As Tears Go By (44 page)

Yup.
She was a speechless goner.

He
typed in another code and the door opened a crack. “Ready?”

Nope.
She nodded.

They
entered into a large foyer painted a vibrant shade of coriander blue. The
carpet was soft with a hypnotic pattern. It looked nothing like what she
expected, mostly because she wasn’t expecting more than sheet-rocked walls and
unfinished floors.

“Oh my
God.”

His
face split with a prize-winning grin. “Hunter likes to make tracks with his
trains. I figured he should have a permanent one.”

It was
difficult to breathe. On the wall was a large, framed picture of her tree that
had been cut down. She gasped. “Where did you get this?”

“I took
it with my phone and had it blown up. The frame’s bolted to the wall at each
corner and the glass is plexi so it won’t shatter if it gets bumped.”

Her jaw
nearly hit the floor. Brushing her fingers lightly over the photo, she blinked
back tears, but her vision didn’t clear. Wiping her eyes, she faced him. “I
don’t know how many more surprises I can handle. You’ve thought of so much and
we’ve barely made it through the door.”

He
kissed her brow. “Let me show you the playroom. I think you’ll like it.”

They
stepped into a dark room and the floor felt squishy beneath her feet. Braydon
went to a wall and flipped a switch. Pink light traveled through a pillar in
the corner. It was like a lava lamp filled with tiny racing bubbles.

He
flipped another switch and a fish tank built into the far wall illuminated. “I
thought Hunter would wanna help choose the fish.”

The
walls weren’t painted one color, but several. Each bright shade swirled around
objects and wheels that were bolted into place. There were soft beanbag chairs
and pillows in all the primary colors. A school would be fortunate to have such
a multisensory room.

“How
did you do this?”

“I had
some help, but once I knew what I was looking for I went a little crazy.”

She
went to the window and brushed her fingers lightly over the simple café
curtains sewn in a bright red. “Café curtains.”

“Watch
this.” He played with the security device on the wall and the mechanism beeped.
As he slid open the window, cold winter air rushed in. “These curtains are made
to dance in the breeze. Try to push your hand through the screen.”

She
pressed on the screen and it didn’t budge. “What are they made of?”

“They’re
incredible, right? They can’t be punctured. Every window in the house has
them.”

She
turned and paced in a circle, then dropped into a plush chair with no hard
edges. He frowned and kneeled beside her. “You okay?”

Lips
pressed tight, she shook her head and sucked in a jagged breath. “No one’s ever
cared this much. I don’t know how to process it.”

“You
have years to process. Right now just experience it.”

She
gripped his arm and squeezed. “Braydon…I’m the only person who ever loved my
son enough to
try
to see the world through his eyes. You’ve somehow
designed all of this from his perspective.” She gave a watery laugh. “This is
incredible.
You
are incredible.”

“It’s
my job to know the people I’m designing for. Luckily, I know you guys by
heart.” He had the grace to blush. “And, in all fairness, I’m trying to
convince you this is where you belong. I may have gone a little overboard, but
I had a blast designing it. Don’t cry. I want you to see the rest.”

The
kitchen was phenomenal. Child safety locks in all the right places and matching
kitchen chairs. The bathrooms were enormous and already equipped with similar
objects and water toys they had at their old house.

Becca
was grateful to see Braydon had also incorporated parts of the house that
catered specifically to him. It was after all
his
home. He’d designed a sleek and beautiful office as well as a
man cave in the basement, which he said was for him and his brother’s to drink,
curse, and play cards without repercussions. It was clear he’d thought of
everything.

“Go
through that door,” he said, gesturing to a nondescript entrance.

The
room was painted completely white and Hunter’s formulas were all there,
scribbled on the walls. “How did you do this?”

“Sheilagh
did this part. I emailed her pictures of Hunter’s formulas and she copied them
exactly. Everything’s dry erase. He can even write on the floors.”

Was it
possible for someone’s heart to burst from too much joy? Too many wonderful
emotions were bombarding her at the same time.

“I want
to show you one more room, then I’ll show you ours.”

They
returned downstairs and Braydon faced two pocket doors, grinning over his
shoulder. “You’ll love this.” As he parted the doors she followed him into the
room, her footsteps echoing.

No.
It was simply too much.

A grand
piano sat open in the center of the room. Cathedral ceilings reached to the
highest point of the house. She stepped close and ran her palm over the
pristine, white instrument. It was a piano suitable for the greatest musicians.
“Where did you get this?”

“It was
my sister’s. There’s some history to that piano. First, it was my Aunt
Colleen’s. She gave it to Kate when she was seven. We used it for Luke and
Tristan’s wedding, and now the family’s passing it on to Hunter. It’ll be nice
to hear it played again.”

Her
face crumpled under the weight of so much gratitude. “Your family…I’ve never
known such generosity. They all helped you with this?”

“That’s
what family does. My dad built the cabinets. Luke and Tristan did all the tile
work. Mallory and Ashlynn filled the kitchen with groceries. Kelly supplied
plenty of liquor and there’s something else he gave us upstairs. Finn did all
the moldings and Sammy was a godsend when it came to my unending questions.”

“They’re
remarkable.” How had she ever considered this to be the wrong choice?

Braydon
showed her his home office and Hunter’s bedroom. Once they visited every room,
he took her upstairs to what seemed to be the final surprise, their bedroom.

His
hand perched on the nickel knob and he faced her. “I’m so happy you’re finally
here.”

Happy
didn’t begin to catalogue what she was feeling. “Me too.”

The
door opened and she gasped. A four-poster bed, adorned with gossamer white
linen was the centerfold of the monochromatic room. Plush carpet, in the
softest shade of ivory cushioned her steps as she moved forward, enchanted.

It was
the room she’d described to him, her sophisticated space done all in white,
complete with a snow colored fainting couch. She never wanted to leave.

“What
do you think?”

“I
think it’s impossible for any man to pay that much attention to detail.
Braydon, it’s…I don’t even have words to describe it. How did you do this? You
took an image from my mind and made it real.”

“Look
over here. Remember I told you that Kelly gave us something else?” He turned
her shoulders and she gasped at the portrait on the wall.

“Where
did he get that?”

“He
drew it. Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yes,
but when?”

Braydon
shrugged. “After Thanksgiving. It’s from the night at the bar, right after we
said I love you for the first time.”

It was
an incredible drawing. The shading was so precise it could easily be mistaken
for a black and white photograph. In the image, Braydon’s forehead pressed to
hers as they smiled into one another’s eyes. “He
drew
that? It’s
breathtaking.”

“Come
sit with me. I wanna tell you a story.”

She
needed to sit. This was possibly the most overwhelming day of her life, and
that was saying a lot. Settling beside him on the beautiful bed, she took a
deep breath.

“When
my parents were younger, my dad carved their initials into a tree. After they
eloped, he cut down that tree. It’s now a part of the big house. If you’re ever
in their bedroom, you can see their initials, right where he carved them over
forty years ago.”

Her
chest softened at the romantic tale. “That’s so sweet.”

He
squeezed her hand. “Come with me.”

“Where
are we going?”

“Outside.”

Downstairs
he helped her on with her coat. They went through the farm door in the kitchen
to the backyard. The ground was covered with an untouched blanket of snow. In
the center stood a baby elm.

“I
planted you a new tree.”

“Braydon.”
Emotion overwhelmed her.

“I
carved something in it.”

The
snow crunched under their feet as he took her hand and walked her to the tree.
There in the center, stood their initials. Her fingers brushed over the
letters. “This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen.”

“How
about this?” He walked her around the tree and on the other side of the trunk
was the words
Marry
me.

Yup.
Hands down the most
unbelievably romantic man to ever walk the face of the earth. Her lips pressed
tight as she nodded through tears of happiness. Forcing her voice past the
constriction in her throat, she whispered, “Yes.”

His
eyes creased as he kissed her. Whispering close to her lips, he asked, “You’ll
marry me? Really?”

She
nodded, unable to get another word past the lump in her throat.

“That’s
a yes?” he asked again.

Sniffling,
she bobbed her head and gave a soggy chuckle. “That’s a yes.”

He
kissed her and she wept with joy, laughing at the puddle of emotion she’d
become, her lips curved into an unbreakable smile. When he pulled away, he
shouted,
“She said yes!”

Becca
jumped as a roar of applause and screams came from behind. Jumping she spotted
what had to be nearly one hundred smiling people. Were they
all
McCulloughs?
Her jaw dropped as they crowded in, shocking the crap out of her, and offering
congratulations and hugs.

“Get
out of my way, people! He’s my bloody son!” Maureen bustled to the front of the
mob and grinned, her green eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “There’s my
prince.” Holding out her arms, Braydon went in for what looked like the
greatest hug in the world. “Don’t just stand there, Becca. Get your arse over
here and hug me!”

She
trudged through the snow until Maureen’s arms gobbled her up. She kissed
Becca’s head and whispered, “I’m so happy for you two. All my babies have
finally found the loves of their lives. I’ll take you off my list now.”

“Your
list?”

Maureen
waved her question away and squeezed.

Becca
feared seeing the family again would be awkward after what she’d put Braydon
through, but it seemed the McCulloughs were an endless well of understanding,
taking great measures to welcome the good and forgive the bad.

Braydon’s
expression was elated. “Thanks, mum.”

“Congratulations,
son,” Braydon’s father said, a soft grin on his face.

Bray
hugged his father and Becca heard Frank tenderly say, “I knew you could do it,”
just before he kissed his son’s head.

The
following minutes were spent twirling from one set of arms to the next. There
were so many of them. When she recognized two high-pitched screams she turned
and screamed as well. Nikki and Carla came barreling at her, not stopping until
they knocked her right into the snow. “You’re getting married!”

“I
can’t believe it!” Nikki said.

“I
can,” Carla argued. “I knew you two were meant to be. Touched my cold romantic
heart, not easily penetrated.”

A
shadow crossed over them. “Well, well, what do we have here? Nothing like three
women rolling around in the snow.”

Becca
smiled at Kelly. “Hi Kelly. Hi Ashlynn.”

Carla’s
attention jerked to Kelly’s wife. “Ashlynn?”

Ashlynn
smiled, her short, pixie like hair catching the sun and giving her an angelic
appearance despite her flannel coat and hefty snow boots. “You must be Carla.
Kelly’s mentioned you.”

Her
friend’s eyes went wide. “He did?”

Ashlynn
nodded. “I thought it would be nice to introduce you to Kelly’s cousin, Ryan.
He’s very handsome and happens to be single.”

Becca’s
lips pursed into a tight smile.
It was clear Ashlynn had a good sense of humor and a
forgiving heart. It was also clear that Kelly had no secrets from his wife.

Carla
shoved herself off the ground. “I like single. Is he a McCullough?”

“He’s a
Cloony,” Kelly said. “But he’s a hot blooded one, full of O’Leahy spirit from
my mum’s side of the family.”

“Well,
what are we waiting for?” Carla asked, grinning and brushing the snow off her
clothes. She looped her arm through Ashlynn’s as though they were old friends.