Chapter 12

MARY ELIZABETH’S STORY

“Mary Beth?” I heard Cody call as if he were a great distance away. “Mary Beth, love. Oh love, talk to me please,” he begged.

I could feel his strong hands running over my face. I could feel him holding me tight against his hard body, rocking me gently. I could feel the worry rushing from him.

“Mike,” I croaked.

“What, love?” Cody asked, leaning closer to me.

“It’s Mike,” I whispered, almost scared to say it out loud.

“The message?” he asked.

“Yes,” I hissed.

“But how? I don’t understand. He’s in jail. I mean, he’s still in jail, right love?” he asked urgently.

“Absolutely, yes,” I said thankfully.

“Then how?” he asked in confusion, helping me sit up but keeping his arms firmly around me.

“Mitchell is Mike’s older brother,” I explained.

“And you talk to him?” Cody asked in shock.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself and collect my thoughts. I hated to burden Cody with even more of this, but we were married now, so I had to be open about it all.

“Not really, no. Mitchell and I were always friends. He’s still the same nice guy that he was when we were in high school. He stood behind me through everything, the trial, the pregnancy and against Mike and their parents. He understood why Tommy wasn’t a part of their lives and why he could never be a part of their lives. Because of that I’ve kept him up to date on how Tommy is doing, but you know, only the basics. And he has always promised to let me know if there is any chance of Mike being released,” I explained.

“You trust him?” Cody asked.

“I do,” I said truthfully.

“Ok, fair enough. But why then are you getting a message from his phone from Mike?” Cody questioned.

“I have no idea,” I admitted.

“Has this ever happened before?” he asked worriedly.

“No, never. This is the first time I’ve heard anything from Mike since…well, since the letters that came right after he went away,” I said softly, my voice shaking.

“Why now? And what the heck does he mean you can’t keep him away much longer?” Cody said angrily, a protective growl in his voice.

“Cody, honey, I don’t know,” I said in frustration, tears starting to spill over, my shoulders shaking.

“Oh, Mary Beth, I’m sorry. Baby, I didn’t mean to make you cry. Dang it,” he groaned, pulling me back into his lap and against his chest.

He began to run his hand over my head, smoothing my hair, speaking to me soothingly, trying to calm me.

“I don’t know, Cody. Why can’t he just leave me alone? Hasn’t he done enough?” I sobbed into the broad expanse of Cody’s chest.

CODY’S STORY

I held her against me, wanting to take all the pain and hurt and fear from her. I wanted to kill him for doing this to my Mary Beth. I wanted to go there and rip him apart, piece by piece. I had to stop this.

I realized Mary Beth’s phone was still in my hands. I looked back at the text message and realized it had been sent a little over an hour ago. I quickly scanned through Mary Beth’s phonebook and found the entry for Mitchell. I hit send and waited for it to ring.

“Mary?” I heard the voice answer hesitantly.

“No, this isn’t Mary. My name is Cody. I’m Mary’s…” I paused, wanting to speak the truth that I was her husband, but knowing for now that had to stay between us, especially in this situation. “boyfriend.\,” I explained. “Is this Mitchell?”

“It is. Is something wrong with Mary?” he asked worriedly.

“Well, at the moment, yes, she’s rather upset. Can you tell me where you were about an hour ago, Mitchell?” I asked pointedly.

“What?” he asked in confusion.

“It’s important,” I said emphatically.

“How much do you know about who I am, Cody?” he asked in response.

“I know everything, Mitchell, every horrible bit of it,” I said angrily. “Can you please answer my question now?”

“I was at the prison with my mother visiting Mike,” he said simply. “Why are you asking me this?”

“Because about an hour ago Mary received a text message from your phone that was obviously from Mike.” I explained, continuing to hold and rock Mary Beth in my lap.

“What?” he gasped. “What did it say?”

“You can’t keep me away much longer.” I quoted. “How did he manage this, Mitchell? Why would you help him like that?”

“What? I didn’t! I wouldn’t! I would never do that to Mary!” he argued before pausing. “When I went to the restroom I left my cell phone on the table, but I never dreamed……. That lying piece of... I should have known!”

“Should have known what, Mitchell?” I asked.

“I haven’t been to see him since right after he was incarcerated. I cut him off completely once he started writing Mary those horrible letters. The other day my mother called and begged me to come with her to see him, begged me, so I went. Oh God, and she was in on this. Please tell Mary I’m sorry. I never wanted him to get to her,” he said, clearly upset.

“Did he know you were in touch with Mary?” I asked.

“He didn’t, but my mother did…which of course means, yes, he probably did. How could I have been so stupid?” he spat.

“Mitchell, I appreciate your honesty. Is there any chance of Mike getting out anytime soon? I need to know what we’re up against.” I pleaded.

“None at all. But as I promised Mary I will promise you as well, if there is any chance of that I will tell you as soon as I find out and we’ll stop it together, ok?” he said reassuringly.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate that more than you know. I need to go take care of Mary now,” I explained.

“No problem, Cody. I’m glad Mary has someone like you looking out for her. Take good care of her and of Tommy,” he said.

“Always,” I said, hanging up the phone.

I explained to Mary Beth what Mitchell had told me and reassured her that Mike wouldn’t be coming back into her life. I would protect her with everything that was in me. I needed to make sure she knew that and believed it. I think me initiating that phone call went a long way in proving that to her.

I stood up and carried Mary Beth to the bed, sitting her down gently against the pillows. I walked back to the bathroom and grabbed a wash cloth, soaking it in cool water. I went back to Mary Beth and gently washed her face with the cold cloth, soothing and erasing the worries and tears.

I tossed the cloth aside and climbed up on to the bed next to her. I lay down and pulled her into my arms, her head resting on my chest. I reached over and took her hand, lacing my fingers with hers.

“I love you, Mary Beth. I will do anything and everything I can to protect you,” I promised.

“I know. I love you too, Cody,” she sighed.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me everything, to not hide from me,” I said softly.

“Always. Thank you for standing up for me and taking care of me.” She smiled, pushing herself up to press her lips to mine.

“Forever,” I murmured beneath her lips.

I cradled her close to me as I gently massaged her back. She began to laugh softly against my chest.

“What is it love?” I asked.

“I think we’re going to need a shower before dinner.” She smiled, looking up at me. “I’m a total mess now.”

“I’d never say no to a shower with you, wife.” I grinned, pressing a kiss to her lips.

Moments later we were standing in the shower letting the water stream over us, the terrible experience of the afternoon washing down the drain with the water. I stood back in the shower, watching the soapy water cascade over Mary Beth’s body, just admiring her. This was the body of the woman I would get to spend forever loving. She turned and caught me staring and winked at me. I grinned and stepped back under the water with her, hugging her close to my body.

This time after we dried off we actually managed to get dressed for dinner. By the time we headed out the door of our room, both our stomachs were growling loudly after working up such an appetite. She curled her arm through the crook of my elbow, nestling herself into my side.

I thought for a moment about how remarkable this afternoon had been. A month ago, that message would have destroyed Mary Beth. She would have shut down and fallen apart. But today, with me, she was open and allowed me in, allowed me to protect, soothe and heal her. I really felt like her partner and I felt the strength emanating from her, passing back and forth between the two of us.

A short walk later and we were seated at our table near a corner kiva fireplace in the dining room. Our waiter poured each of us a glass of water as we looked over the menus. Mary Beth surprised me further when she told me what she’d like and then allowed me to order for her.

“Have you decided?” our waiter asked as he returned.

“Yes. My lady would like the Ahi Bento for an appetizer and the Bison and Posole for her entrée, cooked medium. Medium, right love?” I asked as confirmation. When she nodded I continued, “I would like the Chicken Curry and the Steak with Chimichuri, cooked medium rare.”

“Very good. Excellent choices. I’ll put these in for you. Please enjoy your bread. I’ll be back to check on you in a moment.” He smiled, focusing a little too long on Mary Beth though for my tastes.

She didn’t notice. She hadn’t taken her eyes from me since we’d walked in the room. I mean, I knew I was a decent guy, but she made me feel like I was the only person in the world. I’d never felt this way before in my life.

“Love, do you mind if I call Jake tomorrow?” I asked as we ate.

“Honey, you don’t have to ask me if you can call your friend.” She frowned. “I hope you know that.”

“No, I know that. That’s not what I meant. I mean, I know this is our weekend, so I didn’t want you to think I was taking away from that by calling him,” I explained.

“Oh. No, I don’t mind at all.” She smiled.

“I want to get everything set up for him to come out this coming week so we can iron out some details. Now that Julie has all the legalities of our production company in process, I figure we need to get our rears in gear.” I grinned.

“I guess I’d better get busy writing our script then, eh?” She chuckled.

“I thought maybe you would be able to work on that when I have to go back to the set in a few weeks,” I said hopefully.

She nodded and went back to her dinner. I knew she was thinking about me being away from her. Neither of us were thrilled about that. By the time our dessert arrived it was all forgotten though…a dark chocolate globe covered in caramel and white chocolate. I took one look at it and had a fantastic idea.

“Can we get one of these to take back to our room as well?” I asked before the waiter disappeared.

“Cody!” Mary Beth gasped, as she took in my grin and wink, knowing full well what I intended to do.

“Hey! I’m a growing boy. I might need a midnight snack.” I grinned, licking my lips and winking at her.

She blushed. She freaking blushed. I loved that she could go from loving me with complete abandon to blushing at my suggestive comments. I loved being able to affect her so deeply. She was so beautiful.

“Seriously, we need to get some sleep tonight. We’ve got an early morning tomorrow.” I smiled, holding another bite of melted chocolate goodness to her lips.

“Dare I even ask what we’re doing?” She grinned.

“Nope.” I smiled, taking the bite she held out for me.

After the emotion and the physical workout of our afternoon, and the full bellies that were a result of our dinner, we both fell asleep almost the instant our heads hit the pillows. Before the sun was even up I reached over and awakened my love with a kiss. She stretched and curled into my body.

“Come on, love. Time to get dressed,” I whispered in her ear.

We stumbled around in the early morning darkness, dressing and climbing in the car. I drove us to the location I had been given, Mary Beth still literally in the dark about what we were doing. We arrived just at the moment the sun was beginning to come up over the horizon. Finally as we walked towards the open field, Mary Beth realized what we were doing.

“Hot air ballooning? We’re going up in a hot air balloon?” she gasped.

“Um, yes,” I said hesitantly, suddenly not so sure this was one of my better ideas.

Suddenly she squealed with delight and threw her arms around my neck, jumping into my arms and wrapping her legs around my waist. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So you like?” I chuckled.

“I love!” She grinned. “Let’s go!”

The balloon ride was amazing. The view of the mountains and the surrounding valleys was breathtaking…although not as breathtaking as my Mary Beth. The look of wonder and exhilaration on her face made this worth it all by itself.

We made a stop for breakfast once we landed, Mary Beth all aglow from the excitement of the morning. I dialed Jake while we waited for our food.

“Hey man! Up and around kind of early, aren’t you?” Jake answered.

“I’ll have you know I’ve already been up in a hot air balloon this morning,” I laughed.

“Pulling out all the stops, aren’t you? She must be quite the girl,” he said.

“She is. You have no idea!” I grinned. “Hey, I wanted to check and make sure we were on for next week?”

“Yup. I’m planning on flying into Midland on Tuesday, if that’s ok?” He asked.

“Sounds great! I’ll pick you up at the airport,” I explained.

“My flight lands at noon,” he instructed.

“Great! See you then!” I promised, hanging up the phone.

“All set?” Mary Beth asked.

“Yes, ma’am. He’ll be here Tuesday.” I smiled.

“I’m looking forward to meeting him. I’m looking forward to meeting all your friends actually.” Mary Beth smiled.

“How much do you want Jake to know about you?” I asked cautiously.

“What do you mean?” she said hesitantly.

“Well, especially since you are both going to be involved in this movie, how much about your life as M.E. Welch do you want him to know about?” I asked.

Mary Beth sat and thought about this for a while. I could see her wrestling internally with some decision. Finally a look of determination and peace came over her.

“I don’t want Mike to continue to control the decisions I make. I’m tired of hiding. I’m not that person anymore. I’m not saying I want to shout from the rooftops that I am M.E. Welch, because I still want us to have some sort of a real life, a private life, but I’m ok with those we trust knowing. Does that make sense?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes. I’m so proud of you. I want you to know that. I hope you don’t think I’m pushing you to do anything though,” I worried.

“Not at all. I’ve hidden too long. I’m proud of who I am, proud of how far I’ve come and I’m proud to be the wife of CodyMcAllister. I’m not stupid. I know once that gets out they’ll be digging for who I am,” she explained.

“That may be, but we can still do a lot to protect your privacy and Tommy’s. That’s important to me. I think us living in Texas on the ranch will go a long way to protect us,” I encouraged.

“Aren’t you going to miss living in L.A.?” She said hesitantly.

“Heck, no. I’ve missed the South ever since I moved out there. And I’ve honestly never felt more myself, more at home or freer than I have since I stepped onto your ranch,” I said truthfully.

“I’m glad,” she sighed, wrapping herself around me, pulling me close to her.

“Mary Beth, I know we’ve got a lot to talk about, a lot of plans to make and things to work out, but it’s all going to be ok. It’s all going to happen for us, you know?” I smiled, teasing her lips with my own. “Now come on. We’ve got more planned today.”

“We do?” she asked.

“Oh yeah.” I grinned.

Mary Beth smiled back at me and was still smiling when we arrived back at the resort. She looked at me in confusion as I led her away from our suite. Moments later we were standing in front of the resort’s spa.

“What are we doing here?” Mary Beth asked curiously.

“We, my love, are getting a couple’s massage.” I smiled, taking her hand and leading her through the doors.

We changed and met in the treatment room. The massage therapists began our massages and then took time with each of us, giving instruction to us on how to give each other a massage. I took my lesson and turn first and by the time I was finished and moving back to my table I noticed Mary Beth was having trouble standing up and moving over to me for her lesson.

But her hands…Mary Beth had magic hands. If this is what I had to look forward to I wanted a massage every day for the rest of our lives. All I could think about though was that I hoped they didn’t make me turn over. I really didn’t want to expose that to the world how much I had enjoyed my massage.

All too soon, it was time to go. Frankly I was anxious to get Mary Beth back to our room for the evening. I wanted to show her my thanks for that massage. The door had barely closed behind us before I was stripping our clothes off and tossing them to the side. I loved the way she made me feel and I loved the feeling of giving her pleasure.

Later, curled up in her arms, I allowed myself to really look into and dream about the future. I couldn’t believe I had freely and openly told Mary Beth that I wanted to pack up and move to live with her on the ranch. I really couldn’t believe she’d not only accepted it but was excited about the idea. I knew I needed to sit down with Tommy this week and have a man to man talk with him. He’d been the man of the house all these years. He deserved that respect.

Man of the house…I let that thought swim around in my head for a while. Every breath Mary Beth took caressed my bare chest, going straight to my heart. Mary Beth had breathed life into my soul and love into my life. I knew I wanted it forever. Suddenly I was anxious for our trip to come to an end…I was ready to get Tommy and get back to the ranch to start the rest of my life. I couldn’t wait.