Page 80 of Defenseless
A single tear tracked down her already damp cheek. “Truly?”
He brushed the tear aside and frowned, a little confused by her question. “You don’t doubt me, do you? I mean, I know I’m not always the most demonstrative of people and I know—”
“Yes, please,” she said, cutting him off.
He hesitated. “Yes?”
She nodded. “Yes. Please be my family, Chad Warwick. And please let me be yours.”
The air whooshed out of his lungs, and he slid his fingers into her wet hair, pulling her in for a long, deep kiss. When he drew back, the happiness flowing through his body made him almost giddy. “We’re getting married,” he said, grinning.
She grinned back. “Yes, we are. But I have to say, there’s no ring.”
He chuckled. “You don’t wear jewelry, but I’ll get you one if you want. I did, however, get you something to mark the occasion. Something I hope you’ll like.” Arching his back, he reached behind him and pulled out a piece of paper from the backpack. Careful to keep it away from the water, he held it out to her.
“You didn’t have to get me anything, you know. I was teasing about the ring. Having you, being with you, is enough. It’s more than I ever thought I’d have and all I want.”
He smiled. “That’s nice, and I’m glad, but I still got you something. Want to see?”
She eyed the paper, then releasing his neck, she snatched it out of his hands with a laugh. “Of course I do.”
He held her as she leaned far enough away from him that she could unfold the document and read it. Her eyes tracked the print and when she reached the bottom, they jerked up to meet his. Then they dropped down again before resettling on him.
“You endowed a scholarship for me?”
He nodded, hoping he’d done good but unable to tell from the tone of her voice or the expression on her face. “The Emer Houseman Scholarship for Computer Science. I was thinking it could be something available to the kids in town. But it’s up to you if you want to structure it differently.”
Her eyes went to the paper again. “Chad, this is…it’s a huge sum of money.”
Now she sounded perplexed, but pleased. He hoped he was reading her right and that she was, in fact, pleased.
“Warwick coffers are pretty deep,” he cut her off. “Notbillionairedeep, but deep. We also have a few connections that come in handy on occasion. And to put your mind at ease, the family took a vote on this, and everyone supports it. The twins even want to help when it comes time to select the student or students.”
She dropped her gaze to the paper again, and this time two tears escaped. Reaching for the document, he gently removed it from her hands, folded it up, and returned it to the backpack.
“Did I do okay?” he asked. “Or do you want a ring, too?”
She stared at him for a beat then threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him. Tight. Almost to the point he couldn’t breathe.
“I love you,” she said, her voice muffled against his neck. “So, so much. Not because you gave me that scholarship program—which is perfect and better than any ring that I’d never wear. Although, once we’re married, I would like us both to wear bands.” He agreed but didn’t have a chance to say so because she rushed on. “I love you because youthoughtof this. I love you because you noticed that I don’t wear jewelry and that I love working with the Hedy Experience students. And because you remembered that I’d been looking for a way to honor my mother and everything she taught me—including to love learning. I love you because you see me. And you hear me, even when I’m not talking. I only hope that I’m half as good at it as you.”
She was. She was more than half as good. She was better. But he held back from saying so because when he said it, he wanted her to know it was from the heart, and not something simply reciprocated. Instead, he kissed her, then made love to her, then fed her. They spent the day laughing and talking and laughing some more, marveling at what they’d found. At what they’d pulled from their dark pasts.
And with each laugh, each smile, each quiet conversation, they promised each other that while their future might hold many things, they would never hide in the shadows again.
THE END