Page 44 of Choosing My Happiness
“In here!”
I walked through to her bedroom. She had her jewelry boxes on her bed and was looking through them almost frantically.
“What are you doing, Mom?” I frowned. She glanced at me, her lip trembling.
“Remembering.” She lifted a bracelet that was almost green with age.
“This was one of the first pieces he got me. He’d gone for a club ride down to Mexico and back. It had taken a long time, and I was pregnant.” She sighed. “I think I miscarried about halfway through his trip. Your father rang up, and I was crying so much on the phone that he brought this home for me.” She pulled the bracelet to her chest and sighed.
I smiled and sat in a corner of the bed.
“I’ve spoken to some funeral homes. This is the guy that I think would do the best job. He thinks you’d know him. He said to tell you the morbid kid is on the case.”
Mom’s face got worried as I spoke, and then relaxed into a soft grin when I told her who it was.
“Morris.” She sighed. “Poor kid didn’t make it in the club. But at least he’ll agree to our traditions. He’ll give my Matchstick the send-off he deserves.” Mom’s face quivered. I stood up and slid my arms around her, not stopping my own tears. Dad might have been an asshole, but we loved him.
* * *
Jim and I went back home the next day…well, Jim drove me to my apartment. I held his hand for the whole trip, wishing he could stay with me. But I knew he couldn’t. He had his business to run. It didn’t surprise me that he had his own company as an electrician. I knew he was successful. His calm competence was a huge turn on. Not that there was much about him that wasn’t attractive.
I sat in the passenger seat, memorizing his face, and trying to frame it in my brain so I had something to last me until I next saw him.
He glanced at me. “What are you looking at?” he asked.
“You,” I replied. He freed his hand from mine and gently turned my face towards the road again. I dodged his fingers, and looked closer at him.
“Are you blushing?” I asked the man whose face was slowly going red. He didn’t reply, only smiled shyly.
“You have seen me butt naked, getting ready for surgery. You’ve been half naked making out with me, and you’re blushing about me looking at you while we drive?”
“Yeah well, I’m shy,” he told me.
“Really, I hadn’t noticed,” I replied, taking his hand again and kissing his palm.
I heard him muffle his groan.
“That’s kinda sexy actually,” I told him.
“You’re torturing me, woman!” he complained.
I chuckled and wiggled closer to him.
“I saw the lawyer. Papers should be drawn up by my next visit,” I let him know.
“That’s good, but waiting is going to be harder now that I know.” He gripped my knee gently.
“Know what?” I asked.
“That I’m the luckiest man on earth, my queen says she loves me, and I can’t tell anyone else that I love her.” He glanced at me with dark stormy eyes. “I can’t wait to tell the world.”
I shivered in delight.
30
Chapter 30: Blaze
I couldn’t find Daisy. Bull hadn’t seen her since she last appeared, and he said Janie didn’t know where she was. Molly had no other ideas where she came from, or where she was staying. I also checked our house. The spare key was still hidden and nothing had shifted the dust. I had even gone to Midwife, seeing as I’d caught them at the diner…but he wasn’t onsite. His foreman said that he was driving his girlfriend back home. Huh, that was a surprise. Maybe now he’d stop giving me shit about Daisy, and concentrate on his own woman. Finally, I gave up and went home.
