet your mate at any age,” Tia insisted.
“I didn’t think of that,” Anahla said. “I wonder if they’re going to have a big party or just quietly settle in together?”
“I don’t know. Riley didn’t mention it. We’ll ask them when we see them again. If they’re having a party maybe we could help,” Lucas said.
“Oh! Look! It’s Kaiser!” Tia shrieked excitedly.
Lucas and Anahla shared a concerned look. “Can we find a movie or something to watch?” Lucas asked.
Keegan put down her history book and leaned forward, focusing on the television.
“He’s wearing a tux! Do you see him, Keegan? He’s wearing a tux!” Tia squealed.
“Tia, let’s find a movie to watch. Not everybody wants to watch the sports channel,” Anahla said.
Tia turned to look at her mother over her shoulder. “But it’s Kaiser!”
At that point, a reporter as well dressed as Kaiser, lifted his microphone and waited for Kaiser to reach him on the red carpet in front of the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum.
Kaiser stopped walking as the reporter basically stepped in front of him. “Kaiser Lyakhov! We hoped you’d be attending tonight,” the reporter said.
“Any opportunity to raise money for education and athletics in school, and I’ll be here,” he said, smiling at the camera.
“Oh, we know that, we certainly do. But, I have to ask. I just watched you get out of a limo, and you’re alone!
I just couldn’t believe my eyes. The most eligible bachelor in professional baseball is attending a charity event alone!
How does that happen?!” he said, laughing and trying to pull a little information from Kaiser.
Kaiser smiled, and to any who knew him, it would appear strained. “Just the way it goes sometimes,” he said non-committally.