| |
––––––––
Hunter
Several days later, on the last Thursday in November, Hunter arrived at Rachele’s home with one intention—to impress. Invited by his girlfriend’s mom to Thanksgiving Dinner, he had brought gifts along. Blinking, he blew out air from his mouth.
Fighting in the trenches, shooting down enemy targets and having his men’s backs were tasks he knew how to execute. Convincing Rachele Freeman he was the perfect guy for her daughter demanded persuasive skills he was not sure he possessed.
He buttoned down his ecru shawl-neck, chunky-knit cardigan over a white t-shirt and pressed the hem over his slim-fit blue jeans, one of the decent few he owned. Usually, he favoured distressed jeans.
Advising himself on staying well-behaved, he rang the bell. It took only six seconds before Tiara beamed at him from the door she just opened.
Feeling soft clicks inside his stomach, he cuffed her waist with one free arm and padded her neck with the other before slamming his lips over hers for a split second. The kiss lasted long enough to cause an intense stir in his groin. He could not glue down his desire for the woman who stared at him as if he was the most important man in the universe. In her eyes, he saw full acceptance and mixed emotions.
“You look splendid, Ti!”
“Thank you. I must say you clean up good, Hunter.”
She had on a studded detailed bodycon dress in burgundy that fitted her curves in the most incredibly sexy way. Although the midi-length, long sleeve dress did her belly pouch no favour, the mesh insert at her cleavage left him with a deep craving he needed to satisfy. He quickly lifted his head to stare at the hall to see if her mom was on the lookout.
Puffing with relief Rachele was not standing at the end of the hall, he wiped off Tiara’s lipstick from his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I got you something.” He gestured at the basket idling at his feet.
Her eyes dipped to the hamper basket overflowing with luxury chocolate truffle gourmet selection and personalized Love Tiles Poster he thought was genius. He had not thought of anything more romantic.
“Wow! What a lovely surprise. Thank you, bae!”
She slipped her arms along his chest and offered her sweetened plum lips to him. Bowing to her need, he buttered her mouth with his tongue, slid between her lips and served her a passionate caress he hoped she would never forget. Moaning, she flipped her tongue along the inside of his cheek, tickling him until he gasped and cut off the heated kiss.
“Where’s your mom?” he whispered, dropping one hand to slide across her shoulder.
“Are you nervous?”
“A little apprehensive, yeah.”
Tiara giggled. “I can feel the tension in your spine.” With fingers ready to ease his taut nerves, she kneaded his back muscles slowly, sending fireballs up his neck and ass.
It felt great to be around Tiara. Even when she was difficult and froze him with a glare, she had this warmth about her that made him feel like standing tall and strong. Warmth that had him hoping again.
“Mom’s in the kitchen, making you a tasty meal.”
“Are you joking? She’s cooking for me?”
“It’s Thanksgiving, bae. She’s a southern mom. Always happy to cook a special meal.”
“Do I take it she’s going soft on me?”
“Just relax, bae. I’ve got you.”
He carried the basket inside along with the bottle of wine he had in his other hand.
Grinning up at him, Tiara led him to the kitchen, via a door to the right hand of the hall. White granite counter island with black leather breakfast chairs surrounding it, along with polished wood wall cupboards sat to his left. The living space flowed from the kitchen. A cosy off-white two-seater couch, two armchairs, a dark wood coffee table and sideboard with two table lamps occupied the right side of the room. The dotted cream centrepiece rug and glass vase teeming with vibrant flowers gave the not-so-huge, clean space a homely vibe he liked.
“Mom, Hunter Chase is here. Hunter meet, Rachele Freeman, my mom.”
Rachele stepped away from the hot stove. She glanced at him and smiled.
“Come inside, Hunter. How are you doing?”
Leaving Tiara’s side by the door, he headed toward the woman who dumped her red oven gloves on the counter and approached him. He handed Rachele the bottle of white wine and set the basket on the counter.
“I’m good, ma’am. How are you doing?”
Rachele hugged him. So, he ducked to embrace her in return. Of all the things he had hoped for, he had not expected Rachele to be so open and welcoming.
“Thank you for the wine. I’m feeling better now I’ve met you. I accused my daughter of hiding you.”
Moving out of Rachele’s arms, he chuckled.
“It’s my fault. I’d my plate full of work.”
Swinging his head right, he eyeballed Tiara. She shrugged, picked up an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter top and sank her two front teeth into it.
“Excuses,” Rachele grumbled, smiling.
“It was kind of you to invite me over, ma’am.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m not going to give my approval to a man who I’m not sure about, Hunter. It’s that simple. Sit down and I’ll feed you. Hope you came with a huge appetite?”
Wow! Rachele was welcoming and direct. Now he knew where Tiara got that understanding and sweet soul from but she was also feisty and firm.
Rubbing his palms together, he sat on one of the breakfast chairs. Tiara sat next to him, whispering.
“Relax. My mom doesn’t bite.”
“Are you sure?”
She grinned, shooting him a wink. “I know.”
“I only bite those who set out to deceive my only child. Are you one of them, Hunter?”
Rachele turned around, cocked her head and gave him a hard stare.
Exchanging a worried gaze with his girlfriend who bit back a soft chuckle, he wondered what the hell he had walked into with her mom. He swallowed and directed his eyes back to Rachele.
“I’m not out to deceive, Tiara. I want to protect her and make her happy.”
“Why did you let her lose her career, her license?”
“Mom?” Tiara protested, spitting out the bits of apple from her mouth to stop herself choking. “It wasn’t his fault. I made my own decision to flout the rules. We already discussed this at length.”
“I want to hear from, Hunter.”
“I didn’t set out to disrupt Tiara’s life, ma’am. The truth is, you’ve got every right to be suspicious of my intentions. Losing her license happened because I fell in love with your daughter, something I had no control over. The day I walked into Tiara’s office, I was bitter, full of contempt and cynical. In fact, I was broken. She fixed me and gave me her heart without knowing it.”
Rachele nodded. “I get that. That’s what she does. Tiara’s a therapist. Now you’re depriving others like you from getting the best care. Why didn’t you walk away when you knew she was on the verge of losing her career?”
“The totality of it all is this, ma’am. I’m selfish. The thought of walking away occurred to me. But I couldn’t do it because I’d found the woman, the only woman I didn’t think existed for me. I love, Tiara. It didn’t take me long to figure that out. Unfortunately, loving her came at a high price for her and I’m sorry. I’m not sorry for finding her and asking her to be my girlfriend. I’m deeply sorry it cost Tiara, her career.”
Leaning her elbows on the table, Rachele exhaled, staring into his eyes. He did not blink, or hold back.
“What do you intend to do now you’ve cost my daughter her job?”
“Tiara has always wanted to travel to see the world. I’m going with her to make her dreams come true. I intend to give her the best time possible and protect her. At the end of the day, Tiara’s getting what she’d dreamed of for a long time.”
Beaming, her mom straightened and gestured. “Come here, Hunter. You’re just as crazy as Tiara.”
Laughing at how easily the older woman switched from stern to funny, he got to his feet, moved around the island and gave her another hug. He kept his arms around her a long while as refreshing respite thrilled his nerves. Lifting his head afterward, he sighed.
“For a minute there, I thought you were going to kick me out, ma’am.”
Laughing, Rachele shook her head before giving the pot on the stove some attention. With tension easing out of his body, the aroma of pork whacked his senses and his stomach griped.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Hunter. I needed to see your heart and put you on my honesty scale.”
“I take it, I did good, ma’am?”
“Very good. As long as you take great care of my baby girl, we’ll remain friends, Hunter. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am. Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Great. Ever tried southern pumpkin pie?”
“No ma’am.”
His girlfriend threw him a congratulatory wink, mouthing, “You did it!” before turning to Rachele. “Mom, do you want me to get out the turkey?”
“I’ll get it out from the oven, if you let me, ma’am.” He wanted to be of service to his girlfriend’s mom. Not only to earn extra brownie points, he could not sit idle while the women worked to put food on the table.
“Yeah, thank you, Hunter. Tiara, please get out the cranberry sauce and cornbread.”
While Tiara went about doing what she was told, he reached for the oven gloves hanging on the oven door handle and carried out the huge roasted turkey.
“The turkey reminds me of my mom’s honey-glazed Thanksgiving bird,” he muttered just as good old memories rolled out in his head.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” Rachele murmured with a kind smile. “I bet she’s proud of you.”
“I hope so.” He prayed in his heart it was true.
“With any luck, you’ll like my spicy stuffed turkey. You eat spicy food?”
“I eat anything, ma’am.”
“Ah. Ex-military. You eat everything,” said Rachele.
He chuckled. “Out in the field, we eat mainly for survival, ma’am.”
“Why people enlist to serve outside this country beats me. Tiara tells me you’re an only child. What was your father thinking?”
“Mom? Really–”
“I’m just saying–”
Tiara eyeballed her mom and the older woman’s words trailed off.
“Someone’s got to do it,” he said. “At the time, I’d slid into a dark hole after I’d lost my mom. I was eighteen and I needed something, anything to take my mind off the grief.”
Rachele clicked her tongue before saying. “That kind of loss never goes away.”
“True,” he agreed with a dry grin.
“What about your dad? When do we meet him?”
He gave his girlfriend a quick glance. Tiara raised both eyebrows indicating she had no idea about her mom’s plans.
“Let me speak with my dad and I’ll arrange a visit.”
“If you love my daughter, you’ve got to move things along quickly. Time is one thing that doesn’t wait.”
“Mom! I’m not in a rush to get married.”
“You say that now but we–”
“We know nothing,” Tiara insisted, fixing her gaze on her mom as all three of them sat down to eat.
“I love you, Mom, so stop embarrassing me, okay?”
Laughing along with her daughter, Rachele swept her dark eyes in his direction.
“When a woman says to a guy, I’m not in a rush to get married, what she’s really saying is, hurry up and ask me to marry you.”
Grunting in displeasure, Tiara shook her head.
“That’s not true. I’ve got no such thoughts, Hunter.”
Glancing from one to the other, he could not tell who was serious and who was joking between the two women. Still, he took the chance, strolled over to Tiara and cuddled her shoulders with both hands before dropping a kiss at her temple.
“Tiara Dazzline Williams, would you do me the honour of marrying me next weekend in a private ceremony?” After he asked the most important question, he then remembered he was still on his feet.
“What?” Tiara’s breath hitched in her throat as she stared wide-eyed and pulled away from him. “Is this a joke, Hunter?” Her eyes thickened with tears and darted to her mom’s.
“Am I dreaming?” Rachele placed her palm on her chest, panting for breath. “Tiara? Is this real?”
Quickly dropping on one knee, he brought out the red box he bought on their trip to Memphis while his girlfriend trembled. He pulled back the lid and gazed up at Tiara. Losing her composure, she burst into tears at the sight of the twinkling gem and crumpled to the floor, covering her face with both hands.
He crawled toward Tiara and folded his arms around her shoulders. She sobbed quietly with her hair hiding her face.
“Babe? Ti, baby, please look at me. I love you from the bottom of my messed-up heart. I love you with my stinky life. I love you with every fibre of who I am, which isn’t even decent. But I know you’re the woman of my dreams. You’re the woman who has brought peace, hope, brightness and happiness into my life. Ti, say yes, please?”
Slowly, Tiara raised her head, sobbing still.
Behind Tiara, her mom hovered, wiping tears from her own eyes and sniffing loudly.
He had been super nervous about asking his girlfriend to marry him. In the last few days, he had practised how he would say ask the question. But right now, he could not recall the sweet words he had rehearsed. As a man who had almost thrown away his life a few times, he knew a good woman when he saw one. Tiara Williams was a wonder woman. Of course, he knew it was too soon to ask but he wanted her in his life today, tomorrow and forever.
“I’ve got asthma, Hunter. A mild one but it bothers me sometimes. Not all the time.”
“That’s okay. Come on this marriage adventure with me, Ti. I’m not promising you a perfect life.”
Tiara shook her head, laughing through her tears.
“I don’t want a perfect life, Hunter.”
“That’s why I want to marry you, Ti. You’ve seen me at my very worst. You’ve heard my terrible secrets and I’ve heard some of yours, not all. I’m sure I can handle the rest because it can’t be as bad as mine. You’ve seen me battle my fears. Been there to see me at my most vulnerable and you didn’t turn away from me. I couldn’t ask for a more amazing woman.”
“I’m no longer a therapist and I want to make a reckless journey across the world. You still want me to be your wife even though I don’t want to sit at home to make you home-cooked dinner in the near future?”
Shuddering, he laughed nervously. Was Tiara considering saying yes? That would blow his mind.
“Yeah. I want to marry you. And we can go around the world together, making our dreams happen.”
“I truly don’t enjoy cooking. I sneeze a lot while cooking, so I avoid it when I can. Are you sure you want to marry a black woman who doesn’t cook?”
Shrugging, he winked. “I was hoping that wasn’t the case. Just kidding,” he added when her eyes popped. “I don’t need you to make me home-cooked dinner. We could order food. And, I’ll learn how to cook for you from your mom. When we get back to the country, we could drop in to your mom’s place for a hot home-cooked meal, on invitation of course.”
His girlfriend burst out laughing, wiping her running nose with her fingers. “Really?”
“That’s if your mom also says yes to my suggestion.” He spared Rachele a quizzical glance.
“Anytime! Tiara? What are you waiting for?” Rachele sniffed and laughed, pushing paper napkins in her daughter’s palm. “Say yes and stop making us suffer!”
“Are you going to tell me when something or some memory troubles you, Hunter?” Tiara bit her lip.
“Every time. Please Ti. Marry me. Be my wife and I promise I’ll make all your dreams come true. I’ll learn to love you as you want me to, as you deserve to be loved every day and every night.”
Slanting her head, Tiara smiled. “You’re kind of a handful, Hunter Roger Chase. Can I cope with you?”
Taking her hand in his own, he pinned his lips to her arm. “I’ll make your life easier. I’ll try. Say yes,” he begged, unwilling to consider a not-right-now reply.
Rachele rushed to grab her cell phone and clicked the camera. “The food is getting cold while you take your precious time, Tiara. Stop punishing the guy.”
“Oh yes, Hunter!” Tiara screamed, opening her hands wide and throwing her head back.
Howling, he set his hands beneath her body and lifted her off her feet.
“Tiara said yes to me, ma’am.”
Folding her arms around his neck, his hot new fiancée repeated. “I’ll marry you, Hunter. Of course, I’ll marry you because I fell in love with you and I’m head over heels in love with your rascally ass!”
They all hooted and laughed while he danced around with his fiancée in his arms. Then he set Tiara down.
“Congratulations to the two of you.” Her mom hugged them individually and together before pulling out a champagne bottle from the fridge.
“Let me open that, ma’am.”
He uncorked the bottle once Rachele handed it over.
“Thank you, Hunter. Welcome to my family.” Rachele’s eyes sparkled with joy. “This is exciting news! My advice is simple. Love and trust each other. Depend on Jesus Christ and keep outsiders out of your marriage.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m honoured to be a part of your family. Thank you for accepting me, ma’am.”
At that point, he wondered what his mom would have said. Instead of feeling empty, or hurt at the recollection, he smiled because he had two women with love glowing in their eyes looking up to him.
“Let us pray,” Rachele said once all three of them sat down again at the table.
After the prayers, Tiara asked the same question he had in his head.
“Mom, why have you got champagne chilling in the fridge anyway?”
“It’s Thanksgiving! I’d no idea you were going to pop the question. But thank God, I decided to splash out on this bottle. Little did I know it was going to be such a glorious day to celebrate your engagement. One hooked, one to go.”
“Mom?” Tiara winked. “No step dad!”
They all laughed as they celebrated a fruitful and happy Thanksgiving dinner together, the first of many, Hunter prayed with his whole heart.
