Written in the Stars

by Jennifer Martinez

  We finished our meal and laid down to look at the sky. He rolls over to face me, and when I see the love in his eyes I throw another thank you into the stars for this amazing man and wait for him to speak.

  “Mack, the things you’ve been through in life, no woman should e’r have to go through but yer did and yer lived to tell about it. Countless lives have been saved because of your strength and perseverance. In the last year and a half we have gone from room mates to friends, friends to significant others and finally become lovers. I know you are my soul mate and I know I never want to live another day without you in it. Will yer please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  All I could do was stare. Of course the answer was yes, but I was still letting the words sink in. This was the real deal, my fairy tale ending. I finally nodded and kissed him. We both held on to that kiss and each other memorizing every detail of the moment; the clothes we were wearing, the smells of the forest in winter, the sounds of the horses munching on their oats. This is the happiest moment of my life and I never want it to end. We spend the rest of the day walking around our home and talking about our future. I make a joke about us moving into the same room and his face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning. He grabs my hand and leads me back to the horses. We ride back to the house and put the horses away. When we get to the back porch he blindfolds me and carries me into our home. He took me upstairs and set me down. When I open my eyes I am in front of a closed door. In the year and a half I have lived here I have never seen this door open or the inside of the room. He opens the door and I am stunned. It is the most amazing bedroom I have ever seen. There is a huge four post bed with fluffy white linens, a beautiful antique armoire, holding a flat screen TV and a huge painting of the tables hanging on the wall. Inside the room are his and hers walk in closets and a master bathroom with two sinks a shower and a Jacuzzi tub. The bathroom even has a fireplace. I am in awe of this room and cannot believe I never knew it existed. I turn around and throw my arms around Coll’s neck. I start to ask him a question but he cut me off.

  “This was my aunt and uncles room. For the longest time I couldn’t walk in here because the memories stung so bad. I was afraid if I changed their room I would lose the only memories I had left of them. One day, this tiny auburn haired girl changed my mind. I realized it wasn’t their loss that caused the hole in my heart, it was never knowing true love, until I met you.”

  I squeezed him even tighter and whispered into his ear, “Thank you.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Coll

  I’m nervous but ready. I have been waiting for this day for a year and now everything is set. Mack is dying to know what I have planned and the ring has been burning a hole in my pocket for months but I somehow managed to hold out. I have everything set up and waiting. I planned a scavenger hunt of sorts, she has to find all the clues that lead her to me. When she finds me I will take her to the spot we visited on her first day in Bonanza and finally propose to the woman of my dreams. I hear the porch door slam and know its only a matter of time. Your Majesty is just as excited as I am and if she doesn’t show up soon Thunderbird might just get depressed. The barn door opens and closes signaling she is one step closer to me. I take slow deep breaths to try and stay calm and when she finally walks out the back door I almost lose it.

  “Took you long enough, I almost gave up on you.” I joke trying to hide my nerves.

  A few witty retorts later we are off to our spot. I laid out the tarp this morning to make sure the ground was dry for our picnic and when we finally arrive everything looks perfect. She jumps off Thunderbird and ties him up to the post while she uses her blanket from the barn to warm up. I wanted to wait until we were walking around to propose but the way is laying down next to me without a care in the world pushes me over the edge and I can’t hold it in any longer.

  “Mack, the things you’ve been through in life, no woman should e’r have to go through but yer did and yer lived to tell about it. Countless lives have been saved because of your strength and perseverance. In the last year and a half we have gone from roommates to friends, friends to significant others and finally become lovers. I know you are my soul mate and I know I never want to live another day without you in it. Will yer please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  I see her beautiful blue green eyes start to swirl and the tears well up. I can’t tell if she is surprised or horrified. I start second guessing all of my preparations. Should I have done it in the house? Maybe we should have gone on a vacation. Did I just read the signs wrong its only been a year since Steve found her. Maybe I am rushing things. My mind is on the verge of a dangerous precipice when she finally leans in and kisses me. She nods and we wrap each other in a world-ending embrace. Every time we touch, the world around me goes black and she is the only light I see. Even if I close my eyes the is still a beacon, holding me to earth, pushing me to become the best person I can be. Without her I would still be some weird vet with no social skills. She has brought me back from the brink of oblivion and I will spend my entire life trying to repay her for that. I never was a believer in fate until I met her. Now I don’t care who you are but there is a reason for everything.

  We spend the rest of the day walking through the woods on the property, enjoying each others company when Mack makes a joke about who is moving into who’s bedroom. I immediately let my excitement take over and lace my fingers with hers as we run back to the horses and ride to the house. I stop her at the back porch and blindfold her. I have been dying to show her this since the day we first kissed. I carry her up the stairs and set her down in front of the white six panel door. She looks confused and the moment the door opens to reveal the room her confusion turns to awe. She is like Cinderella at the ball, twirling in circles in the midst of true beauty. She eventually makes it past the worlds most comfortable bed and explores the rest of the room.

  Before she can even ask I explain the room to her and why it has been closed off forever. We hold each other in our new room and she stands on her tip toes and whispers, “Thank you.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Mackinzie

  I guess its inevitable but I can’t help but think about my first wedding as I slide the last bobby pin into my hair. The first one was more of a production than a ceremony. This time it will be different. This time none of it matters. I walk out of the bathroom and make my way down the stairs. There is no deep breath to calm my nerves this time around. I cannot wait to take the three steps onto the grass and marry the man of my dreams. I try not to run as I walk from the back porch out to where Coll and our parents are standing. I give my white eyelet dress one fluff before walking onto the grass and into Coll’s arms.

  “Thank you,” he whispers into my ear just as Sheriff Perkins starts the ceremony. The ceremony is quick and our kiss is true. I hug my new in laws and my own parents as well and we head inside. The wedding isn’t the only event planned for today. We found out yesterday I am pregnant. We didn’t think it could happen but it did and we couldn’t be happier. We walk back inside and crowd around the island everyone holding up a glass of champagne. He squeezes my hand and kisses me softly on the forehead before beginning his toast.

  “First, I would like to thank you all for coming today. It means the world to us to have our family here with us on this special day. I would like to propose a toast; to my wife, my soul mate and the mother of our child, I love you baby.”

  Everyone cheers and sips their champagne. Its my mother who looks at us first. She looks at my hand and sees no glass then looks at Coll and sees the prideful smile of a new father before exploding with joy. We tell them that we just found out yesterday and decided it would be more fun to tell them all together today and spent the rest of the evening enjoying a happy, peaceful country day.

  Epilogue

  Coll

  It’s my favorite time of the night. I sneak upstairs and stand in the doorway watching my two favorite girls read a bedtime story. Our daughter looks jus
t like her mother. She is curled up in Mack’s lap with her auburn curls fanning down her green princess nightgown. They are reading the Princess and the Frog. Its Stephanie’s favorite book because its written about mommy and daddy. Mack slowly runs her fingers through Stephanie’s hair as she repeats the last line, “Sometimes you’ve got to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince.”

  I walk into the room and climb into the bed. Mack and I wrap our arms around our little girl and whisper into her ear, “Goodnight sweet princess, Thank you.”

  Mack and I tuck her in and kiss her soft forehead before walking out and turning off her light. I look down at Mack, still as beautiful as the day she rolled into my life and say “Thank you.”

  “Thank you,” she replies. We walk into our room and hold each other in the same hug that started it all.

  Turn the page for a sneak peek of CM Stunich’s newest release:

  Losing Me, Finding You

  CHAPTER 1

  Amy

  I wake to a dull roar that quickly becomes deafening. The sound rattles the windows in my bedroom and sends my father into a raging fury about those darn criminals which I can only assume refers to the motorcycle gangs that have been rolling into town lately for the antique bike show. My father does this every year, says these things every year. I should really move out.

  “Amy,” my mother says, opening my door the same way she has every day since I started kindergarten. “Time to get up. We're meeting your aunt over at the church to plan the potluck on Saturday.” I smile and nod, hold my tongue and refuse to tell her that a potluck plans itself. People bring dishes; other people eat them. There isn't much to figure out.

  “Thanks, Mom,” I say and blow her a kiss as she backs away and resigns herself to listening to my father complain. What he conveniently forgets is that those 'criminals' make up a pretty hefty portion of our town's summer economy. Without them, I don't think many of the shops downtown would still be in business. I sigh and stand up as another wave of noise approaches from the direction of the highway. Moved by my curiosity, I stand by the window and part the drapes so I can catch a glimpse of the men and women who are so far outside my realm of being that they might as well be aliens. They wear leather and have piercings and tattoos. The open road is their home and mine, mine is this three bedroom, two bath prison which is perfectly nice but so stifling that sometimes, it makes me sick.

  I watch the wave of bikers drive by and press my fingertips to the shaking glass.

  “Take me with you,” I whisper as they fly by and disappear around the corner. I imagine what it would feel like to just run away with them, try something new, something different. I shake my head and turn away. It's not going to happen, not for me. Girls like me don't wrap their arms around men in leather, straddle massive hunks of metal that my mom refers to solely as death traps, drive to cities we've never been. Girls like me put on their yellow camisoles, their white sweaters and their below the knee skirts. We grab our purses, slather on some clear lip gloss and sit in the passenger seat while our mother talks about the nice boy who just moved to town with his parents. Poor guy, I think as I imagine his fate. He may as well have the words 'fresh meat' tattooed on his forehead like one of those biker boys. The girls from my church are going to be all over him. After all, in a town of five thousand people, it's not as if we have many choices. I should go to college, I think as my mom continues to talk in the background. Maybe somewhere far, far away. I sigh and smile at my mother who's patting my knee. Like I said, me, coward. Period.

  “I'm so glad you're here!” my aunt says as she comes out the front doors of the church in an outfit disturbingly similar to mine. “We have a serious problem.” She sighs and makes the sign of the cross which bothers my mom because we're not Catholic. My aunt loves church functions, church rummage sales and church gossip, but I don't think she really likes church in and of itself. I bet she'd be hard pressed to even remember Jesus' role in the whole of things. I'm not judging her, but I just think she's shallow and as see-through as a piece of glass. I'm like that, too, I think, but I wish I wasn't. I wish I had some substance.

  I tune out my aunt and turn slightly, so I can see the main thoroughfare of the town down the hill from us. It's absolutely packed with people, humming with this wild energy that makes the hairs on my arms stand on end. I've never been to the motorcycle show which seems strange since I've lived here my whole life. My father, however, has always forbidden me to go. This year, even though I'm twenty-one years old, isn't any different. I really should put my foot down and let him know that I'm an adult and can make my own choices, thank you very much, but I haven't felt passionate enough about anything to take a stand.

  When my mom and aunt start to move inside, I follow them and sit at the table with the other lunching ladies while they plan the same potluck we have every month, the one that doesn't really need any planning. Of course, under the table I have the greatest treat of all, one that doesn't involve church or yellow sweaters or cheese casseroles. Under the table, my book boyfriend is sucking on my toes.

  “I want you like I've never wanted anyone else,” Adam says to me as he kisses the arch of my foot and starts to move his way up my leg, ever so slowly, teasing my skin with his teeth, tasting my thighs with the hot heat of his mouth until he comes to my –

  “Amy?” my mother says, waving her hand in front of my face. I look up and see seven curious expressions staring back at me.

  “Hmm?” I close the book around my hand, determined to dive back in as soon as the setting permits; it's the only way I'll stay sane. The rest of the day isn't exactly looking up as we have plans to help my cousin try on wedding dresses. My mother wanted to wait until the motorcycle show was over, but Jodie's having a shotgun wedding (don't tell anyone outside the family, please) and she needs a dress like yesterday. The wedding is in two weeks after all, and there isn't much time left. My bridesmaid dress is going to be fuchsia. I know it is. I just know it.

  “Can you make your caramel sticky buns for Saturday? The ones with the pecans?” Oh. Yes. Sticky buns. Maybe I can steal a few for myself, put them in my room and get ready for my hot date with Micah, the book boyfriend I haven't met yet but am absolutely thrilled to climb into bed with.

  “Of course,” I say with a smile as I tuck my chestnut hair behind my ear. It's the same color as the tabletop we're all sitting around. That's kind of depressing. The ladies go back to discussing the tablecloth colors and the chair arrangements in the dining room while I duck my head and reopen my book.

  “Fuck me, Adam,” I say as I turn over and put my ass in the air for his viewing pleasure. “Fuck me until the cows come home.”

  I snort with laughter and once again manage to draw attention to myself.

  “Are you laughing at a book?” my mother asks, like that's so strange. I know she reads romance novels, too. She hides them from my dad under the sink in the bathroom and takes extra long showers so she can finish them. I shake my head and clear my throat.

  “No, I just had a little something in my throat.” I gesture vaguely around the area of my neck and try to keep smiling. I manage to divert their attention and make it out the door and into the car without further incident.

  “I doubt we're going to be able to find a parking space,” my mom says with a sigh as we wind down the road back into town, my aunt trailing too close behind us. “I may have to drop you off at the door so Jodie knows we're here. You know how moody your cousin's been lately.” Yeah, I think, because she's like three months pregnant. I smile and try not to think about Adam's deliciously sexy body. I'm almost finished with him, so I brought along an extra. Daniel's ready and waiting inside my purse for me to finish these last few chapters.

  “Okay, Mom,” I say with a cheerful smile that quickly turns into an open mouthed gawp as we hit the first traffic light downtown and find ourselves in a sea of colorful characters that make little beads of sweat appear between my mother's eyebrows. “It's okay,” I tell her befor
e she starts to hyperventilate. “They're just people.” My mother scoffs.

  “Godless people,” she says, and I don't correct her. There's no point. Some guy with a pentagram tattoo just walked by and much as I know that could mean anything, my mom thinks it's the sign of the Antichrist. “Do you have your pepper spray in your purse?” I took it out to accommodate Daniel, but I nod and tell her that yes, I do. I need an e-reader, I think as I imagine carrying thousands of books around in my hand. My father refuses to buy one for me, saying that digital devices like that are portals to hell in and of themselves. He let me have a computer, but he unplugs the Wi-Fi at night. I should really move out. “Go straight inside and don't talk to anyone.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  “And please don't let Jodie try on anything that you know isn't going to fit. You know how moody she's been lately.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  My mother pulls up to the curb and lets me out into the throng of people. I can see that she doesn't want to leave me there, but that she's more afraid of Jodie's wrath than she is of the motorcycle fanatics. I'd have to agree with that one. I start towards the front door of the bridal shop and then just stop. My mom isn't looking; Jodie doesn't know I'm here yet. Now's my chance to look around, just take a peek at the motorcycles. It won't take long; after all there's a whole row of them parked at the end of this block, just behind the red signs and yellow tape banning cars from this stretch of road. I glance over my shoulder to make sure that Mom's completed her U-turn and start down the sidewalk.

  It's pretty obvious that I don't fit in here which is a strange feeling. I'm your typical, middle-class, all-American white girl with blue eyes and pale brown hair, but I'm the one that's drawing stares and raised eyebrows. Something about that is exciting to me, makes me hold my head high and strut like I'm something special. Instead of blending into the crowd, I'm standing out. Fantastic.