Brotherhood of District 23 Complete Series

by Amy Briggs

  She pulled away, inspecting my face. “You’re up to something Cavanaugh, I can feel it.”

  Huffing at her cop intuition, I replied, “Don’t always ruin a surprise with your smarts and cop shit woman.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the box. Isabel would never wear a diamond solitaire; it just wasn’t her. And with her job, I’d be lucky to get her to wear a band, but that’s what I bought. I picked out a thin white gold band, surrounded with small diamonds all the way around it. It wasn’t too flashy, but it said she was spoken for, which she was and I wanted people to know. I’m a cool guy, but I want my woman to be mine just like anyone else would.

  “What is this?” She exclaimed more playfully than her usual demeanor.

  I carefully removed her from my lap, setting her down in the chair I was in on the balcony. Adjusting myself down to one knee, I watched her face form a surprised expression just before she covered her mouth with her tiny hands.

  “Isabel Cruise. You are the love of my life. You rock my world. I know you didn’t want some fancy ring or all of the spoils of a big wedding, but you deserve a proper proposal before we get hitched today,” I knew I was surprising her, and scanning her face to take in her shock, had my heart racing. “Would you officially do me the honor of marrying me, and making me the happiest man on earth?”

  A tear fell from her eye, which I didn’t expect at all. As I reached up to wipe it away, she grabbed my hand and rested her face against my palm. I started to get worried something was wrong, until she leaned forward, softly planting her lips to mine. “Of course I will Matt,” she started to sniffle and then fan her face to get rid of the tears.

  “Baby, don’t cry, this is our day!” I exclaimed.

  “I know, I don’t know what my problem is. I guess it’s just all becoming so real,” she said, gaining her composure.

  “Are you having second thoughts Cruise?” I teased her, getting up off my knee, and pulling her into an embrace.

  “Of course not,” she replied, resting her head on my shoulder, squeezing me back around my waist. Mission accomplished, I thought to myself. I wanted to take her by surprise, and I felt like I won; not that it was a competition. But if it were, I totally won.

  “Okay now baby, let’s finish these drinks and get down to the beach. It’s about that time for you to become a Cavanaugh,” I said excitedly.

  She giggled. “You know that the only reason I’m changing my name is so we can call the gym Cavanaugh’s and it’s still fifty-fifty me and you, right?” Again, that was her idea, not mine. I would have named the gym whatever the fuck she wanted to, but she thought Cavanaugh’s sounded like a place fighters would want to train. She also explained to me that she felt it was a true family operated business if we named it that, and while we weren’t exactly the most traditional couple, there were some traditions that were meaningful to us. It was in that moment that I blurted out, ‘then we need to get married, so it’s our family business’. She never really said yes or no, it was just happening after that. It’s how we rolled.

  “Baby, I don’t care what your name is. I feel like you already know this,” I grabbed her hand and started to pull her into our hotel room.

  “I do, I just like to give you a hard time and keep you on your toes.” She smiled as she came with me into our giant room.

  We weren’t rich by any means, especially since we’d bought the gym that would probably always need fixing up, but we splurged on our vacation slash secret wedding and had a huge suite. We had already started consummating our soon to be marriage around the place, and I couldn’t wait to make her call me her husband while I was fucking her later. In fact, more than anything, I couldn’t wait to call her my wife. But we needed to get moving. Since we didn’t bring our own witnesses, the hotel had arranged for people to be there at our small private ceremony, but that also meant we needed to be on time.

  “Well, in a few minutes, you’ll be able to say that it’s officially your job as my wife. Let’s go make this official babe,” I was God damn excited to marry her. I felt like I’d won a title fight or something; Isabel was a prize and I was the winner. It never crossed my mind once that it was too soon or that it was a bad idea to run off and get hitched without telling the important people in our lives, our family.

  I knew our families would be upset that we didn’t include them in the nuptials, but Isabel and I always did our own thing. I told Jax before we left what we were doing, but I swore him to secrecy and I knew I could trust him. Besides Jo, Jax was my best friend, and as a guy, I felt he understood what I needed to do, and how I needed to do it. I wanted desperately to tell Jo, but she would have told Brian, who would have told my mom, and then chaos would’ve ensued. Jo would be super pissed at me, but she loved love, and knowing that I was in love and had married my person, the one so to speak, would make up for it.

  Isabel told her sister June, who wasn’t thrilled, but completely understood why we were running off. Isabel’s family was fairly traditional and not small by any means, and would have wanted a big huge wedding with all the family from all over the country, and all Isabel and I could think of was how it would have spiraled out of control into the circus we didn’t want. Between her well to do parents, the police department and the fire department, we felt like all that pressure took away from what we were really about. Isabel and I, from day one, were about us. Our connection to each other was what defined our relationship from the moment our lips touched in the alley for the first time.

  We really did need to get going, so I evaluated what we looked like. I had on tan linen pants and a white shirt, customary ‘island wear’ for a formal occasion, and she had on that sexy as fuck white flowing dress with little spaghetti straps I wanted to snap right off the dress. Her olive skin against the white dress was so striking, that everywhere we walked, people stared at the woman that was about to be my wife. We made our way out to the beach, leaving our shoes on the sidewalk, simply not giving a fuck if they were there when we got back or not.

  As we walked to the makeshift arch out near the water covered in flowers, and some flowing white material, a woman we’d met with earlier handed Isabel a bouquet of white flowers. In the presence of strangers, on the beaches of Puerto Rico, we recited our vows hand in hand, never taking our eyes off of each other. Nothing extraordinary, we didn’t write some flowery version of our love for each other, but we recited what the officiant said, grinning at each other almost as if we were about to laugh, like we had a secret no one knew about.

  Once he announced, “I now pronounce you man and wife,” I kissed her like I was thirsty for her taste. Picking her up and carrying her off, we didn’t wait around for any other formalities. What no one tells you about destination weddings is that usually you’re technically married by the time the ceremony takes place; you sign all the licenses and paperwork beforehand, so you’re married on paper by the time the ceremony happens. The ceremony is for show, and that was the case for us. I was ready to consummate the marriage, and enjoy the rest of my vacation with my wife.

  I carried her all the way back to our room that night, where we explored each other in ways most men only dream about. My wife was my ultimate fantasy, and now she’d be mine forever. Business partners, best friends, and lovers.

  I watched as Viv tried to reach a plastic green cup that was four solid inches out of her grasp. I told her that she didn’t want to put her favorite cups up there, but she was stubborn like me, and so I leaned against the doorway waiting for her to ask me to get it for her. The fact that she had these weird plastic tumblers she insisted on drinking out of was funny enough, they looked like they were meant for a child, but watching her struggle was priceless.

  Sensing my presence and not even looking in my direction, she said, “I’m not asking you to get this God damn cup Seth. I’ll climb this counter like Spider Man.” She huffed it out in her usual angry little dragon way that made me laugh out loud.

  “How about while you’re up there, you g
rab all of them and move them somewhere you can reach them? I mean it’s just a suggestion, I’d never move them from where you put them of course,” I teased her. She knew that if she didn’t move them, I was going to as soon as she wasn’t looking.

  “You know that I hate it when you’re right,” she gave up on the cup, turning around to look at me, she leaned up against the counter.

  I walked over to her, pressing my body against hers and reached up behind her to grab the silly cup. “I know you do, but in any event, here is your cup my love,” I handed it to her, but not before I stole a kiss from her sweet lips. She set it on the counter behind her, then stretched up on her toes to kiss me again. She always tasted like caramel, or something sugary to me, and I could never get enough.

  “I love you,” she whispered against my lips.

  “Not more than I love you darlin’,” I replied, pulling her into an embrace. I never considered how much one woman could mean to me until I met Vivian Deveraux. When I fell in love with her, I fell hard. I crashed into her like a steam engine, and she caught me completely, taking in every part of me, the good and the bad. We’d been dating for almost a year, and I had finally convinced her to move in with me. I’d been asking for at least six months. Hell, probably even longer than that.

  She rested her head against my chest, and as her sweet smell found its way to my senses, I kissed the top of her head. It was one of my favorite things to do. She was so much shorter than me, and especially when she was barefoot like she was then. I felt the ring burning a whole in my pocket, but it still wasn’t quite the right moment. I had wanted to plan something special, something that she’d never forget, but I hadn’t devised the perfect plan even though I had the perfect ring for the perfect girl.

  My sister Savannah went with me to pick out the ring; she couldn’t have been more excited. All of a sudden, we were all getting married or talking about getting married. They say when you know you know, and while I don’t know who this they is, they’re right.

  We were still in the process of moving in together; there were boxes everywhere; she had a lot of stuff. On the upside, I did not really have a lot of stuff. She leaned back and looked up at me as I was looking around at the chaos in our house. “Are the boxes and stuff bothering you?”

  “Nope. Not at all darlin’. I love having you, and all of your stuff including your sass here. I would have loved having it here months ago,” I released her to get myself a drink from the fridge chuckling to myself. She took the cup and poured herself some water.

  “Well, I’ll be all done by tomorrow, I can’t stand all the clutter,” she rolled her eyes.

  “Whatever works for you Viv,” I honestly didn’t care how long it took her to unpack and move shit in, around, wherever. Having her in my bed every night, and waking up to her sweet face every morning that I wasn’t sleeping at work was all I cared about. “So listen, I was thinking.”

  “What’s up?” She looked at me sweetly with those crystal blue eyes I would forever get lost in.

  “I happen to have this weekend off, as you know.”

  “Yes, I am aware,” she giggled.

  “Mmhmm. So anyway, smarty pants, I was thinking we could go to the beach and stay down there Friday night. Camping style in the back of the truck. We could stay Saturday too, but I know that’s a long time away from modern amenities for you,” I teased her. “I know weekends are when you’re the most busy, but any chance you can squeeze in a weekend away?”

  Scrunching her nose at me, and giving me a sideways glance, she replied, “Are you up to something Seth? I feel like you’re up to something.” How did she know? Seriously, she was a mind reader.

  Nervous she was onto me, I tried to act as cool as possible, “Who me? No,” I said dramatically. “No I’m not up to anything, why would you say that?” I was definitely talking too much. She was going to figure it out.

  “You’re being weird. But, yea sure, we can go camp out, but let’s just do the one night? I think it’s supposed to get chilly,” she replied, giving me the fish eye. She definitely suspected something was up, I needed to get out of there.

  “Ok cool, well I’ve got some shit I need to do. I am gonna run to the station and catch Brian while he’s there, we have a report to go over,” I said, totally lying through my teeth.

  “Uh huh, sure ya do,” she said sarcastically.

  “Babe, why would I lie about that?” I grinned. Oh, my God, I was losing it, I needed to go immediately.

  “You’re up to something. Have your secrets Jackson. It’s fine,” she said with an acerbic tone, definitely not believing me at all.

  Not wanting her to be upset with me, I walked over and scooped her into my arms. “Darlin’, I just want to spend a weekend away from work, away from packing, unpacking, moving… with you. That is all, I promise.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay with all of this Seth? It’s a lot of change. For both of us,” she met my eyes with a concerned glance.

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You could never unpack a box, and just wake up with me each and every day, and I’d be the happiest man alive, I promise you darlin’,” I cupped her face in my hands and brought her lips to mine.

  Returning my kiss, and gently touching my abs, which drove me wild, she whispered to me, “I love you Seth.” My heart soared when she said my name since everyone always called me Jax. I couldn’t imagine my life without her. As we kissed passionately, I started to forget I had things to do, and unfortunately, she pulled away reminding us both. “I have to get out of here baby, but if you want to go camp tomorrow, we can do that. I’ll rearrange a few things today, ok?”

  “Yes please,” I pulled her in for one more kiss, before swatting her on her ass as she walked out of the kitchen.

  I went down to the station, not because I had any real work to do, but because if I spent one more second with Viv, I was going to ruin my own plans and spoil the surprise. Since I’d become Deputy Chief, I didn’t have to work quite as many twenty-four hour shifts as I used to, just based on the way my new contract worked I was home a lot of nights and worked way fewer twenty-four shifts. While I had a lot more flexibility in my schedule, I had a hell of a lot more paperwork, so if I had the opportunity to get out of the house to escape fucking my own plans up, going to the station to do paperwork was a perfect excuse.

  When I got there, I ran into Scotty, who I’d started calling Scott when I could remember, because he wasn’t nineteen anymore. “Hey man, how goes? You ready?”

  He looked around to make sure no one heard me, “Yea. I think tomorrow is the day. I have the official offer from the county. I can’t believe it’s really happening.”

  “I’m gonna miss you around here, you sure it’s what you want? You’re a hell of a firefighter man,” I offered. I knew he was making moves in his career, but I was going to miss our crew.

  “I appreciate it man. I’m sorry I won’t be around to take orders from you officially,” he teased me. He and I had really bonded over the last year or so, he seemed to be the only one that knew something was going on with me, and encouraged me to go for Viv for real, not just as a conquest. We all sowed our oats, but when the right girl came along, you had to take a leap of faith, and even though Scott was still single, he somehow understood that.

  “Ah, funny guy. You’ll be working for the man, staying clean all day, pushing papers around… You’ll miss us, no?” I asked.

  “You have no idea man. It’s actually been a way harder decision that I expected it to be. I worked all this time for it, but now I’m just like ‘shit, is this for real’?”

  “Haha, you’ll be okay. Best news about the whole thing is you get to stay here, so we’ll be working together regardless,” I offered.

  “Yea, that is probably the best thing about it. So anyway, you pop the question yet or what? Getting married fever seems to abound District 23 these days. First Brian and Jo, then Mat
t and Isabel eloping. Now you? You ready for that?” He asked in a joking way, but I knew he had my back. He was the only one I’d told I was planning to propose this weekend, and I felt like he knew things about my feelings I’d never told him somehow.

  “I am. Bro, this ring is seriously burning a hole in my fucking pocket. Since I bought it, it’s all I can think of, and I’ve actually been avoiding her,” I confessed.

  “That’s fucking hysterical. She must think you’re off your rocker man,” he chuckled at me.

  “She has asked me four thousand times what’s wrong and keeps scrunching her face at me, so yea,” I laughed as well. Man, I loved it when she scrunched her tiny little nose at me. She was fucking adorable.

  “Well, tomorrow then, right? You get her to agree to the weekend away?” He asked me, knowing what my plan was.

  “Yea, she said she could rearrange some stuff. It sucks that so much of her big work is on the weekends, but she kills it out there,” I said.

  “Oh I’m sure she does. Do you even have to work?” He teased me.

  “Probably not, but let’s be real. I’d lose my fucking mind if I didn’t have this place. It’s who I am,” I replied thoughtfully. After everything in my life that I’d gone through in my head, my therapist at the VA, this place, and Vivian were without doubt what saved my life. I was a miserable fuck with no motivation to be better.

  “I think we all would,” Scott replied with a sly smile, getting back to work.

  I went to my office, but all I could think about was how to not spill the beans early. Vivian deserved a moment, something that she’d remember forever. I wanted to give her that perfect engagement story. I wasn’t worried about her saying yes or anything; she and I had talked about it a couple times, and just acted like it was what was going to happen. I had absolutely no cool about this at all.