Bound by Trust

by Lila Munro

  “Good morning, Miss Melbourne.” The young man avoided looking her in the face.

  “Good morning, Tanner.” She held the door open shushing Gretchen. “Come on in and have a seat, I’ll put on some coffee. Rafe will be ready in a few minutes.”

  With the coffee brewing she started breakfast. She’d done it so much since she’d met Rafe it was now a habit.

  “Do you take anything in your coffee?” She peered through the archway at Tanner sitting quietly on the couch.

  “No, ma’am. Black is good.”

  “You know you can sit in here, if you’d like,” she called out. “I don’t bite.” She was busy placing sausage patties in a hot skillet.

  “Thank you, ma’am.” He sat at the table with his stomach growling so loud she could hear it and took a sip of the mug she’d left there for him.

  “Breakfast will be ready soon. You left too early to even go to the chow hall, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am, and that smells really good.”

  “Would you do me a favor?” She flipped the patties and looked at him. “Call me Madi.”

  “I’m not sure that would be appropriate.” He took another sip of his coffee.

  “Well, I think it’ll be fine. I’m not married to your instructor, and I’ve been around more military men in my life than most soldiers or Marines.”

  He smiled at that and their conversation wandered to where he could sleep and where to find everything he needed in the house while they were away.

  In his jeans, shirtless, and with his hair still wet, Rafe leaned on the doorframe, watching their exchange. God, but what he wouldn’t do to wake up every morning with her standing in their kitchen with her hair tucked behind her ears, flipping sausages and scrambling eggs. His desire to be with her every second of the day had grown beyond what he thought was probably normal. Whether she realized it or not, she was good at putting others at ease and commanded a presence appropriate to a senior enlisted man’s wife. And why shouldn’t she? She had been doing it for longer than most wives five years her senior. Maybe staying in and having Madi was feasible. He crossed the room and took her in his arms and kissed her, then pulled her in and nuzzled her ear.

  “We have company,” she whispered, grinning into his cheek.

  “I can see that,” he whispered back. “I am not ashamed of how you make me feel.”

  She pulled back and gave him a playful swat on the arm. Rafe poured his own coffee, sat with Tanner, and started talking to him about horses. With breakfast set out for the two men, her mission was accomplished. Content in the role of Rafe’s mate that she’d assumed, she wrapped a piece of white bread around a sausage patty and slice of tomato and retreated to the bathroom to get ready for their trip.

  Chapter 8

  Halfway to St. Louis, Madi was still thinking of things they may have forgotten to do or tell Tanner about.

  “Did we leave him both our numbers? And the vet’s number in case anyone gets sick while we’re gone?” She looked at Rafe with her nose twisted up and ran her thumbnail across her bottom teeth.

  “Yes, he knows all the numbers. Besides, he was ranch born and raised. He knows what to do in most any situation.” He was fiddling with the radio knob, trying to find a channel playing the jazz he knew soothed her. Maybe that would calm her frayed nerves that he knew had nothing to do with leaving the animals.

  “Did you tell him not to feed Gretchen table scraps?”

  “Madi, you’re enough to drive the nuns to drinking sometimes.” He finally found a mellow saxophone tune and stopped. Reaching over, he took her hand in his. “Please stop worrying. Everything will be fine, we’re fine.”

  As they made their way across the bridge spanning the Mississippi River, Madi peered out, looking at the silt-laden soupy mess rolling along. It wasn’t that long ago that she’d come across it, mad as hell, with her insides churning faster than the water below. Today, thankfully, she didn’t feel the sickening dread that had consumed her then, only a bit of nerves at going to see her daughter with a new man.

  After a couple of hours of seeing nothing but the flat lands of Illinois decorated with endless fields of corn, they crossed into Kentucky and the landscape turned to the rolling green hills she had left. Even though it had only been a few short weeks since she’d moved, it seemed like a lifetime ago. Oddly, she’d thought she’d miss it, but as familiar as it all was, it no longer felt like home. Maybe she hadn’t known what home was in so long that nowhere really was, including CeCe’s farm. She was grateful for the place to stay, and Rafe had done so much work for her it now looked amazing, but it felt like she was just there on an extended vacation. Of course, didn’t having a home also have something to do with having a family? In that she was seriously lacking. While she did have her mother and Meredith, what about the proverbial husband, two and a half kids and Lassie? She wasn’t exactly the epitome of that sacred institution.

  Gage had always told her that home was where the Army sent them, and family was the people they chose to fill that billet wherever home was. That had always suited her before, but lately, she found herself wanting something more than that. She wanted stability and a place she was rooted to. Even with Rafe’s constant presence, she felt the void, and she didn’t know how much longer he would be a presence. He’d told her he was on the fence about what to do about his career, but hadn’t been specific about what that meant. What she did know was that sooner or later, he would either have to go back to a regular unit, or he would retire and want to go to Montana. They’d never talked about where she fit in to either of those plans.

  Before she realized it, the Hopkinsville city limit sign appeared on the horizon. Just a few blocks from the base, Rafe pulled in front of their hotel. While he went to the front desk to check them in, Madi called home to check on Tanner.

  “Hey, Tanner, how is everything so far?” She watched Rafe inside, bantering with the desk clerk.

  “Fine, Madi. He told me you’re a worrywart, but don’t worry I won’t tell him you’re already checking on me.”

  Madi sighed and laughed. “Thank you for that. Listen there’s a pot of spaghetti sauce I left you in the fridge, all you have to do is reheat it, and there is pasta in the cabinet.”

  “You didn’t have to do that, but thanks. And have a good time…I mean…”

  “It’s okay, Tanner, I know what you meant,” she assured him. “If you need anything, call.” She shut the phone and slipped it back into her purse just as Rafe returned. A smile a mile wide lit his face.

  “What’s going on?” Madi twisted to face his side of the truck.

  “They accidentally gave away our room.” He tossed a receipt on the dash and put the truck in gear.

  “And this makes you happy, why? Where are we going to stay now? It’s flipping Memorial Day weekend, everything will be booked.” She began to make a mental run down of people she knew who could put them up, and where they could look for a room in Clarksville if need be. “Maybe the campground isn’t full, we could always rent a tent,” she said with an exaggerated sweep of her hands.

  “Oh, that won’t be necessary, we’re staying here.” He flashed her another toothy smile.

  “Oh, really?” She looked at him like he had three heads. “Did they have a broom closet left vacant?”

  “No, better, they upgraded us to the honeymoon suite. The kids who were going to use it cancelled the room and the wedding.”

  How ironic. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Was this God’s way of saying she should just admit to the depth of feelings she held for Rafe, stop being obstinate, and give in?

  “Well, gee, was that the best they could do?” she said weakly, rubbing her hand across her brow.

  Rafe pulled away from the door then hesitated at the corner of the building. “So, you want to go over to the courthouse real quick and make it official?”

  “What?” she croaked. “Are you serious, Rafe McCarthy?”

  He wasn’t exactly sur
e what prompted him to say it, but it made the most perfect sense in the world. When faced with the truth, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

  “Yes, I’m serious.” He turned to see her wide-eyed, staring at him. “I love you, Madi, marry me.”

  “You are serious, aren’t you? We don’t have rings, I don’t have a dress, and we don’t have witnesses. Besides all that, my life is a mess. Are you prepared to marry my mess?”

  “So, are you saying yes or no?”

  She tried to absorb what was happening. Was she ready for this? They’d only known each other a few short weeks, but she had been happier with him in that short amount of time than she had been in ten years with Gage. What would her mother and Meredith think if she did this? She’d eloped once and disappointed them, but what about what she wanted?

  She took a deep breath and jumped off the cliff. “I’m saying yes.” She smiled and took his hand. “I love you too.”

  While Rafe drove like a madman through downtown traffic trying to get there before four, Madi called Jared.

  “Jared? What are you and Liz doing right now?” she asked, twirling a piece of hair around her finger like she did when she didn’t know what to do with her nervous energy, and there wasn’t a piano nearby.

  “Just leaving base, why?”

  “Meet me at the courthouse, would you?”

  “What?” He burst out laughing. “Not even in town an hour and you’re already in jail?”

  “Not quite, I’m getting married.”

  With a marriage license in one hand, and Madi’s hand in the other, Rafe stood by his bride in the alcove in front of the justice’s office, waiting for Jared and Liz to show up. This was the most insane thing he’d ever done, and the one thing he’d ever done that felt the most right. Fifteen minutes later, they stood before the officiate and repeated their vows.

  “I, Raphael Christopher McCarthy, take you, Madison Elizabeth Melbourne, to be my wife, and before God and these witnesses, I promise to be a faithful and true husband.”

  “I, Madison Elizabeth Melbourne, take you, Raphael Christopher McCarthy, to be my husband, and before God and these witnesses, I promise to be a faithful and true wife.”

  “By the power vested in me by the State of Kentucky, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.” The justice seemed glad they were the last thing he had to deal with for the weekend.

  They both signed the marriage license, followed by Jared and Liz, who was teary eyed. Rafe and Madi looked at each other.

  “Well, what now, Mr. McCarthy?” Madi asked, following him from the room.

  “Well, Mrs. McCarthy, I think we need to find you something to wear on that finger, and then we need to go celebrate with Jared and Liz.” He opened the truck door and helped her in.

  Mrs. McCarthy. It had been that easy.

  “Rafe, does your family even know about me?” Madi read their marriage certificate again, still in shock that she was a married woman, again.

  “Yes, they do. I told them about you right after I made you ram your head into the piano.”

  “And what do you think they are going to say about this?” She held up the piece of blue and white paper.

  “Probably that it’s about damn time I found someone decent and settled down.” He looked over and saw the worried look forming on her face. “Madi, they’re going to love you as much as I do. Now, where do we go look for this ring I need to buy?”

  “I’ve no idea. My first one came from the pawn shop across the street from the courthouse at home.”

  “Well, that isn’t going to happen this time. There has to be a respectable jeweler somewhere close.” He backed out of the one-hour parking and started hunting the streets of downtown until he found what he was looking for.

  Helping her down from the truck, he led her in to Paulson’s and found the case containing wedding sets. Madi was overwhelmed, not only by the amount of choices, but by the hefty price tags hanging on them.

  “Rafe, you don’t have to spend this kind of money on a ten-minute ceremony,” she whispered discreetly, watching the man pull out a tray of diamond laden bands.

  “I know I don’t have to, I want to,” he insisted, perusing the tray.

  “Rafe.” She tugged on his arm pulling him a few feet away. “When I asked if you were ready to marry my problems, maybe you misunderstood. I still owe a lot of money on the bills that Gage left, maybe we shouldn’t be spending this kind of money on a ring.”

  “Madi, I have been single for twenty years. All I’ve done is squirrel away money waiting to find something worth spending it on. I think I finally found it, please don’t worry about what your ring costs.” He took her hands and rubbed the backs of them with his thumbs. “If you don’t pick out the one you want, I’ll choose for you, and it will be the most expensive one the man has.”

  “Rafe, that’s not funny.”

  “It wasn’t meant to be. Trust me when I say, Madi, you won’t have to worry about money anymore. Now come over here and show me what you want.” He tugged her back to the case.

  Two hours later, with a one and a half carat solitaire wedding set on her hand, Madi walked into the most expensive restaurant in Clarksville with her new husband, accompanied by Jared and Liz. The weight of the ring felt odd to her, but it was a sensation she thought she could grow to like.

  “So, we have some news today, although not quite as dramatic as yours,” Jared announced after they’d ordered. “You’ll be seeing a lot more of us in a couple of weeks. I got slammed with DI duty and we’re moving to Fort Lost in the Woods.”

  “Are you serious?” Madi exclaimed. “That’s great.”

  “You’ll have to show me around when we get there, Madi,” Liz said shyly. “I’ve never lived anywhere but here.”

  “Absolutely. In fact when you get moved, we’ll have a big party, and you can get to know all the other wives and girlfriends.”

  “And I know just where there is a house for rent that just came available,” Rafe interjected with a sly grin on his face.

  * * * *

  An annoying ticklish sensation gently coaxed Madi from sleep. She brushed her hand across her face and throat again, blowing out a sharp breath, wishing whatever it was would stop, so she could sleep just a little longer. She and Rafe had been awake off and on most of the night, reveling in each other as man and wife rather than just lovers.

  When the tickling didn’t stop, she turned and opened her eyes, trying to locate the source. Rafe leaned over her with a wicked grin on his face, the silk scarf they’d been playing with just a couple of hours prior dangling from his fingers, about to descend on her skin again.

  “What are you doing?” she mumbled groggily.

  “Trying to get your attention, Mrs. McCarthy.” He tossed the scarf away and ran his arm under the covers. His hand found her breast immediately, covering it and squeezing ever so slightly. Her nipple instantly tightened. “I see I have it.”

  She was still trying to get used to the fact that she was, indeed, Mrs. Raphael McCarthy. The reality that she had awakened married almost seemed like a dream, one she hoped she wouldn’t wake up from. Once she’d admitted her feelings were real, she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this man.

  “You have an uncanny ability to keep it.” She rolled into him and ran her hand down his front landing on his throbbing erection. “But I see I’m not the only one easily swayed.”

  Rafe turned on his back and pulled her on top of him. Sitting up, she ran her hands across his chest, finding every now-familiar ripple and began to glide along him, growing wet from the feel of him running the length of her slowly hardening clit. Ever since she’d found out that sex could be so good, she found herself letting go and enjoying the experience more. That including allowing herself to give in to Rafe’s instruction on how things could be between a man and woman. And she found she liked how things could be. More empowered and free, she was willing to do things
she’d never conceived of before. Like playing with silk scarves. At first she’d been intimidated at the prospect of being blindfolded and tied up, relinquishing all control, but found instead the experience to be freeing. Submitting to him and allowing him complete constraint had given her a hypersensitive awareness of everything he did. Every stroke of his hands, every flick of his tongue, every breath that whispered across her skin was heightened, taking her to places she never knew existed. Not being able to see or touch back allowed her to give in to an awareness she’d never experienced before. The test of her trust had proven a most enjoyable experience.

  This morning it was her turn to control. Straddling him, she set the pace, giving and taking at will. First driving him to the brink, then pulling back, making him wait.

  Rafe moaned and drew in his breath. “Woman, you feel so good.” He ran his hands along her thighs and stopped in between them, running his thumbs through the thick wetness he’d invoked from her. Madi moved off of him and reached for the condoms.

  “You know, we don’t have to do that anymore? We’re married.” He watched her hoping for a receptive reaction.

  “Are you sure, Rafe? I mean things are moving kind of fast…”

  He pulled her back over him, helping her ease down his throbbing erection.

  “I’m ready anytime you are, honey. I’ve waited my whole life to find you and have a family, but if you want to wait, say so now.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to wait.”

  With her palms firmly planted on his broad chest, she closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, taking him in again and again. She loved the feel of how he completely sated her, erasing the ache she’d felt for so long before she’d met him. She lost herself in the moment and was acutely aware of everything she felt. His hands moved over her stomach and up to her breasts, cupping them, kneading them and sending tiny shocks downward, adding to the heat building below her belly button, threatening to catch blaze and sear them both. One of his hands moved from her breast and wandered down between her legs. He ran two of his fingers alongside her clit, slowly at first, then building with her increased breathing and pulse.