by Liz Isaacson
“I’m trying,” Skyler said. “But I hate college, Daddy.” He’d never said those words out loud, at least not after his second attempt at higher education.
“I know you do, son. Everyone knows you do.”
“They do?”
“I actually have no idea.” He grinned, and Skyler saw a younger version of his father shining through the weathered, wrinkled face. “But I’m pretty sure everyone knows you don’t like going to school. You never have. You’re more of a doer than a learner.”
Skyler turned away from the horses getting treats from his dad. He leaned his back against the fence and looked up to the house. The cheery yellow lights coming from the windows framed in the smiling, happy people, and Skyler once again found himself on the outside looking in.
And he really wanted to be in. He wanted to be one of the seven sons that everyone was happy to see. He wanted to be happy, and he wasn’t sure he even remembered what that felt like.
Momma opened the back door and waved to them. “Gideon. Everyone’s here, and we’re eating.”
“Coming,” Daddy called. He clapped his hand on Skyler’s shoulder and met his eye. “You’re a good man, Skyler. Don’t live in the past. You’ve got a pretty wife in there, and the love of your family.” He walked away then, and Skyler wondered if he should take his words at face value, or if he knew he and Mal’s marriage was fake and that she didn’t love him.
Chapter Ten
Mal sat in the most comfortable camp chair she’d ever been in. Skyler rubbed her hand with both of his, and the snacks and drinks flowed freely from the square next to theirs, where Whitney’s family from Wilde & Organic sat.
Mal had enjoyed dinner greatly, as she missed her big and loud family and hadn’t even known how much. But Skyler’s family had filled a hole in her life that she’d filled with work and classes and trying to get through another week by stretching her salads into two or three meals or getting a discount shake at the gym.
Darkness had fallen, and Mal’s excitement kept climbing and climbing as she anticipated the beginning of the event. She felt like a small child on Christmas morning, and she looked around at all the people in the park and lining the street.
Children ran and played. Some people had brought their dogs. Everyone seemed to have something to eat or drink, and a few people across the street had just lit sparklers for their kids. This place seemed to be touched with magic, and Mal sat back and drank it all in.
She could use some magic in her life, and she looked at Skyler, who still wore his cowboy hat, though there was definitely no sun to block from his face. She turned over her hand and slid her fingers easily between his. He glanced at her, and they smiled at one another. The moment lengthened, and it was so tender and so meaningful.
Mal had things she wanted to tell him, like how charming he was, and how good-looking, and how kind for picking up the pieces of her life and sheltering her in his luxury apartment. Yes, Wyatt’s words had horrified her. But Skyler’s instant reassurance had calmed her.
“And we’re ready to begin!” someone practically shouted into the mic. A general cry of delight rose into the air, and Mal leaned forward with everyone else to see the first float coming down the street. It was a huge globe, done in blue, green, and white lights, and it was easily the most magnificent thing Mal had ever seen.
“Look at that,” she said, pointing as if Skyler couldn’t see it.
She sat, enthralled, as the floats went by. As a whole troop of dancers wearing black suits with lights on them did a hip hop dance right in front of their section. She’d never clapped so hard for a performance. She ate too much chocolate licorice, and drank too much diet cola, and enjoyed herself oh, so much.
“And now,” the announcer said. “It may not be midnight yet, but it’s time for our New Year’s kiss cam.”
Mal really wanted to kiss Skyler, and she leaned toward him, the biggest smile on her face. “You gonna kiss me, Sky?”
He grinned back at her as the announcer counted down, and at one, his lips touched hers. Happiness and excitement burst through her, and Mal cradled his face in her hands and kissed him.
“You’re on the screen!” Liam said, hitting Skyler’s arm and breaking their connection. “You guys were up on the big screen.” He looked like they’d won the lottery by sharing their kiss with the rest of the crowd, and Mal giggled as she leaned back in her chair.
She had the very real feeling that this year was going to be one of her best. As long as she could make it through the hearing and stay in the country.
Mal had just sat on the edge of the bed when Skyler came into the bedroom. He’d given her almost forty-five minutes to change and get ready for bed, and he now wore a pair of gym shorts and a navy blue T-shirt with two W’s on it.
“It’s Wyatt’s,” he said, turning in a slow circle, his arms spread out like there would be something special about the tee. “Wyatt Walker limited collection T-shirt.” He wore a huge grin when he faced her again. “Just my size.”
“Wow,” Mal said with a giggle. “Does Wyatt have women’s wear?”
Skyler walked over to the bed and climbed onto it, saying, “I don’t even know. I doubt it.” He settled against the pillows and sighed. “This bed is a thousand times better than the one at my mom’s. We’re never staying there again.”
Mal’s nerves buzzed with energy as she peeled back the comforter and got beneath the sheets. She stayed sitting up against the pillows and headboard too, folding her hands over her stomach. “That was an amazing light parade. I had a ton of fun.”
“Me too.” Skyler sighed again, and he seemed so happy. “I can sneak down the hall to the next bedroom in a little bit.”
“It’s fine,” Mal said. They’d slept in the same bed before, and they were married. She’d rebelled against the idea of actually doing married things with him, because, well, she had a lot of reasons for that.
One was that she’d never been intimate with a man like that, and she wanted it to mean something when she did.
“So you were going to tell me something Wyatt said at breakfast.”
“Yeah.”
She waited for him to get his thoughts where they needed to be. He finally said, “He said I wasn’t the black sheep of the family.”
Mal turned to look at him while he spoke. He scooted down in bed, his eyes trained on the ceiling. He was the picture of perfection, his shoulders pulling against the T-shirt in all the right ways. “I don’t think you’re the black sheep. I mean, I think we kind of hang on the edge, because everyone else has lived here together for so long.”
“We don’t really fit,” he said.
“Yet,” she said. “We don’t fit yet. But everyone is really nice.”
“Oh, yeah, they’re nice,” he said. “They’re actually pretty great. I’m…not so great.”
“Skyler,” she said, a bit of chastisement in her voice. She couldn’t believe he thought that about himself. “You’re great.” She drew in a big breath. “Literally one of the greatest guys I know.”
He met her eye, anxiety in the set of his jaw. “You barely know me, Mal. I mean, let’s be honest. I had a mask for everything.”
She nodded, trying to process that he’d admitted it. “So you knew you were sliding into a character.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m really good at it, actually, and it’s kind of fun to play someone else.”
Mal looked down at her hands. “Have you been playing a character with me?”
“Sometimes,” he said. “But not since you said we get to be ourselves.”
That conversation was only a week old, but she had noticed him just being the Skyler Walker he was.
“Maybe your brothers don’t need a mask either,” she said.
“They don’t.”
Mal took a big breath. “If you’re really not going to go to school, I think we should move here. Wyatt needs the help. His house is huge. And maybe if we’re here, we’ll be able to find where we fit in
the family.”
Skyler reached over and took her hand in his. “I think you’re right.” He pushed himself up on his elbow. “And beautiful.” His eyes shone like stars, twinkling and dancing with desire. “And smart. And fun to talk to. And accepting.” He kissed her, keeping it sweet and slow.
Mal kissed him back, a level of excitement in her blood that said she might be able to give this man her whole heart. And she wasn’t sure if the satisfied buzz left in her system after Skyler said, “’Night, sweetheart,” and rolled over was because he’d kissed her or because he had the power to carve out her heart and leave her grasping for a way to live without him.
They woke on New Year’s Day in Three Rivers, and Mal said, “I want to see what this town has to offer,” the moment Skyler opened his eyes.
He smiled, and he was so beautiful in the weak morning light coming through the blinds. “I know just where to take you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, there’s an amazing bakery on Main Street. And they have these amazing chocolate soufflés.” He closed his eyes again. “But I need ten more minutes.” He yawned, and Mal thought he was the sweetest man on the planet.
“I’ll go shower,” she said, sliding away from him before she kissed him with all the passion and desire streaming through her.
“I’ll go after you,” he said, his voice already halfway toward sleep.
Mal took her time in the shower, proud of herself for all the hard conversations she and Skyler had had over the past couple of days. While he got ready, she went downstairs to find Jeremiah and Whitney both sitting at the dining room table, mugs of coffee in front of them while Whitney tried to get their five-month-old to eat something creamed and green.
“Morning,” Jeremiah said with a big smile. “Was that bed better than Momma’s?”
“About fifty billion times better,” Mal said, glancing into the kitchen. “Is there enough coffee for me?”
Jeremiah’s chair scraped as he got up. “Of course. It’s a bit old, though. I’ll make some more.”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” she said, thinking of Skyler’s brew. “Skyler is terrible at making coffee.”
“That’s because he doesn’t like it,” Jeremiah said, taking the coffee pot and pouring it down the drain.
Mal almost opened her mouth to ask, “He doesn’t?” but she sucked the words right back down her throat. She should know that about the man she was married to.
And now you do, she told herself. She couldn’t be expected to know everything, right?
“It’s fast,” Jeremiah said. “We just got this new coffee maker for Christmas.”
“I got it for him,” Whitney said. “The man drinks coffee until ten p.m.”
“If I were awake at ten o’clock at night,” Jeremiah said as he filled some part of a coffee pot Mal had never seen before. “I would drink coffee. I work hard, and I need the caffeine.”
“I know,” Whitney said, smiling at him. “I’m just surprised you can sleep after all the stimulants you consume.”
“I’m tired,” he said. “I’m old.”
“And JJ still doesn’t sleep through the night.” Whitney beamed down at the little boy, who flung out his hand and knocked the spoon way. “Do you, buddy? You need to sleep through the night so Daddy doesn’t have to get up.”
Mal thought they were the epitome of cute. Jeremiah asked Whitney if she wanted more coffee, but she waved him away. She eventually gave up on trying to get JJ to eat the mushy green stuff, and she started ripping up the leftover piece of toast in front of her and putting it on the baby’s tray.
JJ was very interested in the toast, and watching him trying to get his chubby fingers around the pieces properly was entirely too enjoyable. When he got one and managed to get it in his mouth, Mal felt like cheering for him.
“He’s adorable,” she said to Whitney, who was watching him with the same level of adoration on her face.
“Do you and Skyler want kids?” Whitney asked, and Mal’s throat dried up.
“Coffee’s ready,” Jeremiah said, rescuing Mal from saying something that would surely give away her false relationship with Skyler.
She flashed a smile in Whitney’s direction and went over to the counter, where Jeremiah had no less than a dozen containers of flavored creams. She mixed up her coffee so it was full of caramel and cream, with barely any coffee flavor left.
She thought of herself sitting at a giant dining room table, trying to feed a chubby baby something they didn’t want and then giving up and giving them toast. She’d thought about having children before, but she’d never had a boyfriend serious enough to think about turning him into a fiancé.
She could envision her and Skyler, married, children in the house. He’d do the ranch finances, and she’d teach all the kids how to make refried beans, and the best pulled pork, and how to season the guacamole just right. A small smile graced her face, and she sipped her coffee while standing at the counter.
“Morning,” Skyler said, sliding his hand along her waist. Mal leaned right into him, pressing her head against his chest.
“Hey,” she said, glad he was there. “Jeremiah made coffee.”
“Yeah, I’ll pass,” he said. “They have a place here with the best hot chocolate ever—at least according to Wyatt. I’m going to get something there.” He looked over to the table. “We’re going to the bakery. You guys want anything?”
“Baklava,” Jeremiah said. “And a few of those tiger tails. And a pecan pie.”
“Jeremiah,” Whitney said, chuckling.
“They’re going,” he said. “And Whit wants the chocolate iced doughnut with the Bavarian cream. Oh.” He snapped his fingers. “And two maple long Johns.”
“You’re going to be in a sugar coma,” Whitney said, getting up from the table. She swatted at Jeremiah’s shoulder as she took the baby out of the highchair.
“It’s a holiday,” he said. “I’m barely going out to the ranch today.”
Skyler nudged Mal, and she looked away from Jeremiah and Whitney. “We’ll bring it all back,” he said. “You might need to text me all that.”
Jeremiah took out his phone, and Skyler shook his head. His brother seriously liked his sweets. He started toward the front door, Mal at his side. “What else are we going to do today?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe you should Google to see what there is to do in Three Rivers on New Year’s Day. Maybe there’s a farmer’s market or something.”
“Pancake breakfast,” Jeremiah called after him.
“And there’s a Holy Cow boutique in the park,” Whitney said.
Mal looked at Skyler, and Skyler looked at Mal. They barely made it out the front door before they burst out laughing.
Chapter Eleven
Skyler got up every morning by six-thirty, but he could not beat Mal out to the main living area of the apartment. She was always lacing up her shoes or filling their running backpacks with water by the time he emerged.
They ran in the mornings, just like they had when they were just friends. He took care of errands and bills and other life stuff while she made him a new authentic Mexican dish every day for dinner.
She was dynamite in the kitchen, and Skyler grew more and more comfortable with her in his personal space.
They hadn’t spoken of moving to Three Rivers again. Wyatt’s surgery was still three weeks out, and he said he was still going to try to find a nurse to come live with them. He and Marcy hadn’t revealed their secret, but Mal and Skyler didn’t spend any time talking about that either.
He learned what her favorite color was—purple. He knew how she took her coffee now. They shared more about their hobbies, what they didn’t like, and discussed movies they went to together.
Every day, he read something else about the immigration process to the US. Every day, he stood in the shower and prayed aloud that the Lord would provide a way for Mal to stay in the country. His feelings for her were inexplicable, but they were pr
esent nonetheless.
On Sunday, they didn’t run, but instead, Skyler slept late, showered, shaved, and went to church with Mal. The second time was easier than the first, and Skyler liked the pastor and his vibrant energy.
On Monday, which would’ve been the first day of classes for them had they enrolled in school, they also didn’t get up and run. He found her in the kitchen, same as always, but today, she wore her pajamas—a silky set which consisted of a long-sleeved shirt and pants in a dark, rich purple.
“Nervous?” he asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. She swayed with him, and Skyler took a deep breath of her skin.
“How’d you know?”
“Number one, I know you a lot better now,” he said, falling back. He liked holding her. He liked talking with her. And since Skyler had fallen in love before, he knew very well that his feelings were morphing into love.
“Number two, you’ve made enough food for my whole family and it’s not even seven yet.” He took in the bacon, the hash browns, the perfectly over-easy eggs. “Not that I’m complaining.” He picked up a plate and held it toward her. “I’ll take two of those eggs.”
“You don’t even eat breakfast,” she said. But she scooped the eggs out of the pan and put them on his plate anyway.
“And see how you know that about me?” Skyler grinned at her and moved over to the dining room table. She brought him juice and a plate of bacon, which he would eat too. She nursed a cup of coffee, both hands wrapped around the ceramic as she looked at him.
“He’s going to tell us everything we need to know,” Skyler said. “That’s why we hired him.” He cut into his yolks, his mouth watering.
“I’m just nervous to talk to him.”
