I was sitting by myself and watching Ty and Lexie dancing, Ty having one arm around his again pregnant wife, his other arm holding his daughter and they were close, grinning at each other and whispering while sweet, pretty Ella pulled at her Mom’s hair.
My eyes moved to Bubba dancing close with Krystal. Then they moved to Tate doing the same with Laurie, then they moved to my sister doing the same with Boyd and Max doing the same with Nina. And then they moved to Twyla doing the same with her partner Cindy. Not done, my eyes glided through Mom and Dad, Valerie and Trane, Sunny and Shambles, Wood and Maggie and Sam Sterling and his woman Jada all doing the same thing.
Last, they moved to Chace who was holding both of Becky’s hands and her feet were on top of his feet, she was arched back, grinning up at him and he had his neck bent and he was grinning down at her in her little bridesmaid gown.
Yeah, Chace needed a princess.
Or, another one.
My gaze shifted from my husband…
My husband.
At that thought, I smiled a small smile to myself as my eyes took in friends and family including my brother Jude chatting up Amber, one of the waitresses at Bubba’s and Deck, laughing with Jim-Billy, Stoney and Wings. Finally, they lighted on Miah looking like he was getting into trouble with Robbie and Jarot. Robbie was crawling under a table, Miah stooping to do the same while Jarot appeared to be playing look out.
All was well in my world.
Very well.
Fraking brilliant.
My body started when two chairs were dragged up to either side of me. I looked up and to my right to see Ally moving in to sit on that side then I looked to the left to see the short man with narrow shoulders, a big belly, thinning light brown hair and a sweet smile taking the seat there.
Benji.
The second he settled, my body drooped to the side, hit his and his arm slid around me.
“So glad you came,” I muttered and looked to Ally. “Both of you.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Ally muttered.
“Me either,” Benji also muttered.
My eyes went to Benji. “It was a long way for you.”
His eyes caught mine. “Better than a TV show. Better than a book. Because it’s real. Once in a lifetime. So no way I’d miss it. I’d beam to the moon to see you this happy.”
“Totally,” Ally muttered and I felt her hand find mine, wrap around and squeeze.
I squeezed back.
Then my gaze went to the dance floor again and I sighed.
“Coming back for Comic-Con. Now that the seal has been broken and we all know each other as in know each other, expect you and Chace to meet me there,” Benji told me and my mind filled with thoughts of Chace at a Comic-Con.
Because it did, I burst out laughing.
Chace’s eyes came right to me and seeing the look on his face, openly happy, I sighed again but this time on the inside.
I grinned at him but murmured, “I’m not sure that’ll ever happen.”
“I am,” Ally replied and I tore my eyes away from my husband…
My husband.
I looked to her. “No way.”
Ally looked to me. “That man would do anything for you. Even commune with a bunch of geeks.”
Well, I figured she would know. Since she had one like mine.
I grinned at her.
The song changed to Norah Jones’s “Come Away with Me” and I watched Dad claim Becky and Chace’s gaze come to me.
Then he lifted a hand and crooked a finger.
“Hot,” Ally muttered then, “Righteous.”
“I’m being summoned,” I told them something they couldn’t miss.
“Go, darling,” Benji encouraged, his arm giving me a squeeze.
I tossed them both a smile, got up and walked across the grass to the dance floor. I was two feet away when Chace leaned down, grabbed my hand, guided me up and pulled me immediately into his arms. Close. Tight. My arms wrapped around his shoulders and he started us swaying.
I didn’t even hear the song. I just felt Chace.
My husband.
“Havin’ a good day?” he murmured into the hair on the side of my head where his jaw was resting.
“The best. You?”
His arms gave me a squeeze. “Yeah, baby.”
He meant that.
He meant it deeply.
I pressed closer.
“Have I told you I love you today?” I asked.
“Fifteen times,” he answered and my head went slightly back so his tipped down so he could look at me.
“You counted?”
“Never miss you sayin’ those words, Faye.”
My heart melted.
Then I whispered, “Here’s sixteen. I love you Detective Keaton.”
He grinned and his grinning lips came to mine before he whispered back, “Love you too, Mrs. Keaton.”
I smiled against his mouth but didn’t finish that action since my husband… my husband… kissed me.
* * * * *
Six years later
“I’m supposed to talk about my class’s future. I’m supposed to reminisce about our past. I’m not going to do either. I know no one is going to remember this speech except me. So I’m going to use it as the opportunity to say what I’ve needed to say for a long time.”
My shoulder in Chace’s armpit, his arm around me, our eldest son in his seat at my side, our second eldest boy fidgeting in his seat at Chace’s, our toddler daughter sleeping curled up in her Daddy’s lap, my eyes were trained across the auditorium to Miah giving his Valedictorian speech.
“Most everyone here knows what happened to me and my sister. A lot of you even know a number of good people in a town called Carnal that’s a state away looked out for us. What you don’t know is that when I was alone and scared and hungry and cold, two of those people went out of their way to save me.”
Chace’s back went straight at the same time as mine.
Miah kept talking.
“They didn’t know a thing about me. They didn’t know what happened to me or just how bad it was. They didn’t know what happened to my sister. But they didn’t care. They just knew something was wrong so they did something about it. They bought me food and a sleeping bag and books to read and wrote me notes, telling me about them, the only human connection I had for three years that was good and pure and right. After they started doing that, for the first time in three years, even though I was sleeping in a shed in the forest in the winter cold, I went to sleep not scared. I went to sleep knowing someone was looking out for me. I went to sleep for the first time in a long time knowing that there was good in the world. Weeks later, after I’d again tried to save my sister, I was injured and alone, I lay in that shed in that sleeping bag, but even as the days passed, I knew they wouldn’t give up. I knew they would find me. And they did.”
My eyes moved to Bubba dancing close with Krystal. Then they moved to Tate doing the same with Laurie, then they moved to my sister doing the same with Boyd and Max doing the same with Nina. And then they moved to Twyla doing the same with her partner Cindy. Not done, my eyes glided through Mom and Dad, Valerie and Trane, Sunny and Shambles, Wood and Maggie and Sam Sterling and his woman Jada all doing the same thing.
Last, they moved to Chace who was holding both of Becky’s hands and her feet were on top of his feet, she was arched back, grinning up at him and he had his neck bent and he was grinning down at her in her little bridesmaid gown.
Yeah, Chace needed a princess.
Or, another one.
My gaze shifted from my husband…
My husband.
At that thought, I smiled a small smile to myself as my eyes took in friends and family including my brother Jude chatting up Amber, one of the waitresses at Bubba’s and Deck, laughing with Jim-Billy, Stoney and Wings. Finally, they lighted on Miah looking like he was getting into trouble with Robbie and Jarot. Robbie was crawling under a table, Miah stooping to do the same while Jarot appeared to be playing look out.
All was well in my world.
Very well.
Fraking brilliant.
My body started when two chairs were dragged up to either side of me. I looked up and to my right to see Ally moving in to sit on that side then I looked to the left to see the short man with narrow shoulders, a big belly, thinning light brown hair and a sweet smile taking the seat there.
Benji.
The second he settled, my body drooped to the side, hit his and his arm slid around me.
“So glad you came,” I muttered and looked to Ally. “Both of you.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Ally muttered.
“Me either,” Benji also muttered.
My eyes went to Benji. “It was a long way for you.”
His eyes caught mine. “Better than a TV show. Better than a book. Because it’s real. Once in a lifetime. So no way I’d miss it. I’d beam to the moon to see you this happy.”
“Totally,” Ally muttered and I felt her hand find mine, wrap around and squeeze.
I squeezed back.
Then my gaze went to the dance floor again and I sighed.
“Coming back for Comic-Con. Now that the seal has been broken and we all know each other as in know each other, expect you and Chace to meet me there,” Benji told me and my mind filled with thoughts of Chace at a Comic-Con.
Because it did, I burst out laughing.
Chace’s eyes came right to me and seeing the look on his face, openly happy, I sighed again but this time on the inside.
I grinned at him but murmured, “I’m not sure that’ll ever happen.”
“I am,” Ally replied and I tore my eyes away from my husband…
My husband.
I looked to her. “No way.”
Ally looked to me. “That man would do anything for you. Even commune with a bunch of geeks.”
Well, I figured she would know. Since she had one like mine.
I grinned at her.
The song changed to Norah Jones’s “Come Away with Me” and I watched Dad claim Becky and Chace’s gaze come to me.
Then he lifted a hand and crooked a finger.
“Hot,” Ally muttered then, “Righteous.”
“I’m being summoned,” I told them something they couldn’t miss.
“Go, darling,” Benji encouraged, his arm giving me a squeeze.
I tossed them both a smile, got up and walked across the grass to the dance floor. I was two feet away when Chace leaned down, grabbed my hand, guided me up and pulled me immediately into his arms. Close. Tight. My arms wrapped around his shoulders and he started us swaying.
I didn’t even hear the song. I just felt Chace.
My husband.
“Havin’ a good day?” he murmured into the hair on the side of my head where his jaw was resting.
“The best. You?”
His arms gave me a squeeze. “Yeah, baby.”
He meant that.
He meant it deeply.
I pressed closer.
“Have I told you I love you today?” I asked.
“Fifteen times,” he answered and my head went slightly back so his tipped down so he could look at me.
“You counted?”
“Never miss you sayin’ those words, Faye.”
My heart melted.
Then I whispered, “Here’s sixteen. I love you Detective Keaton.”
He grinned and his grinning lips came to mine before he whispered back, “Love you too, Mrs. Keaton.”
I smiled against his mouth but didn’t finish that action since my husband… my husband… kissed me.
* * * * *
Six years later
“I’m supposed to talk about my class’s future. I’m supposed to reminisce about our past. I’m not going to do either. I know no one is going to remember this speech except me. So I’m going to use it as the opportunity to say what I’ve needed to say for a long time.”
My shoulder in Chace’s armpit, his arm around me, our eldest son in his seat at my side, our second eldest boy fidgeting in his seat at Chace’s, our toddler daughter sleeping curled up in her Daddy’s lap, my eyes were trained across the auditorium to Miah giving his Valedictorian speech.
“Most everyone here knows what happened to me and my sister. A lot of you even know a number of good people in a town called Carnal that’s a state away looked out for us. What you don’t know is that when I was alone and scared and hungry and cold, two of those people went out of their way to save me.”
Chace’s back went straight at the same time as mine.
Miah kept talking.
“They didn’t know a thing about me. They didn’t know what happened to me or just how bad it was. They didn’t know what happened to my sister. But they didn’t care. They just knew something was wrong so they did something about it. They bought me food and a sleeping bag and books to read and wrote me notes, telling me about them, the only human connection I had for three years that was good and pure and right. After they started doing that, for the first time in three years, even though I was sleeping in a shed in the forest in the winter cold, I went to sleep not scared. I went to sleep knowing someone was looking out for me. I went to sleep for the first time in a long time knowing that there was good in the world. Weeks later, after I’d again tried to save my sister, I was injured and alone, I lay in that shed in that sleeping bag, but even as the days passed, I knew they wouldn’t give up. I knew they would find me. And they did.”
