Beyond 4/20 (32 page)

Tuck signed the prenuptial agreement, not caring what it said he couldn’t have. All he wanted was Chelsea, and standing there at his wedding reception, watching her smile and laugh as if it were the happiest day of her life, Tuck again reminded himself, he had gotten all he ever wanted. Nothing else mattered but her and their family.

Bobby had watched Tuck for some time. His best friend was lost in the notion that he had finally gotten the girl, and no one could be happier for them. Theirs was the unlikeliest of love stories.

“She’s beautiful, huh?” Bobby asked his friend.

Knowing how Bobby would react to such a statement but not caring whatsoever, Tuck sighed, “So beautiful, sometimes I can’t breathe. I try but the breath gets caught in my chest, and it feels like I’ve run for miles.”

Bobby grinned at what a sap Tuck was. He wouldn’t be caught dead saying such a thing, though he had sure thought it often enough about Macy.

“So did I ever apologize for beating the snot out of you?”

Tuck shook his head. “No.”

“And I’m not now either. Just wanted to remind you what’ll happen if you mess this up.”

He moved in to hug Tuck, whispering. “You’ve always been my brother.”

“And you’re mine.”

Just as Bobby walked away, and just as Tuck was about to go stand with his bride, Irene approached him. As she had in L.A., and just as she did every time she came in town, she made him uncomfortable. She was a straight-shooter, which he liked, but she seemed really cold, abrasive even.

“If you need anything, I work for you now. All you have to do is call.” She tried to hand him her card.

Ignoring the offered card, he asked, “What might I need from you?”

“Money, travel arrangements, help understanding your finances, whatever.”

Help understanding his finances? Who did she think she was? “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need Chelsea’s money.”

“Obviously.”

Irene could tell she was going to have a difficult time with Tuck, and she wondered if he would even keep her on. His feelings certainly made sense as he tried to follow in the footsteps of a man such as John.

“Huh?” She was confusing him. Maybe that was on purpose, trying to make him feel stupid. Shaking his head he said, “I don’t need your help with anything.”

Before he could walk away, Irene forced her card in his hand. “Call or don’t call. I get paid the same.”

Tuck walked toward Chelsea just as angry as he was after Mark left that morning. John had really planned out his final attack well. No matter what came against him, though, at the sight of Chelsea smiling at him as he approached, he was determined that he would never let him win.

At just over an hour into the reception, Tuck was already hoping to leave. After his conversation with Bobby, he had made his way over to Chelsea and hadn’t left her side since. They talked and laughed with everyone at least once. Wasn’t that enough? Anxious to get on to the honeymoon, he asked, “You about done here?”

Smiling up at the most handsome man she had ever known, this broad and tall cowboy of hers, she suggested, “Shouldn’t we stay a little longer? They’ve gone to so much trouble.”

“Too bad for them.” He gripped Chelsea’s hand tighter. “I’ve waited sixteen years for this.”

She batted her eyes and inched a bit closer to him. “I’m ready when you are.”

He leaned his head down and kissed her nose. “Have I told you I’m so in love with you?”

“Yes, and I love you.”

Suddenly, she was just as anxious to leave. He was giving her this look that caused her legs to go weak beneath her. She moved her hand to his thick bicep and imagined his strong arms around her. “Let’s make a run for it.”

Tuck grimaced. “How are we going to get out of here without Sara Beth?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

Sara Beth was spending the night with Chelsea’s parents and had known that all week, but when time came for them to leave, she would want to go with them. It was inevitable.

“Try whatever you did for our date. Which, by the way, was what exactly?”

“I’ll tell you soon enough.”

Tuck went to Sara Beth and knelt before her just as he had done that night. Before he could speak, she said, “You won.”

He smiled at how bright she was. “Yes, I did win.”

“Stawting tomowwow I wiww wive at youw house.”

“That’s right, but it’ll be
our
house, our whole family, at least until our new one is built.”

“Wiww we awways wive togethew?”

“Always, or at least until you find some stinky old boy to marry someday.”

Grimacing at such a thought, she said, “I want to mawwy you.”

“We’ll see if that works out. You may change your mind.”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered, “You’we my favowite daddy of all.”

“And you’re my favorite little cowgirl.”

Chelsea watched Tuck with Sara Beth, wondering what he won. It must have been their secret. Lucy was nearby talking to her cousins, but occasionally, she would look over at her and smile. Chelsea went over to her to say goodnight.

“Are you going now?” Lucy asked her mom.

When she saw her dad talking to Sara Beth, Lucy figured they were about to leave. Before this night she had never felt quite so happy. The only moment she could recall feeling as excited about her future was when her mom told her about the adoption.

“Yes, I’m not sure where to exactly, but yes.” Chelsea reached out and moved a stray lock of hair from Lucy’s eyes and grinned. “This is because of you.”

Lucy nodded, tears filling her eyes. “I’ve prayed for this since I met you.”

“I’m glad you did. Lucy, if not for you, I don’t know how I could have made it this far. You are one of the brightest stars in my universe.”

Lucy leaned in and hugged her mom. Looking up at her, she admitted, “I never wanted to lose John for this to happen. I stopped praying then.”

Chelsea’s eyes narrowed. “Of course, you didn’t, neither of us did, but this was God’s plan for us all along. John understood that at the end.”

“Come here, kiddo.” Tuck pulled Lucy from Chelsea’s arms. “Have fun tonight. Don’t stay up late and no texting that boy.”

Exasperated, Lucy groaned, “Dad!”

“Okay, you can text, but not like a hundred times.”

Finally, Tuck was dragging Chelsea toward his truck. Her brother, Preston, had struck again, and the truck was a mess with shaving cream and streamers and cans tied to the bumper.

As she slid into the cab of the truck, she asked, “So, what did you win?”

He was standing there near her, beside the open door of the passenger side of the truck. “Your heart.”

“Is that what you told Sara Beth you were doing?”

“I told her that I was trying to win your heart so that we could all live together like a real family.”

Chelsea grabbed Tuck’s arm. “Not
like
a real family. We
are
a real family.”

Tuck grinned. “I know. This is about as real as it gets.”

He glanced at her hand on his arm and then back up at her. “If you don’t let go, I promise we’ll start this honeymoon right here in the truck.”

Chelsea quickly released him. As sure as she was that he was joking, there was something in his eyes that made her believe otherwise.

It didn’t take long for Chelsea to figure out where their surprise honeymoon was. He drove straight to the new house site. As much as he had decorated what he had called a poor man’s version of a big splash for their first date, this time, he had gone all out. There was a big tent set up, not a camping tent, but more like a safari tent. One flap was open and she could see inside. Their new bed was set up in there waiting on them. It was layered with white bedding and fluffy white pillows.

Outside, candles and torches were spread around the campsite, lighting the hillside and shedding light over the little valley below. Again, there was a dance floor set up, but this time as if for a large crowd. Rather than makeshift Christmas lights, there were white paper lanterns strung above. The light from the lantern shades cast a soft and hazy glow, causing kind of a foggy effect to settle around them. The entire setting was so dreamy that it caused her to feel all warm inside, excited even beyond what she had felt all day. Until that week, she had never known he was such a romantic, but clearly he was, and he was hers forever. He had no doubt worked for days to make it so perfectly beautiful.

“You’ve outdone yourself. The port-o-potty is a nice touch.”

“Nothing but the best for my lady.”

“I hope we don’t get too hot. I brought some fans and a generator. I know it’s summertime, but I couldn’t imagine spending my first night with you anywhere but here.”

“I’ll be fine, and there could be no better place to begin than here.”

She felt far away as she looked around. As much as he had fought against anything remotely fairy-tale’esque, he had given her just that. It was stunning, like the set of some romantic movie.

“When have you had time to do all of this?”

“I had a little help. The Whittaker girls helped out. I went begging with hat in hand and apologized for being so hateful at your mama’s house.”

Intentionally, he had set the tent up as close to the foundation as he could. By Thursday, he had insisted that all the equipment be moved out so that the place wouldn’t look so much like a construction site. In the dark, it wasn’t so obvious and really did appear to be a place worthy of her.

“I’ll have to thank them Whittaker girls.”

“They’re crazy.”

Merely nodding in agreement, she looked away quickly, trying to focus on anything but the similarity to John’s words the day of their wedding.

He took her hand and, leading her to the dance floor, stopped by the CD player and pressed play. The first song was the one Chelsea had played the morning he asked her to marry him. Taking her into his arms, he moved slowly with her onto the empty dance floor. A few times, as she hummed along to the familiar melody, he found himself feeling overly emotional. “If I cry are you going to think I’m a sissy?”

“Probably,” she teased.

“That’s okay.”

“If I cry will you call me a girl?” she asked.

“Probably.”

“That’s okay.”

Chelsea had been on the verge of tears since arriving and seeing all that he had done for her. Because he had demanded things be so simple for the wedding, she imagined he was trying to make up for it now. If only he knew, she considered their simple wedding the most beautiful day of her life. There was something about the completion of an epic love story that trumped what all the money in world could buy. Their little girls were there with them. They prayed together as a family. It was a day that Chelsea was sure to capture in her memory. Every moment of it was such incredible evidence of God’s grace and mercy in their lives, how could she not be staggered by the simplicity and the complexity of it all? Both had chosen to disobey, yet there they were, after all those years apart. The Lord gave them both much more than they deserved.

Until the music ran out, Tuck held Chelsea near and swayed slowly with her. It was one of the sweetest moments of his life, as he had always hoped they would dance on their wedding day. The day she married John, he could remember how his own arms ached from the greatest need to simply hold her and move as they were doing now. Ironically, since he had made such a fuss about keeping things simple for their wedding, he didn’t dare to mention dancing, so he had made sure to have their own dance floor that night.

When the last song was over, he lowered his head and whispered, “I need you.”

His breath was warm on her cheek causing her stomach to flutter in anticipation of what was to come.

“You have me.”

Tuck lifted Chelsea and walked with her to the tent. Once inside, he sat her on the side of bed and knelt before her, promising, “I will always be faithful to you. I’ll never hurt you like I did before.”

She reached for his face and stroked his cheek. His eyes were filled with such sincerity, causing her to be certain that nothing could ever steal his heart away from her again. This was his absolution, and it was a long time in coming.

“I know that.”

“It’s been a long time for me, years now.”

“Me too.”

“I’m not nervous, though.” He had imagined he would be.

“Me either.”

He pulled her near and kissed her, and as he did so he lifted her and moved her to the middle of the bed.

As she sank into the soft feathers, she smiled. “You’ve thought of everything.”

“I’ve had a lot of years to think.”

More than once he had heard her talk about sleeping on a feather bed at her granny’s house and how the feeling of sinking into those feathers was one of the best sensations she could think of. When it came to mind just two days before, he had spent several hours trying to find a feather topper to place on their new mattress. Her soft smile when she landed was worth the effort.

Even then, the expression on her face was soft and sweet. When he leaned in to kiss her again and her eyes fluttered closed, he whispered, “Look at me, Chelsea.” When she did, he added, “Don’t close your eyes. I need to know you see
me
.”

Her heart sank at his words. “I would never…”

“Just promise.”

If anyone knew how easy it was to pretend to be with the one you truly love, it was him. Even when not trying, images came.

Nodding, she slid her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him to her. “I promise.”

As much as he thought he would overthink their first time together, Tuck didn’t. He didn’t wonder where her heart was or if she wished he were John. Instead, he was lost in the feel of her arms around him and the way she gently stroked his back with her fingertips. Momentarily, he felt ashamed at the recollection of just how many times he had pretended with Lindsey and the time with Allison. The truth was, though, those times of pretense were nothing to compare with reality, with what if felt like to open his eyes and find himself staring into her big brown eyes. After years of waiting she was finally in his arms, and to some extent, his.