Curtis (Coyote Ridge) (Volume 1)

by Nicole Edwards

  “And you read them?” This time Ethan looked appalled.

  Curtis chuckled. “Your momma is proud of those diaries, boy. She’s written in them every single day since the first day she came to my house.”

  “That’s very cool,” Zoey said. “And yes, I’ll get the one from 1962.”

  “Thanks, honey,” Curtis said with a smile. He hadn’t read any of Lorrie’s diaries in a long time, and when he had, it had only been with her permission. For some reason, he felt the need to read them. It always made him feel close to her.

  “What all does she write in them?” Ethan asked, leaning back and putting his arm over the back of Zoey’s chair.

  “About her day, her thoughts, that sorta thing.”

  Ethan outwardly cringed, smirking as he did. “I’m not sure I’d wanna know what she’s thinkin’ about when it comes to you.”

  “I heard Beau keeps a diary,” Zoey said, deadpan.

  Ethan’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “What the hell?”

  Zoey started giggling, which made Curtis laugh.

  “Kidding,” she said. “You’d think it was a crazy idea.”

  “It is a crazy idea,” Ethan said defensively. “There’s no way I want that man documenting the shit we do.”

  Well, that … that Curtis understood. And still he laughed.

  “You almost finished in here?” Kaleb asked Zoey when he found her in his parents’ room. She was fluffing the pillows although the bed was made and looked just fine to him.

  “Yep. Just need to grab your mom’s diary.”

  “You sneaky girl.” He smirked at his wife. “I knew you couldn’t resist reading it.”

  Zoey shook her head. “It’s not for me. Your dad asked if I’d bring it to him.”

  “My dad reads her diaries?”

  “Sounds like it.” Zoey moved to the dresser, opened the top drawer, and grabbed a couple of his father’s T-shirts. “I think it’s sweet.”

  “Sweet? You know he’s readin’ it so he can see what she says about him, right?”

  “Of course he is,” she replied. “It’s a reflection of their life together.”

  Kaleb hated to admit it, but he wanted to know what the diary said. Then again, if there was even the remote mention of sex, he wanted nothing to do with it.

  Zoey disappeared into the bathroom, then came back out with a small blue book in her hand.

  “Is that it?” His curiosity got the best of him and he reached for the diary.

  Zoey quickly yanked it out of his reach.

  “Oh, come on,” he said, stalking her. When he backed her up against the dresser, he caged her between his arms. “I just wanna see what it says.”

  “Then ask your dad.” She was staring up at him, the book hidden behind her back.

  “I might just do that.”

  “Good.”

  God, she was feisty. He loved that she was protecting his parents’ privacy. Even from him.

  “Have I mentioned how hot you look?”

  Zoey rolled her eyes. “I’ve got my hair piled on top of my head, not a lick of makeup on, and I’m wearing yoga pants.”

  “Is that what those’re called?” He glanced down at her pants. “Then why haven’t you done yoga in them?”

  She smacked his chest. “That’s just what they’re called. It’d sound silly if I called ’em my wine-drinking pants.”

  “But that’d make more sense.”

  “Only to you.”

  The frustration in her tone made him laugh. “And you’re still hot. Pants or no pants.”

  “I’m not gonna let you read it,” she told him firmly.

  “At the moment, reading is the last thing on my mind.”

  Kaleb leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. He loved the way her arms instantly went around him, her body moving closer to his as his tongue slid into her mouth. It didn’t matter that they were married or that they had two munchkins already, Kaleb still couldn’t get enough of this woman. He wondered if he ever would.

  He pulled back, then stared down at her. “Have you heard the story about how they met?”

  Zoey nodded. “I love that story.” Her smile widened before she slipped around him, shoving the diary into the overnight bag she’d been packing. “Now, let’s get this stuff back to the hospital. Then, if you’re nice, maybe I’ll let you finish what you started when we get home.”

  Didn’t have to tell him twice.

  chapter FIFTY-FIVE

  Curtis reclined in the chair in Lorrie’s room, the television on above him, but he wasn’t paying any attention to what was on. The night nurse had come in to check Lorrie’s vitals, chatting with him for a few minutes before leaving them alone. He could see the woman standing outside the window at the station by the door, doing something on the computer. Since they were in the ICU, there was a nurse assigned to Lorrie all day and night, which made him feel a little better.

  The only thing that would make him feel a lot better was if she would get well. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been this scared in his entire life, and things between them hadn’t always been easy. Until now, until this very instance, Curtis didn’t think he’d ever been so afraid. Considering the doctors still didn’t know what was causing the problem and Lorrie didn’t seem to be getting any better, the only thing they could do was sit and wait. And pray.

  He reached for Lorrie’s diary that was sitting on the window ledge beside him. Just seeing the book made him smile. He remembered when she’d first told him how she had kept a diary since that first day they’d met. It had affected him profoundly to know that she’d somehow known that them meeting would be life changing for both of them.

  And boy, had it been.

  Opening the book, he scanned the first couple of entries, and he found himself reading her entry from his seventeenth birthday.

  Sunday, October 21, 1962

  Curtis Walker is the best kisser in the world. Not that I have much to compare it to since he’s the only boy I have ever kissed. He’s also the only boy I ever want to kiss.

  For his birthday, he said the only thing he wanted was to kiss me. I was hesitant at first, but then I let him. And as soon as he did, I didn’t want him to stop. I can still feel how smooth his lips were against mine. I can still hear the rumble of his chest as he kissed me. That soft growling sound was so sexy. It was like I’ve seen in movies, only better. A lot better.

  Oh, I almost forgot! After he kissed me, the best thing happened. Curtis asked me to go steady!! I still can’t believe it, but I’m Curtis’s girlfriend now. My tummy feels all fluttery just thinking about it. I don’t know if I should tell anyone, though. I’m not sure what Momma and Daddy will say. I don’t want them to tell me I can’t see him, so for now, I think I’ll keep the news to myself.

  I can’t wait to see him tomorrow.

  That day would forever be imprinted on his brain. He skimmed a few more pages, then his eyes caught on the first sentence of the entry from Sunday, October 28, 1962. That would’ve been a week later.

  Have I mentioned how great a kisser Curtis is? He’s amazing. I never thought I’d ever say that about a boy, and certainly not him. While I’m sitting here in my bedroom, the only thing I can think about is him. I wish he would come over to see me. I’d even be willing to sneak out the window just to spend some time with him. When I think about lying with him in the grass, kissing him for hours, I hate that I’m not with him. The way he makes me feel is so incredible. Have I mentioned I love him?

  When he stopped reading, he realized he was smiling. Closing his eyes, he thought back to that day, but he didn’t get far into the memory before he heard Lorrie’s voice.

  “What’re you thinking about over there?”

  He looked over to find her peering back at him, her head turned, a small smile on her face. She was still pale, with dark circles beneath her eyes, but even then, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The mother of his children. The woman who had tolerated him all these y
ears, forgiven him even when he wasn’t sure he deserved it.

  Rather than get up, he simply watched her. “All those days I spent kissin’ you for hours and hours,” he told her. “That’s what I’m thinkin’ about.”

  Her smile widened, and as with every smile she offered him, he fell in love a little more.

  Lorrie watched her husband as she had for the past few minutes. When she’d first opened her eyes, she had sought him out. It was a natural instinct after having been together for so long. She knew without a doubt that Curtis would be by her side during the times when she needed him most, and now was one of those times.

  At first, when she’d seen him with his eyes closed, she’d thought he was asleep in the recliner. He’d looked so peaceful. Then she’d noticed he was holding her diary in his hand, and she’d known he was probably reliving one of their days together.

  It didn’t surprise her that he was thinking of their first kiss. She thought about that day often. It felt like so long ago, but at the same time, it was like it was yesterday.

  “I remember that day,” she said quietly, allowing the memories to come back. “I was so nervous.”

  “Sexy nervous,” he noted.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure there wasn’t anything sexy about me back then.”

  “On the contrary.” His grin was slow and warm. “Every single thing about you was sexy. Still is.”

  The man always knew the right things to say.

  Lorrie peered over at the window to the hall, noticing the nurse was standing there. The same sweet girl who’d been with her at night since they’d moved her to ICU. She turned her attention back to Curtis.

  “Did they say anything more?”

  Curtis shook his head, then put the recliner stool down and got to his feet. He came to stand beside the bed, placing his big, warm hand on top of hers.

  “Not yet. They’re doing more blood tests. They’ll be by to draw more blood in a few hours, like usual.”

  Lorrie sighed. “I just want to feel better.”

  “I know, darlin’. We all want that.”

  “Are the boys still camped out in the waiting room?” Although she spent most of her time in a medicated fog, she recalled the voices of her boys as they would come to visit throughout the day. Since they couldn’t seem to pinpoint what was wrong with her and she was still battling the vomiting more often than not, the doctor had mentioned the possibility of a viral infection. The last thing Lorrie wanted was for one of them to get it, so they were keeping their distance but apparently not leaving the hospital.

  “They are.”

  “Did you spend any time with them today?”

  Curtis smiled. “A little. Kaleb brought Mason by since he was going crazy wanting to see his Meemaw. He had to settle for seein’ me.”

  Lorrie chuckled lightly. She seriously doubted that was a disappointment. Mason loved his Pawpaw.

  As her eyes grew heavy again, she held on to Curtis’s hand, watching him as she once again drifted off, escaping the pain for a little while longer.

  chapter FIFTY-SIX

  Five days later

  Friday, April 8, 2016

  “What’re you doin’ up?” Kaleb asked Zoey when he found her downstairs sitting on the couch, the small table lamp on beside her. It was a little after five in the morning, and he knew for a fact that when he’d gone to bed, his wife had been right there beside him. Since he’d spent the last two nights at the hospital, Travis had urged him to go home because he looked like hell. Never mind the fact that Zane had chimed in saying that was how he normally looked. Punk ass.

  Zoey glanced up from the book she was holding, and there were tears in her eyes.

  “Are you readin’ one of those romance things again that makes you bawl your eyes out?”

  Her smile was sweet. “No, I’m not.” She held up the book for him to see.

  Kaleb had to move closer to read what was on the cover. “1973?”

  Zoey smiled. “It’s your mother’s diary.”

  “Really?” Interesting. “And you’re reading it?”

  She placed the book in her lap and pulled her blanket up closer to her chest. “I couldn’t help it. I brought one to your dad the other day, and he let me read a couple of the entries. I asked him if it would be okay to read them. I hope your mom won’t get mad.”

  Kaleb lowered himself to the couch beside her. “Honestly, I think she’d be honored. She kept those diaries for a reason.” He wasn’t quite sure what that reason was, but he doubted she’d thought no one would ever get a chance to read her life story.

  “It’s funny,” Zoey said, her voice low, “I’ve lived next door to your parents my entire life, and it never occurred to me all that they went through long before you or your brothers came along.” Her smile turned mischievous. “I think your old man might just be able to give you a run for your money when it comes to that dirty talk.”

  Kaleb frowned. “Now that I don’t need to know about.”

  Zoey laughed. “Looks like they had a pretty healthy relationship. And your mom apparently liked his dirty mouth.”

  That was probably a fair assessment. “Let’s just say, as kids, we did walk into a few situations that should’ve scarred us for life.”

  Zoey chuckled. “I can only imagine.”

  The last thing Kaleb wanted to do was remember those times. Specifically, those times when his parents hadn’t expected one or more of their children to walk in on them. His mother and father, for as far back as he could remember, had been very … close.

  “But it wasn’t always roses for them,” Zoey noted, a sadness in her tone once again. “Did you know your mother miscarried a baby a few years before Travis was born?”

  Kaleb remembered his mother telling them the story once. She’d been so happy to find out she was pregnant, but she’d miscarried at week seven or eight, or something like that. Although she had reflected back on it with a warm smile, he knew in his heart that his mother still mourned the loss of that baby.

  “It took her a long time after that to want to have another child,” he told Zoey now.

  “I can’t even imagine.” Her eyes welled with tears. “She’s been through so much.”

  She had. They both had. And Kaleb knew without a doubt that they would get through this, too.

  Which was why he’d spent days on end on his knees, praying that the good Lord not take his mother from him. These past few days had been hell on all of them. Especially his father.

  “Come on, Pop. We’re blowin’ this joint for a little while.”

  Curtis’s first instinct was to tell Travis that he wouldn’t be going anywhere, but the look in his oldest boy’s eyes told him that would be the wrong answer.

  Travis shook his head as though reading his thoughts. “Come on,” Travis stated firmly. “No is not an option.”

  There were a million and one reasons why Curtis didn’t want to leave the hospital, and they all pointed right back to his wife lying in that bed, sleeping soundly for the first time today. The infection was still ravaging her body, and she was continuing to vomit profusely. Unfortunately, she wasn’t making any progress, and as the minutes continued to tick by, when she wasn’t throwing up, she was sleeping more and more, her body working overtime to fight the infection that was slowly and completely taking over her body. The infection the doctors still couldn’t pinpoint.

  “Kylie and Zoey are gonna stay here with her. If anything happens, they’ll call me immediately. You have nothin’ to worry about, so get up off your—”

  Curtis cocked his head at his son, the look alone cutting him off. But instead of arguing, he managed to get to his feet. “Where’re we goin’?” he grumbled.

  “Across the street to grab a bite to eat. Everyone’s waitin’ on us.”

  “Everyone?” Curtis frowned.

  “Yeah, you know, the other six who you donated sperm for.”

  Curtis shook his head in disbelief. Some of the things that came out of his
boys’ mouths.

  He stopped by Lorrie’s bedside, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be back in a bit. Love you, baby.”

  She didn’t respond but he hadn’t expected her to. She was sleeping soundly, mostly due to the drugs they were feeding her for the pain.

  On his way out the door, Kylie appeared, hugging him quickly before sending him on his way. He caught up to Travis, following him out of the hospital and directly to Travis’s truck. Just as his son had promised, they didn’t go far, only to the small Mexican food place across the street.

  “You hangin’ in there, old man?” Travis asked as they walked through the parking lot.

  Not nearly as much as he was letting on, but Travis didn’t need to know that. “I’m tryin’.”

  “She’s gonna get well,” Travis assured him.

  Curtis only hoped his boy was right. It had already been a week, and they were no closer to identifying the source of the infection, and the antibiotics didn’t seem to be working. The doctors had called in more doctors, everyone scratching their heads as they tried to determine what the issue was.

  “Hey, Pop,” Ethan greeted as they approached the table.

  Curtis nodded, taking a seat.

  “Jared’s on his way,” Sawyer noted. “I invited him.”

  Although Jared hadn’t been in Coyote Ridge but for a few years, having grown up in El Paso with his mother and father and gaggle of siblings, it was good to have the boy there with them. Gerald had called Curtis right after the big falling-out between Jared and his ex-wife, asking if Curtis could keep the boy preoccupied. Since Travis had just opened the resort and Curtis knew they were all moving toward handling that and less and less at Walker Demolition, it had seemed the natural thing to suggest. That was how Jared had come to Coyote Ridge.

  And the good news was that it looked like the boy was there to stay.

  “So, there’s a rumor goin’ around,” Brendon stated after the waiter had brought tea and chips.