Finding Peace (Finding Series Book 1)

by Love, K. J.

  “I can always just pick you up and carry you.” Blake says with a devious grin.

  “You would like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “You know me well.” He says raising his eyebrows up and down.

  “I believe I can make it. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself because that would force me to have to dance with someone else tonight.”

  Blake pulls me to a stop, letting the others pass us. He puts a hand on either side of my face, gently holding me still and is looking deeply into my eyes as he says, “Let's get one thing straight, I could carry you up and down this hill all night and not get hurt. Even more importantly than that. You won’t be dancing with anyone but me. I don’t even want anyone else to see you in this dress, but it will be over my dead body before somone else dances with you or puts their hands on you tonight. Just so we’re clear.”

  My heart is racing and my adrenaline is pumping. I love when he goes all caveman on me. For some reason, it completely turns me on.

  “Just so we’re clear, huh?”

  “Yup, just so we’re clear. If you will recall I’ve ran up this hill with you. Walking will not be a problem. So, should I show you that I can carry you with ease? ”

  “No. Come on, caveman.”

  I turn and start up the hill again. I’ve made it over half way when I hear Blake shout.

  “Caveman? Really?”

  I stop, turn around and face him. He’s just standing there staring at me with his hands on his hips. I give him my best mischievous grin and open the spilt in my dress, revealing my leg and exposing it all the way up to my hip. I can tell from here that his eyes are squinted and his chest is rising and falling faster than before. I raise my hand, bending my index finger making a come hither motion.

  He begins to stalk toward me, smirking more the closer he gets. He is really going to be pissed in a second.

  Reaching down slowly at first, then I quickly slip my shoes off, pull my dress up, turn and run as fast as I can. Laughing loudly as I hear him let out a string of curse words.

  “What in the world? Look at your feet. Go use the water hose and clean that mud off. Silly girl. What were you thinking?” Lisa says shocked by my behavior.

  I turn just in time to see Blake slowly walk around the edge of the house over to the limo and lean against it like he’s just as cool as can be. He puts his hand up to cover his mouth. He is doing his best to hide his laughter. He is enjoying Lisa scolding me for getting my feet all muddy after we spent hours getting ready.

  “Hurry up, Kayla. Honestly, I can’t believe you just did that.” Tessa says.

  I quickly wash my feet off and dry them on the towel that Lisa brought to me out of the house. She kisses me on the cheek.

  “Please try and act like a lady the rest of the night.” She says with a wink.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I peek at Blake, but he has turned his back, I can see his shoulders moving, so I know he is laughing at me. I walk over to the limo and hit Blake on the back.

  “Ouch!”

  I roll my eyes at him. He bites his lip to keep from laughing out loud.

  “After you beautiful lady.” Blake says, stretching his arm out to the open door of the limo. “By the way, you are in so much trouble for that little stunt. Not to mention the caveman comment.”

  His eyes promise a punishment that I don’t think I will mind at all.

  “I’m looking forward to it Mr. Sexy.”

  He growls, causing me to giggle, as I slip past him and slide into the seat across from Tessa and Asher.

  Once Blake is in the car, he pulls me close to him and kisses my ear and neck, which forces me to close my eyes as I feel the sensation run all the way down my body. Taking in a deep breath, I try to control the desire that is coursing through me.

  “I told you not to tease me and that sweetheart was not nice at all.” He whispers into my ear so only I can hear him.

  The sorry that I’m able to get out sounds breathy and almost like a plea for him to continue with the sweet torture. This is so not good. Really not good.

  Blake leans back in the seat and I moan in protest, but then he starts to run his hand up and down my back and I’m lost again. The things that he can do to me with just a simple touch is mind blowing.

  Thankfully, we pull up to the restaurant before things can get too carried away. Looking over to Tessa and Asher, I realize they too must have forgotten they weren’t in the limo alone.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  We finish our ridiculously overpriced dinner and upon leaving the restaurant, Blake says he is going to have to go to a drive thru because he is still hungry. We all laugh, but by the look on his face, I’m pretty sure he’s serious. The filet mignon we had really wasn’t that filling.

  We drop Tessa and Asher off at the Coliseum, where the prom is being held then we give the limo driver directions to my dad’s house.

  We do some heavy, making out but I stop things before we get too carried away. This is my second time in a limo with Blake and the thought of getting really carried away in one is appealing, but we have a deal and I will not be the one to cave.

  Pulling out my compact mirror and lipstick from my purse, I try to make myself presentable again. Blake keeps distracting me by continuing to kiss my neck and shoulders. He is sending my body into overdrive and I know he knows exactly what he’s doing to me.

  “It’s not fair.” He says confusing me.

  Stopping what I’m doing I ask, “What’s not fair?”

  “You put on the sexiest dress you can possibly find then expect me to stick to our deal. This is pure torture I tell you.”

  “Umm. Just think how great our honeymoon week will be.” I say giving him a sweet smile

  “Right now, all I can think about is how great tonight can be.” He closes his eyes and takes in a deep cleansing breath and lets it out. “I think I may explode before then. This is a lot of pent of sexual frustration we are talking about here.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, baby. But no one ever said that doing the right thing would always be easy.”

  “You should have worn a potato sack.”

  I laugh. “A potato sack. Hmm, that probably would have been really short and you might have even been able to see through it in some ar…”

  “Stop! For goodness sake. Just stop.”

  “See baby, it doesn’t matter what I wear we would have had the same problem. Our sexual chemistry is insane.”

  “Maybe you’re right, but this dress,” he says, running his hand up and down my exposed thigh. “Is coming with us on our honeymoon.”

  “Baby, trust me, I’ve got something better than this dress for my husband on our wedding night.”

  “God give me strength.”

  “We have arrived Mr. McGinnis.” The driver informs us.

  “Okay. You ready to meet my dad?”

  “Talk about a mood killer. Let's do it!”

  I look at him funny.

  “I mean, let's go meet your dad. That must have been my subconscious talking.” He winks at me and kisses me lightly on the lips.

  “You are so bad, Mr. McGinnis.”

  “You like my bad boy side.”

  “No. I love your bad boy side and your sweet side and your caveman side, and your southern gentleman side. Wow, I think I might be the luckiest girl alive, I have four men rolled into one.”

  He laughs. “That makes me sound like I have a multiple personality disorder. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

  He’s showing me his dimples and I can’t resist leaning toward him and kissing each one.

  “Oh. Trust me in your case, it’s a very good thing.”

  He smiles again and gives me a wink, then opens the door, gets out turns and reaches his hand out to help me out of the car. Oh, how I love my southern gentleman.

  “Thank you kind sir.”

  “My pleasure, ma’am.”

  I’m immediately reminded of our first dinner together at t
he steak house Blake took Tessa and me to.

  Nick comes outside onto the porch as we approach. I called the other day and told them we would be stopping by tonight.

  “Wow, Kayla you look amazing.” He says, walking up to me and giving me a hug. “It’s good to see you.” He looks over at Blake and I can tell he is sizing him up. “Hi, I’m Nick. Kayla’s brother.”

  “Nick, this is Blake, my fiancé.”

  “Nice to meet you. You’ve been the topic of conversation around here.” Nick says, reaching his hand out to Blake.

  The fact that he introduced himself as my brother and not my step-brother is not lost on me. Nick has always been kind to me and he always tried to make me feel like I belonged there when I attempted to live with them before I moved in with Tessa.

  “Nice to meet you too.” Blake says.

  “Well, I’m out of here. As much as I’d love to stick around and see how this all plays out, I’ve got a hot date waiting on me. Good luck to both of you.”

  “Thanks a lot brother.” I say as he walks to his car.

  He just throws his hand up in the air and waves goodbye.

  “It will be fine.” I say, turning back to Blake.

  Surprisingly Blake doesn’t look too worried. We walk up to the door and I ring the doorbell. Dad opens the door. He looks older than I remember. There is more gray in his hair and his eyes look tired. Some things haven’t changed, though. He still has his military haircut and he still has large bulging biceps.

  “Come in.” He says in a deep burly voice.

  “Hi Daddy.”

  He gives me a one arm hug, patting me on the back. My dad has not been the same since his split from my mom. He rarely shows any emotion. I suspect some of that is from years of being in the military, but it’s mostly from having his heart broken, although he is the one that left us.

  “This is Blake McGinnis, my fiancé. Blake, this is my dad, Andrew Jameson.”

  My dad just stares at Blake’s out stretched hand. I give him a look that says so help me if you don’t quit I will cause a scene and it won’t be pretty.

  He finally reaches his hand out and nods to him saying. “Blake.”

  “Honey, don’t make them stand in the doorway. Kayla bring Blake into the living room. I can’t wait to meet the man who has stolen your heart.” Anne calls from somewhere within the house.

  Dad puts his arm out showing us the way to the living room, like I don’t know how to get there. Blake and I sit on the sofa together. We sit in silence as Daddy sits across from us in a chair just staring at us. Shocked by how calm Blake seems, I look at him in awe. He is just sitting there staring right back at my dad. I reach over and grab his hand squeezing it lightly.

  He looks over at me and has the nerve to wink at me. I think I love him even more in that moment.

  “It’s awfully quiet in here.” Anne says as she walks in with glasses and a pitcher of sweet tea. “Oh. My. Gosh! Look at the two of you. Stand up please, so I can see both of you.”

  Taking a deep breath, I stand and Blake follows suit.

  “Turn around Kayla.”

  I turn and she gasps.

  “You are gorgeous honey. That dress is to die for.”

  “I think it needs some more material. Where’s the rest of it? You could at least put one of those wrap things on.” Daddy says in a fatherly tone.

  “Don’t listen to your dad. You both look wonderful. Sit, sit. Y’all want some tea?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. I’d love some.” Blake says.

  “Me too, please.”

  “Here you go.”

  “Thank you.” Blake and I both say,

  “Aren’t you two just adorable? Now show me that ring I’ve heard about.”

  I hold my hand out and she squeals.

  “Andrew look at this rock on your daughter’s hand.”

  “Anne, I really don’t care about that ring.”

  Everyone gets quiet.

  “I just wanted to let you meet Blake. We don’t have long before we need to leave. The limo is waiting for us.”

  Dad ignores me.

  “Blake, don’t you think this is all just a little too quick and that y’all are way too young?”

  “Dad, we didn’t come here for this. I don’t need your permission.”

  Blake reaches his hand over and places it on my knee.

  “It’s okay sweetie. I’ve got this. Mr. Jameson, first and most importantly, I love your daughter. To answer your questions. It may seem fast to you, but to us it’s taking way too long. I asked her to move in with me because she is going to need a place to live after graduation. But she refused because she doesn’t want to live in sin. Your daughter is strong in her beliefs that your mother taught her. She was planning to move to Florida. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  Dad interrupts him.

  “So you’re saying you only asked my daughter to marry you because she wouldn’t move in with you? That’s not why you ask someone to marry you.”

  “Dad!” I shout.

  “Sir, if you will let me finish I will explain, this was going to happen whether it happens now or ten years from now. I’m going to marry Kayla. She is my soul mate, my other half and a life without her, although I could live it, is not something I ever want to do. I want to build a life with her, house, kids, and even grandkids, I want it all. Regardless if we do it now or later doesn’t matter, but we have decided that we want to start our lives together now. Sir, I would think you would be proud of your daughter for not agreeing to just move in with me.”

  “How do you plan to provide for her and where will you live?”

  “Daddy, Blake builds houses and he is building our house right now and it’s going to be beautiful.”

  I’m frustrated and I can feel my anger building. How dare he try to be a dad to me now after he hasn’t been in my life for years.

  “You can’t blame me for being worried about you.”

  I stand up in front of him. “Really! Where was your concern all those years that you just disappeared from my life?”

  “That’s not fair Kayla.” Anne says softly.

  “No, it’s fine. Let her talk.” Dad says.

  “I don’t need to talk. I’m done. I’m marrying Blake and there’s nothing you can do about it. I don’t need nor do I care what your opinion is. Let's go Blake.”

  Blake sits his glass on the table and stands up.

  “It was nice to meet you.” Blake says to Anne and my dad.

  I give him a have you lost your mind look. To even add to my shock, my dad stands and shakes his hand.

  I turn to walk out of the house when my dad’s voice stops me.

  “Your grandmother is sick and she wants to see you.”

  My chest tightens and I freeze not wanting to hear what he has to say. I haven’t spoken to my grandmother in a while, but I have received word that her health was declining. However, she has been sick on and off for years.

  Without turning around I ask, “What’s wrong with her?”

  “The better question is what’s not wrong with her. She is going downhill fast.”

  Trying to control what I’m feeling, I respond coldly and without emotion.

  “Fine. I will go by and see her this week.”

  My dad could be using this just to get to me for all I know.

  “I’d like to go with you when you go.”

  I spin around to look at him.

  “No! I’m capable of going to see my grandmother alone.”

  He looks down, shaking his head.

  “That’s not a good idea. She is talking out of her head and saying things that don’t make any sense.”

  “I can stay an extra night and go with her.” Blake adds.

  “Blake, you have to work on Monday.”

  I look at him confused.

  “I can let them know I won’t be in. I’ll go with you. You shouldn’t go alone.”

  “No! Absolutely not!” My dad shouts.

  �
�She may be your mother, but she raised me too, and Blake can go with me if he wants to. There is no need for you to go.”

  “Kayla, I’m going with you. Blake can go if you insist, but I will be there.”

  “Whatever. I have a prom to get to.”

  “You will let me know before you leave to go to Mom and Dad’s.”

  It wasn’t a question it was a demand. He is ordering me the way he orders his men. I’m not one of his soldiers and I don’t have to listen to him. He lost my respect a long time ago. He hasn’t been a father to me in a very long time.

  “I’ll let you know.” I say to appease him. Although I have no intention of doing that.

  I don’t like to lie to him but if my grandmother is sick, I just want to see her without him hovering over me. My feelings toward him will taint my time with her. When I’m there I want it to only be about her not him.

  With that Blake and I leave getting into the limo, we head back to the Coliseum, where we left Tessa and Asher over an hour ago.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Blake looks at me with worry in his eyes.

  “No. I’m sure she is fine. This happens every so often, but she always pulls through, she will probably outlive all of us.”

  I laugh because my grandmother is a tough lady and I can hear her fussing right now saying, ‘Nonsense. I’m fine’.

  “I’m still going with you. I don’t want you to go alone. Something doesn’t feel right to me. Your dad was very adamant about him being there.”

  “Of course you can come with me. My dad is just being my dad, an overbearing soldier.”

  But my dad was acting very weird. That feeling I can’t shake just became a high alert signal with flashing caution lights.

  “We just need to focus on us and having some fun for tonight. We will go see my grandmother after church tomorrow. That way you can stay or just go home after I see her.”

  “Sounds good. Prom here we come.”

  Laughing I snuggle in close to him.

  “I love you Blake. I fall more in love with you every day.”

  Feeling him sigh, he squeezes me tight.

  “Baby, you have no idea how much I love you.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  All eyes were on us as we made our late entrance to the prom. Most were asking “Who is that, that Kayla Jameson is with?” I also heard some “Wow! He is gorgeous.” Yes he is and he is mine. Blake was as charming as ever. All the girls were in awe of him.