She finally leaned back and crawled over to the wall where she took deep breaths. I somehow managed to get my soaking wet jeans off and grabbed a washcloth. I ran it under hot water and handed it to her.
She smiled at me. “I’m so sorry I threw up on you. I ruined our perfect moment.”
I sat down on the cold, tile floor and chuckled. “I don’t think it’s ruined. Imagine the story you’ll have for our kids when they ask about when Daddy asked you to marry him.”
She laughed, but then put her hand on her stomach. “Walker, I’m not feeling well. Can we shower and just lay down for a bit?”
Standing, I pushed off my boxer briefs and reached down for her. I walked her over to the shower, reached in and turned it on to hot. I led her into the shower and began washing her body.
“So relaxing,” she mumbled.
I popped open the little shampoo. I washed and conditioned her hair as she let out moan after moan. I liked taking care of her, and I couldn’t wait to do it for the rest of our lives. Holding the removable showerhead, I rinsed her body and then her hair. I replaced the showerhead and turned off the water. Reaching out, I grabbed two towels. We both laughed when I failed miserably at wrapping her hair. She ended up doing it herself.
I took her hand and led her out of the shower. I dried her off and wrapped her in the towel before I grabbed a towel and dried myself off.
When I picked her up, she rested her head on my chest.
“I don’t feel so well,” she mumbled.
I walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. I pulled back the comforter and the silk sheets before setting Liza down. I pulled the towel off of her head and gently dried her hair some so she wouldn’t have to lie on soaking wet hair. When it got at least a little less wet, I lifted Liza’s legs and had her lie down.
I leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Get some sleep, baby.”
She reached out and grabbed my arm. “Please hold me, Walker.”
I walked around the bed, discarded my towel, and crawled under the covers. I pulled Liza into me and held her as her breathing began to slow. When her body completely relaxed, I knew she was asleep. I smiled knowing that soon I’d be holding her like this every single night.
I hadn’t told Liza that I’d talked to our parents about building a house. Originally, I was going to build it on the back half of my parents’ property, but Layton and my dad said they had a better idea. They’d recently bought Mimi and Frank’s property. They were the older couple that had land next to Layton’s. Layton and my father were planning to split up the property and give Ava, Liza, Jase, and me equal shares. Since Liza and I were getting married, we’d own half the land. I couldn’t wait to tell Liza. I’d already gone with my father and Layton to walk the property line. They’d surveyed it and it was now four separate properties. Liza and mine’s butted up next to each other. The way they’d divided it out, we all had a piece of the Llano River running through our land. Liza was going to be over the moon—she currently thought we’d be living in the foreman’s house.
I closed my eyes and drew house plans in my head as I drifted into peaceful slumber.
I FELT LIZA’S breath on my neck before I heard her whisper my name. I opened my eyes and found the most intense blue eyes staring back at me.
“Good morning,” she whispered as she kissed my lips.
I brought her in closer and held her, smiling. “Did we sleep all afternoon and night?”
She giggled and nodded.
“Well then, good morning, baby. How are you feeling?”
She pouted and said, “Okay. I’m not sure what happened. I’m so sorry.”
I rose and gently kissed her lips, then said, “As much as I wanted to play with those handcuffs, I was honestly exhausted.”
“Me, too. It felt amazing to sleep for so long. I’m so hungry, but I’m afraid to eat anything.” She slowly sat up. I sat up with her and held her as she snuggled into my chest. “I want to wake up every day like this, Walker. I don’t want to be apart.”
“Your dad offered to let us stay in the foreman’s house. We can move in anytime.”
Liza sighed. “Yeah. But maybe we should look for a little house in Llano. We can rent it for a while. Get out on our own. I mean, we’re going to be getting married, and we’ll have the baby. I’d like to have a place for her, and I can’t picture the foreman’s house as the place I want to bring my baby home to.” She turned and looked at me. “With our combined incomes, I think we could afford a little place.”
I smiled and kissed the top of her head. “My parents still own the house that was your mom’s. I could talk to them about renting it. I know no one is living there right now.”
“Really, Walker?” Liza said with a smile. “It would be amazing to have our own place to call home.”
I laughed and nodded. “I’ll call my parents right after I order you something to eat.”
Liza pushed the covers away and I took in her beautiful body.
“No, I’ll call the hotel restaurant and you call your parents!”
She walked into the bathroom and came out wrapped in one of their complementary robes. “I’ll use the hotel phone out here.”
I noticed she had her hand on her stomach as she left the bedroom. I guessed her stomach probably still didn’t feel right.
I looked around for my phone. Shit. It had been in my jeans pocket. I got up and walked into the bathroom. Yuck. I saw my jeans on the floor and picked them up, praying my phone was safe in my back pocket. When I found it, I noticed that I had two missed calls and one text. I breathed a sigh of relief.
I called our home number. No one usually answered, but I hoped my mother would.
“Hello, you’ve reached the Moore family. Please leave—”
I hung up and then called my father’s cell. It rang once.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Good morning to you too, Dad,” I said with a chuckle.
I heard my father say my name and my mother yelled something in the background.
“No call, no text, no hey our baby looked adorable. Nothing.”
I closed my eyes. I’d been so excited to get Liza to the hotel that I’d forgotten to call home. “Shit, Dad. I’m so sorry. We were on such a high. We got to the hotel and I asked Liza to marry me the proper way, with a ring. She threw up on me and we fell asleep.”
Silence.
“Dad? Are you still there?”
“Did you say Liza threw up on you?” my mother asked.
I must have been on speakerphone. I laughed and shook my head. “Yeah, right after I put the ring on her finger. She barfed on my bare chest and then…well, then I threw up.”
My parents both started laughing hysterically. I rolled my eyes, waiting for them to get it all out.
“Air…I need air…” my mother said as she laughed uncontrollably.
“Haha, it’s not that funny,” I said.
My father was still laughing as my mother kept repeating, “I’m okay. I’m okay now.”
“Yeah, it is, son. Yeah, it is,” my father said as my mother started laughing again.
“Okay, fine. You know what? I’m going to hang up now and I’ll talk to y’all later.”
“No!” they both shouted. “Tell us about the baby,” my mother pleaded.
I laughed and wrapped a robe around my body. “The sonogram was amazing. We got to see the baby and it was just beyond words. Liza swears it’s a girl, but I say it’s a boy.”
“Whatever baby M is, I just hope she or he is healthy.”
“Baby M?” I asked.
“Yeah, M for Moore and Morris,” my mother said, like I should have known that.
I chuckled and then said, “Hey, Mom and Dad, Liza and I were talking. She’d really like to rent a place in Llano. Something to call our own.” I lowered my voice, “She has no idea about the house or the land. I wasn’t sure if Layton and Whitley wanted to tell her. I’d like to bring her out and te
ll her about the house while we’re standing on our own dirt.”
“I agree with both of those ideas. I’m pretty sure Layton wants to tell her and Jase about the land. I think it will be more meaningful if you tell her about the house on your own property.”
“Our place is available, Walker. It’s a darling house and holds many wonderful memories. We’d love to have that be your first home together. Of course, your father and I wouldn’t charge you rent.”
My heart swelled with love for my parents. I knew they wanted to help us however possible. My stomach flipped. “Mom, I love you so much for that. But Liza and I want to be responsible and pay rent. If we’re starting a life together, we want to do it right.”
I heard a sniffle and I knew my mom was crying. “Walker, I’m not sure how the hell we did it, but we raised you and Ava right. I thank God every day for you two. Let us at least reduce the rent. We don’t want to see you struggle as you start your new life. How about seven hundred a month?”
I knew that was way below market value, but I wasn’t going to argue. The more we saved, the better we could build our own house. “Deal.”
My mother clapped her hands and said, “Perfect. Well, it’s fully furnished, so that takes a load off, big time. All we need to do is get the baby’s room fixed up.”
I could picture my parents now. My father was probably leaning against the kitchen counter with his dark hair a mess, as usual. I was betting he’d already been out to the garden and picked what needed to be picked. My mother was probably cuddled up against him, with his arm somewhere on her body, holding her close. Her blonde hair was most likely tied up and I imagined her in her running clothes. My mom hardly ever missed her morning run.
I glanced up and saw Liza coming into the bedroom. She gave me a thumbs up. I nodded and put my finger up, asking for a minute.
“I’m sure Liza is just as excited about that, Mom. I’ll let her know the good news and we can talk more when we get home later this afternoon.”
“Okay, darling. Y’all be careful. We love you,” my mother said.
“Talk to you soon, Walker. Love you,” my father said as his voice got closer sounding. He must have taken me off speakerphone.
“Bye, Dad. Love y’all, too.” I hit End and smiled at Liza. “How are you feeling?”
She scrunched up her nose. “Queasy, still. I just can’t seem to shake it. Maybe I’ll feel better once I eat something.”
She walked over and into my arms. I held her and took a deep breath. She smelled like vanilla. She always had. I told my mom about it once. She said it was because Liza was so sweet.
Pulling back I asked, “Did you order coffee with breakfast?”
“Shit. Sorry. I always forget.”
Laughing, I kissed her lips before walking out into the suite’s living room. Liza didn’t drink coffee, but I was addicted to the stuff. I headed into the kitchen area that was set off to the side of the living room and began making some coffee. They had a Keurig machine—I’d get instant coffee. I fist pumped when I saw the Starbucks morning coffee blend.
I looked back into the living room and saw Liza at the door. She bent over and picked up a piece of paper and a small envelope. “Here’s the copy of the bill,” she said as she set it down on the coffee table. But then she gave me a funny look. “This is addressed to me. Who knows we’re here other than our parents?”
I shrugged. “What does it say?”
Liza sat down and opened the envelope. She read it and then looked up at me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, as I sat down next to her. She handed me the card.
“Congratulations on your new life,” I read.
I turned it over. It wasn’t signed by anyone. Weird.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Walker,” Liza said as she bit her lip.
“Huh. Maybe it’s from Jenifer.” I said.
She looked at me funny. “Jenifer? The front desk lady?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, once she found out we were having a baby, she went out of her way to be nice. Maybe she just wanted to send us a card. Who else would it be, babe? No one besides our parents knows you’re pregnant.”
She slowly nodded. “I guess so. I don’t remember telling her my name.” Liza hugged herself like she had a chill. “I’ve just had these feelings lately. Like someone is watching me. I can’t shake it. Then with what Keith said that night, and, well…”
I pulled her to me. “Baby, you’re letting your imagination run wild. Don’t worry. I’m sure this was from Jenifer and she forgot to sign the card. No one else knows we’re here or that we’re expecting, least of all Keith.”
She gave me a weak smile and was about to say something when someone knocked on the door, startling us.
“Jesus, Liza. You’ve got me on edge now, baby.”
She giggled and pulled her legs to her chest as I went to get our breakfast.
We spent the rest of the morning with poor Liza in and out of the bathroom. I felt so bad for her. We ended up checking out around nine-thirty to head back to Llano.
This morning’s note popped into my head. I was hoping that Jenifer would have been working this morning so I could ask her and put Liza’s mind to rest.
Congratulations on your new life.
One Month Later.
STANDING IN THE middle of the living room I looked around. I couldn’t believe Walker and I had our own place. I put my hand on my stomach talked to the baby.
“Welcome to your new home, baby girl. This is where we’re going to start our little family.”
My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my back pocket. It was Ava. She was heading home for Thanksgiving break and I couldn’t wait to see her. Walker and I had told both her and Jase about the pregnancy over Skype. Ava had cried and Jase was already making plans to teach his nephew how to play football. Then Ava had told Jase that he was crazy because the baby was a girl and she’d be teaching Baby M everything she’d need to know about fashion. Walker and I sat back and let them two of them fight like they always had.
Ava: OMG. Wait until you see the outfit I made for the baby!
Me: You made it?
Ava: YES! It’s adorable. I have an eye for this shit. I sent a picture to mom. She cried, of course.
Me: Can’t wait to see it. Be careful driving. See you tomorrow.
Ava: Okay! Love you, sis!
Me: Love you, too!
Smiling, I put my phone back into my pocket. I went into the kitchen and took in a deep breath. I was making bacon green bean wraps—one of Walker’s favorite things. I’d taken the week off from work to fix up our new house. There wasn’t much to do. Hang a few pictures, bring in a few things to make it feel like home. The whole house was furnished, which made it easier to concentrate on buying things for the baby’s room.
I leaned against the counter and looked around. I felt good knowing that this was the house my mother had bought when she first moved to Texas. I wondered how many times her and Daddy stood in this very kitchen before she’d moved in with him. My parents’ love was amazing. They’d taught Jase and me what true love really was. I closed my eyes as a memory flooded my mind.
“I LOVE YOU, Whit. More than anything.”
My father held my mother in his arms and danced with her in the living room as the Christmas lights bounced off of all the decorations and mirrors. I was sixteen and had come down to get a glass of water. It was Christmas Eve, and my parents must have been up late wrapping gifts. The soft hum of Nate King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” filled the room. I sat at the top of the landing and watched. The way my mother looked into my father’s eyes made my stomach drop. I wanted a love like this.
My father gently kissed my mother on the lips. You could almost feel their love taking over the entire room. I pulled my knees up. My father gazed into my mother’s eyes.
That was what I wanted. That look right there.
My mother had told me a few times about when my parents met. I could
n’t imagine my father being rude to my mother or vice versa. They’d had a rocky start. My mother had also been very honest about her previous boyfriend and how he’d abused her. I was shocked at first when she told me. She was the strongest person I knew.
Her words replayed in my mind. “Sometimes, Liza. It’s what breaks us down and makes us feel weak that builds us up and makes us stronger than before.”
My father dipped my mother as she giggled. “I love you, too, Layton. So very much.”
He took her hand in his and spun her around a few times before pulling her back in. She laid her head on his chest and they danced in silence.
I felt someone behind me and looked up to see Jase smiling as he sat down. “They sure do love each other, don’t they?” he whispered.
I nodded my head. “Jase, do you think we’ll find someone to love like that?”
“I hope so, Liza. I hope that you never settle for anyone less than you deserve. You need someone like Dad.” He turned to watch my mother and father. “A guy who’d look at you with admiration and love like Dad does Mom.”
I linked my arm with Jase’s. “The same goes for you, Jase,” I whispered. “You deserve a girl who knows she’s damn lucky to have a guy like you.”
He smiled bigger. “I just hope she loves football.”
We both giggled. My parents stopped dancing and turned toward the stairs.
Looking at us with a stunned expression my mother asked, “What in the world are you two doing up?”
Jase nudged me and said, “Watching two amazing people share a special moment.”
The smile that spread across our parents’ faces was one I’d never forget.
My dad laughed and said, “Come on, let’s open presents.”
My mother spun around. “Layton! It’s two in the morning.”