"I need you to say you'll stay with me, that this means as much to you as it does to me. I need you to want me."
She reaches up to brush her fingers against the stubble of my chin. I never got around to shaving this morning because as soon as I was able to open my eyes I knew what I needed to do. I needed to make Makenzie mine in every way possible. I needed to make sure she would be taken care of if something ever happened to me so she's on all the bank accounts and insurance policies. I wanted to put my last name on her before she could ask if this was going too fast or started to have doubts about us.
"I do." Her words make everything stop - the noises, the chatter of all the people standing around, the worry that she might not be fully mine. All of that quietens down when she says those two words.
I kiss her while sweeping her up into my arms. As I'm setting her down, glass breaks and standing in front of the sliding French doors is the disheveled image of my brother. I automatically shove Makenzie behind me. How the hell did he get another gun?
"Hello, big brother. Did you miss me?"
Kane does the same with Talia, shoving her behind him. If this nutjob thinks he is going to hurt my little doll he's stupid as well as unhinged. Makenzie's arms come up to hug me to her and she tries to protect me the same way I am her.
"Emory, what the hell are you doing here?"
"Well, I was just coming to say hello to the new bride, brother dear." I need to find out how he got loose and who is helping him with information that might be close to me. "It's the least I can do since the little witch ruined my life!"
His tone turns deadly the longer he talks and I realize I have to do something soon or he's going to hurt all of us.
"You see, the little...bitch told me last night that she loved you and it seems you feel the same way about her since you gave her our mother's ring," He starts to walk towards us forcing me to back up with Makenzie still behind me, "which is great for me because I'm going to kill her to punish you. I used to think that all you cared about was money but I see the way you look at her, I see the way you touch her. You really love her. And the worst thing I could do to you would be to let you live knowing your happy ever after can never be real!"
He levels the gun.
"You're going to have to kill me to even get to her."
"No! No!" She cries out and tries to come around me.
"Isn't that cute." He sneers. "I guess I'll have to shoot you in the leg first so I can reach my almost sister-in-law."
I reach for a glass tray sitting on the island and fling it at him. It shocks him enough that he loses his grip on the gun sending it skittering across the floor. There’s never been a lot of love between us. Emory has more of my father in him than my mother and me. They would rather stay drunk and borrow money than work for what they have. Still, I never thought it would come down to us fighting for our lives thanks to each other.
I make a grab for one of the kitchen knives but Emory is there pulling me away and punching me. I punch him back. The thing that I have going for me is I'm not just fighting for myself. There is no way in hell I'm letting him hurt my little doll. I hit him in the ribs again before flipping us over and giving him a swift jab to the jaw.
He pushes me by the face off of him and tries to crawl back on top of me. I can hear Makenzie yelling for us to stop and for someone to help. He makes a dive for the knife I knocked off the butcher block and swings it at me. It catches me on the forearm making me cry out. I fight through the blinding pain so I can knock him back.
As I do, Makenzie calls out my name and I see her holding something in her hands. I raise my good arm as she throws the gun to me. When Emory rights himself it's to find me holding the gun. "Don't. Don't make me do it."
He takes a step back before he raises the knife and heads toward Makenzie. I don't pause or hesitate before I pull the trigger and my brother falls to the ground. Makenzie looks over at me for a second before she's running to me. Tears are coursing down her cheeks as she takes a dish towel and lays it over my wound. She's shaking and keeps kissing me and touching me to make sure I'm alright. I'm still here and I'm alright.
The police come rushing in about the same time Kane and Talia come back into the room. I was so focused on keeping Makenzie safe that I didn't catch the two of them leaving to call for help. My brother coughs and blood comes up with it. I don't think he has much longer to live. Medics come in right behind the police and take him away.
I realize it sounds bad but the one thing I'm thankful for is the fact he didn't die in the kitchen. The last thing I want is to have my brother's angry ghost coming back and constantly trying to hurt one of us. Another team of medics comes over to look at my arm. They tell me I'm going to need stitches and I tell them I have just the woman who can do that for me without me ever leaving my house or my little baby doll.
Thank God I meet Lynda and talked her into coming to work for me. Having loyal friends and employees has its perks, one of them being I will be able to take my sweet girl upstairs and make love to her to celebrate both of us still being alive a lot quicker than if I had to go to a hospital. And that is just exactly what I plan to do, as soon as Lynda patches me up.
Epilogue I
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Makenzie
Four Weeks Later
I am so nervous my stomach is lurching. I wanted to wait until Sterling was all healed up to have the ceremony but he wouldn't hear of it. He threatened to kidnap the priest if I didn't agree to have the wedding before Christmas. My bouquet has yellow and orange leaves scattered throughout the roses and lilies and the whole wedding is fall themed.
Amber is great. When she has an idea about something she just goes all out and makes it this spectacular celebration. I'm not sure how she does it but I'm so thankful she does. And Gina, her wife, is...well, like me - the quieter, reserved partner that is more careful when it comes to our hearts. We've spent quite a bit of time with both women doing couples nights with them and Kane and Talia.
And now here we are, I have over one hundred people waiting on me and I'm going to throw up everything I've eaten for the past two days. It's that bad. I try to take some deep breaths and meditate the sick away. Celeste would be proud of how hard I'm meditating right now since she's always trying to get me to start to keep me from being so stressed out.
As if I conjure her out of thin air, she's standing in front of me when I open my eyes. "Mac, honey, are you alright?"