Chapter Eight
“Do you really think leaving our two daughters with them is the right decision?” Emily asked.
They were already an hour away and Pete was not going to turn around. “They need to work this out.”
“You seriously believe they can work this out?”
He glanced over at his wife. “They’ve got no choice. Either they work it out, or they’re going to be miserable. Trust me, Caleb will not be able to handle the idea of Mae finding a man to settle down with.”
“How do you know?”
“I know Caleb, and I also know that feeling when you fear someone else is going to come along and take your wife away from you.”
“You’ve ... been worried about that?” Emily asked.
Pete grabbed the steering wheel even tighter. “Of course.”
“But I’ve been yours since high school. You know this.”
“It doesn’t mean I didn’t know what a prize you were, and that someone might see you, and think you’re the right one for them, and try to steal you away from me.
Come on, Emily. I’m not the greatest catch.
I’m not rich, and I didn’t know what the fuck I wanted to be.
Before Caleb made a plan, I was bouncing from job to job, and without him, I’d have nothing to offer you. ”
Emily sighed. “Pull over.”
Pete frowned and glanced over to his wife, but she pointed toward the side of the road.
It was already dark, as they wanted to spend the whole day with their kids. They might have also helped them stay awake for a good long time, by plying them with lots of candy that had warnings about making kids hyper.
He brought the car to a stop but didn’t turn it off. Emily released her seat belt and then he was taken aback as she moved to straddle his lap.
“What are you doing?” he asked, not that he had a problem with this position. It felt really good having her in his lap.
“Getting your attention, and sometimes I know the best way is to grab it before anyone else would even dare.”
He couldn’t help but smile as he stared into his wife’s dark brown eyes.
“There is no one, do you hear me? No one else I have ever wanted. I wouldn’t care if you were still bouncing from job to job.
You were doing everything you could to provide for me, and then when Kasey and Leah came along, you were there.
” She kissed him. “Don’t ever doubt my love for you.
Not what you can provide, but all of my love for you. ”
He stroked some of her hair back. She had long stopped dying it black. In fact, it was at the end of high school, he finally got to see the natural dark brown of her hair. A different shade to Mae’s auburn hair.
Pete had loved this woman when she would paint her eyes and lips black, and he also loved her when she went for her natural makeup look. He just loved Emily. Those feelings had not changed, even as they grew up.
He put the car into “park.”
“How about we start making a baby right now?” he asked.
“Uh, Pete, I think there is something I need to tell you.”
****
The screaming didn’t stop until after midnight.
At first, Mae thought there was some kind of apocalypse horror sequence of events happening.
From the moment she arrived at Emily and Pete’s house, the two kids had been on a hyper kick.
Caleb arrived a few moments after her, and before any of them could say anything, Pete and Emily left, telling them to have fun.
That should have been her first clue, but she didn’t think their parents would ply them with candy before babysitters arrived.
She should have known by now, Emily and Pete had always been a little devious.
Now, she and Caleb had to literally stop them from crawling up the walls. That had been so hard.
She had worried that the neighbors would complain about the noise. Seeing as they wouldn’t stop screaming, she and Caleb had no choice but to run around the house and check to make sure every window was locked. They were.
There were no calls to the cops for the noise. No neighbors coming around to tell them to stop. Mae didn’t know if they were just being polite.
Getting the kids to bed had to be one of the hardest things she ever had to do.
Both of them decided that would be the perfect time to be quiet and play hide-and-seek.
It turned out she and Caleb were crap at the game.
The kids knew all the best hiding spots, and it took them over an hour to find them.
It was only because a floorboard had squeaked, and simple powers of deduction, that she’d been able to grab Leah. Caleb had found Kasey.
Taking them to bed now was even more difficult. Neither of them wanted to go. They’d put them in bed, try to leave, and seconds later, they would suddenly need the bathroom or a glass of water. Leah was the one to finally decide she was just too awake to go to bed.
She and Caleb just looked at each other.
She’d found the evidence of her friend’s cruelty in the trash bin, and rather than fight what their parents had done, she embraced it.
She turned the music on and up, but not too loud to disturb the neighbors.
That had stopped them from screaming, but until after midnight, she and Caleb had danced around the house like crazy kids, as the other two eventually wore themselves out.
A sugar high soon turned into a sugar crash, and within minutes, she and Caleb had to carry both girls up to their room, because they were completely down for the count.
After taking a long shower, Mae had changed into a pair of pajamas, and they had set up the sofa bed in the main sitting room. Pete and Emily only had one, so they would have to share. Caleb left to take a shower, and Mae made her way into the kitchen.
Her friends had at least stocked the fridge. Grabbing a carton of milk, she started to make two hot chocolates. She hadn’t asked Caleb if he wanted one. She just assumed after the night they had, they could both use one.
Taking the squirt can of whipped cream with her into the sitting room, she settled onto the bed, which was quite comfortable.
She’d slept on this a few times during the last few years when she’d been helping Emily and Pete.
She adored her friends, and although it was cruel what they did, she was thankful.
This was actually the first time all week that she and Caleb had been together.
They had gone from being inseparable, to making excuses to not spend their evenings or mornings together.
She’d been the first one to make the excuse, saying she needed to stay late for a delivery.
Caleb had been the next one, but he had to go out of town to do some tattoo work.
Mae hated this. She knew what was happening, and now, as they were together and he was showering, this would be the first time they were actually alone. Provided the girls stayed in bed long enough.
Leaning back, she picked up the cream and squirted a nice large dollop into her mug, and then blew across the surface. It smelled really good. She took a sip, being careful not to get any cream on her nose.
“You’re an angel,” Caleb said, coming into the room and sliding beneath the covers. They didn’t argue about sharing the bed, and Mae was not going to be cruel and force him to sleep on one of the chairs.
“You like hot chocolate?”
“Love it, and you even thought of the cream.”
She handed him the can so he could take as much as he wanted. She was surprised by the large mountain he squirted onto his plate, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “You do like your hot chocolate.”
He laughed. “Of course I do.”
She watched as she took a sip. It had already been a good few minutes since she had made it, and as he took a sip and leaned back, he actually appeared like he was in heaven.
“Delicious.”
She smiled and took a sip of hers. It felt nice.
She’d been worried how it would be to be alone with him this weekend.
Emily and Pete were due Sunday. She and Caleb still had all of Saturday and most of Sunday to spend with the kids.
She doubted they would be plying them with candy.
They were going to be the good babysitters now.
“I guess we should talk,” Caleb said.
Mae turned to look at him and she smiled. “Not if you don’t want to.”
****
This past week had been a fucking nightmare.
First, he and Mae were circling each other, and rather than answer her straight, he had to be a fucking asshole and attempt to keep shit to himself, and that pissed him off.
He knew he should have just come clean with her, and told her the truth—that he wanted everything with her.
But he didn’t know how to get that into words for her to understand exactly what he wanted.
Just tell her the truth, dummy.
Then, he had a client that needed him to do a touch-up, but couldn’t make it to town, and offered to pay all travel expenses, and was genuine with the fact he needed help. He and Pete talked about it, and Caleb flew out to check the recent ink that had been done, along with some touch-ups.
It had been a good experience, and he didn’t want to lose the client as a customer, as he’d helped spread the word about how good they were. So, for three days, he was gone, and he knew with every passing day, he was running the risk of losing his woman.
Now, as they sat side by side drinking their hot chocolates, Caleb didn’t think it was the right time to tell her he wanted her to be his wife. He wanted them to have dozens of kids, to wear matching Christmas outfits and spend holidays together, growing old.
He was done with women. He was done with playing that life. He didn’t want it anymore, but he also knew he had to make this real.
“Here,” he said, pulling out his cell phone. Mae had said they didn’t need to talk if he didn’t want to.
The time for talking was over. He needed to act. He was good at making things work, and with Mae, it had to be a gesture. It had to be something she knew he was serious about.
“What?” Mae asked.
“I want to show you the photos of what I was up to while I was away. I told you I had this client, and I wasn’t kidding.
” He took a sip of his hot chocolate and had a visual in his mind, of him sitting around the table with a bunch of kids, all of them blowing over the cups of their hot chocolate.
The squirty cream was handed to each of them to add to their drinks.
Each of them probably added more than they should, but they were all laughing and giggling. The very thought of it made him smile.
He pulled up the photos of the ink, along with the ones that were taken with his client. His client had insisted on introducing him to a couple of people. The man was a businessman and took his alcohol very seriously, and he had a lot of people who looked up to him.
He told Mae about every event, and that he had to check over the man’s ink, because he didn’t quite listen to the aftercare.
“That looked like a lot of fun,” Mae said.
“Yeah, it was.”
“Did you and Pete always want to settle here?” she asked.
“At Halloween Point?” Caleb asked.
She nodded.
“Pete did. I kept thinking about what we could achieve further afield, but with my dad sick and Pete not wanting to move, they both painted what we had, and I loved it. The truth is, growing up, I hated this fucking town.”
Mae laughed. “You did?”
“Yeah, I thought it was so lame. Honestly, I was sick and tired of seeing carved-out pumpkins and stuff. The people who were not locals constantly showing up, causing trouble. I hated it. It would drive me up the wall. I bet you loved it, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did. Come on, it is so fun to live here.”
“Granted, I’ve grown to love the place. Honestly, I have, and business is booming, and it hasn’t hindered our growth. We’ve got clients all across the world who are willing to visit. This past week is rare, just so you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Being paid to go to a client. It’s only because he is loyal, and more often than not, he loves to come here.
He happens to love Halloween. Clients were seeing the catch.
They would come down, get some ink, bring their families, make a week of it.
October is one of our busiest times, and that is not with the random drop-ins,” he said.
“I didn’t leave because we’d left a few things unsaid, Mae. ”
“I’m sorry,” Mae said. “I couldn’t believe the order when it arrived.
Usually, they send me a couple of boxes at a time, and I’m able to get them into the back without a problem.
This driver had not only delivered my own boxes, but had also delivered other shops’ boxes as well.
He’d messed up, and when I called the supplier, they were not going to have anyone until the next day to come and deliver.
They asked if I could keep them safe and secure until they stopped by.
They did apologize, and I was not going to be difficult.
The driver had even told me it was his first day, and that he was getting lost.” She shrugged.
“I didn’t want to call you, but I had to get the boxes into my shop. ”
“And you didn’t think to come and ask me?” he asked. “I could have helped.”
She winced. “You know, I didn’t think to ask. I’m so used to having to do everything at the shop. I’m sorry.”
He reached out and cupped her chin. “From now on, you ask me for help. You got it? You’re not alone, Mae, and I don’t want you to start thinking you are.”
“You’re right.”
She leaned in close and he took possession of her lips. Then, Mae groaned.
“What?” he asked.
“We can’t ... you know ... have sex.”
He laughed. “Baby, I love the way your dirty mind is going, but trust me, sex is the last thing on my mind right now after the night we’ve had, but for now, can I just hold you?” he asked.
“Absolutely.”