“But did you get the bad guy?”
“Yeah, Spesh, we did. That’s why these two ended up here. They were the remaining members of the cartel we busted up. When the operation back in L.A. was cleaned up, they had nothing left there. We knew there’d be two or three that would follow up on Sasha, but we didn’t know when.”
“Why do you think it took them all this time?”
“Because as long as their operation was running, they didn’t need this. As soon as we shut it down, they became desperate. That’s when we tightened things up here.”
“I honestly don’t know what to say. For all these years I thought you were my employee. I had no idea you were working behind the scenes, keeping these guys from getting to us. Thank you, Jeb, for keeping us safe. I still don’t know what we’re going to do without you. You’re a part of this family.”
“I hope I’m always a part of it.”
“Always,” I say. Then I hug him.
The following week, Weston and I pay a morning visit to Mimi, telling her he wants to bring breakfast. She’s damn giddy over that. While he tries his best to talk her into moving into the apartment over the bar, I sit back and listen.
Mimi comes up with all kinds of excuses, but for every one Weston has a great comeback. She finally promises to make a pros and cons list. I remind her that Cody is still scared to be out at the farm, since he’s yet to play in the yard and keeps having nightmares. They can even bring Mokey because I have a special relationship with the owner of the building who has given his approval for a dog. Weston and I leave with a promise from Mimi that she’ll let us know within the week.
That night she calls me at work and says yes. I jump up and holler. Everyone in the bar stares. Jeb wants to know what the deal is.
“She said yes!” I shout out.
“Who are you marrying?” someone asks.
The urge to roll my eyes is strong, but I laugh instead. I’m so excited they’re finally moving and I get to see Cody every day.
Exactly one month later, Mimi and Cody move into their new home. I follow suit the next weekend. We’ve decided to lease Mimi’s land to a farmer who owns cattle. It’s a win-win for everyone. Cody is excited about starting in his new kindiegarden class. He’s also going to play soccer. Weston agrees to help get him to practice if Mimi can’t or if I’m swamped at work. When I think about the last few months, I know I’ve finally attained happiness.
In late spring after one of Cody’s soccer matches—he’s on top of the world because he scored a goal with his left foot—Weston drops Mimi and Cody off at home. He tells me there is something he wants me to see. I figure he’s going to show me one of his Habitat homes. He’s been enjoying working with them, and I love seeing how much joy he gets from it. Instead, we drive into Virginia Highlands, where the homes are large and lovely. I’ve always admired this part of the neighborhood and envied the people who live here.
Weston pulls into the driveway of a beautiful home, and I ask what he’s doing here.
“You’ll see.”
He pulls a key out of his pocket when we get to the front porch and unlocks the door. My suspicions rise.
“Is this what I think it is?”
“That depends on what you think,” he says, grinning.
We enter into a large foyer. Directly to the right is an office. Further down is a staircase. To the left is a large living area that opens to an incredible kitchen, which then leads to a dining room. This house is magnificent. Everything is done in soft grays accented in splashes of brighter jewel tones. It’s completely furnished, and whoever lives here has excellent taste. He walks me through the main level and then up to the second story. That’s where all the bedrooms are. The master has an incredible en suite, even better than the one in his condo. The tub is large enough for four, and the glass shower has four showerheads. I’m not sure why, maybe the designer was thinking shower party. Who knows? What I love about it is the shower and tub are in a separate room from the sinks, which are also separate from the toilet. The other bedrooms have connecting bathrooms too, and they look just as beautiful.
He takes me back downstairs and shows me something I missed. There’s a lovely bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette unit attached to the house.
“This is for the nanny.”
“Wow, they thought of everything, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, but I thought Mimi would like her own separate space.”
Stopping dead in my tracks, I say, “Repeat that.”
He takes me in his arms and says, “I hope you like our new house.”
“Our new house?”
“Yeah, I figured we might need one soon.”
“Oh?”
Then he drops to one knee and says, “Special O’Malley, from the first day I woke up on your couch, you have owned almost every thought in my head. My heart and soul belong to you, and I want my life to be yours too. Will you make me the happiest man alive and say you’ll marry me?”
40
Weston
“She said yes!” I shout into the phone to Jeb and Mimi. As soon as I dropped Mimi and Cody off, they went to the bar and waited there with Jeb. They all knew what my plans were. I can hear Jeb yelling out to everyone at the bar, “She said yes!” And a cheer erupts in the background.
Cody jumps on the phone and asks, “Are you gonna be my dad now, Mr. Western?” I have the phone on speaker, so I glance over at Special. She extends both hands out, palms facing up, indicating that it’s up to me.
“Do you want me to be your dad, Cody?”
“Yeah!”
“Then we’ll make that happen, big guy.”
“Yay!” he shouts into the phone.
“But you gotta do something for me first.”
“What?” Cody asks.
“You have to be in our wedding and dress up in a suit.”
“I do?”
“Uh-huh, because we’re going to have pictures taken so we can remember it when we get old.”
“Oh, all right then.”
Special holds her hand over her mouth to silence her laugh.
“Mr. Western, can I wear my soccer cleats?”
“We’ll see.”
“Okay.”
I catch Special staring at her hand, and damn that makes me feel like a million bucks. When she jumped into my arms and agreed to become my wife, I almost pulled a pussy move and cried. Okay, my eyes watered a bit, but I didn’t fucking cry. And I think I did pretty good on the ring. I knew she’d never go for anything ostentatious, so I picked out a simple one and a quarter carat diamond in a tiffany setting. And she loves it. Her fingers are so tiny, anything larger would look ridiculous on her anyway.
After the call, she stares at me for a second. “I can’t believe you pulled this off. How did you go about buying this house without me knowing about it?”
“You’ve been a little busy lately, and with me not working for the demon anymore, it was easy. Owning my own firm gave me the free time to do it. I admit, some of those afternoons when I said I was either in the warehouse or at Habitat, I might’ve been house hunting.”
A Special Place is now in the process of becoming a franchise and she runs that business while I run the architectural and construction firm. My father ended up losing so many clients, I began taking them on and hired ten architectural engineers to handle the excess. My employees are happy with the great work-life balance because the hours I’ve set aren’t as demanding as the old firm. I can’t say the same about my father, though. Every olive branch I extend goes untouched. I’m fairly certain our relationship is irreparably damaged.
After she stops laughing, she asks, “So, when are you moving in?”
“Yeah, about that. I’ve already moved. All this furniture is ours.”
“What? Are you serious?” Her expression cracks me up.
“Spike, calm down a little or I’m going to have to stick your eyes back in their sockets. I hired a decorator and had this place furnished bef
ore I moved in. My condo is on the market, fully furnished.”
“No shit!”
I grab her, pick her up, and carry her back outside to the front porch. “So let’s do this again.” Walking over the threshold with her in my arms, I say, “Now it’s official. By the way, I put your name on the deed, even though you weren’t at the closing.”
“How’d you do that?”
“I don’t know. My lawyer did it. You can ask him. You probably have some papers to sign somewhere.”
Reading Special isn’t difficult, and in an instant the creases in her brow let me know something’s not right. “What’s up?”
“Mimi. She’s not going to go for this. She won’t want to be an intrusion.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong. Mimi’s the one who’s been house hunting with me. She’s the one who helped me decide on this one.”
“But where are her things?”
“That’s the funny part. When I started the moving process and asked her what she wanted to bring with her, she said nothing. She wanted a brand new life when we moved in here. As far as Cody’s room goes, I didn’t put his things in because it would have been a dead giveaway for you.”
Special’s hands cover her face for a moment. “I can’t believe all this is happening. I’m so happy.”
“Princess, this is only the beginning.”
She moves into the cage of my arms and looks up at me. “I never thought I’d be this happy. I didn’t think it was possible. I don’t have to dream anymore because my reality is far better than anything I could have ever have fantasized about.”
Then she stands on her toes to press her sweet lips to mine, and my life has never been so complete.
I tangle a hand into her hair. This is something I’ll never tire of. “You have mended every broken part of me, even the pieces I didn’t know needed fixing. In the weirdest way, I have my fucked-up family to thank. If it hadn’t been for that awful dinner, I never would’ve landed in your bar that night … or on your couch that morning, or woken up to your beautiful face, your sassy mouth, your sexy eyes, or would never have gotten a chance to experience my special obsession. That’s exactly what you are. My deep love for you goes beyond anything I can describe.”
Spring passes into summer, and summer into fall. It’s on one of those perfect fall afternoons, when the autumn leaves are at their peak, that we say our vows to each other. The ceremony takes place outdoors and the reception inside a rustic barn, adjacent to where we say our vows. Special fell in love with the place when we went to check it out. It reminded her of the barn at Mimi’s and I agreed. We both felt it was the ideal place for us to seal our marriage vows.
There isn’t a great number of people present, maybe seventy-five, give or take. Two months before the wedding, Special thought I should take a stab at mending the fences with my family. Even though I had a good notion of what the outcome would be, we went to my parents’ home to see how it would go.
When they heard we were getting married, there were no congratulatory remarks, as I suspected. Dad didn’t say a word about the company. When I asked, he told me it was none of my business. I had heard through the grapevine they had lost a number of clients because they couldn’t keep their contract obligations. Lawsuits were pending as a result.
“Dad, I’d like to help,” I said.
“You’ve caused enough problems already. It’s because of you all this has happened.”
“That’s not true, and you know it,” I said.
Special stepped in between us and said, “We came here because we wanted you to know we were getting married, not to argue about business. We want you to come to our wedding.”
“So, you finally did it, didn’t you?” Dad asked her. “You finally got his money, like you always intended.”
“I don’t need or want a penny of it. I got something much more valuable, something you know nothing about. I have his love, and it’s unfortunate you don’t know the meaning of the word.”
“Get out of here and don’t come back.”
So we left, and that was that. My sister never returned any of my calls. Even though we’re blood, I find that my connections with Special’s family are more solid and meaningful than anything I ever felt with the people whom I share my DNA.
Then there’s Special’s mother. She shows up with her latest man du jour and is already hinting that she sure could use some financial assistance. Special and I ignore her. I can’t figure out how she can be related to Mimi. I guess it’s the same as me being related to my parents. The difference is, Special’s mother isn’t mean. She’s just ditzy.
Today is perfect. And if I could pick one word to describe my wife, it would be angelic. When I see her walking down the aisle on Jeb’s arm, I know she’s an angel. Wearing a simple gown of silk and lace, she takes my breath away. Harrison almost has to prop me up. Afterward, when she turns around, all her ink is exposed. The back of the gown dips past her waist, and I instantly get a chubby. The sexy smile she gives me has me hustling her off to a private bathroom after the ceremony. No way can I wait until after the reception to claim my wife.
We barely make it to the dance floor in time for the first dance. But I don’t disappoint Special as I twirl and dip her, showing off my finesse. She laughs and her joy is every bit as evident as mine.
Later, as I glance across the room, I watch Special and Cody dancing. He’s wearing his soccer cleats now. We told him he had to wear dress shoes for the ceremony, but could change for the reception if he promised not to kick Honey B in the shins while they danced.
When he heard he had to dance, it was hilarious. “I gotta dance with her?” His clown-like expression was so comical that I would’ve paid good money for a picture of it.
“Of course, you have to dance with her. She’s your almost mom,” I told him.
And then he grinned. His front teeth have come in, and they’re huge— and I mean enormous—in his little face. They kill me every time I look at the cute little bugger. “Hey, when Mr. Western adopts me and I call him Dad, can I start calling you Mom?” he asked Special.
Jesus, help me, we all started crying. Well, I teared up, but Mimi and Special—you’d have thought the Hoover Dam burst wide open. She pulled him in her arms and nearly squeezed the breath out of him.
He squeaked out, “Honey B, can you let me go now?”
It was a moment never to be forgotten.
“What’s put that damn grin on your face?”
I glance over to see Prescott and Harrison standing next to me.
“What the hell do you think? Look at them. Wouldn’t you be grinning if they were yours?”
Harrison, the wiser of the two, says, “Yeah, I would.”
Prescott, the smart ass, says, “Nah. You’ve just permanently signed your dick over to her.”
“You’re a stupid fuck, you know?” I ask.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m always in a mess.”
We all laugh. Then Prescott holds up his glass and says, “To Westie. May you live long with your lady, love hard, and fuck her until your dick falls off.”
Shaking my head, I clink my glass with theirs and tip it back until it’s empty. “Is that the most profound thing you could come up with?”
“I thought it was pretty damn good,” Prescott says.
Harrison says, “Westie, you forget. Scottie never did his own homework. He never read any of the classics in literature. The man has shit for brains when it comes to being creative and genteel.”
Prescott looks at Harrison and says, “Okay, smart ass, one-up me then.”
“Hang on, guys. I have an empty here,” I say.
Harrison snags a waiter and grabs me another drink. Then he says, “May your lives be long and filled with health and joy; may your portfolio put smiles upon your faces; may the pitter-patter of little feet and the sound of tinkling laughter fill those extra bedrooms in your house; but most of all, may your nights be filled in the arms of your loving wife, p
leasing each other in every way.” Then he holds up his index finger and adds, “And hopefully you will love each other more in thirty years than you do today.”
We clink glasses and I say, “Now that’s a toast I’ll gladly drink to. And it’s a hell of a lot better than wanting my dick to fall off.” That brings to mind when I had the catheter and I laugh really hard. “Speaking of dicks falling off, did I ever tell you all the story of when I was in the hospital?”
Apparently, I didn’t, so I relay the whole catheter incident. By the time I’m done Prescott is bent over, leaning on his knees, laughing so hard, I’m afraid he’ll have a heart attack. Everyone is staring at him.
Scottie, calm it down, dude,” Harrison, says. “You’re making a spectacle of yourself.”
“Oh, fuck, that was funny,” he says.
“Hey, I was on morphine, so it wasn’t completely my fault.”
“True, but damn, I wish I had been there with you freaking the fuck out and all.”
Now Harrison starts cracking up, so Special wanders over. “Hey, what’s so funny?”
Shit! “Oh, it’s something I never told you about.”
“You never told her?” Prescott practically yells.
“Lower your voice, Scottie. You’re close to shouting.”
“Oh, Special, you gotta hear this,” Prescott says.
“What?” Special asks, looking pointedly at me.
“Okay, I was going to tell you way back when, but then I forgot. It was when I had that construction site accident and was in the hospital.”
Her brows shoot up. “Yeah?”
“Well, remember how I was on all that pain medication, the morphine or whatever?”
“Uh-huh,” she says.
I go on to tell her. Prescott cracks up again, Harrison lets out a good belly laugh, and Special snorts. Loud. Really loud. Then she leans in and asks, “You really thought your dick was going to fall off?”
“Yes! Remember when you and Jeb came into the room and then the nurse? And you all had to leave for a moment? That’s when I was freaking the hell out.”
A Special Obsession Page 30
