She was right. It was going to be a wonderfully crazy week and she would definitely be needing wheels. “Okay. I’ll follow you.”
I watched her get into her Jeep and then I followed her toward Anna and Grady’s house. I was glad she had gotten some sleep on the ride home, but I had planned on using that time to nail down a final plan on how we were going to tell her grandparents about our marriage that would be occurring at their house in only a few days. I guess we’d talk it over when we got to the house so we could be prepared before Anna and Grady made it back.
I pulled into the drive behind Chansey where she parked behind Anna’s car and I realized that could only mean that Anna and Grady had returned early from their road trip. I got out of my truck and walked over to open Chansey’s driver’s side door for her and heard the kitchen door squeak open. Shit! “Looks like we are going to get to tell your grandparents about our reunion right now because here they come.”
She looked at Anna walking out of the backdoor and asked, “Do you want to tell them about our wedding plans now or wait?”
I wanted to shout it from the rooftops that Chansey Rose Leclaire was going to be my wife in only a few days. “Let’s go for it. It will only become more awkward if we don’t go ahead and tell them. Besides, we only have a few days. It’s not like we can put it off for very long anyway.”
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go for it.”
Anna ran across the backyard. “Chansey! Where have you been? I was so worried when we got home early and there was not a trace of you. When I tried to call you, your phone went straight to voicemail. I called your workplace and they said you quit, that you just walked out after your shift and haven’t been back.” Anna hugged her tightly, then yelled toward the house, “Grady, she’s home.”
Grady came out of the backdoor and walked across the yard in our direction, appearing displeased when he saw me at Chansey’s side. “When did you come back from your fancy New York job?”
“Several days ago, sir” I answered.
He stood in front of me with his arms crossed. “I’m guessing that’s about the same time Chansey went missing, but I’m not going to ask you to explain where the two of you have been because I suspect I wouldn’t like the answer very much.”
There was no other way to do this than to jump head first. “Mr. and Mrs. Emerson, I would like to start by saying that I love Chansey with all of my heart. She is my everything.”
“If she meant everything to you, you wouldn’t have left her with a broken heart. She has been miserable,” Grady argued.
Anna scolded, “Grady, let him say his peace. He’s trying to explain, so let him.”
I reached for Chansey’s hand and she gave me a reassuring squeeze. “I was a fool to leave her and I know that now. The time we were apart was the most miserable of my life.”
Grady was unmoved by my words. “I’m not an unkind man, but I’m glad you were miserable. She may be my granddaughter, but she became my little girl when I lost her mother, so it does my heart some good to know that the pain you caused her also caused you some misery.”
This wasn’t going as I hoped, but I was going to lay it out there anyway. “I understand your anger with me, but please make no mistake...I love her and never want to be parted from her again.”
Anna broke into a huge smile, but Grady’s face remained stern as he said, “Sounds like you’re telling us you want to marry her if you don’t want to be separated from her.”
It was my job to make this easy for Chansey so I would be the one to tell them about our plans. “This wasn’t how I had planned to do this, but I have already asked Chansey to marry me. She has agreed, so it is with a humble heart that I ask for your blessing of our marriage in place of your permission.”
Grady didn’t look happy about our engagement and he was ready to interrogate me about it. “Let me get this straight. You left Chansey for a job in New York for weeks and then you show up a few days ago to propose and now you’re getting married?”
I took a breath, ready to plead the depth of my love for Chansey, but she lifted her hand to stop me and said, “I love Curry, Granddaddy. We want to be together and we’re getting married on Saturday. Are you willing to give us your blessing?”
“What is the hurry?” Grady asked. “Are you pregnant?”
“No, I am not pregnant, Granddaddy,” Chansey huffed. “Curry proposed and we were going to plan it for October, but he found out that his employer is transferring him to Savannah, Georgia and we don’t want to be separated. I know you and Granna won’t want us living together before marriage, so we decided to get married this Saturday. I want to be married here, the way I always dreamed. Do we have your blessing?”
I tensed as I waited to hear the verdict. I knew Anna was on our side, but Grady was a tougher nut to crack since he was still angry at me for hurting Chansey when I left.
“I need to speak with Curry alone for a minute,” Grady requested. Chansey and Anna didn’t make a move and he said, “Go on, now.”
I nodded at Chansey, letting her know I was fine with Grady’s request to speak to me alone. “We’ll be inside in a minute.”
When Anna and Chansey were inside the house, Grady motioned for me to sit in the same spot in the garden where I confided in him about my first argument with Chansey. He took the seat next to me and asked, “I’m Chansey’s granddaddy, but I’m responsible for taking the place of her daddy since he isn’t here and he would want me to make sure you were right for her.”
“I completely understand, sir. Please, ask me anything you feel is necessary,” I offered.
My interrogation began by Grady asking, “You really love my girl?”
He watched my face for any sign of falter and I honestly replied, “With all of my heart and soul.”
He seemed pleased by my words of affection for Chansey and asked, “How will you take care of her financially?”
“Although my truck might not give you the impression, I’m quite wealthy and I can assure you that Chansey will never want for anything I can’t give her. She’ll never have to work if she doesn’t want to, but I don’t have a problem with her finishing her degree in education and teaching if she wants to do that. It’s up to her.”
I clearly saw I was passing his test, but I could tell he had saved the best for last. “Chansey wants children. Probably several of them if she had her way. How do you feel about that?”
I swallowed hard before I answered Grady, but not because I was about to lie. It was because I knew I wouldn’t be giving Chansey any children at all. “I would love for us to have several children.”
I would give Chansey as many babies as she wanted if I were able, but it was impossible because life couldn’t originate from death. She accepted being forever childless because it was her sacrifice for being with me, but I couldn’t help myself from wondering if she would one day hate me for taking that opportunity away from her.
“I know Chansey loves you because I saw how hurt she was when you left.”
His words reminded me of the pain I had caused her and although I hated the reminder, I deserved it. “You never have to worry about me leaving Chansey again, sir. I learned my lesson the hard way.”
“I trust she would not have accepted your marriage proposal if it wasn’t what she wanted. She’s a very good judge of character, so I’m giving you my blessing.”
I breathed a sigh of relief because Grady didn’t make that
easy on me. I offered my hand and he shook it firmly as I said, “You won’t be sorry, Mr. Emerson.”
“I better not be or you’ll have Anna to answer to.”
˜ ˜ ˜
After we spent a few hours playing catch up with Anna and Grady, I returned to my former apartment in the basement and unpacked the few things I would need during my brief stay at Grady and Anna’s while Chansey spent some time with them.
In the basement, I could hear her explaining away about meeting the friends I considered family since I had none and her voice was full of love and appreciation as she told Anna about Gia and Lairah’s generous offer to help her with the wedding.
I wanted her to spend as much time as possible with them since we would be leaving for an undetermined amount of time at the end of the week. She loved Grady and Anna so much and I hated the thought of taking her away from them. I felt so guilty about it, but I would do it because it was the only way to keep all of them safe.
We didn’t belong in Savannah and I knew Chansey didn’t want to go. We belonged in New Orleans so Chansey could be close to friends and family. We had our lives worked out perfectly until Marsala ruined everything for us.
While Chansey was upstairs, I decided to get online and make other plans for our honeymoon. We didn’t have time to get passports, but the perk of being a vampire was that I could convince everyone we didn’t need them if we traveled somewhere that required them.
I couldn’t find vacancies in Tahiti, but I got lucky and was able to book last minute reservations at a luxury resort in The Bahamas. I wasn’t ready to drop the idea of spending our wedding night in a bed and breakfast, so I went in the opposite direction of New Orleans. I chose a quaint B&B in Mobile and would drive over this week and make arrangements with the owners.
I heard a light knock at the door and knew it could only be Chansey, so I closed my laptop to hide our surprise honeymoon before I let her inside. When I opened the door, she leaned against the doorframe, biting her lower lip. “What cha doin’ down here all by yourself?
“Wishing I wasn’t down here all by myself.”