Page 23 of Tattered Souls (Whispering Falls #2)

Tatum

I finally understood it.

What a relationship is supposed to look like.

As I sat on my white rocker Garrick had built for me on our front porch, I smiled.

Then I said , Bring it on, world.

I was sipping on a glass of sweet tea as I watched my man on the lawnmower without a shirt on, mowing the grass.

Thankfully, where we lived, it wasn’t too populated on our street.

Therefore, I didn’t have to worry about women checking him out.

I took it as a sign that I was one lucky woman.

And when he passed in front of the porch, I caught his gaze as he winked at me.

***

Did I mention that I woke up this morning with a huge rock on my ring finger?

No?

Well, I did.

And I immediately jumped his bones when I saw him.

But that was my Garrick.

Knowing what I needed without me having to tell him.

And as he passed by again, I called out, “Work it sexy. Work it.”

He winked then shook his head at me.

I never thought I would say these words...

Life was good.

No... it was perfect.

***

I smiled as I mixed the hamburger meat when I heard his car pull up.

I didn’t make a move.

I just kept right on doing what I was doing.

Garrick came in then, straight towards me, and pressed a kiss to my lips.

Then he cocked his head to the side and listened.

An audiobook was playing through the speakers.

And he listened after he took a shower.

He listened while dinner finished cooking.

And he listened as we ate.

Then he looked at me after he cleaned the dishes, and said, “That was hot. Let’s go reenact it.”

I grinned inwardly, but outwardly, I shrugged.

The flare of his eyes was comical.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

***

It was.

If the author had added the thing with the girl having her legs pressed together between his legs while he thrust inside of her like Garrick did... that would have made it amazing.

But now... well, now we were fighting.

“Tatum, for the last fucking time, you don’t have to work,” he said as he ran his hand through his hair.

I snorted, “Yes. I do. Who’s going to pay my bills?”

He just stared at me.

I shook my head. “Oh no. I’m not going to be some kept woman.”

That was when he blew up. “A kept woman? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Dinner. Laundry. Cleaning the house. Fucking you when you want it. A. Kept. Woman.”

Maybe that had been the wrong thing to say.

He stared at me as his jaw ticked.

And ticked.

And ticked.

His nose flared once, twice, but not once did he make a move towards me.

No.

He just stood there as he stared at me.

Then he asked, calmly, “Do you feel that way?”

I shrugged, but then I said, “No.”

He nodded, “So, what the fuck?”

“I’ve never not worked, Garrick. I’ve never not made my own way. Even when I lived with Granger, I paid half.”

That was when he nodded, “Okay. Tell you what. You find a job that you love, love it so much that it doesn’t feel like you work at all, and I’ll be okay with that.”

“But?” I asked.

He sighed, then he pinched the bridge of his nose. “But Dad made Mom stop working because she was happiest home with the kids. She liked that she was there for us no matter what we needed. And... fuck, this is going to make me sound like a dick, but I want that for my kids.”

I nodded, “Okay, I get that. And I would like that very much. But I can’t stand the thought of you working like a dog to take care of me and our kids.”

He nodded, then crooked his finger.

I went to him without hesitation and watched as he pulled out his phone, typed something, and then showed me his bank account.

I gasped.

Umm. Okay.

He winked. Then, he pocketed his phone and wrapped his arms around me.

“The moment you have my last name, that becomes yours too. You want to buy every Michaels’ store.

Go for it. I still won’t have to break my back to take care of us.

And if it came to that, I have plenty to sell off, so you don’t ever have to worry. ”

I bit my lip, then pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw and pulled out my phone.

I pulled up the account that I had put Granger’s money in and showed him. His eyes widened at the sight.

“That’s what Granger left me. I want to use it to send our kids to college. I think he would be happy with that.”

He nodded, “Love that, baby.”

“Love you, Honey.”

“That’s ten.” He said. “Love you, too.”

Then he pressed a kiss on my lips and whispered, “I was right.”

I tilted my head to the side. “You were right about what?”

“All I had to do was have patience, and you would show me those claws you got. Fucking magnificent, baby.”

My heart went gooey at his words.

Then he asked, “Are we done fighting now?”

I nodded.

“Well, then how about one more fight, and then we can have makeup sex,” he suggested.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What now?”

“Own this place. Don’t have a mortgage. But it was mine before we became an us. So, do you want to stay here and raise our family in it? Or find somewhere else?”

I stared up at him and said, “Stay here. I love this house. I love everything about it. But... can we make one change?”

He nodded, “Whatever you want.”

“Remodel our master bathroom. I’d really like to have a tub.”

He winked, “Call my buddy tomorrow.”

I winked, “Thank you, Honey.”

He smiled, “That’s eleven.”

Then the big shithead pouted.

I lifted a brow, “What’s wrong?”

“We didn’t fight. No make-up sex.”

I grinned. “Do you want me to pick a fight?”

He nodded, “Yeah.”

I nodded, then I stepped back from him and pinched his nipple.

He yelped, “What the fuck, woman?”

“How many fucking times do I have to ask you to stop leaving your wet towels on the towel rack?”

He lifted a brow, “The fuck?”

I glared, “Do you know how bad it feels to use a wet towel to dry off? One minute I’m thinking that you're thoughtful by having me a towel ready, and the next thing I’m cursing at you when a wet towel touches my cold body.”

He smiled, wide, then he threw me over his shoulder and carried me to our bedroom, where yes, we had make-up sex.

And he promised to stop doing it.

A month later, I had a brand-new bathroom with a brand-new bathtub, and my man had a towel warmer installed too.

Damn... but I love him.

We also broke the tub in the first time I used it.

He had seen me in a bubble bath... and that had been that.