by Kaci Rose
My eyes go wide, and I can’t speak to save my life.
“Yeah, I’m not playing around, and I’m not missing my Lexi time.” He holds his hand out again, and this time I take it, and he pulls me into his side and wraps his arm around me like he’s afraid I’ll try to bolt.
“So, let’s just be honest here.” His mom says. “What happened to Whitney?”
“What a fucking bitch.” I growl.
Then, realizing I said that out loud, I slap my hand over my mouth.
Noah just laughs. “She’ll have to tell you the story. I was pretty out of it.”
So, I recap our first day in Germany for them, and they just keep shaking their heads.
“We never liked her anyway, and she was always mean to us.” Lucy, the oldest, says.
Noah shakes his head, “I’m sorry I should have paid more attention.”
“We could tell you weren’t in love with her, and we were hoping you’d figure it out on your own.” His mom says. “But you two.” She looks between us. “It warms my heart.”
My cheeks flush again, and I look down at my lap, as Noah tightens his arm around me.
“Mom, don’t scare her off. I just got her to admit she likes me, and I’m still working on the girlfriend title,” Noah says.
I shake my head, and thankfully, his dad changes the subject to people back home, until Noah starts to yawn. It’s almost 3 p.m., and Noah always naps after lunch.
“Want us to let you rest?” I ask.
“No, I want to nap with you,” he mumbles.
I look at his parents, and that comment didn’t go unnoticed.
“He’s been trying to take himself off his sleep medicine, and in doing so, it brought back the nightmares,” I tell them.
“But when I lay down with her, she keeps the nightmares away.” He says, snuggling up to my side.
“I’m sure your parents want to get settled in,” I say, trying to sit up.
He pulls me back down. “Call Becky,” he whispers.
“I’m sorry,” I laugh, as I apologize to his parents.
“It’s perfectly okay.” His mom says.
I call Becky, and she’s back twenty minutes later to take his parents to my house.
“Make sure you give them a house tour, please, or else they’ll get lost. I thought his parents could take the yellow room at the end of the hallway. Then, the girls could take the room with the Jack and Jill bath. They can share a room, or each can have their own, it’s up to them.”
“I’ll give them the grand tour, don’t worry,” Becky says.
“Make yourself at home, and you’re free to roam. Any part of the history can be found online just search Oakside Plantation. You can show them the unfinished room in the basement, but that’s the only room I ask you don’t go in. I don’t know how safe it is.”
“Oh, and there’s lasagna in the fridge for you. Cook it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, and also, I figured while you’re here, you can use Noah’s truck, because it needs to be driven. Becky, you know where the keys are.”
“Okay, see you soon.” They say and head out of the door.
I lay down facing Noah, and he’s on his side, looking at me. He brings his hand to my face and cups my cheek.
“Best thing someone has ever done for me.” He says with a smile. “You have no idea what it means to have them here.” He leans in and kisses me. “Be my girlfriend, Lexi, because I’m head over heels in love with you, and I know this isn’t a traditional relationship.”
“I don’t care about that,” I tell him.
“Just so you know angel, even if you say no, you’re still mine, and I’m not letting you go.”
What girl doesn’t want to hear someone wants them so bad they don’t care if you say no? That’s the dream, right?
I lean in and kiss him softly. “I’ll be your girlfriend,” I tell him, and his smile is blinding.
“The other part just be patient with me, okay?”
“Always, angel, always.”
I reach up and trace the scars on his face; I have them memorized by now.
“So, what special privileges come with the girlfriend status?” I ask, joking around.
“Extra kisses.” He leans in and kisses me, giving my bottom lip a light nip.
“So far, so good.”
“Name anything, and it’s yours, angel.”
I don’t say a word. I just rest my hand on his hip, and then slowly work it under his shirt.
“Angel…”
“Don’t hide from me, Noah. I want all of you, including the scars.”
He closes his eyes and lets me feel his scars. I slide my hands up his side, over his chest to his shoulder, and then slowly back down. His whole body shutters, when I move back down over his ribs.
“Nap with me, angel.” He says as we snuggle up together. Before I know it, we’re both asleep.
Chapter 20
Lexi
I wake up to giggles, filling the room. Opening my eyes, I find his family is back.
“Mom totally got a picture of you two,” Grace says.
I smile, “Will you send it to me?” I ask.
His mom nods, and I slowly slip out of bed, careful not to wake him.
“Is that house really yours?” Lucy asks in an excited whisper.
“Yeah, it’s my dream house. It needs a lot of love still, but it keeps me busy.” I tell them.
“It’s really gorgeous.” His mom says.
Noah starts to whimper in his sleep, so I sit back down on the bed and rub his back. No one says a word, as I lie back down and start calling his name, trying to gently wake him.
“Go back to sleep, angel.” He says without opening his eyes.
“Noah, wake up.”
“No sleep.”
I laugh. “Your parents are back.”
He groans but sits up and tries to get his bearings.
“They brought dinner, while you slept. You need to eat.” I tell him.
While he eats, his family talks about the house, and Noah listens just shakes his head.
“I’m jealous you got to see it before I did,” Noah says.
“Well, there’s your incentive to get out of here,” I tell him.
“It would make a killer bed-and-breakfast,” Lucy interjects.
“I don’t know if I could handle losing my privacy like that all the time,” I tell her. “I believe as I fix her up, she will show me the journey she’s supposed to take next.”
“Do you know any of the history of the place?” His dad asks.
“There was a fire that destroyed a lot of buildings on the property and part of the house during the Civil War. It used to be over 3,000 acres, but most of it was sold off, and I now own fifty acres with the house. There are a few small buildings scattered around, but they all need to be repaired.” I say.
“Well, I have some good news,” Noah interrupts. “I want to officially introduce you to my girlfriend.” Noah beams.
His family cheers, and I know I’m blushing. We sit and chat, until visiting hours are up, and then we all head to my home.
When we get back to the house, Lucy asks about my photo set up.
“Well, this is supposed to be the grand dining room, but I don’t have a lot of people over, so I set it up to do photos,” I tell her.
“What kind of photos? I love photography. Noah even bought me my own camera last year for Christmas.” Lucy says.
“Mostly food. I run a food website, and I’m working on a cookbook.”
“Oh, I love to cook!” Grace says.
“And she is really good, too. No one knows where she got it from, because it sure wasn’t me.” Noah’s mom says.
“Well, I need to do a photo shoot tomorrow, before we head in, so you want to help me? You know, if it’s something you guys are interested in, I’m always looking for help. If Grace wants to cook and you do photos, I pay one hundred dollars a recipe, and plus, I pay for the food to make the recipes.
&
nbsp; The girls decide to go to bed, but his parents stay up to chat with me.
“Do you mind if we talk a bit?” Jim says.
“Is this a stiff drink kind of talk?” I joke, as we head to the living room and sit down.
“No, no.” He says, but I offer them both a drink anyway, and they take me up on it.
“How is he really?” Jim asks.
“He’s good. There was a lot of waiting for the bandages to come off, and I could tell he was nervous about it, but once they came off, he was able to start some small PT, and he’s excited to be moving forward. He talks to the plastic surgeon later this week, mostly to help fix his ear. Though, he hears fine, it’s just aesthetics. I’m not sure what else they’ll do, but it will mostly be on his neck and face.”
They nod, so I continue.
“He took himself off the sleep medication and the painkillers, and now, he only takes them, when he really needs them. As far as I know, he hasn’t used either in about a week. Sleeping at night is now his biggest battle. I’ve fallen asleep there before, and the nurses would rather he sleep than have the nightmares, so they don’t wake us up.”
They go on to ask about our time in Germany, and I give them every detail I can remember, and how Noah was.
“The girls are excited to work with you. They said you offered them a job?”
“Yes, with me spending all my time with Noah, I haven’t been able to photograph recipes like I’d like. If they’re able to do it, when you get back home, then it will free up some time for me to work on the house. Plus, then you guys will have some food to eat for a while. I can only eat so many leftovers.” I laugh.
“Well, we appreciate it, even one or two a month will be a help,” Janet says.
“Oh, I was thinking more like one or two a week,” I say, and their eyes go wide.
Janet tears up. “You have been such a blessing in such a short amount of time.”
“I don’t want to pry, but I know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck and struggle. I didn’t have kids, though. I know you have family back home, but if things get bad, you’re always welcome here. All I ask is for help cleaning. God, I love this place, but hate cleaning it.” I say, and they laugh.
“Things have been okay. We have four more years, and then, we’ll own our home. Times have been hard, but we always find a way to make it work.” Jim says.
“Your websites really make enough to pay for this place?” Janet asks, as her eyes roam the living room with most of its original details.
I look down at my hand in my lap, as my eyes prick with tears. I was hoping to avoid this subject, but somehow, I knew we wouldn’t be able, too.
“I’m sorry Janet doesn’t think sometimes,” Jim says.
“No, I have nothing to hide.” I stand up and walk over to the fireplace behind them and touch Tyler’s shadow box with this folded flag and medals. When Janet sees it, she gasps.
“I was married to a Marine. The most amazing, sweetest man. This place was my dream. On his second deployment, his unit was hit with an IED, and he didn’t survive the flight to Germany. I didn’t know he had taken a life insurance policy out besides what the military pays. It was more than enough to buy this place. My websites pay for my bills and some extra. I’ve been slowly renovating.” I say, looking around.
“How long ago?” Janet asks.
“Four years now. I never planned to marry again, as he was my soul mate. But recently, I was reminded of a promise I made him. To live and find love again. He didn’t want me to be alone. When I was feeling guilty about how I felt about Noah, Tyler made me remember.”
I stare at the photos on the mantle. One of us on our wedding day. Us and Becky at Johnny’s wedding. His boot camp graduation. And one the morning he was leaving for deployment. The last time I ever saw him alive.
“I’m so sorry,” Janet says, coming over to hug me.
“Noah saved me more than he knows. He’s helped me to move on and live again. For that, I will always be grateful.” I tell them.
Chapter 21
Noah
My family has been here for a few days, and it’s great to catch up with them. My mom is constantly fussing over me, and my dad doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself with all this time off work, but he’s here and making the best of it.
Even so, when they walk in today, my eyes go right to Lexi.
“Hey, angel,” I say, as she leans down to give me a kiss on the cheek.
“I have to go for a bit. Becky has her first doctor’s appointment, and they asked me to be there. So, I’m going to leave you with your family and be back later. I’ll sneak you some food.” She winks at me.
I hold her hand, “Call me if it gets too much, okay?”
I know this pregnancy has been hard for her, and she keeps saying she’s taking it so much better than she expected, because of me, but I know it’s still hard. Every now and then, I see it in her eyes.
She wants to be there for her brother and her best friend, and she’ll do anything for them, even if it means locking her emotions away, but I don’t want her to do that with me.
“I promise.” She smiles and leans in for a quick kiss.
I wrap my hand behind her head and really kiss her. Though, she doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back, but she pulls away much sooner than I’d like. Apparently, she’s still shy about kissing and snuggling with me in front of my parents.
On the way out, she hugs my parents and my sisters, and I watch her go. This will be the first time I’m alone with my family, since they’ve been here, and I want to use this time to talk to them. I want to know how they feel about Lexi because I don’t want to make the same mistake as I did with Whitney.
“She’s special, that girl.” My dad says with a smile on his face.
“Yeah?” I encourage him.
“We have spent the nights talking with her, and she’s been through so much. She isn’t afraid of hard work, and she’s so good with your sisters.”
“Guess what! Lexi is showing us how she photographs her recipes and is going to pay us to create some for her website. This morning she let me photograph breakfast!” Lucy squeals.
“What do you mean she’s going to pay you for recipes?” I ask.
“Oh, she said being here with you she’s gotten behind, and once you’re out she wants to free up some time to work on the house. So, she’ll pay us to cook and photograph some recipes. One hundred dollars each, plus, she buys the food.” Grace says.
“It’s true. Lexi was telling us she would need one or two a week,” Dad says, while he looks out of the window.
I get choked up because I’ve been worried about my parents missing the money I’ve been sending home to them each month, but having this extra income, will help offset a little of that.
“We really like her. She’s nice and even showed me a few tricks on the camera.” Lucy says.
“She’s great with them.” My mom adds. “And she’s a good cook.”
“Yeah, that I knew, because she’s been sneaking me food. I can only take so much hospital food,” I say.
“Any idea how much longer you’ll be here?” My dad asks.
“Ahhh, I have an operation coming up with the plastic surgeon. He wants to do it, while the scars are still new because they’ll be easier to work with. When someone is talking about working on my face, I zone out. It kind of creeps me out. After that, they move me to a rehabilitation section to work with a physical therapist and physiologist, and once I can take care of myself, they release me.” I tell them.
“What are your plans, then?” Dad asks.
I take a deep breath. “I don’t really know. The paperwork has started for my VA disability, so I have that. Since I’ll I have the GI Bill, I was thinking of going back to school. They’ll pay for it and give me living expenses. I’m not sure what I want to go back to school for, though.”
“Well, you know you can move home and stay with us and go to school. We’d be happy to hav
e you.” Mom says.
“I know Mom, but…” I can’t bring myself to say it.
“You want to stay here and see if things work out with that pretty lady of yours.” She finishes for me.
“Yeah,” I say.
Mom nods, “I figured. You seem to have a good support system here, too.”
“I’d like to be here, when the guys get home, too.”
“Well, what are you thinking for school?” My dad chimes in.
“I’m not sure. Business maybe. I know with that kind of a general degree, it gives me a lot of options. I thought about teaching, but I don’t want to sit in front of a group of people, looking like this. What I keep leaning more and more too, is helping out other injured veterans. Just need to figure out how.”
“Maybe, a counselor or social worker to help them transition?” My mom says.
“Could be. I still need to think it through some more. Maybe, do some research.” I tell them.
“How have you been sleeping?” Mom asks.
“Still having nightmares, but they aren’t as bad as the first few nights.”
“Lexi still helping?” Mom asks.
“Yeah. I feel safe with her like she has my back no matter what. I think that’s a big part of it. The doctor says they should eventually go away if I work through it, so I’m trying.”
“What happened?” My dad asks.
When I look at him and then look at my sisters, he seems to understand and just nods.
“Why don’t you girls go and find us some lunch?” Dad says, pulling out his wallet and giving them some money.
Lucy looks at him; she knows my dad is trying to get rid of them for this conversation, but finally gives in and takes the money in one hand, and Grace’s hand in the other. Before I begin, I make sure they’re out of the door.
“We were on patrol when the IED went off. I don’t remember much, but Moore’s leg was under some debris in front of me, and I went to get him. I felt the heat on my right side from the fire, but I didn’t feel the fire. Then, I got him out, and that’s about all I remember. I guess, getting him free saved two others as well from what they’re telling me. I have a brief moment of waking up on the ride to Germany, but they knocked me right back out. The next time I woke up, there was Whitney and Lexi in the room with me. After that, I was in and out of it. Then, for the plane ride from Germany, they kept me sedated, and when I didn’t wake up for three days, it upset Lexi.”
