I didn't know what kind of strings he'd
pulled to get the keys so quickly, nor did I want to know.
Sometimes the less I knew about Kyle the better. He'd been up since
the crack of dawn and had been on the phone for half of the day
arranging for our things to be moved from the hotel and ordering
furniture. We had left everything in the house in Thirteenth Street
and when Kyle had asked me if I wanted him to get anything of my
possessions from my room I'd told him no and fought the urge to
vomit.
This was our fresh start and I didn't want it
tainted with death and miscarriage and heartbreak. I needed to let
go and stop trying to dig into the past. Kyle was right. Cam's
journal–even if it had been there–was private. I would have never
even contemplated breaking her trust and reading it when she was
alive….so, what gave me the right to do so now? Nothing. I had no
right to violate her privacy…I was going to let it go. I had to. We
all needed to start anew.
The gates opened inwards, revealing a narrow
wooded driveway. My breath caught in my throat as I took in our
surroundings. Everything was …green and orange. Huge evergreen fir
trees were lined like soldiers on either side of the lane, orange
leaves that had fallen from the deciduous trees covered the lane
ahead of us, as the car ascended the hilly drive. The car crunched
to a stop on the gravel in front of the property and my heart
stopped in my chest. The house–if you could even call a property of
that enormity a house–was breathtaking. It was wooden, warm and
welcoming with huge glass windows gleaming in the watery October
sunshine. There was a balcony, a deck and…everything. This house
had
everything
.
Kyle turned in his seat. His blue eyes locked
on mine with such an intensity I squirmed in the passenger seat.
"Our house. This is
ours
. And believe me, princess," he
purred. "You've brought more to my table than you think."
Unfastening his seatbelt, he leaned towards me and cupped my cheek.
"And here's a little heads up." His mouth grazed my ear before
moving to within an inch of my lips. "I plan on tasting what you've
brought to my table." His lips touched mine. "In every room in this
house."
"Kyle," I whispered against his lips as I
pulled him towards me.
"Patience, baby," Kyle chuckled before
pulling away and climbing out of the car. "All good things come to
those who wait."
Opening my door, he helped me out before
getting Hope from the back seat where she was sleeping soundly. She
stirred slightly before snuggling into her father's chest. I didn't
know why but I always found it incredibly sexy to see a man take
care of his children. The loving way Kyle held Hope, the gentle way
he stroked the back of her tiny head, made my insides clench
up.
Kyle unlocked the front door and I felt like
a kid being shown around Disney World. I wriggled in excitement
with each step I took further into the house. "Go on, princess. Go
investigate."
The smell of fresh paint hung in the air as I
wandered through the house. There were six rooms on the main level
and every room had warm wooden flooring with the exception of the
kitchen and a tiled bathroom. It reminded me of a cabin. The
biggest, most luxurious cabin I'd ever stepped foot inside. The
floor to ceiling windows…the view of the mountains. Wow.
Just…wow.
The kitchen was enormous and completely
fitted with dozens of cupboards, a center island with stools and a
separate area with a dining table and chairs. It had every
appliance a person could possibly wish for and the light coming
from the huge bay windows was incredible. The lounge was even
bigger with a real open fireplace. A downstairs bathroom and
separate laundry room were situated in the hallway, closest to the
kitchen and there was an office equipped with more technology than
I'd ever seen, in the last room in the hallway.
There was a fully furnished nursery, painted
in a soft pink, with about a hundred stuffed animals lined on
shelves. "She has a bedroom upstairs, too," Kyle said from behind
me as I stood in the doorway of the nursery. "I thought it might be
easier for you during the daytime…until you're better." His
thoughtfulness caused my heart to swell. He knew me too well.
Stairs crippled me. Since the shooting my muscles were like
noodles. I had a lot of work ahead of me to build back some muscle
strength, especially in my stomach and back. Lying in a bed for
twelve weeks had caused havoc on my body. I was improving every
day, but I was nowhere near my old form. The fact that I was shot
eight weeks after giving birth, when my body was still healing,
made my recovery ten times more complicated. Adding my ectopic
pregnancy and surgery last Christmas to the list made the fact that
I was breathing, walking and talking a pretty huge miracle.
God works in mysterious ways…
I turned around and smiled at his eager face.
"I still can't believe you bought this place. How many levels are
there?" I asked as my eyes roamed over everything. I'd expected the
house to be empty and unfurnished. I'd obviously underestimated my
fiancé. Every wall was painted. Every room was filled with
furniture. It was a home waiting for us to live in.
"Four," he said proudly. My jaw dropped open
which made him laugh. "There's an apartment in the basement for
Derek." Kyle grinned and closed my mouth with his finger. "It's so
fucking cool, Lee," he grinned. "If he doesn't decide to move in
I'm calling dibs."
"You need a man cave, do you?" I joked, but
it was a weak attempt. My heart sank when I thought of Derek alone
in that house with his ghosts. I'd hoped he would change his mind.
I still hoped he would. Kyle and I both knew why he refused to move
out of that place. He wanted to be close to Cam.
So did I, but I preferred to do that at the
cemetery where I could pretend the things that had happened to her
hadn't. There was no way I could sit and drink coffee every morning
in the kitchen where I watched the life seep from her body.
If Kyle had his way he would drag Derek out
of there and lock him in the basement, and for once he had my full
support. Derek needed to get out of that place. That house was
toxic and his home was with us.
"Let's have a look upstairs," Kyle said
tactfully changing the subject. This was a bittersweet moment and I
knew he felt it, too. Our lives had changed so drastically in the
past eighteen months. What had started as four of us living
together in Kyle's house in Thirteenth Street, had grown to five
with the arrival our daughter. Now for the first time in our
relationship we were on our own, having buried one friend and
living in a constant fear of losing the other to his grief.
Tucking Hope into the crook of one of his
arms, Kyle wrapped the other around my shoulder and led me towards
the staircase. "The bedrooms are on the first floor and there's a
converted attic on the top floor with a couple more rooms. I've
left those empty. I figured we could use them for storage until we
decide what to do with them."
The staircase had about thirty steps and when
I reached the top I was out of breath. I was breathless because I
was faced with more doors than I could think up rooms for.
"There are five bedrooms up here," Kyle said
as we walked down the hall. "All fitted with their own bathroom,
though I'm not sure how that will work for us when Hope starts
walking. Toddlers like toilet water…"
Five bedrooms... I was going to have my work
cut out for me. I would never complain of boredom again.
"This is my favorite room in the house," he
murmured as he opened the last door on the right. When I looked
inside I was in complete agreement with him. "Master bedroom…" he
announced in a husky tone, letting his words trail off and curl
around me, igniting my imagination, lighting a fire in my belly.
"Do you like it?"
"Do I like it?" I whispered shaking my head.
There wasn't anything
not
to like. The walls of our new
bedroom were painted a soft green. The walnut timber-framed sleigh
bed was the size of a boat–and I wasn't joking. You could easily
fit five fully grown men on it with their arms spread out and still
have plenty of room. The wall opposite the door was made entirely
of glass with a door opening onto a balcony. The closets, bedside
tables, the dressing table…every piece of furniture in the room was
made of thick walnut with an intricately carved finishing.
"I tried to imagine what you'd like…You can
change anything you don't like, princess. Colors or furniture…"
I held my hand up to make him stop talking.
"Kyle, stop talking. It's perfect." Kicking off my sneakers, I
threaded my toes through the thick white luxurious carpet. "Oh god.
I think I'm in love." The whole house was beautiful. So homely. I
shook my head and turned to face him. "How did you do this? I
mean…thank you so much, but how in god's name did you organize
everything so quickly?"
He snorted as he rocked Hope in his arms.
"When you want something badly enough you move heaven and hell to
get it." He shrugged his shoulders. "I want you happy. I need you
safe. There's not much I wouldn't do when it comes to you."
"You make me happy," I whispered grinning
from ear to ear. Stretching up on my tip-toes, I planted a kiss on
his lips. "You make me feel safe. Every day."
Kyle smiled fondly. His eyes gleamed with
mischief as his lips tipped up in a smirk, revealing that edible
dimple. "You make me hard. Every day."
I gasped when I noticed the built-in
bookshelf in the corner of the room. I darted over to it with my
mouth hanging open. "Oh my god," I breathed as I stood in front of
shelf after shelf full of books. "I'm definitely in love."
Kyle chuckled from behind me. "I thought
you'd like that little addition best."
"You were so right," I murmured as I trailed
my finger down the spine of one of the
many
books.
"You should have seen the look on the old
lady's face in the store," he mused as he pulled out a book and
showed me the cover of a half-naked man. "I looked like a fucking
douchebag walking up to the counter and asking for girly porn with
a pink stroller and a polka dot bag on my shoulder."
I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh as I
looked up at his bemused expression. "You didn't."
Kyle raised his brow and smirked. "How the
fuck was I supposed to know they're called
contemporary
romance
…"
My cheeks reddened and I felt oddly
defensive. "Because that's what they're called, Kyle…"
"Sure they are," he snorted as he rocked Hope
gently in his arms. "Keep lying to yourself, princess, but I know
the truth. It's porn." He grinned and winked down at me. "Plain ole
girl porn. I just can't understand why you girls don't put pictures
on the pages…" His voice trailed off as he frowned in what looked
like confusion. "Just seems like a hell of a lot of work to have an
org…"
"It's not porn, Kyle," I snapped, annoyed and
a little turned on. "It's literature."
"Oh yeah," he snickered in a mimicking tone.
"He seared me with his manly touch…" Kyle pressed the back of his
hand to his forehead as he made the worst attempt at imitating a
woman I'd ever heard. "Oh dear, my nipples hardened from the sight
of his huge cock. His rippling abs caused my womanhood to flutter
and clench…" he snorted
again
. "Literature. Good one,
baby."
"That's rich coming from the man who cried
like a baby when we watched
The Notebook
." His smirk faded
and my smile widened. "I have to say, I was more than surprised
with how in touch you are with your sensitive side, Kyle."
"Thought you were asleep," he muttered.
"That's pretty pathetic,
baby
," I
teased. "I thought you were going to need some valium when the old
lady died."
"You're heartless," he said deadpan. "That
was a great fucking movie."
"And these are great books," I countered.
"So, if you plan to make fun of me in the future just remember that
I'll have something up my sleeve."
"Something up your sleeve," he said in a
sarcastic tone of voice. "Could it be the vibrator to go with your
book boyfriend? I know paper is made from trees, baby, but I'm
pretty sure you prefer my wood."
"You are a douchebag," I mumbled red-faced.
"I can't believe you actually said that out loud."
"Are we having our first fight in our new
home?" he asked with a smile "Over porn of all things."
"Yeah," I laughed. "I guess we are."
Shrugging my shoulders, I nudged him softly as I walked past in the
direction the bathroom. "Start as we mean to go on and all
that..."
****
We headed downstairs to test Hope out in her
new nursery. "I'll put her down," Kyle said quietly as he slipped
past me. I nodded happily as I wandered back to the lounge. The
cream leather U-shaped couch was beautiful as were the matching
armchairs that sat either side of the fireplace. A lone silver
photo frame on top of the ledge of the fireplace caught my
attention and I had to cover my mouth with my hand to hold in a sob
when I realized why.
"That girl is something else," Kyle chuckled
as he strolled into the lounge not a minute later. "Nothing fazes
her. She didn't even stir when I put her in the crib."
I couldn't answer him. I was in shock. "Where
did you find this?" I whispered as I stared in disbelief at the
photograph of the two little girls. One of the girl's was blonde
and beautiful. Dressed immaculately in a white sundress, she had
her arm wrapped around the other girl's shoulders and was smiling
broadly for the camera. The other girl was younger and smaller with
dark messy curls and nervous eyes. She was dressed in a worn pair
of jeans that swamped her little frame and a dirty gray t-shirt.
The smaller girl was tucked under the blonde girl's arm and my
heart broke in two as the memory of that day flooded me.