Page 73 of A Package Deal

I barely heard the patrons talking around me as I sat at Crazy Beans waiting for Gigi. My thumb and forefinger kept rubbing the cross around my neck, over and over. I still couldn’t believe I had it back. All thanks to Warrick. My eyes filled with tears like they’d been doing since the moment Warrick handed me back my necklace. Gigi’s wavering form appeared on the other side of my table for two.

“Em, honey? You okay?” She swooped down and gave me a hug, which only made the crying situation worse. I clung to her for a few seconds longer than appropriate out in public. When I finally let her go, she rounded the table and sat, her hand still gripping mine on the tabletop. “I’ve heard from Warrick, of course, but I want to hear your side.”

I sniffled and tried to compose myself, a little embarrassed to have called her here when Gigi was probably irritated with me for hurting her son. “I’m sorry,” I managed.

She squeezed my hand. “Oh, honey, you don’t owe me anything. I can see how much you two love each other, so let’s talk it out, huh?”

I nodded, my other hand going to my necklace. Touching it and knowing my mom would have loved Warrick and his family, made the explanation spill out of me. “I’ve been an idiot and I want to make things right. I’m in love with your son and I need to tell him. I have an idea, but I need your help.”

Gigi didn’t hesitate. “Anything.”

“My current job fell through.” Gigi grumbled under her breath, clearly up on the gossip about Roger. “But I’m glad for it. It means I have the whole week free to implement my plan.”

“Your plan?”

I smiled through the tears. “To win Warrick back.”

Gigi smiled right back. “I like the sound of that. What do you need me to do?”

I laid it all out and Gigi checked her calendar. She eagerly agreed to everything I asked of her. Warrick was lucky to still have his mother. A good one was truly a gift. It made me miss my own mom even more, but here I’d been blessed with another one, hopefully in the form of a mother-in-law. If Warrick still wanted to be married to me, that is.

We left soon after, arm in arm, and I felt hope for the first time since Georgia and I checked into the hotel. Without a job this week, and the hotel costs, my credit card wasn’t happy with me, but this was my last shot. A little debt was worth it in the long run. I had a crew to get back to, a daughter to spend time with, and a grand gesture to create.

It just about killed me to stay away from Warrick all week, but I had to do this right. When Friday night rolled around, I slipped on the bright blue sundress I’d worn to the carnival, back when things were good between us. Back before I’d let my stubborn pride come between us. Georgia was already with Gigi, taking in a movie at the drive-in movie theater just outside of town. My necklace shined from the middle of my chest. The wedding band and engagement ring were on my finger. I hoped after tonight, I could wear these with confidence, knowing I was Warrick’s and he was mine.

I hopped in my truck and headed for the pond on the backside of Gigi’s property, parking far enough away Warrick wouldn’t see my truck and wonder what was going on. Gigi had specific instructions to call Warrick at eight with a crazy story of the neighbors seeing a wild animal out by the pond. She said she wouldn’t rest until he went out and checked.

There was no animal and no emergency, but there was me, in my sundress, standing in front of the gazebo my crew and I feverishly built this week. It was gorgeous, if I did say so myself, sitting under the oak tree that had once housed a tree house for Warrick and his brothers. The whole thing was painted white and there were string lights strung along the octagonal roof line. Most importantly was the plaque we’d had made and secured to the entrance to the gazebo, dedicating the space to Willie Wolfe, husband, father, and lifelong friend.

The light began to fade and I swatted away the bugs that started to come out at dusk. My stomach was a mess of knots, suddenly wondering if this whole thing was stupid. Wondering if Warrick would want to give me another chance. He had been surprisingly standoffish when I’d come by earlier this week for the goat-dog. I was used to him being the one to make the first—and second—move.

The sound of an engine made my heart rate fly through the damn roof. I saw the bounce of headlights right before the shape of Warrick’s ridiculously large truck came into view. I knew the moment the headlights picked up the gazebo. The truck came to a halt, rocks and dirt flying from the sudden stop. I couldn’t see him in the cab of the truck, but his headlights were still on the gazebo and I knew he could see me. I swallowed hard, wishing I’d brought water for my parched throat.

I lifted my hand and waved awkwardly. Trying to smile was too big an ask at the moment. The driver’s side door opened and the light inside the truck came on, illuminating Warrick’s startled face. He slid out of the truck and came over, not bothering to shut off the truck.

“Em? You okay?”

I nearly wept at the familiar rumble of his voice. Of course, he would inquire about my safety first and foremost. The man was probably mad at me, and yet he always put concern for me first.

“I’m okay,” I lied. I was actually on the verge of passing out, but I didn’t want his sympathy. “Hoping to talk to you, actually.”

He stepped closer, his boots crunching over the dried leaves and twigs. He looked good. Tired, maybe, but so damn good. The scruff on his cheeks had gotten longer, but it only added to his appeal. The T-shirt he wore was one of those impossibly soft ones he owned that cost far too much money to be so casual. It fit across his broad chest and highlighted the biceps that had only gotten bigger since living back here in Blueball. Farm work looked good on him.

He stopped just a foot away from me, his gaze raking over me. But he didn’t say a word. Speaking up and taking the lead wasn’t comfortable for me, except for on the job. How could I be such a hard-ass contractor, but turn to a quivering mess of self-doubt when it came to anything personal?

“I built this gazebo for you and your family,” I blurted out. Mom used to always use the phrase “no way out but through” and that was my motto tonight. “I wanted a way to demonstrate how sorry I am that I’ve let my fears take the driver’s seat. You were right. I’ve held on to my wounds over my ex for far too long. It was over five years ago and I’m still wearing that hurt like some kind of badge or medal of honor. Which is only making the hurt continue. That’s not the kind of thing I want Georgia to pick up on and model. I don’t want her to play the victim at any point in her life. Sure, bad things happen, but holding on to them well past the time that you should have let them go and moved on is counterproductive.”

I stopped and had to suck in a few breaths. I was spewing everything that had run through my mind this last week and I couldn’t seem to stop.

“We both have hurts in our pasts, yours very recent. I wanted to make this gazebo where you used to go fishing, to honor your father.” I gestured to the plaque next to me. Warrick’s eyes widened as he read the words engraved there. “Your father is someone to honor. So much of who you are is because of your dad. Cayden is not someone to honor and yet that’s what I’ve been doing by keeping him front and center in my life. This gazebo is showing you that I understand that now. I’ve been working on putting all of that behind me. I want to build more than a gazebo for you. I want to build a life with you.”

I stepped forward, heart thundering so loudly I was sure Warrick could hear it. “I’m sorry and I love you and I hope you can forgive me because I don’t ever want to be anything but your wife. Not temporarily. Forever. A real marriage. A real family.”

Warrick stepped right up to me and cupped my face with his hands, effectively cutting off my speech. His eyes had gone soft. That shuttered look I’d seen last week was gone, replaced with the man who’d gone to bat for my heart since day one.

“Say it again,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry.” I’d say it a thousand times if he needed to hear it on repeat. Hell, I’d say sorry for the rest of our lives, if only that meant we spent that life together.

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