Pulling away slightly, he cupped her cheeks, so she had to look into his eyes, so he could see her as he spoke. Her hazel eyes shimmered with tears ready to fall again. “I don’t want you ever to just be surviving, Hazel. I want you to be alive and living. And know that you are loved every day by John Henry, by me, by your friends. You are important to every one of us.”
He watched her absorb the words, and her slight smile at John Henry’s name made him smile back at her. His thumb ran over her cheeks, wiping the tears away, tears that had finally stopped running from her eyes.
“Did you mess up our vows?” she whispered the question.
“What? I don’t know. I don’t remember the vows. I was so captivated by the bride I couldn’t remember my name.” It was the truth—what was said was lost in the beauty of her.
“Kit said you messed them up, but I can’t remember.” Her words were a little louder, a little bolder.
“I remember everything important about the day, from you climbing into bed with me that morning to climbing into bed with you that night. Everything in between.” He kissed a still damp cheek. Because he couldn’t not.
Hazel smiled and sniffed, silent for a moment before saying, “I told them about you. The morning before the wedding, I went to the cemetery and told them. That’s why I went to your place, to be safe again. You always make me feel safe.”
He kissed her other cheek and whispered, “What did you say about me?”
“That I loved you even if they probably wouldn’t have. That I didn’t care what they thought anyway. That I missed them. That they missed a lot by dying.”
“Have you been back?” It had been weeks, and now it was across the road. So close, but still an emotional journey.
“No, but they’re not there. It was just cold and dark and lonely there. They are here, in pictures, in memories. I have to remember that they once lived, that they just didn’t die. I want to be reminded that they lived for seventeen years, and every day was a day they had. I don’t want to ever forget that again. I want to feel happiness when I think of them, not sadness.”
“Hazel, let’s live that way, like every day is a gift just for us. To make new memories and enjoy those around us. Together.”
“I would love that.” Her lips brushed his cheek before brushing his lips in a light kiss.
Resting his forehead on hers, he whispered, nearly touching her lips with his, “Can we also live every day without doubt as to how much I love you?”
“Yes, because I love you too. I’m just so afraid you will leave me. Everyone leaves me.” Her words nearly broke him.
“I will never leave you, Haze. I want you by my side every day. That if you want to leave Landstad, I will leave with you.” He pulled away. He wanted her to know he was serious; if she couldn’t stay here, he would leave with her. He would give everything up and start again for her.
“I don’t want to leave, Ruston, you or Landstad. This is where we belong,” she promised.
“What if the memories become too much here?” he asked. She might do better not being reminded of the past at every turn. They could start over in a new place, with new people and new memories.
“They are here, and I won’t leave them. And besides, this is my home; it always has been. It’s where I want to raise our son, our kids. I don’t even know where we would go if we left.” She smiled and blushed that she had called her son theirs and was looking at a future with more kids. Their kids.
“Then we will stay.” He finally kissed her, showing her how much he loved her and how much he wanted her. Pulling away, his breathing was unsteady and all he wanted to do was keep going. But he knew John Henry was somewhere in the house.
“Do you have book club tonight?” he asked.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Good, then all your friends are free to babysit, because I need you alone and naked tonight.” He pulled away and saw her bite her lip.
“Lock the door.” She pulled out her phone.
With a shake of the head, he did her bidding, and as the lock clicked, he heard the opening strains to ‘Life in a Northern Town.’ Then he heard her turn it up as loud as the phone would go.
Turning back to her, he saw she was already pulling off the shirt she had been wearing, looking up she caught his eye. “Make it quick, preacher man, and keep quiet.”
With a laugh, he pulled off his own shirt as he rushed to her, loving her giggle as he tossed her onto the bed. He never got tired of that giggle, that smile, and that damn dimple.
The End
Thank you so much for reading Insuppressible . Did you love it? Are you dying to see how Kit and Thomas ended up together? If you didn’t notice the two stories overlapped each other. Check out their story in ‘Intriguing’.
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