Shameless (St. Martin Family Saga) (9 page)

9

O
nce they were
on the interstate, Cory asked, “How long does it say it’ll take?”

Their father was driving and Logan was navigating from the passenger seat. “The GPS says four and a half hours with traffic.”

“It’ll be almost one in the morning when we arrive. And you’re sure you know exactly where she lives?”

“She’s renting a place from a friend of mine I hooked her up with.”

Cory’s body immediately tensed. “You hooked her up with someone?”

Logan looked over his shoulder. “Will you relax? She’s an ex-girlfriend of mine.”

Cory nodded, relieved. He thought about what Chloe had said. It was true, Brook probably wouldn’t be ready to drop everything yet again and follow him home. Unless he had a grand plan. He had just over four hours to come up with a fail proof reason for her to take him back.

≈

Cory heard the voice of his mother come to him in a dream. “We’re here.”

He opened his eyes—no dream. He sat up and looked out of the side window. “Where?”

Logan pointed to a house across the street. “There.”

“It’s one thirty in the morning,” his dad told him from the front seat. “What’s your plan?”

His plan was to storm the house and get Brook. But the holes in that plan hit him like the slap of her hand to his face. “I need a ring!”

The four of them stared at one another so long, Cory was afraid his words had cast some kind of spell. Then Logan started laughing.

“Well, that’s step one.”

Luckily, Cory’s father had connections all along the Gulf Coast and plenty of friends willing to do him favors—even after midnight. He made a few calls and within the hour, they were at a jewelry store looking at rings. Unfortunately, Cory wasn’t satisfied with any of them.

“They’re beautiful, Mr. Winters, truly, but I can’t go to her with any of these.” Cory slowly blew out a long breath of air.

His father ran a finger across a few of the rings and asked, “What’s the problem?”

“These are too big, too showy, too… gaudy. I need something original, something vintage.” Cory looked into the eyes of the shop owner. “My Brook has freckles and thick chestnut hair with copper highlights. Her skin is bronze, her eyes are a luminous green—unless she’s overcome with desire, and then they darken to a color between gold and bronze. She never wears make-up or perfume,” Cory shook his head. “Doesn’t have to. She dresses simply and there is nothing fake about her.”

All eyes were on Cory. Logan was actually recording him with his phone’s camera. Cory blushed and said, “I think with her bronze skin we can rule out anything that isn’t yellow gold.”

Mr. Winters tapped his chin, his eyes seeing something other than what was laid out on the counter. “I think I have something in the back. It belonged to my grandmother.”

When Cory saw the ring, he knew it was the one. It was classically beautiful with an antique emerald, and diamonds in the shape of a flower. The center stone matched the color of Brook’s eyes, and the sides were a delicate swirl pattern. Cory smiled brightly, excited and relieved. “This is perfect. Just perfect.” He held it out for his mother to see. “Don’t you think it’s perfect?”

“It’s beautiful.”

He turned back to Mr. Winters. When he saw the specialty box the man had pulled the ring from, his gut clenched. “You said it belonged to your grandmother. Is it for sale?”

“It isn’t.”

Cory’s breath caught.

“Isn’t for sale that is.” Mr. Winters placed the ring in a new velvet box. He looked to the St. Martin clan and then grasped Cory’s father’s hand. “Without your father’s assistance, I wouldn’t be standing before you today. Your father is a good man. I want you to have the ring.”

He nodded. “Good to see you again, Cliff.”

Cory’s dad nodded back and simply replied, “Knox.”

Cory and Logan both looked from one man to the other. They had a connection that ran deep, that much was clear. Cory would ask his father about it another time, but for now he was simply grateful the relationship existed.

He looked to the shop owner who’d given up his night and passed on a family heirloom, all for him. All for love. His eyes swam with tears. “Thank you, sir. You should know, your ring is going to a great lady, one who loves as generously as you do.”

≈

They killed some time at a twenty-four hour diner, then drove back and waited a little longer in the SUV outside Brook’s temporary home. Finally, when Cory couldn’t wait any longer, he said, “I’m ready, let’s go.”

The plan was simple. His dad would carry a bouquet of blue hydrangeas. Cory had seen Brook worry over the hydrangea bushes in front of her home in Whisky Cove and occasionally cut some and bring them inside. Cory’s father would offer her the flowers. Logan would film the proposal, and of course Cory would be on bended knee. They all barreled out of the SUV and turned toward the house. His mother stayed seated.

Cory leaned in and said, “Mom?”

“I’ll just wait here.”

“No, Mom. I need you with me.”

Her face went instantly from stormy weather to a warm, lazy summer day, and her smile caressed him, easing some of his worry. “Come on, Mom. We can kiss and
ooh
and
aah
later. Right now I need to see Brook.”

It was straight up seven when Cory rang the bell. From his vantage point on bended knee, he first heard the clacking of Eagle’s nails on the tile, then the unmistakable sound of the door latch cracking open. In cutoff jeans and a tank top, the love of his life stood staring out at him, wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

Her eyes remained wide as they passed from Cory to his father and mother and then to Logan.

Eagle whimpered, but he didn’t leave Brook’s side. He too looked from Cory to the others and then back to Cory.

Cory took a deep breath, “Brook, I can’t make a move without thinking of you. The thought of never seeing you again makes me crazy with regret. There were things you needed to hear from me, things you deserved to hear. I’m in love and I don’t know how to do it. It’s painful and it hurts and I’m terrified. I’m out of control, and I hate that. I’m paralyzed without you. The only cure is you so if you run, I will always come after you. I’d walk through a wildfire to get to you.”

Brook gasped, one hand at her lips and one at her breast. God, he was botching this, but he was speaking from the heart.

“I see your freckles whenever I close my eyes. In my dreams I feel your hair cascading down my chest, and I seek the heat of your body.”

Brook blushed, but he needed her to know everything that was in his heart, no holding back. At least her response said that she was feeling something.

“I took you for granted when you lifted me up and taught me how to live, love, and forgive. I see so clearly what I hadn’t seen before. You saved me. And I need you to keep me warm. Please, I’d kill to have you back, but I want life, not death. I need you, every inch of you, including our beautiful, wonderful, already much loved child that grows in your belly.”

He cracked the velvet box open and removed the ring. He offered it to her. “I don’t know how to tell you that if you marry me I’ll spend the rest of my days loving every ounce of your beautiful body, mind, and spirit. But I will do it. Maybe not perfectly, but thoroughly.” He held both of her hands in his. “Please say yes, Brook.”

Eagle woofed and looked from Brook to Cory. Then Eagle stepped forward and licked Cory square on the mouth. Laughter erupted all around. Brook lowered herself to her knees and into Cory’s waiting arms. Her hands went into his hair, and they kissed passionately on the stoop with Cory’s father, mother, and brother standing right there next to them. When they pulled apart, Cory placed the ring on her finger and a kiss atop both.

His dad offered Brook the flowers and said, “Brook, I like it when St. Martin men marry up. It makes the stock much better.” He winked at her. She laughed, and he helped her up. Cory jumped up right beside her.

“Welcome to the family,” Logan said. “St. Martins are all a little looney, but you knew that already.”

“I did. I guess that means I fit right in.”

Cory stepped back when his mother moved in to hug Brook, but he heard her whisper, “I’m so glad he came to his senses.”

Cory moved in for his own hug and kissed Brook again, this time a chaste kiss on each cheek. “You’re coming home with me.” She nodded serenely, just as she had at their first meeting.

Packing up took no time at all, and they were back on the road in less than an hour.

In the back seat of the SUV, Brook sat curled in Cory’s lap with her head under his chin. They stayed connected the entire ride back to Whisky Cove. Every half hour or so, Cory would kiss her on the head or cheek and whisper his love in her ear.

Brook stared at her ring often, occasionally holding it up to the light. “It’s beautiful. How did you know what to get?”

He smiled down at her in his lap. “I just thought of you.”

Logan had his phone out and passed it to her. “Actually, Brook, here is exactly how it went down.”

She hit play on the phone. Logan had shot in close-up, so Cory knew she could see the emotion play out across his face and in his eyes. She watched the video five times. Huge teardrops splashed from her eyes and onto the screen.

Cory whispered, “We better give it back, huh? You’re gonna drown Logan’s phone. That’s not a very nice thing to do.” Brook laughed through her tears.

It took over five hours to get back, so when they got to the estate, they took Eagle and Teddy, who had been only too happy to greet them, to stretch their legs.

They were out by the pecan grove when Cory said, “Eagle is no longer available to be an adopted companion.”

“Oh yeah, why is that?”

“Because he belongs here with our family.”

Brook began to cry. Cory lifted her chin. “Hey, what’s this.” He kissed away her tears.

“Nothing bad, I was just thinking about the last time I belonged to a family. It was before my parents died. That was the last time I truly belonged.”

“You’ll never have to worry about that again, baby.” He laughed and picked her up, turning them in circles until she squealed. “In fact, you’ll probably get sick of all the family you’re about to acquire.” She laughed again, and Cory sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. “I need to be inside you. Connected.”

With the dogs secure in the fence, Brook looked up at Cory and said, “Deer stand.”

“You read my mind.”

They climbed into the stand and each removed their clothing, until only love was left between them.

≈

That night, Cory was seated at the kitchen table at his house. His dad was out and it was just them,
his
family. Eagle and Teddy lay at his feet, and Brook was busy making dinner. Cory offered up a prayer of thanks. He’d almost lost Brook; that thought had his throat closing up and squeezing off his air. He gasped and shook his head to rid himself of the worry. Brook was by his side in an instant, a bowl of crawfish etouffee in her hands.

“Hey, I’m here.” She set the bowl on the table and took his cheeks in her palms, lifting his face. She placed a tender kiss on his lips. “We’ll live our lives together, you and me. Forever.”

The words she spoke healed and cleansed Cory. She straddled his lap, and he inhaled her essence long and deep. His hand slipped under her tank top, and he spread his palm across her abdomen. “I want children. Lots of children. I want them all to look like you.”

Brook frowned. “But I want them to look like you.”

Cory grinned. “We’ll see what we can do. And by the way, I love you.” Eagle came up to stand by the chair in his guardian’s pose. Cory turned to him. “Will you relax? I’m about to show your mother how much I love her.”

Eagle stood and placed his snout between them. “You’re going to have to explain to Eagle how things work around here,” he told Brook.

She smiled as she rubbed her face into his neck. His hands were caressing her bare back, under her shirt. She started purring.

“Hey, you’re going to be Brook St. Martin. Do you like the way that sounds?”

She lifted her head, pouting, “I thought you would become Corrigan Walker.”

Cory’s brow furrowed as he stared into Brook’s emerald-green gaze. “Is that what you want?”

“More than you know.” She winked at him and placed her arms around his neck and sucked his earlobe into her mouth.

“What the hell, I’ll be Cory Walker. It has a nice ring.”

Brook smiled against his skin. “What happened to my challenging man?”

He kissed her softly. “Baby, if you think I’m not going to insist you take my name, you’ve gone delusional.” Brook giggled.

She smiled against his mouth. “I’m going to become a St. Martin. I can’t think of anything I want more.” His erection pressed into her crotch. “Well, there may be one thing I want more than your name.”

≈

Brook was so happy that she
could
be delusional. Only she wasn’t.

She’d been given everything she ever wanted. The child growing in her belly would be a part of her and she a part of it. It would be a blood connection, and she’d cherish her child until her dying breath. It wasn’t lost on her that in time roots would grow under and around her until she was also entwined with the St. Martin family. She’d suddenly gone from being an orphan with no family to a woman with so much family her heart swelled from the abundance of love she’d received from them already.