“Grandpa freaked out, didn’t he,” I said with a chuckle.
“Oh yeah! The mother of all grandpa freak outs. He had just proposed and she dropped the news on him. He was fine after an hour or so. Then he was so happy he went out and bought a teddy bear and went home to grandma. Grandma thought he was still freaking out and wasn’t happy about the baby because he left without saying a word, so she was packing to leave and go stay with her parents until he came around. He came home and caught her packing and crying. Right then and there he got down on his knees, kissed her stomach, and begged her not to go. That really got to her, because she knew that daddy was a proud man. He wouldn’t beg unless he was super serious,” my mom said with a smile.
I laughed and smiled at how like my grandpa that was. He was a proud man, but he always told me that you learn to swallow your pride when you find the person you want to be with forever. I guess I hadn’t learned how to do that where Carson is concerned. I should swallow my pride and talk to him about what I heard, but I just don’t think I can do that yet. I promised myself that after my birthday I would examine the idea more closely, because I do love him, and it’s that love that means I need to swallow my pride and fess up.
I turned to Kami and she smiled at me. Now that the tears are out of the way my birthday can be great! I squealed and tackled Kami.
“What was that for,” she asked with a laugh.
“It’s my birthday, so why not,” I laughed.
She chuckled and dropped a kiss on my cheek. Suddenly I remembered that she had been gone. I wondered what kind of top-secret birthday business she could have had to take care of.
“Speaking of my birthday,” I said, raising my eyebrows and turning to face her. “Where were you all day today,” I asked curiously.
“I was just setting up a special birthday surprise,” she said with casual shrug and a wink.
“Well, I know that much,” I said rolling my eyes. “But where was this birthday surprise being set up? Give me some details.”
“If I told you it wouldn’t be a secret darling,” she said in a playful chastising voice.
We both laughed and chatted for a moment, admiring my new ride. Then we decided it was her turn to get a ride in the jeep. An hour later we were back and lounging around until dinner time. After we ate we flew upstairs and changed. Once we were dressed to impress, we headed out, taking the new jeep of course.
We pulled up to our favorite bar, Gino’s, and got out. We loved coming here to watch live performances on occasion. Kami had a great fake id to use for a few more months, and besides, the guy who ran the bar knew us. He allowed our little sneak, but kept a close eye on us whenever we came in.
We walked in and headed straight to the bar. Gino was there, wiping down the bar in cliché bartender fashion, waiting for someone to need a new drink. When he caught sight of us he smiled, and gave a nod toward the bar, inviting us to come over. All the stools at the bar were full, so he chased off the two people in front of him and we took their spots without a moment’s hesitation.
“Hey ladies! What’s up? I haven’t seen you in a while,” he said with a grin.
“Hey Gino! It’s my birthday, so we came in for a drink and to see what new blood decides to try their luck,” I said with my own grin.
“Well drinks are on me tonight then sweetheart! Where are your knights in shining armor anyway? They are usually with you,” Gino said as he turned around.
“Tonight, is just for us girls! Our guys are stupid so we are flying solo tonight,” Kami chimed in.
“Well don’t y’all worry. I’ll keep an eye on you. We’ve got a really good line up tonight! There’s a special one coming up soon, and you are really going to want to see it. The guy is really good too, holds the crowd right in the palm of his hand. Stay tuned,” he said with a wink.
He got us our usual drinks which, no matter how rarely you stopped into a bar the bartender always seemed to be able to remember, and we sipped while waiting for the special act to come up. By the time the crowd was cheering for whoever was up first, we were on our second drinks. I was talking with Gino when the first act took the stage, so I didn’t turn around and look and see who it was.
When the singer started to speak I froze. I didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was. That voice was all too familiar to me to be anyone but Carson. I turned around and just stared at him. His eyes were locked on me. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, and I could barely breathe.
“Hey guys,” he said, addressing the cheering crowd, but keeping his eyes locked on me. His expression stayed serious as he spoke, letting me know the words he was about to say were real. “So tonight I’ve gotta tell you, y’all are great! I’ve gotta make a dedication before I get this song going. This song is for my girl. Today is her birthday and I have a lot to make up for. She is under the delusional impression that I don’t love her, and that is the farthest thing from the truth. I know she loves when I sing for her, so this is for you firefly, I love you,” he said with a smile.
My heart was no longer beating as far as I could tell. I turned to Kami and she was wearing a proud grin. I knew, without a doubt, that this was the top-secret birthday business she was dealing with this morning. I wanted to smack her for not telling me, but at the same time I wanted to hug her for getting me my guy back.
“You did this,” I asked with tears in my eyes.
“Of course, sis! You guys are meant to be,” she said, wiping my eyes with a bar napkin. “I couldn’t just let you walk away from that. Honestly, what you thought you heard wasn’t true. He didn’t want you to tell him because there is something he was afraid to tell you. Now that the situation has resolved itself, he knew he could tell you. I can’t tell you what he was hiding, because that’s his story to tell, but I can tell you for a fact that he has loved you for just as long as you’ve loved him.”
I let my tears fall before hugging my best friend. Carson started playing a familiar song, which brought back a ton of happy memories. He was playing I Met a Girl by William Michael Morgan. I was up on my feet as soon as he sang the first word. I started moving towards the mob of people who were screaming for him.
The memories started flooding in. I couldn’t stop them, but that was fine with me because I didn’t want to. I was seeing all the good times that Carson and I had been through.
I was 5 years old, and we had just pulled up to our new house. I saw a boy my age in the yard next door. I stared at him, suddenly feeling nervous. I got out of the car and the boy looked up in our direction. When he saw me he smiled and ran up to me. We introduced ourselves and he grabbed my hand and pulled me over to his yard. We spent the rest of the day together.
We were 13 and both wondered what it was like to kiss someone. Carson was nervous when he suggested we kiss each other just to see what it was like. I nervously agreed, because I knew how I felt about Carson. We kissed and afterwards my face was bright red. That kiss was what sealed the deal. Carson was the guy I was meant to be with, and now I was positive.
We were 16 and in the hall of our high school. Some guy was hitting on me, right in front of Carson. Carson pushed the guy away and backed me against the wall, putting a hand on either side of my head, caging me in. None of the guys hit on me for a month after that.
I was 18 and I was at prom with Kami, Reed, and Carson. Carson’s jaw had dropped when he saw me in my dress. I had felt like the most beautiful girl in the world when that happened. The last slow song of the night came on and Carson took my hand. He pulled me out to the dance floor and held me close. We danced until well after the song ended, neither one of us ready to let go.
We were at graduation. Carson picked me up and spun me around after we had both walked the stage. He was laughing and telling me how proud of me he was.
I was hugging my knees and crying at my grandpa’s grave. It was the one year anniversary of his death and I was missing him so much. Suddenly Carson was there, wrapping his arms around me and droppi
ng a kiss on top of my head.
The memories kept coming, and I kept crying with each new one that I remembered as I moved towards the stage. I was remembering every hug, every movie night, every time I wanted to tell him how I felt. I had to get to him, because I could feel my heart filling to the point where it might burst. I loved him so much that it hurt and he had just done the most amazing thing in the world by saying he loved me too.
By the time I made it through the crowd and to the stage, Carson was on the last line of the song. The lights on the stage background were slowly shifting colors, adding even more magic to this moment than I could have ever imagined. I stood front and center and he winked at me. I swooned even more than I had when Scotty McCreery had winked at me, which seemed like an eternity ago. When he finished the song he handed his guitar off to Reed, who was grinning at me.
I ran to where Carson was leaving the stage and threw myself at him. He pulled me to him, holding me while I cried into his chest. It was a few minutes before I composed myself enough to take my face away from his chest.
“I love you,” he said when I looked up at him.
“I love you too, but I thought you didn’t. What the hell were you hiding from me” I said as he wiped my tears away only to have me break into a new round of sobs.
“I know baby, I know. I’m so sorry. I love you so much, but before we got together, Allie told me she was pregnant. I was so worried that you would never love me if I told you.”
“So, Allie is pregnant. I ought to kill you for not being careful and allowing this to happen,” I said with anger that held no real heat.
“She isn’t though baby, she lied to me. I just found out this morning after Kami scared the truth out of her. I didn’t know that you heard Kami and I, but I should have figured it out after what you said. I could have lost you because I was too stupid to figure out what happened and too stupid to tell you the truth,” he said as he rocked us back and forth.
When I finally stopped crying he leaned in and kissed me. I heard cat calls from the crowd, but in that moment, nothing mattered but the fact that I had the guy I love and he loved me too. When he pulled away he turned me around and told me to close my eyes. I did as he asked and I felt something warm being placed around my neck.
When he told me to open my eyes I immediately looked down. Resting beside the stone of my Grandma Lexie’s necklace was a delicate metal lightning bug with a yellow stone where the light would be. My throat caught when I noticed my favorite feature. There was a little crown on the lightning bug’s head!
I looked up at Carson and he smiled. I turned around and pulled him down into a kiss. He was the sweetest, kindest, most perfect guy I have ever met, and he was all mine.
“Happy birthday baby,” he whispered.
Well, there you go, you’ve heard my story. That’s how I became brave, and how I got everything I have ever wanted. That was just part of how I caught the heart of the guy I love.
Epilogue
It had been a year now since that day when Carson told me he loves me. The story of how it happened had been told at countless family gatherings since then. Sometimes it was exaggerated a bit, mostly by Kami, but always managing to showcase the moment just right. After we had left the bar that night Carson asked me to go with him when he went away for grad school. I, of course, said yes. After graduating we packed up our stuff and moved. We were currently living in a small apartment just off his campus. The best part? He isn’t playing baseball right now, so I get whatever free time he has away from the hospital!
I decided to take the rest of the year to figure out what I wanted to do, but I was starting to think that maybe I want to go to grad school after Carson finishes. Because I still wanted to be a family therapist. He constantly says that he would support me no matter what I want to do, and that made everything easier on me. I can do what I want, and I knew he would stand by me.
Currently we were home for the summer before his classes started this fall. We were sitting in my parent’s backyard with both of our families surrounding us. Kami was sitting beside me, glaring at Reed. She is still angry with him, and I didn’t blame her even a little. What he had done was so wrong, but he looked sad every time he looked at her, like he really regrets what he did. I am taking Carson’s advice and staying out of it, because Reed would never learn if I don’t let him. I couldn’t fix this for Kami no matter how badly I wanted to. If I could, I would turn back time, because my best friend has been through enough.
Anyway, the old radio/CD player that someone had dragged out was playing our favorite radio station. We were all talking and eating happily. We were dining on my mom’s famous chocolate cake, glad to let the night drag on for as long as everyone was willing. It was getting dark, so my dad turned on the fairy lights that were strung up all over the place.
Carson looked over at Reed and nodded. Reed got up and moved over to the radio and switched over to the CD player. He popped a CD in, but didn’t start it yet. While I was watching Reed someone had gasped. I looked over to see who it was, but stopped when I saw Carson down on one knee.
My heart was racing and I felt the biggest smile creeping onto my face. Carson took both my hands and kissed them before smiling up at me nervously. His hands were shaking in mine, so I knew he was truly scared and nervous about my reaction.
Carson gestured for everyone to be quiet before turning back to me. He grinned when everyone went silent. He sucked in a deep breath and I felt all eyes on us.
“Firefly, I’ve loved you since we were little. Heck, I’ve probably loved you since the day you moved in. All I know is that the minute I saw you I was lost. There was no one else for me after I met you. After everything we’ve been through we’re finally happy and together. I can’t imagine living my life without you baby, I want you, forever. You are my everything, the light of my life, and you make me feel like the most amazing person in the world. You are the person that I want to come home to, fall asleep with, and wake up with every single day. Without you, I’m half the person that I should be. I talked to your dad, and of course to your mom, and they both said it was about time that I did this. That being said, baby, will you marry me and make me whole?”
I was crying tears of joy when I threw myself at him, causing us to end up laying on the grass. He held me on top of him and everyone behind us was laughing. Carson sat us up slowly, keeping his arms around me, and pressed his forehead to mine.
“So, is that a yes,” he asked, so low that only I could hear.
“Heck yes baby,” I said with a grin.
He kissed me before leaning out and informing everyone that I said yes. Suddenly It’s a Love Thing by Keith Urban started playing when he pulled a ring out of his pocket and slipped it on my finger, our friends and family cheering in the background. I looked at the ring and smiled. It was perfect! It was small, but I didn’t need anything big and flashy. It was so me that I knew he that really knows me, and the song choice was so us that I knew this moment was so perfect for us.
My future was looking bright. Even though I still needed to figure out my life, I knew I had everything I really needed in this moment. I was getting married, to my best friend! Now if only I could help fix my other best friend’s love life…
Stay tuned for a sneak preview of
Stepping up to the Mound (Love and Baseball #2)
When fighting your past, sometimes you have to step up to the mound and face your demons.
Coming soon
Sneak Preview of Stepping up to the Mound
Prologue
Reed
6 years ago
Tonight is going to be life changing, has been my constant thought since I kissed her earlier.
We had just split off from Carson and Alara after Carson and I won our baseball game. They waved goodbye to us and I blew Alara a kiss and winked at Carson. Kami slipped her hand into mine and we headed towards my car. I could tell she wanted to say something, so I stayed silent and waited.
> “Hey, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you know I’m always here. If you ever do want to talk about it, I’ll listen,” she said quietly.
“I know baby, but tonight isn’t about talking,” I said with a seductive smile.
“Oh really, then what is tonight about,” she asked with a grin.
“Tonight, well tonight is about me finally getting you in my bed.”
I saw her blush as I pulled her over to my beat up old truck, a gift from my adoptive father when I started college. I kissed her before picking her up and placing her in the truck. Now I know she didn’t need any help getting in, but I couldn’t resist getting my hands on her. I quickly moved to my side of the truck and hopped in. I rushed us back to my place, not wanting to wait to have my girl anymore. When we got there, I parked in the driveway behind my adoptive mom’s car, knowing my dad would be home soon. I grabbed Kami’s hand and dragged her around the house and into the backyard, where the guest house stood.
Catching His Heart (Love And Baseball Book 1) Page 15
