"I feel like I'm gonna fucking pass out," he muttered as we approached the hostess booth.
I squeezed his hand and rubbed his back, feeling the tension in his muscles release just slightly.
"At any point you want, we can just leave," I reminded him, my lips against his shoulder. "We don't have to sit and listen to disrespect but we have to give them the chance first."
He nodded and returned my hand squeeze as we approached the smiling hostess.
"Impasato, party of four," he told her.
"Great, you're all here!" she chirped. "I'll take you back to join the rest of your party."
My heart pounded dramatically as we walked through the restaurant, as I'm sure Sol's did too. I didn't know what to expect, what kind of faces to see, but the moment of truth was mere seconds away.
A handsome, middle-aged couple suddenly stood up from their table and I recognized Sol's features in their faces right away.
His father had the same amber eyes set among crow’s feet that were strangely attractive. Streaks of gray lined his dark hair, still full and thick on his head and sprinkled throughout his short, clipped beard. He had a similarly tall, broad build as Solomon, although not nearly as muscular. Still, in his crisp, tailored black suit, Sol's dad fit the bill for any woman who had a thing for older men.
His mother had large dark eyes and gorgeous long, dark hair that cascaded over her shoulders. Her features were classically beautiful, yet somewhat exotic. Sol told me recently she was Italian and Greek, of which she seemed to inherit the best traits and then pass them down to him.
Her perfectly lined lips dropped open and her large brown eyes watered a moment after she stood up.
"Solomon," she said in a hushed whisper. "Son."
"Hi Mom," he said flatly, with a touch of insecurity.
She rushed forward with her arms outspread and I felt his hand release from mine. The moment she touched him, she began crying unashamedly.
"It's you, my son!" she sobbed, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. "I've missed you so much!"
My own eyes couldn't help but tear up at the sight of their reunion. He hugged her back tightly around her slender waist and practically lifted her off the ground.
Meanwhile, his father stood back by the table, stone-faced and motionless, until his sharp eyes fell onto me.
"You must be Natalie," he said, extending a hand toward me. "I'm Solomon's father, Angelo."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," I replied, accepting his hand and offering a nervous smile.
His face remained expressionless and downright intimidating. I could immediately see where Solomon got his cold, hard glare from. It was impossible to tell what his father was thinking or feeling.
When Sol and his mother separated from their embrace, he and his dad just looked at each other for a few moments. The tension was thick and even his mother looked nervous.
Finally, Angelo spoke first.
"Fuck it. Come here, son."
He grabbed Solomon by the back of the neck and pulled him into an emotional, manly hug with slaps on the back.
"It's lovely to meet you, dear," Sol's mother said to me, clasping both of my hands in hers. "I'm Athena. Thank you for taking care of our son and bringing him back to us."
"The pleasure is mine," I told her sincerely. Immediately I felt at ease with her. Warm, loving energy surrounded her like an aura and I just knew she would be an amazing grandmother.
The four of us got past the emotional introductions and sat down at our table. Sol immediately looked more relaxed than when we first walked in. I patted his thigh reassuringly under the table. The hard part was over.
"Where do we even begin?" his father asked, cracking the first hint of a smirk that mirrored Sol's. "Can I even say, 'how are you?' and, 'what have you been up to?' like this is any normal dinner?"
"I'm great now. Actually, we're great." Sol answered, grabbing my hand on his thigh. "Thanks to this lady, I've realized what's really important. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to figure that out and reach out to you again. But I'm ready to grow up and provide for my family. The past is done, I promise you."
"I've thought about you every day," his mother said, reaching across the table for his other hand. "Wondering if you were alive or in prison or worse. I'm so, so happy to see you, and that you're well and in love!" She beamed radiantly over at me and I couldn't help but smile back.
"You won't have to wonder anymore, Mom," Sol said. "I promise."
"Tell us about Araceli!" Angelo demanded. "Do you have pictures of her?"
They oohed and ahhed and laughed over photos of Ari and the stories we both told about her.
After several minutes of bragging, Sol gave me a gentle nudge, his eyes asking for permission which I granted with a small nod.
"We have something else to tell you," he said when the conversation lulled, squeezing my hand and never removing his eyes from mine.
"We're having a baby!" I declared, returning his loving, intense gaze.
"Oh my God!" cried his parents jubilantly from across the table, but it felt like they were in another world outside of the orbit of my man next to me.
"That's not all," Sol said.
"Huh?"
I squinted at him in confusion.
The moment of clarity came when he scooted his chair back and dropped to one knee.
He produced a velvet box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a stunning diamond ring seated atop a platinum band.
"Natalie, I already consider you my wife. But since I'm a law-abiding citizen now, will you do me the honor of becoming my lawfully wedded wife?"
His parents, the table, the entire goddamn restaurant we sat in now felt light-years away because this man was my whole world. My everything.
"Yes! Of course!" I cried out, not caring who heard.
Solomon chuckled as he slid the brilliant ring onto my trembling finger.
"I think all of Cloverville heard that yes," he teased as he kissed me with all his warmth, love and passion.
Oh well.
I never was good at being quiet anyway.
EPILOGUE
NATALIE
FIVE YEARS LATER
"Hold onto it, Gabe! Stay strong buddy!"
Gabe's little face scrunched up with effort as he held onto the fishing pole for dear life. My dad stood behind him, gently holding his arms steady as he shouted his encouragement.
"You almost got it!" Ari yelled, her long legs dangling over the side of the dock into the beautiful, glassy lake. "I can see it, Gabe!"
"Alright buddy, let's bring it back. Ari honey, grab the net!"
"I got it, grandpa!"
Dad gently pulled Gabe a few steps back as he lifted the fishing line and dropped the silver, wriggling fish into Ari's awaiting net.
Gabe immediately turned around, jumping up and down excitedly on his chubby little legs.
"Mommy, Daddy! I caught a fish!"
"Great job, buddy!" Sol called to him, his deep voice vibrating throughout his chest where my head laid. "Come here and show it to us!"
Dad clipped the fishing line and Gabe ran over to proudly show us his catch.
Careful not to spill our wine, we sat up from our lazy, reclined position in the wide, woven hammock tied between the two redwood trees in front of our cabin.
"Wow! That's a big one, sweetie!" I exclaimed.
It was a good sized trout, with colorful scales reflecting off the Oregon sun setting across the lake.
"Great catch, son," Sol added, tousling up Gabe's dark, thick hair. "We'll cook it up over the fire and have a feast."
"He's a natural fisherman," Dad said proudly, coming up behind him. "Hey buddy, bring it inside to Linda so she can get it ready for dinner."
"Okay!"
Gabe took off running to the cabin, where Dad's girlfriend was already cooking up a storm of venison, game hens, roasted vegetables, and more fish caught earlier in the day.
"Dad, are you sure
Linda doesn't need any help?" I asked.
"Absolutely not!" he insisted with a wave of his hand. "You're on vacation. You are not to lift a finger." He picked up his empty wine glass and held it out to Sol, who was ready to refill with the bottle in his hand. "Just keep bringing more of the good stuff."
"My pleasure sir," Sol replied with a grin.
"Please Solomon, call me Dave. You're my son-in-law for Pete's sake."
"I have too much respect for my elders to do that," Sol said as he refilled our own glasses. "But a few more bottles of this and you might see me loosen up a little."
"I hope I do," Dad said, clapping him on the shoulder as he walked toward the cabin. "We're family now."
Sol opened his mouth to protest then promptly shut it, squaring his jaw tightly and I couldn’t help but grin.
Seeing my husband’s speechlessness was wonderful. Not only was he accepted and loved wholeheartedly by his estranged family, but also mine.
“Cat got your tongue?” I teased, kissing his temple.
“Even after all these years, I’m still not used to it,” he said quietly.
“Not used to what?”
He tightened an arm around my waist and gave me a look that still made my heart flutter like when we first met.
“Being surrounded by love like this. You, our parents, our children. I still wake up some mornings and pinch myself. After everything I’ve done, I wonder how I deserve all this.”
Not long after we met up with his parents, they offered him a job managing their new wine cellar in Cloverville. While running the cellar like a well-oiled machine with his wine expertise, he also took online classes to finish his engineering degree.
With all his education and skills, he was currently in the process of designing a new, modern cellar with perfect temperature control for aging the casks.
All the while, he remained a devoted father to our children and a loving, albeit dirty-talking, husband to me. Between me going for my Ph.D. in marine biology, raising our children to be good people, and being the best wife I could be, I don’t know how we found time to sleep.
My dad met Linda not long after I went to see him for the first time after going missing. He opted to stay in Oregon, which lightened the stress on our minds a bit as we prepared for Gabe’s arrival.
I was beyond happy that Dad found love and happiness again. It gave us a great excuse to take family vacations up to the Oregon coast, just like this one.
“You do deserve it,” I told him as I rubbed the stubble on his jaw which began to show strands of gray. “A thousand times over. If you ever doubt that, just remember that you saved this girl.” I pointed at myself. “Not only from the place she was held captive but from the darkness in her mind that would have driven her to end her life.”
Sol’s eyes looked beautiful as they caught the light of the setting sun. He massaged the nape of my neck exactly how I liked it and the moment could not be more perfect.
“I never imagined that girl would save me too,” he said softly. “From a life that would have made my daughter an orphan too young, and never knowing what being in love with your soulmate was like.”
I never believed in soulmates before.
But as I kissed mine through our smiles and happy tears as the sun descended over the lake, I knew with him by my side, I’d make it through life with no fear. Only love.
No matter how down and dirty things became.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for reading Down and Dirty! If you want more of Cloverville's bad boys, check out the others in the series.
Ball and Chain (Asher and Dahlia)
Love and War (Liam and Hazel)
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Other books by Annette Fields
Heavy Metal Heart
Beauty and the Bastard
Big Bad Boss
Down and Dirty: A Single Dad Bad Boy Romance (Small Town Bad Boys Book 3) Page 16
