Covering the Carolinas (12 page)

“
I know that now. I’m sorry I wasn’t with you
through all of this. I mean, it about killed me the way you just
ended things.” I place my hand on her cheek and wipe the single
tear that falls from her beautiful eye. “What do we do
now?”

“
That’s up to you,” she whispers as she looks
in my eyes, and I know there’s no way I’m walking away from her
ever again.

Placing my forehead against hers, my hand slides to
the base of her neck and I feel a necklace. I pause and then pull
it from her chest. Tears flood my eyes when I see the necklace I
mailed her the day she broke my heart.

“
You kept it.” She nods and then turns it over
and when I see that precious name and date on the other side, I
can’t keep the tears at bay. Marleigh takes her soft hands and
tries to wipe the tears that have begun to fall. A smile escapes my
lips. “Marleigh, will you let me in his life? And yours? We can get
through this together.”

She pauses and stares into my eyes. “Yes, Gunnison
Cyrus. I will.” I waste no time capturing her lips with mine, and
with each kiss I can’t get enough of her. It’s as if I’m making up
for the past three years.

As her hands trail up my chest, I realize there’s no
way in hell I’m letting her go. As her arms wrap around my neck, I
reach around her and lift her off the ground. Marleigh pauses and
looks at me with a smile. She wraps her legs around my waist and I
walk her to the chair. Sitting down, I let my hands roam her body
and hers do the same. As a moan escapes her lips, I pause. As much
as I want to pick up where we left off, tonight’s not the
night.

“
Mar, as much as I want to, we should stop.”
She bites her lip and nods in agreement as I pull her into my
chest. I kiss the top of her head. “Is it crazy I feel as if you’ve
never left me?” I whisper.

She pulls away and looks at me. “No, it’s not crazy.
No matter how much I told myself I was doing what was best for you,
I never let you go. You stole my heart and gave me the most
precious gift. Even when I tried to move on, I couldn’t stop
thinking about you.”

“
Everyone told me I was crazy, and that there
was no way you would come back to me. I tried to move on, too, but
Summer wasn’t you and after her shenanigans tonight, there’s no way
I’ll ever speak to her again.” Marleigh looks at me confused. “You
don’t need to know the details, but no one will ever speak about my
son or you like she did tonight.” I see a glimmer of wonder in her
eyes. “I love you, Marleigh. I always have and always will. Now
that you’ve walked back in my life, I’m never letting you
go.”

“
Gunnison Cyrus, I’ll never be able to tell
you I’m sorry enough. I love you with every ounce of my being and I
want to make us work.” She says and then brings her lips to mine
and starts to cry. Pulling away, I try to dry her eyes before they
become icicles. “These are happy tears,” she says with a
smile.

“
They might be, but I don’t want you to turn
into an ice princess.” She starts to laugh and so do I. Being with
her makes me feel complete. We might have met by chance, but that
chance made life worth living.

MARLEIGH

“
So you want to go back to my house?” she
questions. I raise my eyebrows and she swats at my arm. “Not like
that. My parents are there! I mean to talk.”

“
Sure,” he says. I stand and take him by the
hand, pulling him into me to hold him close for just a minute,
savoring this moment. For the second time in my life, this exact
spot has changed the course of my life.

As we begin to walk toward my house, he takes his
arm and wraps it around my shoulder and I can’t help but smile as
my heart warms. I know that I’m no longer in this without the other
piece of my heart.

Approaching the house, he stops as he sees it in the
distance. “Marleigh, how are we going to do this?” Looking at him
confused, I’m not exactly sure what he’s talking about. “I mean how
are you going to tell Gunner who I am?”

“
Honestly, I don’t know. I think maybe you
should meet him, and then we’ll just see how it goes. I don’t want
to throw it on him too quick.”

“
Is he leaving tomorrow?”

“
Yes, around lunch.” GC doesn’t say anything.
“Could we maybe get a late breakfast or something?”

“
I think that’s a great idea. Now, come on.
There’s nothing to worry about.” I say confidently for the first
time in a long time.

When we enter the house, I don’t hear anything. I
look to see if they are outside, but the fire is barely burning.
Guess they’ve all gone to bed. GC follows me and as I turn from
looking at the patio, I see him standing awkwardly at the kitchen
island. I smile as I move toward him. Wrapping my arms around his
waist, he relaxes. “Relax, it’s going to be okay. Come on, I want
to show you something.” I kiss his lips briefly and lead him to
where Gunner is sleeping.

Quietly, I turn the doorknob and peek into his room.
I open it enough for GC to see in as well and I look over my
shoulder to see pure joy on his face, then he wraps his arms around
me from behind and places his chin on my shoulder.

“
We did that, Marleigh,” he says more as a
statement than a question. “He looks like a little sleeping
angel.”

“
Yes, he does,” I whisper. He holds me tighter
and I turn to look him in the eyes. “He reminds me so much of
you.”

As Gunner starts to move, we quietly move from the
doorway and make our way outside to the fire pit. It doesn’t take
long to get the embers to start burning again. We don’t say much,
but GC never lets go of my hand.

When my eyes become heavy, he holds me tighter.
“Mar, I should probably call a cab.”

“
Why would you need a cab?” I ask as I
yawn.

“
I rode with Wade to the party. I’m sure he’s
long gone by now.”

“
Stay with me,” I say as I look into those
perfect smoldering eyes.

He looks as if he’s fighting for what to say, “Mar,
I can’t. Your parents are here and I don’t want Gunner to meet me
that way.”

“
Then let me drive you back,” I
say.

“
You’re exhausted. I can’t let you do
that.”

“
What if you drive and I stay with you a
little while?”

“
Mar, what will your parents think? What if he
wakes up and you’re not here?” As he says the words, my heart warms
for his concern for our little boy and my family.

“
Let me tell Carleigh, she’ll listen out for
him, and I’ll come home before he wakes up. Please, Gunnison,” I
plead.

“
Do you know how much I love when you call me
by my real name?” He says with a smirk.

“
No, tell me.”

“
How about I show you?” he says as he looks me
in the eyes and my lips melt into his.

“
Gunnison, let me tell Carleigh, then we can
finish what we’ve started.” I wink.

I tip toe into the house and to Carleigh’s room.
When I tell her what I’m doing, she tries to give me a lecture to
be careful, but then she stops mid sentence. “Forget it, Mar. Just
go get your happily ever after. I got him.”

Chapter 25

GUNNISON

Pulling into my apartment, I hurry around and open
the door for Marleigh before she wakes up in the passenger seat.
Opening the door, she opens her eyes and smiles when they meet
mine. She unbuckles her seatbelt and I take her hand to help her
out of the car. We both look at each other as if it’s the first
time we’ve been alone, and I can’t get the butterflies to quit
fluttering within my stomach.

Timidly, we make our way up to my door and I open
it.

“
You sure your roommate isn’t going to care?”
she questions.

“
I don’t have one.”

“
Oh, okay.” She says and I squeeze her
hand.

“
Mar, there’s no reason to be scared,” I say
to reassure her.

“
Gunnison, I’m not scared. I’m just… trying to
tell myself to take us slow. Things between us can get hot in a
hurry and believe me, I want that, I just want us to think unlike
the last time.” I know exactly what she means because even though
this wouldn’t be the first time, I want everything to be
perfect.

“
Mar, I want you in every way, shape, and
form, but tonight I just want to hold you in my arms because I
can,” I say as I pull her to my body and hold her as if I never
want to let her go.

MARLEIGH

Waking up with the sound of Gunnison breathing
into my ear and his arms wrapped tightly around my arms is the
perfect way to wake up. Glancing at the alarm clock, I know I need
to get moving. As I try to move from his arms, he grips me tighter
and then lets out a small laugh.
He’s
totally awake.
He loosens his grip slightly, so I turn
to face him and drape my leg over his as I place my arm on his
chest. Looking at him, it’s as if he’s giving me a warning. As my
hand slides up his chest, I look into his eyes and bring my lips to
his.

“
Mar, if you’re wanting to take this slow you
better stop now, ‘cause once we start this I’m not stopping.” I
fight the inner battle to stop, but all I have to do is think about
Gunner for me to do that. Removing my leg from across his body, I
kiss him once more.

“
I guess I better get home,” I say as I start
to move away from him. He pulls me on top of him and caresses the
side of my cheek.

“
Mar, as much as I don’t want you to leave, I
know you have to.”

“
It’s just a few hours.” I can see the fear in
his eyes. “Please don’t worry about this. He’s going to love you.
In fact, he already does. I wish you could have seen him when you
were on the court, it’s like he had a connection with you and
didn’t even know it.” I kiss him briefly then move from the
bed.

As I exit the bathroom and make my way to the living
room, Gunnison meets me with a cup of coffee. “I’ll see you at ten
at the Conch Café.” He places the coffee on the table and wraps his
arms around me. “Thank you for forgiving me,” I say as he looks at
me.

“
There’s no way I couldn’t. No matter how much
I’ve tried to be angry, I can’t. You were my past and I want you
and Gunner to be my future.”

“
I love you, Gunnison Cyrus.”

“
I love you, Mar. Now go before our boy wakes
up,” he says with a smile the size of the Atlantic.

Pulling into the drive, I see my daddy enjoying the
peace and quiet from the porch. He looks toward me as I get out of
the car with a questioning look.

“
Daddy, no need to worry. Carleigh knew where
I was.” He doesn’t say anything. “Um, we’re meeting GC at the Conch
Café at ten. Is that okay?”

“
Are you sure you want Gunner to meet him and
then us leave?” I hadn’t really thought of it like that.

“
I’m not going to tell him too much today, but
I do want to introduce them. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going
to tell him.”

“
You sure you want all of us there?” I nod and
that’s all the answer he needs. I make my way inside to take a
shower and change clothes before Gunner wakes up. After I’m ready,
I pour myself a cup of coffee and giggle when I realize that I
never even got the cup at GC’s.

“
What you laughing about?” Tinleigh
asks.

“
Nothing, just something from this morning.”
Her eyes get big. “No, not what you’re thinking.”

“
Right.” She says, not believing
me.

“
Whatever, but you better be ready by nine
thirty. We’re going to eat with GC this morning.”

As she starts to talk, I hear the pitter patter of
little footsteps coming toward us. She looks at me as if I’m crazy.
“Hey, little man! You slept late this mornin’.” He smiles as he
climbs into my lap. “Guess what?” He looks at me curious. “We’re
going out for a late breakfast with number twenty-two this
morning.”

“
Tin Tin, we go eat basketball player!” he
says excitedly. “I go tell Pap!” He jumps from my lap and runs to
the door. Tinleigh looks my way and smiles before going to get
ready. I take my phone from my pocket and let GC know that Gunner
is excited to meet his favorite basketball player, hoping this will
reassure him.

Once we are ready, we make the short drive to the
Conch Café and ask for a table for seven. We are seated near the
window with a perfect view of the ocean. Gunner wants to go out on
the patio and look at the water so my daddy takes him by the hand
and walks him outside. As we order our drinks, I see GC walk in,
wearing dark denim jeans and a button up that make the color of his
chocolate eyes deepen. As my eyes scan his body, I notice an oddly
shaped package in his hand. I stand to meet him as he kisses my
cheek briefly, and he greets my mama and sisters.

“
What’s this?” I question.

“
Gunner’s birthday present.” My heart stops
and I have to hold back the tears.

“
Mar, hunny, why don’t you take GC out there
and let your daddy come in with us.”

“
Okay, Mama,” I say as I lace my fingers
through GC’s and we make our way out the screen door to them. I
whisper that it’s going to be fine. Daddy sees us first and once we
are close enough, he excuses himself. I bend down to
Gunner.

“
Gunner, this is GC Del Valle, number
twenty-two,” I say. His eyes light up. GC bends down to
him.