Clutch & Taylor: The Wedding (Custom Culture Book 6)

"Nothing." Dray moved along too. "I'm still cheery. Just tired." He grinned beneath his sunglasses. "Didn't get much sleep. But I'm not complaining. Hey, when are those corsets going to be ready?" Dray was never good at monitoring his volume. The two guys in front of us turned around with a curious glance at the corset question.

  Dray held out his hands in a ‘what the fuck’ manner. "Hey, don't knock it until you try it." The guys turned back around.

  Crowded or not, I still had the advantage of seeing over everyone's heads. The girls had managed to jump several more groups ahead. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was three teenage girls. One of them had dark red hair and a smile that reminded me of Taylor as a teen.

  "Are you that giant snowboarder who flew over the little girl?" a girl with long black braids asked.

  Dray put his gloved hand down hard on my shoulder. "Somersaulting Sasquatch."

  I glared at him from the side of my eye.

  "What? That's what they named you on YouTube. You're up to a million hits."

  "Could we please just take a quick selfie with you?" the red head pleaded.

  "Yeah, Sasquatch, take a selfie with them," Rett prodded with a smirk.

  The line moved forward, and the girls kept up with us.

  "Fine." I turned and leaned in, but I was still too tall. I squatted down lower, and they each snapped a picture.

  The line had moved another foot forward by the time we were done. I slid my board along to catch up to the others.

  "Boom. Oh man, that was gnarly." Nix winced and a collective groan rumbled through the crowd at something behind me. I looked back over my shoulder. A pile up and what was sometimes called a 'yard sale', where skis and poles were strewn all over the place, marred the white landscape of the hill. It seemed everyone was all right, but for at least two of the skiers their day of fun had just come to a painful end.

  "See, it's going to be like a war zone out there," I complained. "I hope the women will be all right. Would have been a smart day to carry along helmets."

  Nix seemed to consider what I said. "Shit, now I'm not going to have any fun worrying about Scottie. And I told her to leave the helmets at home. She's not going to let me hear the end of that stupid idea."

  We were just a dozen people back in line when the women had reached the lift. Short, angry breezes had been kicking up all morning, and it seemed they weren't leaving any time soon. One shot through the evergreens kicking up a dusty cloud of snow and shifting the lift chairs from side to side, an unexpected jolt that made some of the riders laugh nervously.

  Somehow, the purple scarf Taylor had tossed around her neck to use later as a face shield had blown free of her shoulders. It floated out onto the snow like it had wings. She chased clumsily after the runaway scarf, dragging her board behind her.

  "Taylor, it's our turn," Scotlyn called.

  "Go ahead. I'll get on the next chair." Taylor reached the scarf and saw us standing a few people back. She shrugged and shot us a smile as she shook out the scarf and tossed it around her shoulders. Then she shuffled back to the lift line.

  She hopped on a chair, but the next people in line were three kids who didn't want to be broken up. Taylor rode alone with her purple scarf flying behind her in the breeze.

  "What a bunch of knuckleheads running the lifts. A line around the lodge and they send the lift chair up with one girl on it," Dray complained. "Guess it's good Taylor isn't afraid to ride alone."

  "Yeah, stuff like that never bothers her," I said with a hint of pride. Just then Taylor leaned all the way down to adjust something on her binding. "Case in point." I shook my head at her daredevil move.

  A creaking sound cracked the air, and the cables on the lift stopped sharply. A scream that I knew too well sent ice cold fear through my veins. Taylor's blue and yellow snowboard sliced the air and landed tip down in the snow. My heart slammed against my ribs as Taylor followed the board. Even in her terror, she thought clearly enough to grab hold of the chair. Her long legs kicked at the air. She was dangling a good fifteen feet above the semi-hard packed snow. The lift chair was tilted severely as she clung to it with both hands.

  I broke my binding as I yanked my foot free and raced toward her. Nix, Rett and Dray followed close behind. The sharp gasp from the crowd had dropped to a horrified hush. It felt like the entire world was moving in slow motion. It was only a few seconds but it felt like fucking hours before I reached the spot below Taylor.

  "I'm right beneath you, baby. Just drop and I'll catch you," I called up to her.

  Rett stood next to me. "Tater Tot, you'll be fine. Just let go."

  Her tiny, terrified squeaks rained down on my head and made my heart break. A large crowd had gathered to watch. Scotlyn, Cassie and Finley had turned back to see what all the excitement was about. Each one of them turned pale with fear. They held each other for comfort.

  "Taylor," Cassie called back in a trembling voice. "Clutch is right there. Let go."

  "C'mon, baby, trust me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." I could feel my pulse pounding as if I'd just run up the entire hill of snow.

  "I'm scared," Taylor cried out.

  "You don't need to be. I'm right here."

  "It's all right, Taylor. Just let go," Nix pleaded.

  I looked frantically around at the towers between the cables to see if there was any way I could climb up to her. It was impossible. There was only one way out of this. Taylor had to let go.

  Just then a grinding sound rumbled through the air. "The lift is starting up again!" Someone in the crowd yelled. The workers running the lift seemed to have no control over what was happening. The lift had jammed unexpectedly, and that glitch had corrected itself.

  Taylor screamed. She tried hard to pull herself up onto the chair. But everything was working against her. The ski patrol had just reached us. Not that there was much they could do now.

  "She's going to get too high." Dray was right behind me, but his voice sounded far away. I felt, suddenly, as if I was standing all alone on a mountain watching the love of my life get carried high into the air to a place where I could no longer catch her or help her.

  I stomped beneath her. "Taylor, now! It has to be now! Please, baby. Just let go."

  Taylor cried out as her hands let go of the chair. She came straight down into my arms. The impact knocked me off my feet. My back landed hard against the frozen packed earth, pushing the wind from my lungs. But I had Taylor in my arms, shaking with fear, but seemingly unhurt. It took both of us a second to catch our breath as a flurry of activity spun up around us. People had gathered around to find out what had happened to the dangling snowboarder. But I wasn't there to entertain them or fill their phones with video. There was only one thing that mattered to me right then.

  Taylor's beanie had fallen off when she crashed into my arms, and her long copper hair swirled around her face as she twisted around to look at me.

  Her hands were shaking wildly as she pushed the strands away. "Did I hurt you?"

  "Nope. Just knocked the wind out of me."

  Her hair blew across her face again. I reached up and pushed it behind her ear.

  Taylor's eyes were glassy. "You caught me."

  I nodded. "Told you I would. I'll always be there to catch you if you need me. When you need me."

  "Everyone all right?" the patrolman asked over my shoulder.

  "We're fine," I assured him.

  "Good catch, man. We're going into the control tower to find out what happened. Stop by so we can get some information."

  "Sure thing."

  Taylor's chin was trembling with cold and shock as she kissed me. Her face stayed close to mine as she opened her amazing green eyes. "There are a whole bunch of people watching us," she said quietly.

  "Yep. Guess it was kind of a diversion from the usual day on the slopes."

  Dray, Nix and Rett circled around us. Nix was looking at his phone. "Scotlyn wants to know if anything hurts. It's killing her that she has no cho
ice but to travel up to the top of the mountain."

  I looked at Taylor. She shook her head. "No complaints."

  Nix looked at me for my response. "One complaint. My ass is turning blue."

  Taylor laughed and hopped off my lap to a round of applause from our audience.

  "These people will clap at anything," I grunted as I stood to an even louder round of cheers.

  "Sasquatch," Dray spoke up first, "you did it again. People are all racing to post that catch on video. It's going to be a double Sasquatch weekend."

  I turned my scowl on him. "Stop calling me Sasquatch."

  "Right." Dray drew an invisible zipper across his mouth and then turned to Taylor. "Boy, my heart was racing seeing you up there dangling like a pair of jeans on a clothesline." He fisted me on the arm. "Bet your heart was racing even faster."

  "It still hasn't slowed down." I looked at Taylor, and those few terrifying moments flashed through my mind again. So much in life can change in an instant. There were so many uncertainties. But the one thing that I held constant was that my life was incomplete without Taylor.

  "Marry me," I blurted it so fast, I wasn't even sure the words had left my mouth.

  Taylor smiled, immediately deciding I was joking around.

  I reached forward and grabbed her hand. I dropped to my knee and gazed up at her. The trembling in her chin returned. The smile faded as her lips parted in confusion.

  The crowd that had begun to disperse seemed to be tightening around us again.

  "Taylor Flinn, I need you in my life. I love you. Marry me." Again, it felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me as I waited for a response. I'd thrown my heart out for everyone on the whole fucking mountain to see. No doubt it was being taped by hundreds of people. I didn't give a damn about any of them. I only cared about the woman standing in front of me.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks, and a tiny flicker of a smile reappeared. She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Yes. Holy shit, yes."

  I stood up. She'd said yes three times, but I still had to convince myself she'd said it. "Yes?"

  Taylor threw her arms around my neck, and we kissed to a new round of cheers and applause.

  "Man, this crowd will clap for anything," Nix joked as he came in for a group hug.

  Rett clapped me on the back and kissed Taylor's cheek. "Cool deal, you two." His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out. "Uh oh, Finley wants to know what the second round of cheers was for."

  Taylor's eyes rounded with worry. Nix had the same look.

  "Shit. I guess they'll be pissed that I didn't wait for them."

  Nix's beanie lifted with his brow. "You think?"

  Rett tucked away his phone. "I'm not breaking the news."

  Nix pointed at him. "Good idea, we just won't tell them. At least not until we find a good way to let them down easy." Nix looked over his shoulder. Dray was standing with some people who were staring at their phones.

  "Hey, Dray," he called.

  Dray lifted his own phone. "The Taylor catch is at fifty thousand views."

  "Yeah, that's great," Nix said. "But don't tell Cassie about the proposal."

  Dray's face smoothed under his sunglasses. "Oops."

  "You knucklehead." Nix turned back to me. "There goes my plan to have you propose all over again and pretend like it's new." He put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure the cold silence and angry scowls will only be temporary. They'll probably forgive you by the time the wedding rolls around."

  Taylor hugged me. "I'll talk to them."

  "I guess we'll get back in line." Nix looked at me. "Are you two going to join us or do you have something else in mind?"

  "I know I'm not climbing on that lift again," Taylor answered.

  Rett held out his arms. "Tater Tot, haven't you ever heard about getting on the horse again?"

  "Show me a horse, and I'll climb right on it." She pointed straight up to the sky. "But I'm still not getting on that flying death trap."

  I put my arm around her shoulder. "Yep, I think we'll both just keep on the right side of gravity for the rest of the day." I lowered my voice for only Taylor to hear. "I say we go home and celebrate."

  I held out my hand and Nix dropped the keys on my palm. "Call when you're ready for us to pick you up."

  Twenty-Seven

  Taylor

  The whole idea of being engaged to Clutch was just taking hold in my mind. He pulled the car up the long driveway leading to the house. We'd hardly spoken at all. I think we both needed some quiet time to absorb the craziness of the last hour.

  "Are you having any regrets or second thoughts?" I asked tentatively, deciding it was time to break the silence. "Because if you are, that's all right. I haven't told my parents yet."

  Clutch looked at me. "No second thoughts at all. Why? Are you rethinking it? I know I kind of put you on the spot out there with the whole damn world watching."

  "I would have said yes even if we were alone. Do you know how many times I imagined you asking me to marry you? I think the first time was when I was just sixteen. My parents were out of town, and they didn't trust me to stay home alone." I smiled sweetly and blinked. "Don't know why because I was such an angel."

  Clutch nodded. "Absolutely, an angel."

  He parked the car in front of the house. We climbed out and trudged across the crunchy ice. I held Clutch's arm as we climbed the slippery front steps.

  We reached the polished front door. "Anyhow, Jason had no choice but to drag me along when he went to meet you and his other friends at a car meet. God, I was so awestruck, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You were strutting around in your black sunglasses looking at cars and talking to all the pretty girls. The only girl you didn't talk to was me. You grunted my direction a few times, but it didn't matter, my heart melted for you. On the ride home, I closed my eyes and dreamt about you proposing. I was determined to marry you someday." I laughed. "Pretty comical considering you hardly knew I existed."

  Clutch stopped in front of the door. "Oh, I knew you existed." He pulled me around to face him. "Taylor, you are the kind of person who stands out no matter how big the crowd. Even back then, you had that quality. I knew you were there. I heard every breath you took. I heard every word, every sigh, every laugh. Believe me, baby, I knew you were there." We stood on the doorstep kissing until a mound of melting snow dropped on us from the roof shingles above.

  Clutch opened the door and we stepped inside. The faint remnants of the French toast breakfast permeated the warm air. We stopped in the entryway, where a flashy platinum chandelier sparkled in the early afternoon sun coming through the windows.

  Clutch pushed my chin up to lift my face to his. "As far as second thoughts go, in case you thought I proposed in the heat of the moment, I should probably tell you I've already got a ring. It's at home in my dresser, lonely and in need of your finger."

  I stared up at him in disbelief. "You're kidding. I don't understand."

  "I'd planned to propose at your party, but then the call came about the bridal dress contract." He lowered his fingers. "You were so excited. I didn't think a proposal could top it. The timing was wrong. Then, as you well know, things sort of went awry from there."

  I circled my arms around his waist and peered up at him. "I can't believe it. And by the way, a proposal would have made that contract as dull as getting one of those stupid meaningless sweepstake winner postcards in the mail."

  His big arms went around me. "Yeah? So you're excited about the prospect of having me in your life forever?"

  "Are you kidding? There just wouldn't be any forever worth living if you weren't along for the ride." I smiled and fingered the zipper on his coat. "So, you mentioned something about a ring?"

  He nodded. "It's supposed to be a surprise, but it's that antique diamond ring you're always looking at online."

  The squeal left my mouth before I had time to stifle it. I threw my arms around him again. "Who knew a fall from the ski lift was going to make me so darn happy.
I think I'll go in and take a hot shower to get the chill out of my bones.” I kissed him lightly on the mouth. "And, just FYI, the shower in my room is big enough for a Viking and his woman. Or maybe I should say, a woman and her Viking."

  Twenty-Eight

  Taylor

  The bathroom was one of those modern designs, slick, wrapped in shiny marble nooks with glittering light pendants and see through glass doors on the shower. It was beautiful and elegant and completely uninviting. I preferred much cozier accompaniments than hard white stone, chrome and glass in my bathroom. But the multi-person shower was perfect. Especially when your shower partner took up the space of two average sized people.

  I reached in and turned the chrome lever for the shower to start the water. I shrugged off my semi-wet snow pants and the long underwear I'd been wearing beneath. It had hardly been enough for my thin California blood. I yanked off my sweater and worked quickly to tame all the runaway hairs produced by the static charged sweater.

  I heard Clutch's big feet clomping around downstairs. Even though he was surprisingly graceful for a man his size, he could never sneak up on anyone in his size thirteen boats. Everything about him was big and magnificent and swoon-worthy, two hundred plus pounds of pure man. And now he was undeniably mine.

  My eyes lifted to the mirror. My cheeks were dark pink from the hour on the snow. And what an hour it had been. I'd had two rushes of adrenaline. One of terror and one of elation. I was feeling slightly numb from it all. The terror I’d felt as I dangled two stories in the air had been so quickly replaced by the stunned joy of Clutch's proposal that I was still trying to process it all. I was going to marry Jimmy 'Clutch' Mason. For the first few seconds when he'd dropped to his knee, an image that I would never forget, I worried that I had died in the fall and that the proposal was just my soul releasing its deepest wish. But it was real. The whole darn thing was real.

  The mirror in front of me began to cloud with condensation, reminding me I was wasting water. I stepped into the shower stall and moist heat enveloped me instantly, like a warm comforting hug. I walked under the water and closed my eyes, hoping it would help me absorb everything that had happened. I'd wanted Clutch for so long and these last weeks had been hard. There had been a moment when I wondered if I'd lost him for good. It was impossible for me to picture what my life would be like without him. Now my worries were over.